221. Lessons learned in Business and Action Steps for 2023

Links Mentioned:* https://www.productiveinsights.com/blog/just-begin (https://www.productiveinsights.com/blog/just-begin)* productiveinsights.com/221 (http://www.productiveinsights.com/221)*  try.sunsama.com/ash (http://try.sunsama.com/ash)* shortform.com/ash (http://shortform.com/ash)* ash@productiveinsights.comTranscript:Lessons Learned in business in 2022 and action steps you can take in 2023 that's what we're going to be talking about in this podcast episode this is episode number 221 of the productive insights podcast and I'm delighted to be back and sharing some insights that hopefully, you will find useful in your business I've been in business for about 30 years now the last 10 of which have been as a founder of productiveinsights.com and I'm excited to share some of the lessonsI've learned along the way, especially over the last 12 months which you can then apply in 2023. overall 2022 has been a lot about stripping back and simplifying processes eliminating unnecessary things and a lot of that came back to two words that Seth Godin had once told me I wrote a blog post about this called just begin the first point I want to make is the value of just beginning now I think it's best if I explain this in stages I decided to bring the video editing in-house and this led me to a new Vantage Point bringing the video editing in-house meant that I was going to produce a lot less content in terms of volume and also in terms of frequency so that was the first realization when I realized that I was going to produce less content this meant that I could no longer justify a whole lot of subscriptions that I was paying for so I reduced production-related expenses as I went through the process of canceling these subscriptions I found myself asking a very important question what other software subscriptions am I paying for that I don't currently need? so the answer to that question led to a wonderfully satisfying few hours of canceling a bunch of subscriptions that added up to about twenty thousand dollars which wasn't like winning the lottery but it significantly reduced my expenses and added to the bottom line now I appreciate the above sequence may look a little bit overwhelming and energy is happening but I promise you if you just begin you will find yourself at a new vantage point which will then take you to another vantage point and another vantage point and so on. You will be pleasantly surprised with the traction you get the key actionable Insight from this first lesson is just begin and all will be revealed now the second Insight is to walk your way out of creative ruts by the way all of this information is available at productiveinsights.com 221 and you can follow along on our website if you like I've actually written a blog post that takes you through each of these steps in a bit more detail so Steve Jobs was known for his walking meetings I've walked about 10 000 steps a day for the last year and have found the benefits to be gradual but cumulative and as James Clear explained in my conversation with him the compounding effect of doing something daily is profound almost every time I feel I'm at a creative roadblock I go for a walk and I come back feeling refreshed and I achieve the breakthrough.