The Importance of Getting Started
It’s time to move on.
We’ve spent the last four weeks in a Personal Branding series demystifying what a PB is.
I’ve plead my case as to why I strongly believe you need to start building a personal brand.
For only being in email format, I’d say we dove pretty deep into the topic. Reminder: Join the waitlist for a hands on solution to building your personal brand.
It’s time to move on.
I started the M&M Mondays weekly entries 41 weeks ago as a way to grow and connect with like-minded individuals, share my thoughts, and support my solo-business’ future success. It’s been fun, and I have learned a lot about myself and where I want to take my one-person biz career…
It’s time to move on.
M&M used to stand for Marketing & Mindset where I would write 1 small blurb on each ‘M’ every week. Yet with these M&M’s, my outlook has evolved. I’ve found that 2 categories really light my fire and seem connect well with you.
Business as a Solopreneur: Marketing, Money, Personal Branding, etc…
Personal Growth: Encouragements, Mental Frameworks, Philosophy, etc…
I’m not exactly sure what lies ahead for these M&M’s…
Do I lean the M&M into more of a ‘personal letter’ entry? Or a concise, easy to skim, information dump? Long-format deep dives? Do I include a bunch of links and resources? Do I do mini-series’ (like the PB one)? Do I bring in other writers to expand what we can learn together? Should I re-brand? While the questions continue to swirl…
What I do know is that…
It’s time to move on.
The key word being move.
Not me. Not you.
But every single person who aims to accomplish something they deem meaningful.
If want something, you have to trust yourself enough to make it happen.
But you only learn to trust yourself through taking action and learning along the way.
Let me throw a few relevant thoughts at you.
The Importance of Getting Started
You know that tattoo’ed phrase that people get all the time?
In one language or another it always reads… No Regrets
well…
I have regrets.
A mountain of of them.
I wanted to play football in high school, but was always too scared to try out.
I wanted to have a fun, social college experience, but was too nervous to leave my dorm room.
I hesitated to visit when I heard my closest grandpa was sick, never saw him again. (this one will continue to haunt me as long as I live)
I’ve parented my children the wrong way in moments.
I’ve ‘husband’ed’ (that makes sense right??) the wrong way at times.
So where does that leave me huh? “No Regrets…”
Yeah f__kin right…
And honestly, as I sit here and write this I’m realizing that this as a good thing.
Without the regrets and failures, I wouldn’t now know what’s at stake when you live complacent.
Because of my mountain of screw-ups I have deep emotions attached to the stakes at hand.
What seems to be the common thread between all moments of Joy and moments of Dread is…
Action - Making a decision and acting on it.
We can’t control everything, but that which is in our hands to do something about requires action. Either the strength to stand firm when needed, or the guts to sprint when it’s time.
Action is the cure to - anxiety, fear, doubt, and shame.
You cannot think your way to success.
The brightest man can create the biggest future. Yet…
A smart man thinks.
A wise man does.
Water favors no boat.
The mightiest of ships will sink from the tiniest of holes.
Life favors no man.
Without action, all of your potential for greatness will rot away.
If you’ve struggled to put action behind something you're passionate about, or you’re just tired of the regrets stacking up, just remember…
It’s Really Not That Hard to Win
Okay so level set…. What’s the one thing we all have in common with everybody else on this planet? We are all human. yup. Which means that we all wrestle with the same mind games and emotional rollercoasters.
If you want to win, just be slightly better than the majority.
Most people are riddled with anxiety, crippled in fear, drowning in self-limiting beliefs, and too self-absorbed to be self-aware. Read that again.
The aim is for people like you and I to NOT be like that…
Put in just an ounce more effort than those people consistently over time and boom.
You’re winning the game dude.
As the quote says, “The only way to guarantee failure is to quit”.
So so true.
How bad do you want your dream life to become reality?
How bad do you want your business to succeed?
Can you tough out the crappy seasons in life?
Can you spot the meaning in the midst of the struggle?
Wrestling with Discipline & Entitlement
Discipline is a big word for me.
Big in the sense that I’ve lacked it in the past, and wrestle with it on a daily basis.
I aim to be more disciplined in the areas that matter to me.
Entitlement is a huge problem these days.
Why is it that we feel we deserve something?
Do your actions dictate the outcome of your life? Mostly yes.
Then why would we spend an ounce of energy pontificating on what we feel we deserve when that thought pattern runs directly against the significance of action itself?
Entitlement is not the same as Confidence.
Confidence has no chance of manifesting something real without intention yet...
Intention does not equal action.
Intentional Action x Discipline = Your Dream Outcome
Stay humble.
Remain in action.
Reflect on it all.
Even the regrets.
You’re going the right way. Keep going.
And if not… pivot and keep going.
Til Next Time ✌️🙂
Ev
