You Will Get Lost: 4 Questions to Lead You Back to Your Path of Success
If entrepreneurship and the journey back to my most authentic self have taught me anything, it’s that getting lost is a part of the process. As much as I wish the path to our own version of success was straight and clear, it’s just not. When I realized I was sacrificing my health and well-being for a job that didn’t suit me, I worked up the courage to quit. After finally recognizing that I wasn’t using my unique gifts and making the impact I knew I could make, I committed to living authentically and finding my own version of success. You Will Get Lost: 4 Questions to Lead You Back to Your Path of Success Success? I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me. -- Denzel Washington (more quotes) But here’s the thing: I had lived for so long as a muted version of myself, that I almost forgot who I really was, and what my unique gifts were. I had been striving for someone else’s version of success for so long, that I almost forgot what I really wanted in life. So when I ventured into entrepreneurship, I got lost. Very lost. As I learned how to run a business, I got caught up trying to emulate others who had come before me. I clung to their ideas and systems, hoping they would bring me success too. When I wandered down those paths, I lost sight of where I had come from. Inevitably, I always reached a point where I’d look up and feel lost. I’d feel disconnected from myself and stuck, not knowing where to go next. READ: How to Find Your Version of Success, and Start Living It After getting lost in this way so many times, I started to realize that these periods of straying from my path were opportunities to come back to myself. I started to use this disconnected feeling as an indicator of when to tune in and listen. And when I tuned in to myself, I would always find my way back to my authentic path and my own version of success. If you’re feeling lost on your journey to authentic success, ask yourself these questions to find your way again: 1. In what ways am I trying to be like somebody else? One of the biggest creativity killers is comparison. Trying to live, work, or run a business like somebody else is the quickest way to detour off your authentic path. Getting honest about the ways you’re attempting to be like someone else is a great way to highlight the areas in which you could focus on yourself instead. 2. What does my version of success feel like? Define success for yourself. Examine your family’s and community’s definitions of success, and then decide for yourself. Decide how you want to feel when you’re successful, and take steps to feel that way now. READ: How to Define Success (and Why Your Success Depends On It) My version of success feels like freedom, connection, and resonance. When areas of my business consistently don’t make me feel these ways, I know I’m likely not on my path to success. 3. What’s my ideal way to work? When I’m stuck, lost, or tired, I take an honest look at how I’ve been working. “Am I working in ways that I like to work? Or am I working in ways that I think I should work?” Comparison can come into play again here. READ: How to Boost YOUR Producitvity and Stop Comparing Yourself to Others I value flexibility, variation, and freedom, so when I find myself working 10 hour days from my home office, without days off, I know that I’m off course. 3. What comes so easily to me, I don’t even consider charging for it? Think about the things that you love doing. The things that come so naturally to you, almost no effort is required. For me, this is writing. I’ve never considered myself a writer, but I love it. The parts of my business that showcase my writing are my favorite parts; coincidentally, they’re also the parts that, up until a few months ago, I offered for free. READ: Finding Your Why: How to Discover Your Professional Purpose Only recently did I realize that writing about my authentic personal experience was so powerful. It requires relatively much less effort than many other things I do, and I enjoy it so much that it didn’t even occur to me to explore it as a possible revenue source for my business. Find the thing that makes you think, “I couldn’t charge for that, I love doing that,” and explore it as much as possible. In this thing, you’ll find your unique gift that the world needs, and aligning with that will always keep you on your path to success.
After the Decision: How To Sustain Through Difficult Times Of Change
If you want to go after your dreams and create a better life for yourself, you’re probably going to have to make some changes. Choosing to change is a whole lot better than being forced into change, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier. All of the most successful people I know started their journey to success with a change. They decided, at a certain point, that enough was enough, and they were going to go about things differently. Yes, change starts with a decision, but everything that happens after that decision challenges us in ways that we’re often not prepared for. And how could we be prepared? In change, we’re traversing new territory, we’re learning new skills, we’re building new beliefs. We literally haven’t done the things we’re doing, so we’re not going to be very good at them at first. That’s what makes going after our dreams so hard. We decide, with emphatic declaration, “I’m doing this!”, only to be sideswiped by the inevitable challenges, missteps and doubt. A solid vision of the future will help, but here’s how to sustain through the tough stuff. After the Decision: How To Sustain Through Difficult Times Of Change The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. - Amelia Earhart (read more quotes) Realize that your brain is changing Whenever I feel overwhelmed, or frustrated, or uncomfortable in the change I’m going through, I remember my brain. I remember that my brain is trying really hard to create new neural pathways for me, and that takes time, effort and repetition. Creating new neural pathways is no small feat! In a simplified sense, these connections in your brain form and get stronger based on habit. Let’s say you eat the same cereal every morning for breakfast; that associated collection of neural pathways is going to be really strong. Let’s say you’ve worked the same 9-5 job for twenty years; you sit at the same desk, and see the same people every day. Those pathways are going to be really strong, too. Think of the strongest pathways as the expressways of your brain. Lots of “cars” can travel on them, and get to their destinations quickly. To continue this metaphor, things that you do (or think, or feel) semi-frequently are the side streets. They’re familiar, yet less efficient. You have a pretty high level of competency doing these things, but they might cause a little discomfort because you don’t practice them as much. Embrace the uncharted territory, and don't look back See where I’m going with this? When you decide to make a change and do/think/feel something new, your brain has to create an entirely new “road.” And just as building a new road takes a lot of time, effort, and planning, so does the process in your brain. First, the road has to be planned out. Then, any debris needs to be cleared. Then, the ground has to be built up and leveled… and so on… until it’s a fully functioning road. Then, traffic has to use the road; when the pathways in your brain get used, they get stronger. It really gets painful when you decide to make a change that shuts down one of those expressways. Let’s say you decide to quit your job that you’ve worked at for twenty years; all of a sudden, the expressway isn’t in use. Not only will building the new roads be challenging, but you’ll also have the urge to get back on the expressway when things get tough. Patience and perseverance will pay off The key is to keep aligning your actions, thoughts, and beliefs with your dream life, and the new road will eventually become an expressway. Change takes time, and the more you can meet this challenging process with understanding and compassion, the less you’ll suffer. And the less you suffer, the more you can keep your eye on the prize.
Following Your Dreams Will Cost Money. Here's How to Make It Count
Something that most purpose-driven entrepreneurs don’t talk about much is money; the cost of actually bringing your dream business to life. It’s something that I, as a courageous new entrepreneur, hardly considered. I assumed that since I had roughly 500% more passion behind what I was doing, compared to my old job, the money would just flow. That was not the case. For a year, I struggled to find direction, clarity, and actual financial growth in my business. I spent a lot of time worrying about money, and as a result, piled side-job after side-job on top of my already full plate. I chased every creative idea I had, resulting in a lot of unfinished loose ends, and a business that felt more like an elusive idea than an actual business. It wasn’t until I was fed up with my fourth side-job in a year, and deep in business debt with little to show for it, that I decided: enough is enough. Something wasn’t working. I had tried everything I could think of on my own (courses, books, free mentoring, therapy, inspirational videos… The list goes on); I needed help. Following Your Dreams Will Cost Money. Here's How to Make It Count I had considered hiring a coach at the beginning of my journey, because I didn’t have the luxury of a family member or friend who had ventured into the online entrepreneurial world before me. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was determined to do it on my own. “Besides,” I thought, “I’ll be able to hire a coach after I start generating revenue.” As it turns out, I couldn't generate a revenue without the help of a coach. My adventurous spirit and resolve to DIY my business turned out to be a naive mistake. I use the word mistake lightly, because I believe everything happens for a reason, but I can’t help but think where my business would be today if I had hired a coach at the beginning. All the fears I had about not knowing what I was doing, all the tactics I tried because other people were finding success in them, all the time I spent perfecting my website, all of this would have been worked through and streamlined with a coach. Each and every one of us has the potential to make our dreams a reality, but we don’t have to do it alone. In fact, every successful person you can think of didn’t get to where they are today by themselves. The best singers had vocal coaches, the best athletes had trainers, the best spiritual leaders had teachers, and so on. The myth that as a solo entrepreneur, we have to actually be solo, is limiting our success. I took the long road to realize these things, but you don’t have to. Here are a few things to do to set yourself up for success from the very beginning of your entrepreneurial journey: Hire a coach Big surprise, huh? Seriously, I know at the beginning it seems like such an unnecessary expense, especially when money may be tight already, but your returns will happen much quicker with the focused support of a coach. There are a ton of skilled coaches out there who are ready to help you succeed; do some research, ask around, book a few discovery calls and hire one you feel good about. A big part of my initial fear of getting a coach was the fact that if I hired somebody to hold me accountable, it would make this business thing real. Part of me thought I needed to ease into the world of entrepreneurship, but that was my fear talking. Had I had a trustworthy coach, she would have helped me through that fear and guided me to a place of confidence and empowerment. Focus on one thing at a time Your coach will probably tell you this, but trying to do all the things will keep you from doing the one thing you do best. There’s a ton of courses, workshops, webinars, ebooks, etc. out there promising business results, and it can be tempting to grab them all. Likewise, if you give yourself permission to go for your dreams and create a business, you’re likely to have more than one business idea pop up. Find the one that harnesses your purpose and provides a solution to a need, and put the rest on hold. Maybe you'll be able to incorporate some of those ideas later, or start a new business, but in order to get a business off the ground, you need to focus on growing one solid idea. Trust your intuition You know what’s best for you. You know how you like to work and what lights you up. The more you can stay true to who you are, the more successful you’ll be. This includes listening to your intuition even when it’s covered up by your own fear (as mine was throughout my first year as an entrepreneur). Learn how to tune into your authentic voice, and use it from the very beginning. The world needs what you have to offer; don’t let it get smothered by your own fear. Realize that creating your dream business will cost money, but if you invest in yourself by asking for help, you’ll save time and money in the long run. </p>