Monday, October 27, 2025
True story:
I’ve been lucky enough to have multiple mentors over the years.
One co-founded a multi 8-figure health company…
While another started a sales training & consulting company and then built into a $40 million dollar business within just a few years.
Both are incredibly impressive people…
From whom I took many notes.
In fact, I’m still amazed at how often I hear their words coming out of my mouth.
It’s a testament to how influential they’ve been in my development as a writer, strategist, and entrepreneur.
What I find most interesting though…
Is the one value they both embodied above (almost) all else:
Speed.
You see, most writers fall victim to the following seductive notion…
They believe that the more TIME they put into something, the better it gets.
But that’s not always true.
Actually, I’ve found the inverse is often true.
Meaning:
The more time you spend on a piece of writing, the more likely you are to…
A) Edit it into oblivion, or…
B) Sink 2-4x the effort into it for marginal gains
Now, there are certain moments where investing more time is justified.
Yet in a publishing business like ours, these are the exceptions.
Not the rule.
Which is why this “time = quality” fallacy is usually used to enable a mix of perfectionism and procrastination.
A truth my two mentors drilled into me.
Now, why am I sharing this lesson with you?
Because it’s been top of mind as I work to put the finishing touches on my new Email Storyselling Playbook.
My original plan was to take the transcripts from the Crash Course I recorded…
Format them into a simple PDF…
Then hit publish.
Alas, that is not what’s happened.
The temptation to beef it up and try to make it better has been hard to resist.
But in the spirit of my contrarian writing philosophy and its need for speed…
I’ve had to crack the whip on myself.
The book doesn’t need to be perfect right out of the gate.
What’s more important is:
Putting a “minimum viable product” in front of other people and seeing if they’ll pay for it.
That’s the true value of this endeavor…
Testing the idea as quickly as possible and using the feedback to guide my next move.
I can (and will) improve upon it once it’s selling.
Anyway, some food for thought for ya on this lovely Monday afternoon :)
Jim Hamilton
None of them wrote in to complain…
But for a control freak who does care about appearances, it was yet another moment of embarrassment and frustration.
So, first off - big shout-out to everyone affected by these issues for their patience this week 🙏
Secondly:
Looking silly is par for the course as an online coach, consultant or creator.
It’s virtually impossible to avoid if you’re trying to build something from scratch.
But don’t let that stop you.
It takes what it takes.
And down the road, nobody else is gonna remember the little screw-ups you had along the way.
Jim Hamilton
P.S:
On the bright side, I just put the finishing touches on my new Email Storyselling Playbook this morning…
And I’m thrilled with how it turned out 💪
This is a simplified written version teaching the same core concepts behind my other Email Storyselling and 15-Minute Emails That Sell products.
If you’ve been looking for a way to dip your toe into Email Storyselling, I think you’ll really dig it.
Anyway, the plan is to release it next week.
(barring any more glitches in the system, that is lol)
My assistant is working to format it as we speak.
And you’ll be able to grab a copy for just 3 bucks.
So stay tuned for more :)
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