Try stuff out. Experiment with ideas. Expect failure on the road to fulfillment. It’s a long haul that’s worth every wavering step!
Do you start something, and then the moment you slip up, you decide you just aren’t capable of it? When my oldest son was 9, he wanted to learn to type. The library offered a one-day typing class, and he went. When he came home, he was angry and discouraged because, after a six-hour course, he could not type as fast as his journalist stepfather.
Sometimes we don’t venture toward what we want to do because we know we don’t know how to do it, and it will take a long time.
Seedbop is like that for me. I don’t know how to run a business. Yet. I’ve marketed for local governments but never for my own work. Some of it feels awkward to me. Some of what I need to do I’m not particularly eager to do. But I believe in the vision. I’ve read enough about start-ups that I know that figuring out what to do and gaining business chops is a long-haul proposition.
Do you have a dream you’ve avoided pursuing because you don’t know how to get there? How do you start on that path when you don’t have the time to devote to researching/learning/figuring out until you are confident you can accomplish your vision?
Well, first of all, for our big dreams, I’m not sure you can study enough to then start and achieve what you want to the point that you eliminate doubt, uncertainty, and failure. Doubt, uncertainty, and failure are part of the deal on the way to achieving your dreams.
So try this. Take an hour when you can be alone, and it’s relatively quiet. (parents and caregivers, I raised premature twins, and I know how hard this can be. You are granted permission to do this any time you can do this!)
Take a pad of paper and write down the things you wish to bring into your life if you have the time and knowledge to do that. Don’t edit; make a list. Then stop and go inward. Ask your higher power (can be the nobelest part of you) if there is anything more you should write down. Then wait. Jot down whatever comes up.
Great. Now you’re done with the first step. Before you stop, plan the next hour to work on the next step. Here are the themes of future sessions:
2. Circle the three things that excite you. Now pick just one thing.
A note, if you need to work on something that brings in extra cash or is something you want to pursue as full-time work and it doesn’t make this list, ask yourself why. Sit on that. Jot down anything that comes up. It may be that you haven’t conceived this idea with the openness to embrace what would make your heart sing. So spend some time with a second list: work I would love to do if I could make money at it.
My same son decided he would have to major in IT even though he wasn’t excited about it because it was the best way for him to make a living. I encouraged him to pursue something he loved. He ended up double majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology and Applied Mathematics. He got a work-study job as a researcher and discovered that it made his heart sing. Today, he’s a data scientist.
3. Now, pick one. If it’s the income-producing thing, hopefully, you’ve found something that may be a little more risky and unknown but excites you.
Write down everything you know you’d have to do to get there. Write down everything, no matter how small a step. Sit on it. Jot down whatever comes up.
4. Now, pick ten things off that list and prioritize them from 1 through 10. If you’re like me, you’ll say, but somethings must all be done at once. That is an excellent way to hold yourself back and not move forward. If you have a cluster of things you can’t prioritize, write them down and number them anyway. We are planning for success here, one step at a time.
5. Take your number one thing, and list how you could get it down. Here are some examples:
1. Learn to quilt
• Find a quilting class, preferably in person but online will do (an on-demand course may work better if you have an unpredictable schedule)
• Or, if you know someone who quilts, as them if they show you how.
• Obtain basic quilting supplies. (I have the Nazarene Thrift Store near my house. I live in Amish/Mennonite Country, and it always has an abundance of very affordable crafting and sewing supplies. I haunt it at least weekly to scoop up the things I’m hoarding for my artwork.
• Go to the class.
• Start your quilt.
• Expect that your very first quilt will be amateurish and take a long time.
• Be curious, take risks, expect to fail, and keep going. This is an experiment in finding my voice with quilting arts.
• Take all the time you need, and plan ahead for moments to work on this.
• Keep going.
2. Start a side hustle. I will eventually grow into full-time work.
• Find other similar businesses on the internet, and study their sites.
• Make a list of what I like about them and what I don’t like.
• Research who is teaching the art of starting a business in person or online. Try that class. (there are free ones that can be helpful if you are starting out, but eventually, you’ll want to get paid coaching)
• Take the class, read a book, and add to your list of things you need to do to get started.
• Set aside dedicated times during the week that you can start plowing through them.
• Start doing them, as Anne Lamott says, bird by bird.
• Expect my first attempts to be amateurish and take a long time.
• Be curious, take risks, expect to fail, and keep going. This is an experiment in finding my way to creating a successful business.
• Take all the time you need, and plan for moments to work on this.
• Keep going.
6. You guessed it. Start working through those steps, one by one in the smallest chunks you can. It’s getting started and moving forward with easy efforts that will build the momentum to move toward you goal. And then repeat, “I will fail, I will go down the wrong path. This is completely part of the process. When I feel like this just isn’t working, I can ask myself what would work? What feels right? Then go in that direction. It’s persistence and consistency that moves us forward. Not perfect progress (there is no such thing as perfect progress, by the way).
Let me know how you are doing. Send me a comment. Sign up for a free consultation if you want to explore support for your journey.
Know that I am beside you cheering you on.
Interested in the steps to a creative life? Download The Seedbop Navigator: 9 Seedbop Habits: Move Past Fear and Stuckness, Become Wildly Creative, Unveil Your One-of-a-Kind Brilliance, Solve Big Problems, Persist Through the Hard Stuff, Flourish in Your Work and Life, Have Fun, Make Things Happen, and Make Your Heart Sing. (click here)
This is the guidebook that will point you in the direction of a more creative life. It’s free. I’m here to help. Walk with me on the seedbop journey. Let’s do this together.
