To determine my focus, the first step I took was to organize my life 📅. As you know from my previous newsletters, I am a huge fan of the "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodology. I've applied the strategies from the GTD book to my work for several years, and it has been incredibly beneficial. However, I needed a new approach to manage my time⏰ more productively.
That's when I discovered the Trident Calendar System 🔱. Although I'm not entirely sure about its origins, I can attest to its effectiveness. This system allows you to plan your ideal schedule for each day of the week, taking into account your energy levels 💪, preferred work rhythms 💻, and personal commitments 🏠. By identifying your free time and strategically filling in the gaps, you can stay aligned with your goals.
Even if you don't follow the calendar perfectly, it will remind you to stay on track, manage your time better, and keep adjusting the calendar to fit your needs.
Ali Abdaal made a great video about it, which you can watch here. You can also get his Google Calendar for 2024 here.
I'll link some helpful books below for more information 📚.
So how am I doing this?
From my understanding, it's best to follow multiple paths on the journey towards passive income and financial freedom 💰. There are several paths to consider, and I've started with two. In future newsletters, I will talk about more 📬.
Today, I will talk about finding and using your Unfair Advantage - this is a good book and the reality we live in, where unfair advantages must be used to gain an edge. It might sound like cheating, but it is a fact of life and we all do this knowingly or unknowingly. For example, mine are:
- Status: Medical doctor (researcher) 🩺
- Expertise: 20+ years of shooting and filming 🎥
- Money: Enough to purchase the gear I want 💵
Using the above information and my tendency to deep-dive into any subject I pick up, I've gathered a lot of different skills over the years, both hardware and software 💻🔧.
- YouTube - I know I can film good YouTube education videos. It's only a matter of finding the topic and hitting record 🎬. Of course, there is more to it, but with my "unfair advantage," this should be simple to execute. So the first path I am taking is expanding my YouTube educational videos, which will allow me to earn Google Adsense revenue (currently $20/month) and hopefully affiliates and sponsorships as my channel grows 📈.
- Digital Products - I understand Color Science well and love Davinci Resolve 🎨. I've tinkered for several years with color and getting the look I want for projects, both personal and commercial, and I consider myself qualified to create digital products for color grading. This month, I launched my first Cinematic LUT pack, which includes Rec.709 and Davinci Wide Gamut versions. These are inspired by the Kodak 2383 film stock and fix the issues of highlight and shadow roll-off introduced by Kodak 2383. It also addresses skin tones, color contrast, and saturation. More information is available here 🌈📦.
I wish to add more digital products in the future, which is where I think the bulk of passive income can be achieved.
So, what is your "Unfair Advantage"? Take a look at this image to help figure out yours, or even better, read the book 😉
