Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Step 1: Start. It’s the Hardest Step

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Arthur Ashe (1943–1993)

In today’s day and age, if you want to gain wealth and have optionality, you must create. In order to create, you must dream, imagine, and think of what brings you joy. In the beginning, there will be nothing but thoughts, ideas, and dreams.

To go from nothing to something is alchemy.

There will always be a beginning, and there will always be an end.

All great dynasties, empires, companies, organizations, products, and people adhere to this life cycle.

But you must still begin.

You must have the courage to start. You must take the first great (and hardest) step. Take a leap of faith.

In my final year of medical residency, I took a leap of faith in the new year 1999. I registered my business name, Hostglobal.com, incorporated the company in Nevada and launched my website within three months.

I got my first client, who paid $300 per month. then, I got another one at $3,000 per month and then a third at $20,000 per month. All of a sudden, I was making more in one month than I was in a year as a medical resident.

Step 2: Own a Niche

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.

Walt Disney (1901–1966)

Back then, I had many ideas (I still do)—some great and many bad—but I had to choose one. I had to make one idea work.

I wanted to build a Yellow Pages online, but that idea was too big and too broad.

I didn't have the time, resources, or skill set to go big, so I niched down to one category: Web Hosting (because I believed every business would eventually have a website and therefore need a web host).

Hostglobal.com was born when I registered the domain, created the website, and populated it with web hosting companies. I built a system to get reviews and ratings on each web host and then had these web hosting companies sponsor Hostglobal each month, pulling in $25,000 USD per month.

I started with a web hosting directory.

Amazon started with books.

Netflix started with mail-order DVDs.

Apple started with a personal computer.

Meta (Facebook) started as a networking site for Harvard students.

What's your niche?

Step 3: Have a Singular Clear Vision

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944), The Little Prince

What is your vision?

What do you see as your end destination?

What is the success metric that measures your progress to your vision?

When you have clarity and can clearly see your idea's destination, it is much easier to navigate all the obstacles and resistance you will encounter as you embark on your side hustle journey.

After all, life is a journey full of obstacles that either strengthen or weaken one's resolve and spirit.

Envision your destination and articulate your vision. Simplify it to its core so you can express it in one paragraph, then one sentence and possibly in a few words.

All great companies, movies, shows, buildings, and relationships start with a person with a dream, then an idea, followed by thoughts on how to express that idea. Then, formulating and creating and building word by word, brick by brick, scene by scene, and editing it over and over again until it felt just right—until it worked just right.

Bringing an idea to life takes enormous energy in the form of thought and effort. But there are many ideas in your heart waiting to be born. Don't let them reside in the womb of your heart too long, for time passes impatiently.

Here are some of the world's most famous ideas; imagine if they had never been brought to life.

FedEx: Connecting the World Responsibly and Reliably (Overnight delivery)

Google: Organize and Make Accessible Information (Search)

Tesla: Accelerate the World's Transition to Sustainable Energy (Electric Vehicles)

Amazon: To Be Earth's Most Customer-Centric (Everything store)

Ford: Build the Best Vehicles Possible (Cars)

Southwest Airlines: Affordable Travel with Exceptional Service (Cheap travel)

IKEA: Create a Better Everyday Life (Cheap Furniture)

Costco: Deliver the Best Value Always (Cheap goods)

Netflix: Entertainment On Demand, Everywhere (Entertainment)

Disney: Make People Happy Through Magic (Happiness)

Step 4: Have an Executable Plan

A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.

George S. Patton (1885-1945)

What is your plan?
Can you execute it?
In what timeframe?
What are your constraints?
How will you overcome them?
What are your top 3 risks?

Design your plan in three to five steps, and start on the first step to make your idea real.

Your plans will change as you learn, encounter obstacles, meet new people, and get feedback. Adjust your plans. This process is called the path to product/market fit. You try to fit your product/service with your dream customers like a jigsaw puzzle.

This past year, I wanted our church lands to launch a tea lights festival. I had no actual position, only influence. We decided to go for it in October and launch in November. We had no product and very little money but many volunteers. I put together a website, 123festivals.com. I used artist renditions to show people what the experience would be like until we could make it real. I promised an amazing dining and guest experience, asking people to pay upfront, including a 20% tip.

Five days before launch day, the Parks Board told us that our customers could not use their section of the road to access our property. What?!

Fortunately, our property is on a waterfront, so we were able to charter boats to transport our guests to our festival by water. However, this created significant logistical and financial nightmares.

It was one of the most challenging things I've dealt with in business due to the extreme time constraints, obstacles from the Parks Board, and lack of expert resources. Ultimately, we chartered 1,800 guests over seven weekends.

Here are images from the first rough mockup by me.

Initially, our dome dining started at $79. However, by the last weekend, we had such high demand that we were able to increase it to $170 per guest.

We felt God's guiding hand as Vancouver's social media channels filled with free promotions for our Christmas Tealights event, and our guests shared their experiences on Reels and TikTok (that story is for another newsletter).

Here is the finished website (in the span of two months)

My executable plans typically fit on half a page of handwritten notes. They have 3-5 steps, 3-5 risks I should consider mitigating (e.g., boats instead of cars for the festival), and how I can execute the first 3 steps, listing my assumptions.

Keep it simple and execute the 80/20 tasks.

Step 5: VPD. Vision. Plan. Determination.

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Thomas Edison (1847–1931)

Now that you have your vision and plan, the last step is determination. Persistence and perseverance are essential.

Can you imagine failing 10,000 times like Edison to invent a city of lights with light bulbs?

Can you imagine getting rejected by 222 Venture Capitalists like Howard Schultz did for his Starbucks idea?

Can you imagine practicing like Kobe Bryant to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time, waking up at 3 am to have extra practice at 4 am to get in one extra practice than every other player?

The chapter on Persistence, a key principle of the 13 principles in the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, is worth reading monthly. One of my mentors, Bob Proctor, read it daily for a month every year for 30 years. He practiced Persistence by reminding himself of the principle of Persistence.

Be determined. Persist. Persevere.

My Life Questions:

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

Robert Byrne (1930–2016)

What have you always wanted to do but have not yet started?

Set aside an hour each day (morning is best) and write your thoughts, dreams, and plans with a timeline.
Just do it :)

My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

Life is going from hustle to hustle. Sometimes, it starts as a side hustle, but it often grows into a full-time hustle.

You might as well love and enjoy your hustles so you can hustle well.

You are much bolder and more fearless when you are younger because you have nothing to lose, only to gain.

Start young and focus on learning rather than earning.
Seek good mentors and memorable experiences.

See who does it the best and make it your own.

We are all inspired by something or someone. Find what and who thinks and operates at a level of excellence and extraordinaryness, and then practice becoming excellent and extraordinary.

Life Advice Now (from my present 53 year old self):

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937)

Imagine you only have ten big life decisions that you can make in your lifetime.
What would those ten choices be regarding how you spend your precious time on earth?

My list:

I knew that I wanted to help people with their health ✔
I knew that I wanted to ride the Internet wave ✔
I knew that I wanted a loving family ✔
I knew that I wanted to praise God ✔
I knew that I wanted to ride the crypto wave ✔
I know that I want to build an amazing wellness retreat
I know that I want to write books
I know that I want to make movies
I know that I want to make a Broadway musical
I know that I want to live a healthy, strong, fit life to at least 108 years old

Study and know the basic principles of life, for they apply to all areas of life, including business.

Many people don't realize that one of the best business books is the Bible, which contains life principles that can be applied to business. Some of the wealthiest people in history were blessed with this wisdom, like Abraham, Joseph, King David, King Solomon, and Daniel. I especially enjoy the books of Proverbs and Luke for business.
I'd like to focus on the 80/20 principle, the compound effect, and network effects in future newsletters.

Dream big. Whether you dream small or big, it takes similar thought and effort. Default to big, but take small action steps to start making your dream real.

You started as one cell and multiplied to billions over nine months. Everything starts from zero to one. That first step is the beginning of something bigger. Travel that path of your heart.

Next week:
Your Vision. Your Purpose.

Bach. Handel. Beethoven.

I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

See you next Thursday!

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Starting a Side Hustle in 5 Steps