Why your dreams (sometimes) shouldn't come true

When the young writer Joan Didion recieved a letter of rejection from her dream university, she started at it for a long time, struggling to grasp with the finality of her dream that didn’t come true.

Throughout her life, she kept the letter, as a reminder that things don’t always work out - and in fact, they shouldn’t!

In fact, failed dreams help you get unstuck from what you believe you “deserve“ or from what others expect of you. Failure allows you to explore your own path, a new path, instead of following a pre-determined road.

This is what I would like you to take away this week - that sometimes you can only build something new when the old has been destroyed.

🤪 Join my sessions!

If you are in Sofia, come on Wednesday, 20 September, to hear me speak about the power of content and how to write texts without worrying about writer’s block and not having ideas. This event is part of the WordPress Sofia Meetup and it is free! Simply register here.

You can also tune in on 11 October to hear me speak about content marketing during the Freelance Business Month 2023!

Together with Virginia, we will present a session on content planning and content writing. Apart from this, you will be able to join many other sessions with successful freelance experts who will talk about running your business, winning clients, and being more productive and fulfiled.

There are plenty of great free sessions available, but if you want to enjoy all sessions, take part in interactive workshops and meet other freelance superstars, you can get a full ticket here!

Shelf Shocks

1. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

You can pour your heart in a product and still have it flop - so how do you do product management right? How do you know what customers want? And how do you deliver it?

Nir Eyal brings years of product experience to deliver a practical, how-to-guide for developing better products. He shares the Hook model: a four-step process that is at the heart of great products which drive favourable customer behavior.

2. Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky

Stirring political fires since its publication in 1971, Rules for Radicals is an examination of social hierarchy and the forces that force it to change. Saul explores the friction between the social classes and explains how the perspective we should take when looking at it is one of realism, not of knee-jerk reactions.

Despite its focus on American politics from the past century, the discussions on change, democracy, revolutions and free will are quite timeless and will appeal to all who are interested in how society functions.

3. No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline by Brian Tracy

Author of the classic productivity guide Eat that Frog, Brian Tracy is back with more tips on becoming the best version of ourselves. The book looks at three areas of life: personal goals, business and money goals, and overall happiness, and shares actionable advice and tips on improving through self-dicipline.

If you believe you are making too many excuses and not enough progress, this book is here to help you turn the tide around.

Fun Links

1. Free AI image generator

Need another AI tool that allows you to generate funky images, like the one of fabulous newsletter above? Of course you do! Check out Ideogram.AI! It is a free tool which generates images based on a prompt.

Its options are still quite limited compared to tools like Midjourney, but its ease of use and the good results it delivers make is a top contender for the free AI image generators prize.

You've reached the end of my newsletter. Hooray! If you have any comments or would like to share what you enjoyed the most, feel free to get in touch! See you in two weeks!