Is anyone else having an amazing 2020?
Hey gang,
Tommy G from ClickMinded here.
Is anyone else having an amazing 2020? I think this is going to be the best year ever for our business, as well as for me personally. I really could not ask for more.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Scratch that. Can I be real with you for a minute?
2020 has sucked.
Let me walk you through what it’s been like around here over the last few months.
Flashback to 25 years ago: December 2019. I was on top of the world, doing all kinds of risqué activities like going to movie theaters, eating at restaurants, and sometimes even shaking hands (gasp!).
We had just finished our 2020 roadmap here at ClickMinded. We set big goals, had an awesome plan to get there and things were looking good.
Fast forward a few months later, and our 2020 forecast was suddenly meaningless.
Sales and revenue were down, people were (still are!) scared, and the world basically turned into one long, ongoing Michael Bay movie.
For the first time ever since starting this business 8 years ago, ClickMinded will see a decline in growth.
Why am I telling you this?
I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to me like most of the people in my newsfeed aren’t being honest about how their business or their career is going this year.
I feel like I’m drowning in 2020 feel-good business miracle stories.
The company selling at-home gym equipment. The grocery delivery apps that are up 1,500%. Hand sanitizer companies, liquor stores, Netflix, and Amazon are all smarter than you, dummy!
- “We’re in this together!”
- “We’re making the best of it!”
- “We’re all gonna be okay!”
If I get ONE more email from a company saying they’re “here to support me during these unprecedented times”, I might try and invent a vaccine myself just to make it stop.
If all of the podcasts, blog posts, and influencers you follow are making you feel like you’re the only idiot left who isn’t profiting from the end of the world, you’re not alone! I feel the exact same way.
Look, I am an eternal optimist, and I get it. It can be helpful to focus on the positive stories. But if we’re being real, all the chatter I’m seeing is nowhere close to the reality of most people’s day-to-day.
These anecdotes are complete outliers. A lot of people out there are hurting right now.
Especially the ones that don’t have an app that delivers rum yet.
Don’t get me wrong, even though this year has been terrible for ClickMinded, I am deeply aware of just how lucky I am. I think it’s easy to argue that this email is both completely justified, and also the whiny ramblings of a spoiled brat. Probably a little bit of both.
With that said, I just haven’t seen many people come out, raise their hand and say “This year sucks, I suck, I am failing miserably, and I’m probably not going to hit my goals.”
Sometimes you just need a minute to rant. So if you want to take it, I want to give you an opportunity to do so.
How’s it going for you?
Maybe you’re one of these miraculous 2020 wonder stories, and if you are, then that’s amazing. I’d love to hear about it.
But if you’re not:
- Maybe this whole situation screwed up your business plans, just like us?
- Maybe you lost a bunch of clients or had to let go of employees?
- Maybe you lost your job, took a pay cut, or your colleagues were let go?
- Maybe you had to postpone a wedding, anniversary, or some other life milestone?
- Maybe you just finished your 12th Zoom call of the day and you can’t take it anymore?
- Maybe you’ve been stuck at home, googling for the best way to “accidentally murder” your roommate / sibling / boyfriend / girlfriend / husband / wife?
If you’re one of the people that is NOT having a good time in 2020, well that sucks. I’m sorry you’re going through it.
The silver lining here is that I promise there’s at least one other guy out there in the universe who’s also getting his ass kicked.
You’re reading his email right now.
Can you do me a favor?
I want you to reply to this email and unload your best rant about 2020 on me.
Seriously, take a minute to write back and vent. If things have just gone wrong for you this year, then tell me about it. I want to hear everything.
.
..
…
Get that out of your system, and then buckle up for the next email.
We’ve been thinking a lot about what we’re going to do next, and just recently decided to share it with everyone on our email list.
All this complaining and ranting aside, I am actually incredibly optimistic about the future (even though we’ve taken a beating this year), because:
- The world is not going to go back to normal (even if all the awful problems of 2020 are magically solved tomorrow)
- I’m 100% convinced that most people who are doing well now will struggle later — while those who are struggling now, have a massive opportunity ahead
- You can position yourself and your business to be one of the few that comes out of this thing better, faster, stronger, and more prepared for whatever fresh new hell the world plans on delivering to you next
Despite 2020 being the worst year in the history of ClickMinded, we just made a $52,362.11 investment into our business, in order to position ourselves for what we think is ahead.
I’m going to talk about exactly what that is. Keep an eye out for my next email.
Tommy
PS – After you’re done venting, here are some of my favorite things from 2020 to help lighten the mood a bit:
- Someone made the best ad I’ve ever seen to help a stranger sell a broken hot tub on Craigslist
- Ronaldinho, the footballer arrested for possessing a fake passport early this year, won his prison’s soccer tournament. The prize? A 35-pound pig for an inmate BBQ
- This ClickMinded blooper reel created by our video editor, which proves I actually went insane under quarantine (this was uploaded against my will)
