Jim Bouman

I am a growth coach who works with youth (35 and younger), startups and SMEs to make this world a better place.

My purpose is to help others realize their passion and purpose, and empower them to achieve higher performance, higher income and live a more fulfilling life - for themselves and for the people they touch.

I succeed when you no longer need me. The earlier, the better.

---- For individuals ----

I help you
- identify your passion/purpose (what you really want in life)
- discuss your options (including ones you're unaware of)
- simplify and create a roadmap for you
- help you set up your own continuous self-improvement system

Goal: create a fulfilling, ever-improving life (and income) around your passion/purpose.

---- For young/small businesses ----

You tell me your situation and your idea, opportunity or struggle and I tell you your options.
Whichever works best for you, I help create an easy-to-implement roadmap for you.

Goal: making your passion (business) sustainable, profitable and ever-growing.

---- Free coaching ----

- Guides: https://jimbouman.com/guides
- Daily newsletter with best practices & lessons learnt: https://letters.jimbouman.com/

Growth Coach

Awaji Youth Federation

Be part of the AYF global community: https://awaji-youth-federation.com/global-community/

After my Fellowship, I joined the Program Secretariat to further develop the program (i.e. corporate incubator) and provide an even better experience for new batches of Fellows.

I mainly worked on the recruitment of new Fellows, mentoring and creating a stimulating work environment for current fellows and taking care of fellows' needs.

Having gone through the Fellowship myself, I acted as a bridge between existing fellows and other stakeholders, both internal and external.

Program Assistant

The Awaji Youth Federation provides a 1-year fellowship program that brings young people from all over the world together on Awaji Island, in rural Japan.

The goal of the program is to bring more people to rural Japan and revitalize the local economy and community with both short- and long-term projects.

Simply put: it's a corporate incubator.

I focused on rebuilding a run-down shopping district in the northern part of the island and helped with various events run by my colleagues.

Wanting to improve the program's effectiveness and help the other fellows have a great time doing social work, I acted as a fellow representative and liaison with upper management.

Fellow

TFJoy Limited

Tasked with the goal of converting our team's effort to joy for our customers. 

Led an international team, oversaw day-to-day operations and worked on improving TFJoy's portfolio and staff in an effort to realise TFJoy's vision: using (mobile) games to bring joy to the daily lives of as many people as possible.

General Manager

Brought joy to the Dutch market by localising and launching TFJoy's first 3 games for the Dutch market. Engaged and retained users via in-game events and social media support.

Country Manager

Henkel

Marketing Intern

Life mission: to be able to help anyone in 5 minutes, now and 300+ years after I’m gone.

Now building: a text-based personal brand agency for founders and executives.

Why? 
I fundamentally believe the world would be a better place if people have more autonomy (personal brand). I want the best stories of (wo)men in the "arena" told and told well. Passionate and skilled writers ensure these people (and their work) get the attention they deserve. 

This startup is part of my self-designed Empowering MBA, in which I build 18 startups in 18 months.

I believe the world would be a better place if everyone would (and could) pursue their calling. 
I work to make that a reality.

---- Me in 30 seconds ----

After business school I planned to become a professional football/soccer coach. I joined a startup instead, helped grow it to 25 people before having to fire half of them.

I moved to rural Japan to join a corporate incubator, couldn’t handle the bureaucracy and quit after 2.5 years to start my own thing.

Then I drop-shipped, day-traded, consulted startups, did digital marketing for local businesses, and coached young people and small businesses.

Along the way, I found my calling. 
I call it Empower: to be able to help anyone in 5 minutes, now and 300+ years after I’m gone.

I spend my time reading, learning, writing and building empowering startups. (With some coaching on the side.)

Dutch native turned global citizen, I now live in central Japan.

---- What I’m working on ----

Empowering MBA – I’m launching 18 startups in 18 months.

Currently building – A text-based personal brand agency for founders and executives.

(Growing my mom’s real estate agency on the side. Out of love.)

---- Contact me? ----

Coaching, collaboration, speaking or interview request?
- Schedule a call here: https://cal.com/jimbouman/

Anything else? 

- Email or DM me. I do my best to reply but get too many to answer everything.

P.S. I share business opportunities and what I'm up to in my newsletter. Some feel empowered by it. Determine for yourself: https://letters.jimbouman.com/

Japan is dying.

The sad thing?

Most Japanese don't even realize it.

(And most foreigners, Westerners especially, are unaware, living in a "Made in Japan" time machine or a "they're all so polite" honeymoon.)

I've been living here for 5.5+ years.

There are many beautiful things about Japan, its people and its culture.

But economically, "practically" (birth rate?) and especially spiritually...it's going downhill.

I could write an entire unsubstantiated, only-backed-by-observation-and-intuition thesis on this.

(I have strong beliefs that make me very sad.)

I won't write about it now.
It would take me an entire day (and it's 21:53 already!)

But I wanted to share this because most people I call are curious about Japan and shocked when I tell them this (with observations and hypotheses)...

(I'm giving masterclasses on life in Japan. At least, my non-Tokyo experience.)

For entrepreneurs and global startups, there are many, many, many opportunities in Japan. 

It's still not an easy market to enter, but becoming increasingly easier.

If you're interested or want help, contact Adam Claydon-Platt. 
He does this for a living (and is even more passionate about "saving Japan".)

(I consider him a mentor. He considers me a carbon copy of his 10-year-younger-self. I admit our vision, values and ideas are eerily similar.)

I updated him on my Empowering MBA today and shared my ideas & game plan going forward.

He liked what he heard.

Meaning: you, my friends, are in for a treat the next few weeks/months. 
(I'm doing my best.)

Anyway, we talked about Japan - from experience.

Right after, I called Sönke Tristan Venjacob.
This stranger-turned-friend reminded me of myself 2-3 years ago.
(Xhoni, thank you for the intro!)

Topics: life, work, purpose and, yes, Japan (he was shocked).
30 minutes turned into 100.
Enough said.

(He got an unplanned, unintended coaching session. My urge to help dominated. We both left energized and happy. I found another long-term person playing long-term games.)

"I just want to help people," he said.

(He's helped a ton of people already.)

"Which kind of people and in which kind of way have you enjoyed 'helping' the most?" I asked.

Men in their 20s looking for direction - personally and with relationships.

So if that's you, message him.
Jim approves.

And to wrap up today's update:

- Some calls and outreach with real estate agents/partners in the NL. 
Got some good feedback.

- Studied the history of real estate agencies & the national association in the NL. Learn from history to prepare for the future. 
(Realtor fees - 1% now - were once over 20%. Crazy...fascinating.)

And one request:

This weekend, please read Seneca's On The Shortness of Life (or listen on YouTube).

Then reflect on your work.

Is what you're doing something you'll be proud of (and happy you did) when you're 80?

Day 37 (almost) finished. 503 to go.

Love,

Jim

99% of service jobs will disappear.

Here's how...

------------------

Day 33 & 34 (almost) finished. 506 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. This took me 2 hours to write and 1.5 hours to turn into a carousel. 

The latter was unintentional: I simply hit LinkedIn's character limit and wanted to share the full thing with you. 

I thought it was that important.

Now back to empowering real estate agents and talking with pioneers...

My friends, 2 updates for you today.

1. Startup 2

3 days ago Jim: "I’m pretty confident I can be top 5% of understanding the “business” of real estate agencies in the Netherlands by the end of the month."

Today's Jim: "I'm very confident."

I've been studying like mad and identifying key players, trailblazers and up-and-comers.

My growth agency will need some tweaking given market & technology changes the past year, but my belief is reinforced. 

(I've also identified 4 more opportunities in "frontier" or "opaque" areas.) 

Current gameplan:

- This week: focus on my knowledge foundation & setting up "study" calls with trailblazers/key players (to validate hypotheses).

- Week 2: reverse-engineer success, produce shareable "best practice" assets (likely via a realtor podcast I own) and private/public calls.

- Week 3 & 4: alternate between reverse-engineering with audits (comparing "best" and "average"). Publish these publicly & send snippets privately. Continue with "study" calls. Add prospect calls.

(Note to self: prospects -> audit, ask, action. Send the first unasked, call for the second, close by giving the third.)

2. Personal

a. Being me

I'm sorry but...I hate texting, DMing and coffee calls. 

I call family & girlfriend (near-)daily.
Business partners when needed.
A few very close friends...1-3x/quarter.
Friends...1-2x/year.

Instead of texts, we call. 
If we do text, I reply late.

I'm simply too "busy" pursuing my calling and creating something useful that outlives me.

Everyone accepts. 
Because they know when they really need me, I'm there for them.
And honestly: they're all like this (though I'm extreme).

I tried the LinkedIn game last month: too many copycats, ChatGPT copy-pasters and vanity metric pursuers for me.

So, I simplified and refocused on a game I can excel at:

- 3 activities only: read, talk with "busy" pioneers, push progress.
- Condense my learning into a public journal entry
- When all "proactive" work is done: 30 mins of emails/DMs max.

Been doing this for 4 days. 

Feels great.

b. Being you

Phil Knight (Nike founder) writes in Shoe Dog: 

"I wanted what everyone wants. To be me, full-time."

(Double-meaning: (1) personality & being true to yourself; (2) working toward your calling.)

Many struggle with this by choice/inertia.

I don't understand.

You're doing yourself, your dependents and the world a disservice, trying to be anything you're not.

If you're lost:

- What did you spend most of your free time on as a child?
- What do you do in your free time THAT ENERGIZES YOU? (These last 3 words are key.)
- What are your parents like and what did/do they do? (Most of you is a "nature" and "nurture" product of them.)

I wish everybody the world.
I want to help everyone get there.
But you first have to help yourself.

Be you full-time.

Day 35 (almost) finished. 505 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. Talked with Sarka Risch.

"Jim, you should have recorded this. Lots of nuggets for LinkedIn." 

Maybe next time ;)

I meditated for 30 minutes about accelerating progress.
My mind produced something useful.
Enjoy the summary.

-

Focus and frugality. 
The 2 keys every entrepreneur agrees on.

Focus accelerates time. 
The same input (effort) leads to greater progress because the direction is constrained.

Frugality buys time. 
You stay in the game longer to increase your odds of "success."

The former is judgment, the latter is resource management.

Train your mind to improve the former. 
Preserve your body to improve the latter. 
(Remember: health first.)

The biggest accelerator in life is leveraged decision-making.

Decisions first, leverage second. 
The former decides direction. 
Direction matters more than speed.

How to preserve the body?
- Good sleep
- Good nutrition
- Good stressors (e.g. exercise)

How to train the mind?

Judgment improves with experience.
Either your own or borrowed from others.

Learning from your own experience is accelerated by reflection. 
Without regular reflection, you'll learn little from success or failure.
Understand why something happened and what you could've done differently.
Test this next time.

Learning from others is accelerated by picking the
1. Best teachers
2. (For) what you need most now
3. The means by which it's taught

The best teachers are often dead or inaccessible. But they've left clues (writings, interviews). Or you can reverse-engineer their path. Neither requires permission.

Learning 20 things at the same time is fine. Just remember that parallel learning slows. If you want speed, learn sequentially. 

We read faster than we listen. We can also skim read, but we can't skim listen - unless it's asynchronous. 

If masters are accessible, talk. 
If not, read, then do.

(Realize: biographies are 80 years of life experience condensed in 10 hours of reading. Find ones relevant to your life and interests, and there's no better shortcut to cultivating judgment and wisdom.)

When can I expect results?

Unknown. Results are a response from nature to your decisions (and subsequent actions).

Leveraged inputs produce a stronger response. 

Leverage is acquired by trust (permissioned) or skill and knowledge (permissionless). Every resource is an extension of these.

Consistency over time aids both: you inform nature (and others) in which direction you'll continue to go. 

They decide if they care enough to respond - positively or negatively.

Summary:

Life's outcomes are a result of nature responding to second-by-second decisions.

To improve outcomes, improve decisions, add leverage and preserve health long enough.

(A lot to unpack here. I hope it helps you reflect and improve your life/work.)

Day 42 (almost) finished. 498 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. Spent the day recording videos/podcasts. Becoming more bullish. Unsure what's achievable in 3 weeks. Positive, if continued, about long-term prospects. The more I do, the more value-add opportunities I see. Just gotta build trust and find the right angle.

Week 2 of startup 2.

Last week was about understanding the market & talking with partners.

This week is about educating evangelists.

Our service can be broken down into a few components.

For each, I'll make an educational screen-share video/podcast showing:

- Industry best practices and examples
- Our a/b tests, results and lessons
- How agents can start DIY
- Pitfalls and long-term considerations
- CTA

(Reminder: I published a real estate agency video podcast in the NL 1.5 year ago. Time to leverage that asset for a more advanced season 2.)

I'm basically taking a page out of "Father of Advertising" David Ogilvy's playbook. (I've been copyworking his ads. His style suits me.)

I've got 7 components in mind. I expect to be able to do 1 per day.

I'll conclude this phase with 2 downloadables:

- An agency audit checklist
- Mini-guide that summarizes the best practices, links and partners mentioned

Any interesting partners or prospects I identify during the "industry best practices" research, I'll email to schedule a private or public call. Having a podcast to "interview" and provide them with leverage & exposure is useful.

So, the focus this week lies on creating the "proof" and "thought leadership" leverage that works for us 24/7. Scheduling calls is secondary.

When finished (probably middle of next week), I'll move on to the next phase: 

- Guest experts in our niche for related topics
- Reverse-engineering & public audit/comparison episodes

I'll send any audited prospect a clip of their audit. 
Free advice to get my foot in the door. 

The flywheel:

- Educate with content (leverage)
- Share publicly and privately
- Talk with others (experts or prospects)
- Learn & test hypotheses
- Pivot/adjust if needed

And, of course, when ready, pitch and close.

Day 40 (almost) finished. 500 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. Today I called another person I consider a mentor - Terrie Lloyd (serial entrepreneur & investor). 

My Empowering MBA posts had made him reach out to check up on me. It shows the power of "building in public." 

Useful takeaways for you (and me - thank you Terrie!):

- Gain public attention: be the first, be the best or be the biggest.
- Consider the hurdle rate (aka barrier to entry/moat): what's your unique edge or angle?
- Build credibility: (1) create or join a crusade and (2) grow it - preferably internationally.

P.P.S. I had written an inspiring post (my opinion) this weekend on Hemingway. Then my computer crashed. Byebye post. Still got some notes. Might rewrite another day. Just wanted to share my pain.

To improve the survival odds of my startup I've read a bunch of books on real estate (biographies, investing, agency management).

Some highlights applicable to entrepreneurship in general:

1. To thrive, generate leads. To survive, be frugal. 

2. Ask: (1) what must be done right and (2) what must be done now?

3. Ask: what are the opaque or distrustful segments/information in the buying and selling process? 

How can we educate and provide creative solutions in those so more sellers can sell (down-market) or more buyers can buy (up-market)?

Become a trusted advisor/source of information.

4. In a down market look to upgrade your assets, including partners and team members. Arbitrage opportunities abound. Improve your leverage.

Counter-intuitive: prepare in an up-market, act in a down-market.
(Remember: survive to thrive.)

5. Understand about a buyer: (a) able? (b) ready? (c) willing? 

Sell to those who meet all 3. 
Educate others with leveraged content & tech.

6. If you want to work with a mentor or someone above your weight class, inform them regularly of your progress. Trust is built by focused action over time.

7. Always focus on protecting the downside. How bad can it get?

8. Startup idea prompt: as a consumer, what do you find hard to source?

9. Focus on what doesn't change: human nature. 

Many assumptions are based on prejudice and misconceived notions. 

Test: what do we share and history has proven to be perpetual?

Ask: which group of people are currently ignored as potential clients with flawed reasoning (about desires, fears, ability or motivation)?

10. "It pays to look at the real-estate business not as an end in itself but as a device for bridging gaps between the needs of disparate groups. The greater the number of separate groups (or their needs) that one could interconnect (or satisfy), the greater the profit to the innovator-entrepreneur." (Zeckendorf's autobiography)

-> Jim's interpretation:

a. Service becomes valuable in a highly complex and/or opaque market. Service loses value in a straightforward and/or transparent market.

b. In a down market, needs increase and complicate. The market has yet to catch up to this change, i.e. it becomes opaque. 

Fertile ground for (1) service and (2) creative financing (to educate others or to acquire assets yourself).

Hope these are useful.

Day 44 (almost) finished. 496 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. Halfway creating our free "masterclasses." Including audits that will be cut and sent directly to agents as "advice." 

Called my co-founder today. "Your energy and excitement are contagious," he said. As said the past few days, I'm becoming more bullish. Stable, long-lasting market, little innovation, little competition, lots of opportunities. 

Also met fellow "builder-in-public" Jakub Svoboda. On a similar journey but focuses on tech products/solutions with a CTO co-founder. Happy to have met a kindred spirit. Check his profile and journal entries if you're into entrepreneurship.

"I'm losing my drive, my edge, my fire," my coaching client told me.

"I'm excited to go home. Then, at home, I do nothing but watch random shows on Netflix. I'm not going anywhere."

You can be in a rut for different reasons. 

A few solutions that have worked for me over the years.

1. Rest

Honestly, your mind or body may just be fatigued.
Reevaluate after 3-4 days.

If not...

2. Vision

What are you working toward?

I have a strong internal (calling) and external motivator (loved ones) that give me a sense of urgency.

I've cut many activities that don't contribute to progress.
(Remember: time is non-renewable.)

Others may see an increasing work-life imbalance.
I sense an increasing work-life overlap.

I'm getting closer to the game I can excel at.

But this has taken a lot of trial-and-error, introspection and listening to my gut.

Honestly, I'm still peeling back layers. 
I think I have yet to reach my core.

So this is a longer-term play.

For a practical short-term play...

3. Curiosity

When in a rut, even your interests and hobbies feel like "work". 
Like a "task to complete."

My solution: a clean slate.

I write down everything I feel I "need/should" do.
Then I cross them out.

When I have free time I ask myself:
- What am I most curious about? 
- What do I feel most like doing?

That's what I do.

Nothing comes to mind?

I'll just sit there and do nothing.
My body and mind will say something eventually.

Removing watches/clocks is also helpful. 
It rekindles that childlike curiosity, unaware of time.

Upon reflection, this has been my secret.

Pursuing curiosity for a day may seem like a waste. 
Where's the progress?

But when I extend my time horizon - a week, a month, a year - I must admit: most of my progress (financially and personally) has come from pursuing my curiosity consistently.

I could be doing the same thing for days. 
I could be doing different things. 
I could be jumping around.

Over time, I eliminate waste and get closer to my core.

Best of all: self-judgment has disappeared.

(Btw, I've found pursuing "curiosity" over "passion" or "something I love" much easier.)

And something even more practical...

4. Removal

Forcibly remove tangible items, like books and clothes or intangible like subscriptions, activities, and even relationships.

(I do this when my curiosity and gut haven't forced me to remove something for a while.)

Remove it, then observe if I miss it.

Often, I don't. (When I do, I bring it back.)

The result is always positive: freed up time and mental space, and an increased appreciation for what remains.

And to wrap up...some of my quotes today to ponder:

- What prevents you from doing now what you want to be doing a decade from now?
- Hold off on your expectations to always be doing something
- If you turn "I should" into "I want," does it still apply?

Day 36 (almost) finished. 504 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. 5 hours of calls and today's research led to more ideas & hypotheses to test. Progress.

Some introspection & practical advice:

1. Current startup

8 days ago I wondered if new tech would kill realtors (our clients) and the service my friend and I have been testing for a year.

It's been a mental rollercoaster.

After a ton of research and reverse-engineering big agents/players, I'm confident that what we offer is valuable and has staying power.

Actually, I've become more bullish.

Domestically, I think the need for our service (and extensions I have in mind) will increase. Internationally (EU) infrastructure is worse, offering good opportunities.

In other words: I think this is more about execution risk than market risk.

The trouble: making the market aware of it. Agents are traditional.

For now: stick to the plan (educate evangelists) and re-evaluate in 3 weeks.

This probably becomes a multi-year play. Especially if we want a moat (and go international).

Exciting.

2. My superpower?

I've met many (new) people recently.

They quickly feel comfortable around me.
They also say I'm inspiring - my vision as well as how I communicate it.

(Someone even urged me to become a professional speaker. I have bigger plans.)

It's given me a lot to think about.

But I feel I'm getting closer: my activities, curiosities and people I talk with align increasingly better.

Lesson: Entrepreneurship is as much an exploration of the self as it is of the market.

(One of the reasons I consider everyone a "business of 1.")

I've also redefined my "game" recently: I'm in the business of (accelerating) opportunities.

Next step: what's the crusade others want to join?

3. Removing distractions

Entropy is a measure of disorder. 
Left unchecked, systems dissolve into chaos.

(Businesses combat this with additional bureaucracy. This treats the symptom, not the cause, and results in accelerated entropy. The answer is simplification and elimination.)

In life this presents itself in what I call "activity creep".

(Others call this "a distraction" but only label it as such in hindsight.)

Practically, I combat this by reflecting every week:
- What energized me most?
- What drained me most?
- How can I do less of the latter and use the freed-up time to do more of the former?

This has worked wonders for me.

Another way to frame this: reduce the scope, increase the intensity.

It's how I approach my startups:
1. Look for market signals (or within your job)
2. Filter by gut feeling 
3. Most gets filtered out. Double-down on what remains.

Day 41 (almost) finished. 499 to go.

Love,

Jim

P.S. Called UK-based serial entrepreneur and investor Rolf. "It's rare to find someone with your natural coaching mentality."

I pitched ghostwriting services (Startup 1) to him. He declined. But I wanted to get to know him. I'm glad (and grateful) he agreed. Found a new friend/mentor.

Btw, he's looking for a CTO co-founder to build an AI-first startup. Needs to have AI coding experience & understand its long-term implications. Not a "text generator 3.0". Contact me.

Every month I mail "The Librarian" to my newsletter subscribers. 

An overview of the books I read. Because I read a ton (and widely). 

In May I read 12 books. 

Here are my favourites: 

1. ​How To Get Rich​ by Felix Dennis. 

Cringe title but an amazing biography. Teaches what the title says and written with lots of personality. 

Biggest lesson: go to the mountain which produces money with your name on it. 

2. ​The Inner Game of Tennis​ by Timothy Gallwey

Amazing book on performing under pressure, changing habits and beliefs, and learning in a more natural way. 

Uses tennis examples but applies equally to other endeavours in life. 

Inner Skills:
a. Nonjudgmental Awareness
b. The Art of Creating Images (3 types: results, form, qualities/identity)
c. Letting it happen
d. Concentration (5 ways: focus attention somewhere, make something curious/interesting, sight, sound, feel) 

3. ​The Intelligent Investor​ by Benjamin Graham

Read this for the 3rd time. 

The first read-through is useful. But this book reveals its true depth on rereads. 

The more experience you have, the more you'll learn. 

Warren Buffett says the most valuable chapters are 8 and 20. I agree. ​ 

Honourable mentions 

- Am I Being Too Subtle?​ by Sam Zell

Another entertaining biography. 

Sam is known for real estate but considers himself an "opportunity man." I agree. 

Many no-nonsense takeaways for entrepreneurs, managers and investors. 

My favourite quote: 

"I believe the fundamentals of business - supply and demand, liquidity equals value, good corporate governance, and reliable partners, to name a few - apply across the board. They inform my decision-making, or what I do, just like my philosophies guide how I do it. 

- ​Bloomberg by Bloomberg​ 

The first 2/3 is great: it covers his personal journey and how he built Bloomberg. Valuable for any professional, I feel.

Skip the last 1/3. It feels like marketing for his (then) presidential campaign. 

- ​Pour Your Heart Into It​ by Howard Schultz

Covers his life and Starbucks until 1997. Interesting to see the start and evolution of both.

Taught me the importance of having a "crusade" (first) and how to translate this into products and services (second). You may have seen this in my recent posts. 

-------------------------- 

I hope this inspires you to read more. 

Books are a shortcut to self-improvement: lifetimes of lessons, successes and mistakes condensed into a few hundred pages. 

There is no higher ROI. 

Day 47 (almost) finished. 493 to go. 

Love, 

Jim 

P.S. Making great progress with my current startup. Been busy recording masterclass videos for each aspect of our service. Will upload 5 episodes tomorrow & reach out to a few agents who I've audited in these videos tomorrow/Wednesday. Wrap up the remaining videos later this week. Next week more audits & outreach. Partner calls have been productive and fruitful. Things are moving in the right direction. Onward.

Some reflections and course corrections I’m making this month in life and business, with questions that you’ll probably find useful. 

Business

- Pursue obsession, usefully
- Be unique in the what, copy the how (avoid the reverse)

A lot has happened in a month. 

Startup 1 died but its legacy remains with these compact reminders:

- Focus & frugality
- Crusade & craft
- Plot, then pounce
- Educate evangelists

I've grown and startup 2 has a lower hurdle. I'm bullish. But it'll probably be a multi-month play.

I also changed my LinkedIn approach:

- Proactive > reactive
- Avoid most people

The LinkedIn game wasn't enjoyable. So I quit.

Coming to terms with not replying everyone was tough. 
I'm an inbox 0 type of guy. 
(Even if it takes a while.)

But I asked myself: which game do I want to play?

It wasn't this one.

Many connect without message or follow-up. 
Why?

"To have you in my feed." 
What does that mean when you never engage?

Most are algorithm players and shoot with a shotgun. 

I'm a sniper. 

Research an individual and ask: would I work with him/her for life? 
If no, skip. 
If yes, offer an opportunity. 

Then back to work. 

Opportunity is perception and timing. 
No hard feelings about non-response. 
Just work and offer more.

Many on LinkedIn go back-and-forth. 
Their point, their ask and/or their offer are unclear. 

My writing can still be more inspiring, relatable or curiosity-inducing. 
But at least my ask & offer is clear. 
I get straight to the point.

Unclear writing takes time and weighs on the mind. 
Waiting for clarification induces negative emotions.

So I left the game.

I now do proactive work the entire day. 
Journal what I'd like to remember and pass on. 
And only then, in the evening, do I spend 30 minutes on emails and LinkedIn. 
(And some days I skip it.)

I'm happier.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS
(lacking the skill to edit further, sorry!)

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Jim Bouman

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Jim Bouman's Best Posts .css-qqfgvy{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);}(last 30 days)

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Jim Bouman's Linkedin Analytics

Jim Bouman's Best Posts (last 30 days)