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-   -   Living in the country vs the city, as an independent product developer... (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11271)

Dien Rice June 30, 2022 06:38 PM

Living in the country vs the city, as an independent product developer...
 
There's one thing I've noticed in the 20+ years I've been busy as an "infopreneur" online...

Which is that a lot of people doing this seem to live in the country, as opposed to the city...

I'm not sure why that is. Here are a few people that come to mind... Bill Myers (now retired), Jeff Walker, Don Lancaster (author of "The Incredible Secret Money Machine" - free PDF download from his website, a review), and also Glenn who has mentioned he lives on a farm...

I'm not sure why that is... Are there advantages to living in the country, as opposed to the city?

I was reading through one of Bill Myers old newsletters, and he talks about a trip he took driving to Dallas, from where he was based at the time, in rural Arkansas...

He mentioned how his stress levels went up... Seeing all the security cameras, the graffiti, and the snarls of traffic...

Quite different from living in a small country town!

So what do you think? Being an "infopreneur" nowadays means that it virtually doesn't matter where you live...

Maybe living in a country town, or on a farm, is better - and less taxing on the mind and body? And hence better for "solo" entrepreneurship, especially as an "infopreneur" ?

Just a few thoughts!

Best wishes,

Dien

P.S. I live in suburbia... Though there is a nice creek behind my house with a lot of trees, so I can get a little of that "country feeling" if I take a short walk...

GordonJ July 4, 2022 01:58 PM

A nearby college town helps too.
 
I'm currently a suburban hermit, although, I fondly recall those New Mexico sunsets out in the desert sipping a cold Dos Equis on Bud Riggs' ranch...and his nearest neigbor a mile away, barely visible.

But even old Bud, hermit and as anti-social as I am, went into town a few times a week, not only to make some extra dough cleaning headlights, but to eat and have some social contact (albeit at a distance).

Bill Myers, for most of his time when he wasn't moving or traveling, lived near the college town of Fayetteville. These towns are nice to have nearby. I have Kent.

As to the quiet and peace of the countryside, we suburbanites can find nearby tranquility, I with Mary Campbell's cave and Cuyahoga Valley National Park very near by...and often will use these green resources for uninterruipted thinking or contemplation.

We CAN eliminate the noise and shenanigans of a populated area, by not getting to involved in/with it.

Advantages are personal.

Big city offers excitement, contact, more people.
Small town is calmer, less stressful.
Country is peaceful, but as to any advantages...that all comes down to our preferences and how we work the best.

Sometimes, when in the country, I have a harder time managing and controlling my run away thoughts, than I do with the comforting hum of people being people (and thus avoiding contact).

You know I like to fly above the fray, and below the radar. There isn't much fray in the country, other than what we make...and not much radar to avoid either.

I opt for the best for me both worlds...being able to escape suburbia whenever needs be, and not have to go very far to do it.

Gordon

P.S. One thing I know, country mouse or city rat, the successful infopreneur has a routine, good work ethic, and builds a mountain over time, although he/she may start with a mole hill.





Quote:

Originally Posted by Dien Rice (Post 43067)
There's one thing I've noticed in the 20+ years I've been busy as an "infopreneur" online...

Which is that a lot of people doing this seem to live in the country, as opposed to the city...

I'm not sure why that is. Here are a few people that come to mind... Bill Myers (now retired), Jeff Walker, Don Lancaster (author of "The Incredible Secret Money Machine" - free PDF download from his website, a review), and also Glenn who has mentioned he lives on a farm...

I'm not sure why that is... Are there advantages to living in the country, as opposed to the city?

I was reading through one of Bill Myers old newsletters, and he talks about a trip he took driving to Dallas, from where he was based at the time, in rural Arkansas...

He mentioned how his stress levels went up... Seeing all the security cameras, the graffiti, and the snarls of traffic...

Quite different from living in a small country town!

So what do you think? Being an "infopreneur" nowadays means that it virtually doesn't matter where you live...

Maybe living in a country town, or on a farm, is better - and less taxing on the mind and body? And hence better for "solo" entrepreneurship, especially as an "infopreneur" ?

Just a few thoughts!

Best wishes,

Dien

P.S. I live in suburbia... Though there is a nice creek behind my house with a lot of trees, so I can get a little of that "country feeling" if I take a short walk...


Dien Rice July 10, 2022 04:18 PM

"The successful infopreneur has..."
 
Hi Gordon,

Wow, some great points in your post!

"One thing I know, country mouse or city rat, the successful infopreneur has a routine, good work ethic, and builds a mountain over time, although he/she may start with a mole hill."

Very true!

As the old saying goes...

Q. How do you eat an elephant?

A. One bite at a time...


My issue has rarely been with the "biting"... but knowing exactly what to "bite" next!

I've finally finally finally... got some kind of routine (at least as much as you can with an extremely curious 2-year-old running around, who hates going to sleep)!

Build build build... It's gonna be good...

Like you, I tend to like the "comforting hum of people being people" - as long as they don't interact with me too much when I'm working...

Pre-pandemic one of my most favorite places to work (on my laptop) was a good, swanky hotel lobby, though cafes and food courts were fine too...

And I've been known to pay for a desk in a co-working space, but there's often not enough human "buzz" for my taste...

As you know, I once worked as a copywriter for a subsidiary of a well-known newsletter publishing company. I worked in a room with all the other copywriters, as one of about 7 copywriters there. Very quiet... too quiet (just the sound of clicking computer keyboards). (Most of the other copywriters had headphones on while they wrote or came up with ideas for promos...)

Oh... great point on college towns! A nearby college or university does tend to make a place feel more "dynamic"... in my opinion...

Thanks for sharing your insights! :)

Best wishes,

Dien

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonJ (Post 43073)
I'm currently a suburban hermit, although, I fondly recall those New Mexico sunsets out in the desert sipping a cold Dos Equis on Bud Riggs' ranch...and his nearest neigbor a mile away, barely visible.

But even old Bud, hermit and as anti-social as I am, went into town a few times a week, not only to make some extra dough cleaning headlights, but to eat and have some social contact (albeit at a distance).

Bill Myers, for most of his time when he wasn't moving or traveling, lived near the college town of Fayetteville. These towns are nice to have nearby. I have Kent.

As to the quiet and peace of the countryside, we suburbanites can find nearby tranquility, I with Mary Campbell's cave and Cuyahoga Valley National Park very near by...and often will use these green resources for uninterruipted thinking or contemplation.

We CAN eliminate the noise and shenanigans of a populated area, by not getting to involved in/with it.

Advantages are personal.

Big city offers excitement, contact, more people.
Small town is calmer, less stressful.
Country is peaceful, but as to any advantages...that all comes down to our preferences and how we work the best.

Sometimes, when in the country, I have a harder time managing and controlling my run away thoughts, than I do with the comforting hum of people being people (and thus avoiding contact).

You know I like to fly above the fray, and below the radar. There isn't much fray in the country, other than what we make...and not much radar to avoid either.

I opt for the best for me both worlds...being able to escape suburbia whenever needs be, and not have to go very far to do it.

Gordon

P.S. One thing I know, country mouse or city rat, the successful infopreneur has a routine, good work ethic, and builds a mountain over time, although he/she may start with a mole hill.


GordonJ July 11, 2022 12:00 PM

Ruts of routines are shallow graves.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dien Rice (Post 43093)
My issue has rarely been with the "biting"... but knowing exactly what to "bite" next!

I've finally finally finally... got some kind of routine (at least as much as you can with an extremely curious 2-year-old running around, who hates going to sleep)!
Dien


Habits are built over time. Positive ROUTINES must be actively cultivated. MOST people allow their work/livelihoods to dictate their routines. Of course an active toddler in the house, really dictates things too, eh?

On the SQ1, we see that it takes about a month of continuous behavior for a habit to take root, or for neural networks to get started.

As my title sez, many routines are simply ruts, the beginning of a shallow grave. YIKES.

I have seen that if most people set up ROUTINES of about 90 minutes +- 20 then take a break or change what they are doing, they can optimize their time.
We all have had to pull overnighters, or worked long hours, even for days to get things done, especially those things we procrastinated on, and now the deadline looms over our head like the Hindenburg, ready to explode.

But for years...the less stressful way is to develop the routines, you get anxious about breaking or upsetting. Reading is one, writing is one. Relaxing is one.

Now, I think 90 minutes is plenty of time to get things done, heck, most movies are around 90mins to 2 hours.

Or, as Hollywood makes them today, a limited series of 8 to 10 episdodes to tell the story. And how many of us binge them? I do.

Positive routines are developed slowly over time, through repitition, committment and desire.

Build in small chunks of time, and that way, you'll never get too far behind, even if you take time out for an action tea party (or pirate ship) with the ankle biter in the house.

Gordon

GordonJ July 12, 2022 11:12 AM

City vs Country, with apologies up front...
 
The country is clean living,
the air is fresh to breathe
the sky is clear and blue,
I never want to leave.

But my love of country living
slowly started to die, when
I noticed all the pests around
and no longer could abide.

Started with those adorable deer,
the ones out my back door,
until their ticks brought lyme disease,
and shook me to my core.

Then I startled an evening skunk
and it sprayed me head to toes,
I burned my clothes took long showers
but it still burned up my nose.

It was then that I really noticed,
all that Nature that surrounded me,
Possums, raccoons, groundhogs,
wasps, hornets and a bothersome bee.

Owls and hawks, and other birds
just waiting to swoop down
Ducks and geese dropping gifts
Wild scat upon the ground.

Feral cats, packs of dogs, even coyotes
Once that I took notice,
the quiet went away
and I began to focus on
the noise that comes with hay.

Yakking, quacking, screeching
sounds, never noticed before
buzzing, flapping, howling
flooded through my door.

And of course, the spiders and snakes
and swarms of gnats
the bugs, the mice, the squirrles, the fire ants
let alone the attic bats.

As I noticed all the pests, the noise, the danger
that was always lurking near,
I thought that maybe city life
might be very near.

Out in the country, where Nature thrives,
where we want to live good lives,
we must face the many things,
that Mother Earth always brings.

City life is much simpler, see,
they have pests but only three...
Of course the cockroaches and rats,
but the biggest pest of city life...

is your neighbor, left and right.

So, sting me, spray me, bite me too
do the thing that Natures do
Better that than a bougie bro,
in Starbucks line
with TikTok playing
with speaker on

Wait, what the hell am I doing in a Starbucks?

Where is Pepe Le Pew when you need him?

Gordon

Dien Rice July 12, 2022 07:39 PM

How suburbia gave my then-girlfriend quite a scare...
 
Ha, Gordon, love it! :)

Let me tell you a quick story...

Long ago, my girlfriend (who is now my wife) came out to visit me where I was staying in suburbia... This was over two decades ago...

She was an inner city girl. So she drove out to my family's suburban house...

(I was actually living and working in the city of Sydney at the time, but visited Melbourne - where my family lived, and where my girlfriend lived - every month or so...)

Now, as I've mentioned before, behind this house is a creek. Back then, on the other side of the creek, were cows! (The cows are long gone now...)

But that gives you an idea... It's still suburbia, but there were patches of "ruralness" around...

As she drove out to the suburbs, she started noticing some trees... Then even more trees...

She started to panic!

"Have I left the city?" she thought to herself!

She eventually found the house (this was in the days before smartphones and everyone carrying around a GPS)...

But not before a "scare" that she had left the city, and was heading for the countryside!

She wasn't used to so many trees!

I still get a kick from that story... and I still tease her about it every now and then... :)

She teases me right back, and says how she used to be able to hear the cows mooing whenever we spoke on the phone...! ;)

Best wishes!

Dien

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonJ (Post 43096)
The country is clean living,
the air is fresh to breathe
the sky is clear and blue,
I never want to leave.

But my love of country living
slowly started to die, when
I noticed all the pests around
and no longer could abide.

Started with those adorable deer,
the ones out my back door,
until their ticks brought lyme disease,
and shook me to my core.

Then I startled an evening skunk
and it sprayed me head to toes,
I burned my clothes took long showers
but it still burned up my nose.

It was then that I really noticed,
all that Nature that surrounded me,
Possums, raccoons, groundhogs,
wasps, hornets and a bothersome bee.

Owls and hawks, and other birds
just waiting to swoop down
Ducks and geese dropping gifts
Wild scat upon the ground.

Feral cats, packs of dogs, even coyotes
Once that I took notice,
the quiet went away
and I began to focus on
the noise that comes with hay.

Yakking, quacking, screeching
sounds, never noticed before
buzzing, flapping, howling
flooded through my door.

And of course, the spiders and snakes
and swarms of gnats
the bugs, the mice, the squirrles, the fire ants
let alone the attic bats.

As I noticed all the pests, the noise, the danger
that was always lurking near,
I thought that maybe city life
might be very near.

Out in the country, where Nature thrives,
where we want to live good lives,
we must face the many things,
that Mother Earth always brings.

City life is much simpler, see,
they have pests but only three...
Of course the cockroaches and rats,
but the biggest pest of city life...

is your neighbor, left and right.

So, sting me, spray me, bite me too
do the thing that Natures do
Better that than a bougie bro,
in Starbucks line
with TikTok playing
with speaker on

Wait, what the hell am I doing in a Starbucks?

Where is Pepe Le Pew when you need him?

Gordon



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