Why Less Will Make You More

So, I have this weird ritual, kind of like how people rewatch their favorite shows on Netflix.

But for me, it’s rereading certain books.

I just finished reading “Rework” by Jason Fried for the sixth time.

Yeah, sixth.

I’ve got friends who give me shit about it, but here’s the thing I pick up something new every damn time. This round, one analogy smacked me straight in the face. It was, “Directors cut good scenes to make a great movie. Musicians drop good tracks to make a great album. Writers eliminate good pages to make a great book.”

It hit a cord, because it’s what I’ve chosen to do with the stupidpreneur company.

I used to be everywhere. Building new products, consulting for a dozen clients, saying “yes” to every collab. Felt good at first, busy seemed successful.

But honestly? Most of it was just... good. Not great.

Here’s what I realized:

Nobody remembers the guy who did a little bit of everything. They remember the ones who doubled down, got obsessed, and said “no” to 99 random things so they could get really freakin good at one.

That’s why everything here now orbits around newsletters. We trimmed the excess. No YouTube. No daily Instagram memes. No digital circus acts.

I even trimmed it to an extent where I started focusing more on email based courses than video courses because that can be handled just by me.

Btw, the first batch of the brand engine email cohort launches today!

Enough of personal accomplishments, let’s get back to the point.

Less may not sound sexy, but it works.

Cutting out all but the best makes the end result undeniably better. Just like slicing 30,000 words from a book can turn it from “alright” to “damn, that’s tight.”

Here’s my challenge to you:

Take a hard look at what you’re doing in your business (or your copy). What’s just “good” but not moving the needle? Be brutally honest. Then chop it. Tighten your offering. Sharpen your focus.

You’re not in business to make people say, “Oh, that’s pretty good.” You’re in it for “Hell yes, this is great.”

So, go on start carving.

Talk soon,
— Shashank