What would it look like if you brought an Olympic level of intensity and focus toward your goals?

Athletes do this naturally. They work out every day, stick to the same routine, watch film, track their progress, manage their diet, and obsess over marginal improvements. Nobody thinks that’s weird. That’s what it takes to compete at the highest level.

But for some reason, when it comes to writing, comedy, entrepreneurship, or really any other field, we don’t hold ourselves to the same standard. We show up when we feel like it, wing it, and then wonder why we’re not getting better.

The most successful people I know don’t measure work-life balance in days. They measure it in decades. They’re willing to be unbalanced in the early years of their career so they can be extremely balanced in the later years of their life.

The life you want will cost the life you have.

The price of growth is change.
The price of progress is pain.
The price of success is sacrifice.

So when the weight feels heavy and the sacrifices stack up, just realize this isn't punishment. It's the price.

Jay Cutler, 4x Mr Olympia, on his obsessive focus:

“Everything was structured. I lived in a fucking box. I didn't care about anything else. I didn't want any outside distractions. I went to the gym, I came home, I ate, I slept. Friends would call me with their problems; I'd hang up on them.”

Napoléon Bonaparte on focus:

“A novice is easily spotted because they do too much, too many ingredients, too many movements, too much explanation. A master uses the fewest motions required to fulfill their intention.”

In 1891, advertising legend Elias St. Elmo Lewis coined a copywriting formula called AIDA. To put this into perspective, this was when “marketing” meant newspaper ads, the fastest car reached just 39 mph, and the telephone was still a luxury item.

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

It works for websites, ads, product pages, and in our case, cold emails:

1. Attention

You can write the best cold email in the world, but if no one opens it, it will fall on deaf ears. Your subject line is where you “sell” the open. 

Bad subject lines:

Good subject lines:

2. Interest

Now you need to earn their interest. You do this by showing them, as fast as possible, that you're relevant to their world.

Three ways to do this:

1) Show proof or credibility that's specific to them.

You wouldn't write a love letter and then address it “to whom it may concern.” Similarly, the person on the other end should be able to tell within the first two sentences that this isn't a template you blasted to a hundred inboxes.

Don't send a message so generic it could've been addressed to literally anyone. Reference their work. Mention something specific about what they're building and why it resonates with you.

If you know they need help with YouTube: "My name is Jake, I run a YouTube growth agency. We've helped [their competitor] and [another name they'd recognize] grow from X to Y subscribers in six months."

2) Reference something they said or did recently.

"I saw your talk at SaaStr last week. The bit about using LinkedIn DMs was so smart."

This shows you've done your homework and you're paying attention to their world, which immediately separates you from the hundreds of templated messages in their inbox.

3) Break their expectations.

You can also open with something completely unexpected. This works best with founders and creators who appreciate personality.

This was the first line in a cold email Tyler, The Creator sent to record labels when he was 17 years old:

"I know you're like, what the fuck is this. I'm 17, and just released an album for my mixtape. I compose my music and rap."

3. Desire

You've gotten their attention and earned their interest. Now give them a reason to want to respond. This is where you show what you bring to the table.

Most people write something like "I'm a hard worker, a fast learner, and a team player." But so is everyone else who emailed them today. Don't TELL them you're valuable. SHOW them. Mention a result you've gotten, reference a project that's relevant to their world, or do what we talked about in the last chapter and attach something you've already built for them.

"I'm a finance major graduating from Illinois in May, and I spent the last year doing financial modeling for 3 early-stage startups through our school's venture lab. I put together a short breakdown of how I'd approach your pricing model based on what's public. It's attached."

Keep it short. People are busy, and nobody owes you their attention. Get to the point: who you are, why you're reaching out, and what you're offering. If they have to scroll to find the ask, you've already lost them.

Your writing should also be skimmable, so instead of writing in big blocky paragraph chunks, break up your sentences.

Here’s one of my favorite examples of keeping your email skimmable:

This cold email got a reply from Evan Spiegel (former Snapchat CEO):

4. Action

This is your ask. You want it to be clear, specific, and easy to say yes to.

Bad: "I'd love to connect and discuss synergies."

Synergies? About what? This puts all the work on the receiver to figure out whether they should say yes.

Better: "Would you be open to a 15-minute walking call next week? I have two more ideas I think could help with your Series A prep.

Time-bound, low commitment, and contains a give. Much easier to say yes to.

Pro Tip: Be specific about what you're asking for. The recipient should be able to respond with one of three responses: yes, no, or let me forward this to the right person.

As Tim Ferriss said, "Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask."

Here's what a full email looks like when you put it all together:

Subject: Quick idea for your newsletter

Hi Sarah,

I've been reading The Roundup for about six months now, and your breakdown of vertical SaaS pricing last week was one of the best analyses I've seen on the topic.

I'm a finance major graduating from Illinois in May, and I spent the last year doing financial modeling for three early-stage startups through our school's venture lab. I put together a short breakdown of how I'd approach your pricing model based on what's public. It's attached.

Would you be open to a 15-minute walking call next week? I'd love to walk you through a couple more ideas.

Either way, congrats on the recent round. Excited to watch you guys grow.

Jake

Until next week,

Author of You Can Just Do Things

Ps. So relatable

You can grab your copy here.

Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) has even come close to accelerating my career like writing online has.

I've landed dream jobs, signed dream clients, built a thriving business, met lifelong friends, and hopefully one day my wife 🤞 🙈

The point is, if you want to accelerate your c̶a̶r̶e̶e̶r̶ LIFE in the modern age... you need to be writing online. I will die on that hill.

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