The 10X Block | BCC 044

Last week I finished my book!

Daren | Craftsman Creative 💡
@darentsmith
November 30th 2021
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It was a crazy three months of writing. I ended up just over 54,000 words, and am now working with an editor on the next draft to make this book as valuable as possible.

This week I wanted to share an idea that didn't make the book, but will help you as you start thinking about your plans for 2022

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A 10X block is a block of time that you set aside in your calendar on a regular basis.

It could be once a year, once a quarter, once a month, or even once a week!

It's an opportunity for you to grab a favorite drink, turn on some music to think to, and think about your goals.

Then, you ask one simple question:

How can I 10X this?

Maybe your goal is to get to 10,000 website visitors per month, but you're currently only getting 1,000.

Ask yourself "how can I 10x this?" and then write down any idea that pops into your head. There are no bad or wrong answers, and you can burn this page later if you're embarrased by it.

(But please don't, there's gold in them thar hills!)

You can ask this question about any part of your creative life or business.

How can I 10X my income? How can I 10X my clients? How can I 10X my happiness and fulfillment? How can I 10X my audience?

The more you ask this question the more you open yourself up to new ideas and inspiration.

Then, once you've written out every idea you can think of, go back through your ideas and circle one that you want to try right now.

Take action immediately. Start today or tomorrow. Make it a small first step if necessary but take action on your idea.

Test it out for a week. See what happened. Analyze what worked and what didn't. Then next week you can either double down on it if it worked or move on to another idea if it didn't work.

Doing this process consistently will help you grow faster, reach your goals, and have more variety in the way you approach your work.

Here's a recent example for me:

I asked the question "how can I sell 100 copies of my book before launch" and one of the answers I had was start earlier.

Most authors - if they do a presale at all - will schedule it a month before launch.

But my audience isn't huge and getting 100 sales in a month seemed daunting.

But 25 a month...that seemed doable.

After I had this idea, I created a quick landing page for early access to the book and made it live.

In two days I'd already sold two early access spots. If I continue that pace then I'll hit my goal of 25 in ... well, 25 days.

If you've been following along with the book and want all the benefits of being one of the earliest supporters, you can get early access here:

Craftsman Creative Book | Early Access
Get early access to the Craftsman Creative book and the new Society of Independent Creators coming in 2022

Craftsman Spotlight - Jeremy Chou

Jeremy Chou is an incredibly talented wedding and editorial photographer who came to the craft after working as a professional architect.

His images showcase that experience, but it's his quick rise to working with luxury clients and brands, his ability to get his work published in major websites and magazines, and his willingness to teach what he's learned that inspired me to write about him today.

You can learn more about Jeremy at his website or his Instagram, and check out his online workshop that we produced together earlier this year.

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