Welcome to 20th edition of The Three Things, the weekly update of three links, podcasts, videos, or books you can’t miss from Michael Schechter (Honora, A Better Mess), Howie Goldfarb (Sky Pulse Media, Web Choice Consulting), and me!
For those of you new to this series, The Three Things arrives in your inbox on Sunday mornings (unless you don’t suscribe, but that can easily be fixed if you hurry over and enter your email address or add to your RSS feed) so you have some extra time to spend perusing the obscure content we’ve curated for you (and one another) before your week begins and deadlines, meetings, and work takes over.
This week we have thoughts on overcoming your fear, Big Brother through your television set, and airing your dirty laundry.
Happy Sunday reading!
Michael on Fear. In 2011, I set a goal for myself. I wanted to see if I could cultivate the habit of publishing something on the web five days a week. Considering I was the world’s most inconsistent blogger, often missing months at a time, this was an unlikely ambition. I fought through, developed the muscles, faced the fear, and managed to hit publish five days a week for a year and a half. It was a life-shaping experience. I took on something that was way outside my comfort zone. I discovered new skills and conquered more than a few fears. The work that started with the decision and the work I continue to do have helped transform me into a very different and, in my opinion, far better person (and a slightly less bad writer).
It’s been a pleasure to watch as my friend (and unwitting Internet mentor) Patrick Rhone attempts a similar endeavor. He is currently posting to his personal site seven days a week. The writing is nothing short of excellent, especially his assessment of the now two-month-old experiment. It sums up the concerns that come along with the work and the affect that comes from overcoming them. You want to read this. And then you want to keep reading it.
Agency Replaces Client’s Website for Lack of Payment
Gini on Dirty Laundry. If you run your own business, you’ve likely had a situation (or 10) where a client doesn’t pay you. In the early days, we would pay our freelancers and partners and wait for the client to reimburse us. That created a situation where we were playing bank and it got us into trouble, particularly when the clients had you hire someone on their behalf and then never paid their bills. Because of those past experiences, I kind of love this web design firm for taking down its client’s website for non-payment. That said, it’s really bad business (and really poorly written). There are contracts and the court system for a reason. While many of us have wanted to do something like this, airing your dirty laundry is a very bad idea.
Now it’s your turn. Is there a podcast, video, book, or article you think we need to see?