Hey Reader,

I just hit an exciting milestone: I passed my instrument rating test.

If you're not a pilot, the instrument rating is what lets you fly in clouds and low visibility. Which is great because now I don’t have to wait for clear skies. Having this rating ultimately means I’m able to fly more safely, since I can rely on my instruments even in situations where I can’t see, but it also affords me more freedom.

It felt great to have it done, as I've been working toward this for a while, but it was a total grind.

I don't like playing in someone else's sandbox where there are all these rules I have to follow. I spend very little time doing that in my normal life, so the whole process was pretty frustrating. The test got rescheduled seven times because it has to be done with a very specific examiner. The plane has to meet certain requirements. There's a long list of boxes to check, and the format is rigid. Either you pass or you don't.

That's about as far from running a creator business as you can get.

As a creator, there's no test. The path to success isn't prescribed, and there are a hundred ways to succeed. That's genuinely great, because you can build whatever version of the thing you want. But it can also be overwhelming. When every path is potentially the right one, it's hard to know if you're making progress or just staying busy.

I was reflecting on the fact that the most frustrating thing about the instrument rating was also what made it manageable. The path was completely clear. I didn't have to figure out what to work on—I just had to do the work.

Creators don't get that handed to them, but you can create a version of it. The clearer you get on the specific outcome you want, the less time you spend wondering what to do next and the more time you spend actually doing it.

Take some time this week to write down the one outcome you most want to reach in the next year.

​

PODCAST

Inside a 1M+ Subscriber Newsletter

Sean Devlin built Nice News to over 820,000 subscribers before it was acquired by Encyclopedia Britannica. Now he's running All Healthy with 1.3 million subscribers and a 52% open rate.

In this episode, he shares what's behind those numbers and what he does differently around content and monetization. His approach to reader relationships is unconventional, and it's a key reason his engagement holds up at this scale.

We talk about:

• Making your audience addicted to your emails
• The right approach to sponsorships
• Tips for newsletter design

​Watch or listen to episode »​

X POST

Controlling computers with your mind

"I'm thinking, and a cursor is moving on the screen. It blew my mind."

That's one of Neuralink's first patients, who lost the ability to control his body, describing what it's like to use their brain-computer interface.

Apparently next up is aiming to restore vision for people who've lost their sight.

The progress Neuralink is making is incredible.

​View post »​

—Nathan

P.S.

In other exciting news, our conference, Craft + Commerce, just sold out for the second year in a row—this time weeks earlier even though we added 50 tickets!

Let me know if you're coming, I'd love to see you there.