At least this was foreshadowed…

It wasn’t all that long ago where I hopped upon my soapbox and started preaching about the various benefits of going 24 hours without my enslavement box (better known as a smartphone). 

Well, turns out, the author of this daily little thang (of which I am nothing but a humble narrator) decided I needed to practice what I preach even more. 

Couple of days ago, as I was wrapping up the last few sets of tricep extensions, the unthinkable happened: 

A weight fell from the sky (at least, this is what happened in my head cannon) and crushed my phone to piec..well, there was actually no visible damage at all. 

In fact, I would’ve believed that my phone survived the pressure the 5 lb unloaded on it if my music wasn’t suspiciously cut off. I’ve been without a phone since. 

But no, unfortunately, I am not without a phone because I’m rebelling against modernity. I bought a new one almost immediately after my first one’s inner hardware got crushed to smithereens. But it won’t be here for at least a few more days—and it could wind up taking weeks. 

As you can imagine, I feel a little bit freer without a phone: 

* I can’t check my work email unless I’m sitting down at my desk 

* I can’t text or call or do anything else a phone would do (unless someone has iMessage, in which case, I can use my laptop… but shhhh don’t tell my secrets, I’m kinda digging the quiet life without the nonstop dopamine source but an arms length away)

* I can’t listen to music or podcasts or consume any type of content—for example, I’m fresh from a 5 mile walk where I had nothing with me besides a trusty can of Zyn, a bunch of loose thoughts, and a few emotions as I smelled the new scents Spring brings with it

But… the couple of days I’ve lived without a working phone also showed me just how hard it is to live without a phone. 

For example: 

Most of the software my clients use (which means, I also use) requires 2FA authentication. And the Authenticator app I kept on my phone does not exist as a desktop app. And so, I imagine I’ll be shyt outta luck if I can’t get into these softwares. 

Worst part?

There’s no workaround for most of the softwares. I am literally required to have a phone to access some of these softwares that I rely on to serve clients. 

I also rely too heavily on my phone for working out: PDF programs, music, keeping track of my sets, etc. I could work around this, unlike the 2FA problem I have. But it makes my dreams of owning a flip phone that much more difficult. 

Anywho, where am I going with this?

Aha - here it is:

The same way it’s impossible to live without a smartphone is the same as the impossibility of trying to grow your business without an email marketing strategy. 

It doesn’t matter how much I may fantasize about living a simpler life where phones are a distant memory—it doesn’t make it true. 

I’ve created a business in which, for better or for worse, I’m chained to my smartphone. 

And so it is with your email strategy. 

If the chains are there, might as well remove yourself from them—while you observe, from a safe distance of course, how the revenue currents keep crashing towards the shoreline of your bank account. 

Alas, there’s only one way to safely remove yourself from the currents that will only gobble you up and send you far out into the ocean if you keep ignoring them:

Hit reply, and if’n we’re a good fit, then I’ll steer your email marketing strategy while you safely observe from a distance. 

John