#39 - Why Nobel Prize Winners Moonlight (And Why I Will Too)
Now that my side project is my main project, I need a new side project.
You: “Didn’t you quit your job to focus on your startup?? A new project would just be a distrac—”
Me: *Puts a finger to your lips* “Shhh shhh…”
Before you say another word, read this quote from the book, Range. I’ve shared it so many times since reading it 6 years ago, I can almost do it from memory:
“Compared to other scientists, Nobel laureates are at least 22x more likely to partake as an amateur actor, dancer, magician, or other type of performer.
Nationally recognized scientists are much more likely than other scientists to be musicians, sculptors, painters, printmakers, woodworkers, mechanics, electronics tinkerers, glassblowers, poets, or writers, of both fiction and nonfiction. And, again, Nobel laureates are far more likely still.”
David Epstein, Range (2019)
TL;DR: Creative side projects build up transferable skills and lateral-thinking, which can improve your odds of success with your main project.
But if I’m being completely honest, none of those benefits are why I want to take on a side project.
I love working on my startup, but it’s slow and discouraging at times. I want another source of excitement and momentum in my life that feels low stakes and is totally my own.
For me, I think the perfect side project is doubling down on content creation.
Writing regularly has forced me to think through my ideas, dive deep on interesting topics, and develop my copywriting skills. It’s also been a huge source of pride for me.
As a bonus, if my content earns me a meaningful following, then I have a channel through which to tell the world about personal projects I work on, now and in the future.
If I cap my content creation time to 5-10 hours per week, I don’t see it negatively impacting my performance at my startup.
My plan is to expand beyond this newsletter into another medium. It’ll likely be short-form video (TikTok, Insta and YouTube) or short-form writing (Twitter, BlueSky, and SubStack Notes). Or both!
I’m not sure what shape the new content will take. Like this newsletter, it’ll probably be months of erratically iterating before I find my footing. All I can promise is that from June 1st onwards, you’ll be seeing (and hearing) a lot more of me.
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See you next week — Rayhan