This is the first installment of my Secret Plan for you, so you can be self-employed. I want you to own your own life.

By being self-employed (as a solo entrepreneur or starting a business) you have put yourself in the driver’s seat of life. You are in control, but not only of the economic results.

You will find that the mindset you develop will enhance every other aspect of your life: friendship, family, and your own inner peace. It’s like physical fitness. Going from a couch potato to a runner will create a ripple effect in your life far beyond your cardio fitness and that roll of fat around your belly.

This is my experience, and I want it to be yours, too.

I fully realize that few of the people who read this will follow this path. That’s OK. This path is not for you. But go find your own Path.

Step 1. Read books and never stop for the rest of your life

The first step is to read. Start reading, and never stop.

10 pages each day

Here is an easy way, a method that I learned from 75hard.com.

Read 10 pages a day. Audiobooks do not count. I listen to audiobooks but I don’t count that as reading. I will frequently buy a book in its paper and Kindle versions, but Kindle does not count.

The only thing that counts is reading a paper book. Ten pages a day. No matter what.

You will be astonished at how many books you can read if you follow this strategy.

“But what if I don’t have a book with me that I can read?” I already hear Mr. Yeahbut coming up with pre-planned excuses.

Answer: I have a book in my car. I have a book in my backpack. I have a book in my office. And, for fuck’s sake, I can buy a book somewhere.

If I am absolutely marooned on a desert island and cut off from the Civilization of Paper, I will read a Kindle book on my phone for 20 minutes. It doesn’t count towards my 10 pages a day, but I’m keeping the momentum going. I’m keeping the habit warmed up and rolling. And I restart the counter on my 10 pages a day habit the next day.

Meta mindset detour

If you come up with a pre-planned excuse in your head — a reason why you in particular will not be able to Get It Done, recognize the thought for what it is. Your brain is creating a pre-planned excuse to make you a failure. To be a loser. You won’t stick it out long enough to be a winner.

This is an important meta lesson and that’s why I’m telling it to you right here. I’m taking a detour from talking about reading in order to tattoo an idea on your brain.

Your brain, when confronted with a seemingly impossible objective (read 10 pages a day, every day, until and including the day you die), will immediately create ideas for why you in particular cannot achieve that objective.

You will see this reaction when you are 10 years into running a successful business. You will have an idea. You will immediately hear all of the reasons in your head why the idea won’t work.

Here is your response to your own brain when it tells you why your objective is impossible and it’s futile to pursue it. Say these words to your brain:

“That’s a thought.“

Then realize there are many, many, many, many, many alternate thoughts you can have.

Write down the objections your brain throws at you—the conditions or factors that make it impossible for you to achieve anything. The reasons why you should just sit on your dead ass and eat Cheetos.

These are not walls. These are the gates through which you must pass to get where you want to go.

Your brain is giving you the map to your destination. Your brain is giving your the operating manual for the vehicle that will take you places.

That’s the end of my meta mindset detour. Every time you find a reason to not do . . . take a determined action to do.

Summary:

1. “That’s a thought; there are other thoughts” is an appropriate and sufficient response to every instance of self-generated negative, loser, doomloop self-talk. All of a sudden you realize there are infinite alternatives to utter disaster. Your brain is not always your helper, at least on its first effort. But when pressed it will serve you loyally.
2. “Gates, not walls.” Those doomloop thoughts, those seemingly intelligent and helpful ideas your brain is telling you to prevent seemingly inevitable disaster? They are path markers to take you to the gates you need to pass through on the way to victory.

Practice hint: say “That’s a thought” to yourself with the right emphasis and intonation. Play with this. It’s fun! See how you can convey different meanings to yourself.

Which books?

Again, I take a cue from Andy Frisella and 75hard.com.

Read nonfiction. Self-help, self-improvement, skill-building books. Books about mindset, about marketing.

Specific advice: read everything that Seth Godin has ever written. That’s a good starting point.