Supply chain issues be damned. After what seemed like an endless wait, it finally arrived. My sleek new iPhone 13 Pro.
Sexy black Graphite.
3 Cameras.
4K video.
Ridiculous battery life.
Everything necessary to take RadReads to the next level, right?
The warm glow of this Shiny New Toy had yet to wear off when I stumbled upon this tweet from Noah Kagan:
It turns out that my office is a graveyard of Shiny New Toys.
Shiny New Toys that never delivered on their life-changing promises.
There are Moleskines, iPads, fitness trackers, supplements, camera lenses, foam rollers and fancy whiteboards.
Would things be the same for my new iPhone 13 Pro?
A letter from our nemesis, SNTS
Hello, my name is Shiny New Toy Syndrome (SNTS) and my promise to you is a simple one.
If there’s anything holding you back in your life, it can be resolved with a simple 1-Click purchase (that you can also finance on your credit card).
If you drink too many IPAs on Tuesday night, a Whoop strap will whip you into shape.
If you’re struggling to match on Hinge, a Peloton will boost increase your hit rate.
If you’ve waited for two years to start that blog, learning Roam will make posts write themselves.
If you’re looking to change careers, a course on LinkedIn Mastery will land you your dream job.
If you’re business model is shaky, a bomb-ass CRM will deliver product-market-fit.
I promise you.
After all, have I ever let you down? 😉
Love,
Shiny New Toy Syndrome
Alas, if life only were so easy. But don’t despair. There’s an anti-dote to Shiny New Toy Syndrome. An effective technique to slay the SNTS beast once and for all.
Meet the $10K Flywheel, a simple framework to honor your commitments and hit your goals without the unnecessary struggle (and wasted expenses).
It always starts with self-awareness
Whether you want a new blog or a new career, you must first get to the heart of “the why” behind this desire. During a recent $10K Bootcamp, one of the participants shared an initial desire:
I want to generate $2,000 a month of passive income
This is where SNTS comes in. You take a course on Amazon drop-shipping. Or start learning how to use Facebook ads. Or create yourself a decked-out YouTube studio.
But a commitment to self awareness (through a series of $10K Questions) can reveal that this desire for passive income is way more nuanced.
The participant continued by asking why 5 times to truly understand the desire. Here’s what ensued:
Why? – I want to be free from working in the corporate world
Why? – I want to pursue my own interests without the worry of obligation
Why? – I want to be free
Why? – I want to have more time to explore myself
Why? – I have not had enough time to understand who I am
So in less than 5 minutes, we discovered the tenuous relationship between generating passive income and truly understanding who you are.
It’s no surprise that an online course on drop shipping isn’t going to move the needle.
Next, layer in behavior change
So now let’s say that you you bite the bullet and bought the Peloton. You’re confident in your motivations of boosting your energy, improving your sleep and shedding some pandemic pounds. But as the pricey Peloton sits unused, another vexing question arises.
What behaviors do I need to change to truly hit those desired outcomes?
A starting point would be to apply James Clear’s 4-part framework for habit formation.
- Make it obvious: Use a cue to set a repeatable trigger for the activity (i.e. “Right after my morning coffee”)
- Make it attractive: Find an accountability partner to do the ride with you (to avoid the embarrassment of letting them down)
- Make it easy: Lay out your gym clothes and water bottle right next to your bed
- Make it satisfying: Use a habit tracker to watch your workouts progress
While this is much more elaborate than 1-click ordering, these 4-steps will make the activity effortless and you’ll start compounding the gains of a powerful Keystone Habit.
Now you’re ready for the Shiny New Toy
Let’s return to Peter Thiel’s iPhone 8. Whether he’s trying to find the next Facebook (or plotting his latest political dalliance) it’s clear there’s no tool in the world that will get him to that goal. That’s why in our $10,000/hr Work Matrix, tools cap out in the $100 quadrant.
However, if you’ve gone through these critical first two steps of the flywheel – tools act as a powerful accelerant. They can make you a touch faster or a bit more organized.
The right tool – paired with self-awareness and behavior change can inspire you and move you to glorious action.
As for my new iPhone 13? I got it because I cracked my old iPhone 10.
The $10K Flywheel is one of the frameworks taught in our flagship course that helps you get more done by working smarter. Our next cohort launches in July 2021. Sign up for the waitlist.