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Becoming a YieldHacker
Anyone can become a yield hacker, it’s a question of perception. How you see yourself, what you believe about yourself. It’s a mentality issue.
People can change
The good news is that people can change. One of the greatest achievements of mankind is that individuals in every generation are able to rise above certain constraining mental and cultural limitations and produce something extraordinary, something which is highly impactful in contributing to the wellbeing of society as a whole. These forces can be and have been used destructively as well, but here we focus on the positive passion, which builds on what has been achieved in previous generations, and propels us forward to a better, cleaner, more responsible, and more sustainable future. Apart from the lofty desire to be involved in a specific global-impact project, it is essential for you as an individual to rise above your perceived or real limitations and recreate yourself, reimagine your life, and tap into the power of change. You don’t have to repeat the failures of the past.
What is yield hacking?
Yield hacking is essentially about finding creative ways to radically increase yields. To produce yields where they have not been possible before. There is always a way to speed up the process, decrease the costs, increase efficiency, and find a key to massive growth and scaling.
Yield is a word which comes from an agricultural context. Nature teaches us that there is an abundance out there; rainfall, sunshine and the ever-renewing soil work like magic to produce a yield of crops every season. The oceans are vast, the stores of energy in the Sun and wind seem limitless, as are geothermal energy, the tides, magnetism, electricity, and generally the unexploited resources of the Earth and space.
The use of the word ‘yield’ has been carried over to the world of commerce and investment. Investors are looking for a yield, a regular return on their investment, just like the farmer hopes to see a bountiful harvest every year. We speak of the rental yield of investment real estate, which is the annual revenue from rent. We would divide the annual income from the property into the original purchase price and get a percentage, for example 9%, which is also referred to as the yield of the property. There are other ways the value of an investment property can be increased, for example capital appreciation, but the yield is the regular profit, or return, we can take out every month.
Ultimately yield is the regular benefit from your work, whether it is agriculture, or other business. Something tangible, fruit that you can eat, or money that you can spend.
Yield hacking, just like life hacking, is an expression used to tweak the system in a way which produces an abundance of yields; to actively manipulate the current situation in a positive way so yields are increased. A trick, some sort of new technique to achieve productivity. Just like growth hackers, yield hackers also use low-cost, creative strategies to exponentially grow a company. For example “Growth hacking is a relatively new field in marketing focused on growth, coined by Sean Ellis in 2010, after using it to ignite breakout growth for Dropbox, LogMeIn, Eventbrite & Lookout” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hacking
Socialization
Everyone is born a yield hacker. We believe in abundance and trust the world around us to provide us for our needs. Children don’t believe in obstacles. The games we play and the fantasy worlds we build have rules, but not limitations. Why is it that we don’t maintain this yield hacking mentality as we go through the educational system and try to solve real-world problems at the workplace? Beyond lexical knowledge, schools transmit a powerful cultural mentality and problem solving methodology, which must all be contextualized, otherwise we get stuck in infinite loops and get discouraged when facing the seemingly insurmountable problems of life. With all respect to those who went before us, somehow we must find a way to surpass the previous generation and our teachers in problem solving. It’s a challenge because the problems are big and time is a finite resource, and the world is often unfair, but we like challenges, don’t we? Let’s make life worth living.
Abundance
There are so many opportunities out there! The world is constantly changing, yesterday’s solutions are no longer working, new needs emerge, new breakthroughs are achieved in the sciences and human cooperation. Our outlook and ideas depend on who we listen to and what we allow our minds to dwell on.
Freedom of choice
What should I do? What should I invest my time in? Young people, and those young at heart, who are reinventing their lives, who have experienced the power and energy that stems from this process, often ask this question. It’s already a good sign if you stop and ask questions like this. Very few people actually do. First of all, refuse to let other people decide for you. I take responsibility and make my own decisions. I am not forced by anyone or any family tradition, cultural norm, national tradition, or global trend. I refuse to be manipulated. I am no longer a little cogwheel in the fabric of consumer society, who can easily be influenced. I value freedom very highly.
In order to make informed decisions, we definitely need some clarity and to be able to tell right from wrong. Here is where it becomes philosophical, because these are questions of morality. Life is complex, it is a matrix of ethics, faith, passion, and reason, and I would say many other things. So at this point, in order to make ‘good’ decisions, we need to educate ourselves, know more about the world and get information out of the ordinary, leaving our comfort zone, and interacting with others, with other people’s ideas, allow ourselves to be challenged, and approach the wisdom of the universe with a humble heart, hungry for knowledge and understanding.
Education
So what should I study? Where can I get out-of-the-box ideas? What practical know-how is there out there, which goes beyond ideas? Because ideas are not really worth anything. They help spark the thinking process, and give us the adrenaline rush, but after a while we long for lasting solutions. Implementation is the key. Actually going out and doing something is what will work. We are looking for tangible yields, the bottom line. Be pragmatic, be practical. This is exactly what we’re going to explore in this yield hacking community.
Resources
Where can I access these resources? That’s another good question. Access to knowledge. We’re hackers, so there’s always a way. If you ask the right question, the answer will come to you. The community will help, you are actually closer to the resources than you think. One step leads to the other and a whole new world starts opening up with exponential speed. We will point to a number of tried and tested resources which we found useful in our yield hacking journey.