Intentional Living

Intention in what we do is something I aspire to having as my default operation system of living.

I never want to be doing things out of impulse.

There’s no control there; we get put on autopilot, and our lives by nature, go in directions we don’t really want them to go…

And now we’re at Week 23 of The Unicorn Founder and things have slowed down a little bit as I’ve intentionally readjusted this focus.

The Startup Focus: Relationships & Product

The Founder Focus: Technical & Curiosities

Here’s what’s going on under the hood…

Relationships & Product

Over the course of the last few weeks I’ve unfortunately had to learn by experience the different people/ways/means of getting a product inside an organization that are unproductive.

However, it’s not in vain, as those pathways were all necessary to go down and explore.
And because of that, my eyes are now rather set on the next pathway being to build relationships with the big boys who run the regional offices for estate agency franchises.

The Estate Agency Franchise Setup: One global brand, multiple regional offices, tons of little branches in different areas all around the country.

So, if you can influence the direction of the head of the snake, the rest of the body follows suit.

The only problem: Relationships take time.

And so, whilst I build those very powerful relationships, I have got the devs focused on building product.
To make sure we actually have a fully functioning product to showcase these people.

Because previously I’ve just been trying to sell the dream to people, and well… most people can’t see the vision you have, they need to be shown it.

Founder Focus

Technical

I never want to be handicapped in my life by my inability to learn something, how it works, and how to apply that knowledge.

→ In one sense, I am thinking forwards and long-term by dedicating time now to building these technical skills before they may be seriously required.
→ And in another, I am also following intuition in feeling like this is an important skill I need.

So, I’am about to finish up learning JavaScript, Algorithms and Data Structures and it’s been absolutely phenomenal in my own life to debunk the coding mystery.

I always had a perception of it being all these different, hugely complex things, but in actual fact, if you can just apply your mind (like with anything), it’s pretty straightforward and simple.

So have I been enjoying this pursuit of knowledge? 100%
→ Despite the fact that it takes time away from the current startup, I am investing into the founder and that is a principal issue versus the startup being a contextual issue.

Principal Issue vs. Contextual Issue:
The former will recur across any startup I dedicate my time to, whereas the latter is specific only to this current startup.

I like to separate things like this in order to provide myself recompense in knowing that what I am doing, it actually is important and of value for my foreseeable future.

Curiosities

Sam Altman and many people before him have all spoken about the incredible power there is in a founder who constantly has ideas

→ It means that founder is highly creative
→ And being highly creative is a very prominent trait in successful founders

… so I’m on the right track haha because I have tonsss of ideas always.

The current book I’m reading is the biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson and one thing I’ve found from his life is that it’s totally okay to pursue curiosities in seemingly disparate and disconnected things.

In fact, Isaacson and many other people who have studied da Vinci, attribute a great amount of his success as “The Renaissance Man” because of his perhaps ADHD style of finding everything around him of immense fascination.
→ And in pursuing those fascinations.

That pursuit is the key factor.

He didn’t just theorise, question, and stay stuck in his mind…
No, he went out into the world and started experimenting.

And that’s what I’m doing.

I’m immensely fortunate to be in a position where I can do that, but that’s the big idea behind my behaviour: getting out into the world to experiment and gather results for all my ideas.

And the even bigger idea: to turn those ideas into billion dollar companies…

Live Documentation

Document your life even if it seems pointless.

That is a very big idea I have been drawing upon a lot this last week.

I have a great desire to be all-in on getting out there, being seen, heard, and in a position to have the exact people you desire to be around, coming to you.

All because you are sharing what you’re doing.

In the most authentic, optimistic, and honest way possible.

And it’s actually fun.

To have people randomly shooting you a DM sharing what they’re doing, telling you how inspired they are, or just wanting to brainstorm ideas — what an absolute pleasure.

This newsletter was the birth of that all… and what a journey it’s been so far.

Just the beginning.

Going Forward

→ 🔨 Got some product dev milestones to be hit this week.
→ 💼 Meetings with Dubai, US, UK, SA, and Brazil Franchise directors so hopefully those will be profitable.
→ 🧠 Continued self-education, with intense speed & obsession, to know and be empowered more every single day. (learning React up next)

Alrighty

Another fantastic week down on the cards.

I am trying to hit the beach for lunch-breaks or mid-afternoon “pick-me-ups” as often as possible, so here’s a pic from yesterday.

🕺 That’s it for this week.

Check out LinkedIn, X, IG, TikTok for daily updates/thoughts/ideas…

Connect with me there, or reply here.

Peace and Fullness : )
Ethan