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Writer's pictureRay Christian

Chasing a dream

Textpert consists of a lean, albeit gifted, team of individuals that are trying to help a billion people. How can a small group of people help a billion?


A little irrational confidence helps... but we know we can help many people with a dedication to creativity, boldness, and speed.


We see each day as a supply of a finite amount of Energy, Resources, and Time (let’s call those collectively an ERT unit) per person. The goal is maximizing usage of our ERT units every day in order to be as innovative, ballsy, and fast as possible. Here's how we do it:


When you wake up, consider that day as a pie composed of slices of ERT units. You have two important decisions: how to slice up the units, and how to dole them out.


Here are 10 tips for being obsessive with your ERT units without losing your sanity, health, or the roof over your head

  1. Delete 1 app — Take your favorite social media app (for me: Instagram) and delete it. I loved Instagram and deleting IG made my iPhone 80% less fun, and thus 80% less of a distraction.

  2. Two minutes of exercise and two minutes of stretching — It’s an extreme version of the 80/20 rule and nobody will confuse you with Zac Efron, but if you do both every day it’s enough to stay respectably fit during challenging times.

  3. Add new habits and start small — A new habit takes 21 days to form and after three weeks a new neural path in your brain forms. Dedicating 21 consecutive days to a habit can sound a little imposing but there’s a fun hack: the amount of time you spend on the new habit doesn’t matter. Dedicate a scheduled 1 minute, or even 30 seconds, on the new habit each day and the neural path will be formed after three weeks.

  4. Find a high-arbitrage form of side-income — Rent out your home, your car (using Turo not Uber), or start walking dogs in your neighborhood and then subcontract the walks to hungry college kids. High-arbitrage side-income can be a pain to set up, but once it’s humming it can fund your dream-chasing. For instance, an hour of my time on Airbnb returns $300–400 in income. Tangent—the best ROI property for hosting on Airbnb is a 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment with a blow up mattress in a popular part of town.

  5. Deep Work every morning — Set 50–70 minute stretches where you turn off all notifications (email, texts, slack, calls, and even in-person conversations). Take 5–15 minute breaks, socialize, then go back in the zone. Repeat 2–3 times per morning.

  6. Reassess your relationship with food — The fastest way to reassess your relationship with food is through water fasts. After a few 1-, 2-, or 3-day fasts you’ll find yourself looking at food with much more restraint. Don’t feel obligated to always need the proper sit-down 3 meals a day.

  7. Ditch the car — In New York City it’s weird to have a car. In most other cities, it’s weird if you don’t have a car. Lyft Line, Uber Pool Express and Bird have changed that—but most people haven’t realized yet. No car = less hassles

  8. Gratitude exercise — Gratitude is proven to rewire your brain and foster creativity. Try writing down 3 things you’re grateful for each day before bed, or do the 10-finger gratitude exercise (for each finger think of one thing you’re grateful for) in the morning.

  9. Tired? Wake up earlier — If you’ve struggled with the snooze button the solution may be less sleep. It’s counterintuitive but oftentimes your wakeful energy is less tied to how much sleep and more tied to when your body likes to get up. I was a night owl for 34 years and after reading countless stories about high-achievers touting the value of early mornings, I wanted to try. I embarked on a massive shift of my wake-up time and set the alarm to 6a each morning. The result: it was a disaster. I was exhausted, felt off during the day, and almost gave up with the assumption that I just wasn’t a “morning person". I decided to try an experiment: I moved the alarm even earlier, to 5:30a. The results were astounding. Regardless of what time I went to bed, my mornings and workdays were profoundly more energetic when I got up at 5:30a.

  10. Say no to lots of stuff — If the answer to whether you want to do something isn’t “fuck yeah” then say “no”. Get out of dates, meetings, and parties. If you’re not speaking at the event, consider not attending.

  11. Bonus: Meditate — Meditation slows down perception of time, provides peace and clarity, and offers a chance at mastery of your emotions (no biggie). Additionally, useful ideas that spring from recurring meditation will save you time and help with interpersonal relationships. Albert Einstein said that solutions can’t come from the same mindset that created the problem, so change your mind state by turning it “off” for a little bit.

If you're chasing a similarly aggressive dream then give yourself every single possible edge... and pls share your tips with us at info@textpert.ai

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