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Welcome to episode 1 of the Alternative CV podcast. In this episode, I get started on my podcast, and I talk to Ali Abdaal about the concept of getting started on things.

Ali (twitter: @aliabdaal) is a junior doctor who graduated from Cambridge University in 2018. Alongside his day job saving lives, he has a YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers and runs a business that helps students get into medical school. He also writes weekly articles about productivity, education and technology.

3 Things I’ve learned

1. Ali’s trick to growing his YouTube channel from 0 to >250k subscribers. He started simple, but constantly strives to make his videos incrementally better each time. 
   
   
2. Why some people suffer from burnout, and how to balance this against consistency. Ali introduces this concept of ‘hustle vs chill’ - examine your overarching motives, and think about whether it is the right decision to just hustle as hard as you can. What are you sacrificing? Is it worth it? 
   
   
3. How to overcome the fear of starting something new and putting yourself out there. In a nutshell: share something educational/valuable to the world. 

Here are links to some of the references we make in the podcast:

• Casey Neistat (Youtuber) https://www.youtube.com/user/caseyneistat
• Gary Vaynerchuk https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/
• How to study for exams -  evidence-based revision tips (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukLnPbIffxE&t=2s
• Taking notes on iPad as a medical student (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waR3xBDHMqw
• Taking notes on iPad for engineering students (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoXYOn8UPo8
• Ali’s desk setup video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rApxWtDIRAM
• How I ranked 1st at Cambridge University - the essay memorisation framework (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-46Vyiwat_Y
• Consistency is key to youtube success - Casey Neistat’s advice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lDQc1mGAvY
• Hustle vs Chill https://aliabdaal.com/hustle-vs-chill/
• ‘Show your work’ by Austin Kleon https://amzn.to/2J3GHUe

You can find out more about Ali here.

If you have enjoyed this episode of The Alternative CV Podcast please subscribe, share this episode and leave a comment or review so that I know what you like and what I can do better on. Get in touch at hello@alternativecv.fm. Thanks so much for helping me make this show better!