{"id":867,"date":"2021-01-20T03:02:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T03:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/2021\/01\/20\/10-valuable-lessons-that-i-learned-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2021-01-20T03:02:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T03:02:16","slug":"10-valuable-lessons-that-i-learned-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/2021\/01\/20\/10-valuable-lessons-that-i-learned-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Valuable Lessons that I Learned in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>We raced to find toilet paper.<br \/>We panicked as the stock market nosedived in March. <br \/>We\u2019ve never seen more fighting going on in our Facebook newsfeeds.\u00a0<br \/>And we\u2019ve never spent more time alone and isolated.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s safe to say that we\u2019re never going to forget 2020. We all went through a lot of pain this year. I\u2019ve learned that pain is one of life\u2019s best way of teaching us.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t come free, though. You need to sit down and reflect in order to extract these gems.<\/p>\n<p>So I spent several hours reflecting as part of my annual planning.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted to share some of the lessons that I learned from experiencing 2020.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Build Up Your Financial Robustness<\/h3>\n<p>People think about money as a tool to buy things or experiences. This paycheck goes to rent. That paycheck funds my next vacation!<\/p>\n<p>One area that people don\u2019t think about is their financial robustness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shit always happens. Robustness is your ability to handle the unexpected. It\u2019s your \u201cbuffer\u201d against life sucker punching you. It\u2019s the \u201cmargin of safety\u201d in your personal finances.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re all familiar with micro emergencies such as your tires needing to be replaced, or your pet needing surgery. Having an emergency fund means you don\u2019t have to go into debt to handle them.<\/p>\n<p>However, most people are not prepared enough for macro, black swan, holy-shit-what-is-going-on-with-the-world scenarios. <strong>And these \u201conce in a lifetime\u201d crises happen more often than we think.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>I was born in 1984. Since then, there has been:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Dot Com Crash<\/li>\n<li>9\/11<\/li>\n<li>The Great Recession of 2008<\/li>\n<li>The COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s many more depending on where you live. Hurricane Katrina ruined plenty of lives in Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll get over this pandemic soon. But brace yourself: <strong>There will be more crises in our lifetime. <\/strong>We don\u2019t know what they will look like or how devastating they\u2019ll be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We underestimate the impact of the macro events. I remember having a friend in college who didn\u2019t believe in saving money. <\/p>\n<p>If he had an emergency, he could always work extra shifts at the restaurant. But what happened if he got into an accident and couldn\u2019t do any physical work?<\/p>\n<p>Or what if the state made it illegal for restaurants to offer dine-in service? That\u2019s the reality we faced in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always believed in practicing financial \u201cdefense.\u201d The pandemic made me realize how much more important it is than I originally thought. <\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples on building more financial robustness:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Having adequate savings in both your personal and business accounts. (I carry 3 months of expenses in my personal. If I actually had an emergency, I have credit cards or I can write a distribution check from my S corporations. I don\u2019t like my money sitting around doing nothing).<\/li>\n<li>Having insurance beyond the bare minimum. We have high coverage on our cars because the drivers in Atlanta are raging maniacs.<\/li>\n<li>Safety nets in case of death. Do you have a life insurance policy? Do you have a trust and will established? Does your family have access to your money if something were to happen to them?<\/li>\n<li>Avoid unnecessary debt.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Multiple streams of income.<\/li>\n<li>Having a diversified portfolio. (Domestic stocks, international stocks, BTC\/ETH, real estate) \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Some countries have unstable governments and economies. Have a game plan in case shit hits the fan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s not easy. Financial robustness costs money. You have to make some tough decisions and sacrifices. <\/p>\n<p>It means not having that \u201cdream\u201d wedding if you have to go into debt for it. It means not buying too much house even though the bankers and real estate agents are encouraging you to (I wonder why). <\/p>\n<p>It means living with roommates for a few years to pay off your student loans. <\/p>\n<p>Robustness is the difference between getting knocked out by a punch vs. dodging it and throwing a counterpunch.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Are You Eating Too Much Mental Junk Food?<\/h3>\n<p>Eating junk food is bad for your physical\u00a0health. No arguments there. But how often have you thought about the information\u00a0that you\u2019re consuming? <\/p>\n<p>Lockdown happened and it was \u201cOK\u201d to binge on Netflix. <\/p>\n<p>My Facebook newsfeed was full of junk. Too much politics, masks vs anti masks, etc. Every time I logged into Facebook it felt like a \u201cSpin the Wheel\u201d of emotions. <\/p>\n<p>I noticed that I was starting to lose focus. I was being distracted easier. It was easy to blame the lockdown but I realized that I was consuming too much \u201cmental junk food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I made an effort to increase the type of information I was consuming. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Less:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Got rid of several social media apps on my phone<\/li>\n<li>Removed my newsfeed using <a href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/news-feed-eradicator-for\/fjcldmjmjhkklehbacihaiopjklihlgg?hl=en\">Newsfeed Eradicator<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Reddit<\/li>\n<li>\u201centertaining\u201d shows<\/li>\n<li>Video games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>More:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High-quality podcasts<\/li>\n<li>Harder to read books such as Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/li>\n<li>Documentaries<\/li>\n<li>Chess<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I used to drink two cans of Coke a day in college. Then I gave it up. I haven\u2019t drank soda in over a decade. You could pay me $500 to drink a can and I wouldn\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n<p>So now I\u2019m trying to catch myself. I view certain behaviors like a can of Coke and avoid it at all costs.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to measure the impact of these changes. But I definitely feel more focused, and I\u2019ve noticed it\u2019s easier for me to complete more Pomodoros. <\/p>\n<p>Think about this.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine if you\u2019re spending an hour a day scrolling on Instagram. Instead, you replace it with an hour-long podcast instead for your downtime. <\/p>\n<p>How much better off do you think you\u2019ll be after a year? After a decade?<\/p>\n<h3>3. People are Addicted to Clout and Status<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ve always been status-driven. <\/p>\n<p>Have you heard of the phrase \u201cKeeping up with the Joneses?\u201d It has been around since the early 1900s. <\/p>\n<p>It means wanting to appear to be as well off as your friends.<\/p>\n<p>This feeling has multiplied tenfold because of social media. <\/p>\n<p>People were only trying to impress their friends and neighbors back in the day. Now it feels as if everyone\u2019s trying to impress everyone. (And Louis Vuitton stock has done tremendously because of it.)<\/p>\n<p>I remember when lockdown started, I made a joke to my fianc\u00e9, \u201cOh no, how are Instagrammers supposed to show off how amazing their lives are if they can\u2019t travel anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>People had permission to stay home and be \u201cboring.\u201d Yet, they still found ways to signal. Whether it\u2019s showing off \u201cthrowback\u201d photos of themselves or traveling anyways.<\/p>\n<p>Why the addiction to status?<\/p>\n<p>It boils down to insecurity. Social media has made us more insecure than ever before. It\u2019s so easy to look at how \u201cawesome\u201d everyone else\u2019s life is and feel down about it. Then there\u2019s this pressure to keep up.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also this innate desire to \u201cstand out.\u201d No one wants to be seen as average or mediocre. So some people use social media as a way to shout to the world\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201d<strong>I\u2019M NOT BASIC. LOOK AT ME EATING THIS FANCY DOUGHNUT!!!!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How does this apply to business?<\/p>\n<p>People are desperate for clout and status. <strong>How can you position your product or service in a way that increases their status?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany\u2019s, luxury car companies, etc. That\u2019s pretty much their entire business model.<\/p>\n<p>And it works. Giving people status means fatter profit margins.<\/p>\n<p>How can you tie your product to status?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When I lived in NYC, I LOVED going to Cha Cha Matcha. Their branding and store designs were super\u00a0Instagram-able. Everyone wants to be viewed as \u201cinteresting.\u201d\n<p>Your average person can\u2019t travel to the Turks or have a Hermes handbag like their favorite influencer. But they can have the same drink or desserts that they do!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>Scarcity.\n<p>It\u2019s not \u201ccool\u201d anymore if anyone can get access to it. Think about high end night clubs in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n<p>You can do limited edition or drop models like sneakers\/Supreme. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat\/id1503133294\">Clubhouse<\/a>\u00a0is getting a ton of buzz. You can\u2019t just sign up. Someone has to invite you. Immediately there\u2019s some status there judging by who got you in and how early you joined.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>Influencers. Influencer marketing is still in its infancy. Influencers are the new brands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Interested in more?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/raiseyourprices\/\">Raise Your Prices: 5 Strategies Luxury Brands Use to Increase Their Perceived Value<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>4. Investing for 2021<\/h3>\n<p>According to a graph from the Federal Reserve Bank, 35% of all U.S. dollars in existence have been printed in the past 10 months.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/307ntl34wci12hk39n1c9pfv-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/download-11.png\" class=\"ncube-custom-class aligncenter wp-image-13755 size-full sp-no-webp\" height=\"820\" width=\"2334\"><\/p>\n<p>There have been government bailouts and multiple stimulus checks. Someone has to pay for them. The government will keep creating more money. <\/p>\n<p>This affects everyone since the world runs on U.S. dollars. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a simple example of inflation: <\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say there are 1000 rare Pok\u00e9mon cards in the world, and you own several of them. The company creates more of these rare Pok\u00e9mon cards.<\/p>\n<p>Now there\u2019s 2,000 rare Pok\u00e9mon cards. Congratulations, your Pok\u00e9mon cards are worth less now.<\/p>\n<p>Same thing with U.S. dollars. As the government creates more U.S. dollars, the ones we have are worth less.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you put cash in a savings account, it\u2019s losing money due to inflation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What should you do?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hedging is relatively simple.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t have too much cash sitting around. You have to figure out the right amount to hold in an emergency fund.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Invest in stocks and real estate. They\u2019ll beat inflation.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m not so hot on precious metals. I think there are bigger returns in Bitcoin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>My personal\u00a0playbook for 2021.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Max out all retirement accounts. SEP IRA, IRA, HSA. Max out my lady\u2019s 401k. All my investments go into index funds. 75% USA and 25% INTL.<\/li>\n<li>Everything else goes into dollar-cost averaging Bitcoin. I have a hard max of not letting Bitcoin become more than 15% of my portfolio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Warren Buffet believes in investing in your core competencies. <\/p>\n<p>I have no edge in stocks, so I invest in Vanguard index funds. I have no edge in real estate, so I don\u2019t own property except for REITs.<\/p>\n<p>Could I learn more about stocks and real estate? Sure. But that\u2019s time I could be spending becoming a better business owner and marketer. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a 2\/10 in stocks or real estate knowledge. I suck in those areas. I\u2019m ok with that.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say I\u2019m an 8\/10 marketer. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll make far more money getting my 8\/10 marketing skills to 9\/10 \u00a0than I could improving my stocks or real estate knowledge from 2\/10 to 5\/10. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are asymmetrical rewards if you can be the best in the world at something.<\/p>\n<p>Anyways, this is not financial advice. I\u2019m just sharing what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n<h3>5. The Ingredients to Mental Health<\/h3>\n<p>I consider myself an introvert. I kinda got excited when lockdown was announced. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh yes, a break from people. I can catch up on my video games backlog.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But those periods of isolation were tough. I don\u2019t know how I could\u2019ve made it without my fianc\u00e9 or my cat.<\/p>\n<p>I actually had to sit down and create different routines for my mental health. Here are some of the things I came up with.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Going outside and getting sunlight. I\u2019d take a walk every day after lunch.<\/li>\n<li>Avoiding gluttony. It was so easy to over consume junk food and media. So I placed some limits on my consumption.<\/li>\n<li>Daily exercise. I had a routine where I\u2019d go to Jiujitsu and lift weights. I started running more and doing yoga at home.<\/li>\n<li>Being proactive about connecting with people. I made a rule to do a phone call a day with someone.<\/li>\n<li>Avoiding negative news.<\/li>\n<li>Daily journaling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even when things go back to \u201cnormal,\u201d I\u2019ll still keep a lot of these routines going.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone\u2019s becoming more stressed out. The news makes money from capturing attention. The easiest way to get more attention is to focus on more click bait-y and emotionally driven articles. <\/p>\n<p>And social media has multiplied distribution a hundredfold this past decade.<\/p>\n<p>So, the ability to stay calm is a competitive advantage. Stay calm and you\u2019ll be able to make decisions with logic.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Plant the Seeds Now<\/h3>\n<p>Many businesses exploded because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Zoom stock skyrocketed.<br \/>Rogue Fitness sold out of their home gym equipment.<br \/>I saw so many of my favorite yoga and cooking channels get millions of extra views.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing: <\/p>\n<p>Zoom started in 2011.<br \/>Rogue Fitness was founded in 2007. <br \/>The YouTube channels were started years ago.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re jumping on these <a class=\"thirstylink\" title=\"Trends\" href=\"https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/go\/trends\/\" data-shortcode=\"true\">trends<\/a> now, then you\u2019re just playing catch up.<\/p>\n<p>This clich\u00e9 is overused but so true, \u201cSkate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Think about the <a class=\"thirstylink\" title=\"Trends\" href=\"https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/go\/trends\/\" data-shortcode=\"true\">trends<\/a> for the next five to ten years and plant your seeds now. <\/p>\n<p>You might be wondering, \u201cHow do I predict future <a class=\"thirstylink\" title=\"Trends\" href=\"https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/go\/trends\/\" data-shortcode=\"true\">trends<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The good news is there are plenty of tools and businesses based around this.<\/p>\n<p>Read More:<a href=\"https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/whatstrending\/\">The 6 Best Tools to Discover Business Trends<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7. Time Inequality<\/h3>\n<p>Everyone talks about the \u201cwealth inequality.\u201d I think a lot about \u201ctime inequality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was at a stoplight in 2010. I saw a line of people waiting at the bus stop. The coin laundry behind it was crowded.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when I first thought about the concept of \u201ctime inequality.\u201d The people at the bus stop don\u2019t have a car. The ones at the coin laundry don\u2019t have a washing machine at home. I save a tremendous amount of time because I have a car and a washing machine. <\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s why I\u2019ve worked mostly remote for the past 13 years. I didn\u2019t want to spend hours a day commuting back and forth to work. I\u2019ve saved thousands of hours because I didn\u2019t commute. <\/p>\n<p>Now everyone has discovered the power of remote working, and most workers don\u2019t want to go back. Unfortunately, some offices will force their workers to go back. <\/p>\n<p>They have these leases that they can\u2019t get out of. The old heads in charge think \u201cThis is how it has always been done!\u201d Or these companies never had the formal training to understand how to work remotely in an efficient manner.<\/p>\n<p>People look at salary, vacation time, and healthcare as part of the compensation package. Being able to work remotely will be just as important. If I had a job, I\u2019d even consider a pay cut to be able to work remotely.<\/p>\n<p>Technology has accelerated. The culture is slightly different. Think about how you can gain more time.<\/p>\n<p>Some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I hate meetings. It\u2019s more efficient to send people voice memos or detailed tasks.<\/li>\n<li>I rarely do grocery shopping because of Amazon Fresh.<\/li>\n<li>I bought some kettlebells to work out at home. It saves me time going to the gym.<\/li>\n<li>95% of my purchases are online.<\/li>\n<li>I use technology to automate tasks. Zapiers, IFTTT, Apple Shortcuts, etc. It blows my mind that something can take 5 minutes to set up and save me hours over my lifetime.<\/li>\n<li>I make a note every time I\u2019m annoyed. That\u2019s a signal for me to either delegate or build a system for it.<\/li>\n<li>Software. I am so much faster with email using SuperHuman. I have text macros set up using TextExpander. The right software is an advantage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>None of this should be surprising to you since this is a younger and more tech-oriented crowd.<\/p>\n<p>But there will still be a ton of people who are set in their ways. They\u2019re going to face a time disadvantage compared to everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Now people are embracing remote work and ordering everything online. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m thinking, what are the newer methods of generating time inequality for myself?<\/p>\n<h3>8. Influencers are Underrated<\/h3>\n<p>Influencers 1.0: They make money from AdSense revenue. Sponsorship deals. And maybe some merchandise.<\/p>\n<p>Influencers 2.0: They start brands in what they\u2019re famous for.<\/p>\n<p>Michelle Phan is an OG beauty expert, so she now owns <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emcosmetics.com\/\">Em Cosmetics<\/a>.<br \/>Emma Chamberlain is known for her coffee addiction, so she launched <a href=\"https:\/\/chamberlaincoffee.com\/\">Chamberlain Coffee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Influencers 3.0: Now we\u2019re seeing some influencers commanding attention on par with mainstream celebrities. <\/p>\n<p>They may not be as \u201cfamous\u201d, but I\u2019d argue that people are much more engaged and connected to them than traditional mainstream celebrities.<\/p>\n<p>Some of them have enough clout to do whatever they want. <\/p>\n<p>Mr Beast makes viral YouTube videos. He launched a Fast Food Chain called Mr Beast Burgers. He\u2019s not a chef. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Paul Brothers. They\u2019re making more money in boxing than 99% of boxers.. .yet they\u2019re not \u201cboxers.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The next wave is going to be alcohol, IMO. <\/p>\n<p>It has a high profit margin + is primarily image based + has plenty of \u201cpipes\u201d for plug n play. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re already seeing this with The Rock\u2019s tequila, George Clooney\u2019s tequila, and Conor McGregor\u2019s whiskey.<\/p>\n<p>Wait until a TikTok party bro private labels their version of White Claw. Or a female influencer private labels her own red wine.<\/p>\n<p>Anyways, influencers will only become more valuable. People are starting to look at traffic sources outside of Facebook and influencers are viable.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s an opportunity in trying to find the sweet spot. Someone on YouTube or Instagram might have inflated prices since they\u2019ve been around the block.<\/p>\n<p>But perhaps another influencer might\u2019ve gone viral in the past few months on TikTok. Their value hasn\u2019t been \u201ctapped\u201d yet. \u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>9. Standing Out in the Attention Economy<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s getting harder to capture and sustain someone\u2019s attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Right now you\u2019re reading my article. I\u2019m competing against email pop-ups, slack messages, your Smart Phone, and the different distraction vortexes. Now imagine trying to sustain the attention of someone from Gen Z.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to be an influencer or a media company to care about attention. Brands are starting to boost up their organic efforts to diversify away from Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>So the \u201cold way\u201d of media creation was to be consistent. You didn\u2019t know which article or video of yours could resonate with the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Things are different now. There\u2019s more content to consume than ever before. Every platform has an algorithm and they send their distribution towards \u201c<strong>Blockbusters.<\/strong>\u201c<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Blockbusters-Hit-making-Risk-taking-Business-Entertainment-ebook\/dp\/B00C74OXLO\">Blockbusters<\/a> is a mental model that I got from a book about the Entertainment industry. When people have choices, they tend to flock towards the most over the top productions. Prior to the pandemic, I wasn\u2019t interested in going to the movies to watch a small independent production. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d only be interested in seeing either a Marvel, Star Wars, or a Christopher Nolan film.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This applies to online content. People can tell if an article is outsourced or half-assed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Do you remember earlier when I mentioned clout and status? Sharing high-quality articles or videos with others is signaling that you have access to good content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you want to understand attention better, go study the YouTube landscape. It\u2019s high competitive. Here\u2019s a framework on how I think about this.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You can go <strong>Extreme<\/strong>. Do something unique that no one\u2019s ever done before. Mark Rober created a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h4T_LlK1VE4\">Glitter bomb trap<\/a> for porch pirates. That\u2019s a piece of unique content no one else can duplicate.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>You can with <strong>High-Quality production<\/strong>. I watch cooking videos every day. It\u2019s insufferable when I have to watch a low-quality production.\n<p>There are hundreds of videos on YouTube on how to cook a steak. But their algorithms favor the \u201cbest videos\u201d due to higher watch time, engagement, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I know when I watch a recipe by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCJHA_jMfCvEnv-3kRjTCQXw\">Binging with Babish<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UChBEbMKI1eCcejTtmI32UEw\">Joshua Weissman<\/a> that I\u2019m not going to waste my time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unique Ideas. <\/strong>Your audience are learning machines. They want to learn <strong>new<\/strong> things.\n<p>No one would give a shit if I wrote a \u201c10 ways to get started in affiliate marketing\u201d post. You have unique experience and unique talents. Show them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unique Personalities. <\/strong>This is why Joe Rogan is the top podcaster in the world. There\u2019s no one else like Joe Rogan. His opinions are different from the mainstream.\n<p>No one is interested in listening to someone who works a 9 to 5 job, loves watches the Office, and likes Bacon. They\u2019re just like everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Now that I think about it \u2013 unique personalities are pretty much modern-day cult leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>10. Changes and Pivots<\/h3>\n<p>For some businesses, they couldn\u2019t continue as normal. Either regulations made everything more difficult or demand was slashed drastically.<\/p>\n<p>It felt like 10 years of acceleration in ten weeks.<\/p>\n<p>I learned that no matter how bad things get, there\u2019s always a \u201cbest move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few examples of pivots:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Uber\u2019s transportation business took a hit during the pandemic. They stepped up efforts on their UberEats program and bought Postmates for $2.65 billion.<\/li>\n<li>Everyone put that travel plans on halt. Airlines and hotels suffered. Airbnb saw their booking rates slashed. They looked at the data and noticed that people were booking Airbnb\u2019s within driving distance.\n<p>Basically, people were tired of being stuck at home all day and wanted to travel somewhere closer. So Airbnb adjusted their algorithms to show more local stays. <\/p>\n<p>They also started a new category for \u201cvirtual experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Some restaurants couldn\u2019t have people dining in anymore. How could they make up some of that lost revenue? Some created \u201cfamily-sized\u201d take-out options. Other created food designed to be frozen. And some even started selling raw ingredients and acting as an additional grocery store.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Life\u2019s not fair. Shit happens. The only thing we can control is how we react to situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>A Year to Remember<\/h2>\n<p>The image I have in my head of 2020 is that of bamboo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.\u201d \u2013 Japanese Proverb<\/p>\n<p>I have conflicting feelings when people say they can\u2019t wait for things to go back to \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a way, things will go back to \u201cnormal.\u201d Everyone was scared shitless after 9\/11. But after a year, people started flying again. The only thing that changed was the airports became a pain in the ass with TSA.<\/p>\n<p>Within a year or two, things will go back to \u201cnormal\u201d once the vaccine\u2019s more distributed. People will go to concerts again and people will keep traveling. <\/p>\n<p>But for me, I\u2019m going to keep the lessons of 2020 ingrained in my head.<\/p>\n<p>There will be more black swans in our lifetime, unfortunately. I\u2019ll be prepared for them.<\/p>\n<p>What did you learn in 2020?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cover image by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/@pixabay\">Pixabay<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/charlesngo.com\/10-valuable-lessons-that-i-learned-in-2020\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}