The Pole

The Pole explores personal growth, creativity, and the pursuit of happiness through diverse lenses such as art, business strategies, emotional intelligence, and relationships. It offers insights on self-improvement, originality, navigating professional challenges, and building meaningful connections, emphasizing authenticity and thoughtful approaches to life's complexities.

Personal Growth Creativity Business Strategies Emotional Intelligence Professional Development Relationship Dynamics Content Creation

The hottest Substack posts of The Pole

And their main takeaways

Facing your fears when they're valid | #53

79 implied HN points • 29 May 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Reflection Career Strategy Personal Development
  1. Facing your fears, even when they are valid, is crucial for personal and professional growth. It's important to confront fears creatively and develop a plan to mitigate risks.
  2. Reflect on past mistakes to learn and improve. Identify patterns and focus on building expertise and confidence.
  3. Articulate and address your fears to move forward effectively. Consider efficacy, effectiveness, efficiency in your pursuits and tackle any doubts or uncertainties.

A haitus | #51

159 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Grief Emotions
  1. The author is taking a break from writing due to a personal loss and the need to deal with the aftermath, like paperwork and planning.
  2. They have mixed feelings about sharing their emotions with others, feeling torn between desiring understanding and feeling uncomfortable with conventional expressions of sympathy.
  3. The author values genuine connections and sharing experiences with others, but also struggles with the idea of receiving generic or obligatory responses.

My call with a YouTuber with 2 million subscribers | #34

199 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
💼 Business YouTube Content creation Monetization Audience Entrepreneurship
  1. Making money by selling to your audience is more lucrative than relying solely on ad revenue on YouTube
  2. Focusing on a specific niche makes marketing and positioning videos easier, but finding a balance is crucial to avoid burnout
  3. Understanding the value of your audience, such as their purchasing power, is essential for creating valuable content and solving pertinent problems

How to "not try too hard" | #48

79 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Art Creativity Expression Media Communication
  1. Making videos that people pay big money for requires good taste and understanding how to evoke feelings through art.
  2. Good taste involves accurately modeling reality, understanding feelings, and mapping them effectively.
  3. Trying too hard in creative pursuits can lead to inauthentic outcomes; building good taste by observing and understanding is key.

How to complain properly | #52

39 implied HN points • 01 May 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Communication Self-Improvement Emotions
  1. Being a good complainer involves asking if it's okay to complain, addressing issues promptly, and selecting the right people to share with
  2. Don't let negative feelings build up; find designated times to process them
  3. As a listener to someone complaining, focus on listening, avoid trying to solve their problems unless asked, and affirm that you can hold space for them
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My biggest personality changes over the years | #36

119 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Personal Growth Self-awareness Lifestyle changes Mindset Habits
  1. Personal growth involves changing one's mindset about various aspects of life, like voting, making one's bed, and beliefs in astrology, marketing, and traditions.
  2. Embracing rituals and respecting the values of others can lead to being less arrogant, more open-minded, and achieving internal harmony.
  3. Being humble, earnest, and accepting the value in experiences, even if they may seem trivial at first, can lead to a more fulfilling and harmonious life.

The hardest part (so far) of my plan | #49

59 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity Drawing Animation Marketing Inspiration
  1. Trying too hard can hinder progress. Sometimes overthinking and overcomplicating things can lead to procrastination.
  2. Focusing on the essence of a task, rather than its intricacies, can be more beneficial. This means understanding the core purpose and working smartly towards it.
  3. Balancing fun and profit in pursuits is a challenge. Finding the sweet spot between enjoyment and profitability requires introspection and strategic planning.

What if you can't afford to be yourself? | #40

79 implied HN points • 29 Dec 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Fitness Self-care Personal Growth Mental health Well-being
  1. Consistency is key in activities like going to the gym for long-term benefits. Finding ways to stay motivated and committed is crucial for success.
  2. Approaching sales authentically and confidently can yield positive results. Being clear about one's needs and abilities can lead to successful interactions.
  3. Improving agency in various aspects of life involves understanding goals, exploring different paths, and actively making choices to achieve desired outcomes.

The annoying parts of creativity | #29

99 implied HN points • 16 Jul 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity Writing Techniques Storytelling Emotions
  1. Editing is crucial but often disliked in the creative process. Finding ways to integrate editing into the writing phase can help improve efficiency.
  2. Jazz improv teaches the importance of establishing a strong foundation, common language, and focusing on adding rather than editing in creative collaboration.
  3. Expanding vocabulary and understanding in creativity can enhance storytelling, humor, and self-awareness, unlocking untapped creative potential in everyday experiences.

What I Enjoy 🤝 What Makes Money: some insights | #50

39 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Content creation Consulting Research
  1. Find the intersection of what you find interesting, what makes an impact, and what produces income when deciding on work.
  2. To make profitable videos, having valuable skills, working with clients who have money, and understanding the reasons people buy things are key.
  3. When pursuing work, focus on what brings meaning over just creating, consider the balance between practicing and studying, and do what comes naturally to you while facing challenges.

What dating stereotypes can teach us about happiness | #31

79 implied HN points • 17 Sep 23
🎭️ Culture Relationships Gender Stereotypes Happiness Ego
  1. Every relationship can face common conflicts like those portrayed in dating stereotypes
  2. Gender roles in relationship dynamics can be interchangeable - anyone can embody traits traditionally associated with 'men' or 'women'
  3. Striving for a balance of agency and flexibility, overcoming ego, and listening to different perspectives are key to resolving conflicts in relationships

Virality: is it a little too easy to be true? | #35

59 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
💼 Business Marketing Finance Audience engagement Video content Positioning
  1. Positioning is crucial for creating viral videos. You need to know your audience, why they would click on your video, and why they would watch it.
  2. Understanding audience retention is key. Even if your video gets clicks, it's important to keep viewers engaged throughout the content.
  3. Analyzing successful videos in your niche can provide insights for your own content creation. Researching and preparing before making videos can increase their effectiveness.

My road map for the next year, 2024 edition | #41

39 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
💼 Business Career development Entrepreneurship Content creation Freelancing Investing
  1. The main goal is to make $100k/year by working minimally and focusing on enjoyable activities.
  2. Identify roadblocks, brainstorm solutions, create a plan, set up a conducive environment, and execute towards the goal.
  3. Consider paths like becoming a YouTuber, thumbnail designer, scriptwriter, flipping websites, creating a content site, or writing a newsletter to achieve the financial and personal goals.

Should you listen to your audience? | #5

79 implied HN points • 23 Jan 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity Decision-making Artistic Process
  1. Deciding whether to listen to your audience isn't always easy - audience feedback matters more in client work than in personal projects.
  2. Starting out in a creative field can be tough as your early work often falls short of your taste and potential - it's normal and requires persistence.
  3. Making creative decisions is preferred over dealing with complicated decisions early in a project - starting with templates can save time and reduce overwhelm.

Want to achieve your goals with me? | #39

19 implied HN points • 21 Dec 23
🚌 Education Accountability Community Success Mentoring
  1. Creating a successful mastermind or accountability group involves creating the right container and taking a step back.
  2. Benefits from group accountability include gaining aha moments, conviction, focus, and camaraderie with minimal effort.
  3. Building successful masterminds is based on principles like consistency, intent, and community, which can be simplified into key equations for success.

How to (selfishly) make great educational content | #3

39 implied HN points • 10 Jan 23
🚌 Education Content creation Audience engagement Problem Solving Market Analysis
  1. Great educational content should be clear, tailored to the consumer's needs, and marketed appropriately.
  2. Optimizing educational content creation involves enjoying the process, systematizing it, and finding the right market.
  3. When creating educational content, consider if it's for personal utility or the audience, and whether it aims to solve a problem or provide understanding.

Why doesn't my boss (or employee) make better decisions? | #4

19 implied HN points • 17 Jan 23
🚌 Education Teaching Knowledge sharing Problem Solving Learning Heuristics
  1. Innovators face resistance from standardizers when introducing new ideas, but persistence can lead to successful adoption.
  2. Using leverage to solve problems can be risky, so it's crucial to model reality accurately to mitigate risks.
  3. Information asymmetry between individuals, with different levels of knowledge and confidence, can impede optimal decision-making.

My YouTube/Website Business Strategy | #2

19 implied HN points • 03 Jan 23
💼 Business Strategy Content creation Market research Distribution
  1. Finding the intersection between what makes money and what you are interested in is crucial for a successful business strategy.
  2. Consider being a content creator if you are passionate about certain topics, as it offers flexibility and the opportunity to profit from what you enjoy.
  3. It's important to carve your own path and not solely rely on conventional advice, especially when pursuing a business endeavor that aligns with your interests.

How to have rizz: a protocol for connecting with others | #54

1 HN point • 26 Jun 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Emotional Health Therapy Self-Improvement Communication Skills Empathy
  1. Being yourself is key to connecting, but if you struggle with it, seek support like therapy for personal growth.
  2. Transparent and consistent behavior is valued in building relationships, avoiding narrative manipulation and inauthentic actions.
  3. Acknowledging and respecting both your own and others' feelings is crucial for genuine connections, avoiding emotional abuse and invalidation.

Hello World | #1

19 implied HN points • 28 Dec 22
🎭️ Culture Creativity Personal Stories Feedback Market
  1. Starting a newsletter to build connections over esoteric ideas and initiate dialogues with others.
  2. Launching a newsletter now for sustainability by prioritizing habit over perfection and focusing on delivering value to readers.
  3. As a reader, expect a mix of curated content organized into unique sections, seeking feedback to improve and make the newsletter engaging.

Introducing: The Pole | #0

19 implied HN points • 16 Jan 22
📖 Philosophy Truth Knowledge Ethics Communication Self-awareness Game Theory Morality
  1. Truth is what's consistent with reality, and knowledge is the relevant, useful part of truth that helps us understand and better ourselves.
  2. Making mistakes is inevitable, but learning from them can lead to positive outcomes like saving time, making money, and achieving great things.
  3. The Pole newsletter aims to explore self-awareness, game theory, investing, engineering, and more to help readers understand how to obtain good results.