summer break

Watch that first step, it’s a doozy.

Remember how when summer break was over and you were back in classes, it was one part excitement to see your friends, wearing your new clothes, and being in a new grade; and one part ugh-I-have-to-do-homework?-wtf?-I’m-not-ready-for-this.

Yeah,… that’s how I feel right now.

As you know I gave myself most of the summer off. Now it’s August and it’s time to get back to writing, blogging, and keeping it real. But I’ve struggled all week to produce one post-able piece of prose.

Sometimes the only way forward is… forward.

(Click here to tweet that)

So my choices are: keep beating my head against the desk in hopes that the perfect words will fall out OR write something reasonable today and go deeper next week.

Now, while I do love to bang my head on hard surfaces as much as the next writer, I think letting go of the need to be perfect and just taking a step forward (albeit a small one) is the better option.

Anyway, it’s rarely as bad as you think it is.

It’s the fear of not living up to some ideal you’ve created in your mind that keeps you from taking the first step, but once you take a step (any step) it gets easier and you start wondering what you were worrying about in the first place.

(And hey, look at that, I’ve nearly written an entire blog post already. That wasn’t so hard after all.)

By the way, I’m really excited to share these with you!

Just this week I’ve been featured in two interviews! I feel so lucky and honored.

The first is a Right-Brain Business Plan Spotlight, in which I talk about how I used the book The Right Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee to develop my business vision and start moving forward as an entrepreneur. Click here to read the spotlight.

The second is a podcast called Life Coaching Today with Garrett Lamb. Garrett and I had a lot of fun talking about all sorts of things (from road rage to the Flintstones), and had a deep discussion about the inner critic and what role is really plays in our lives. It’s a short 22 minutes long & free! Click here to download the podcast.

(Note: The link to the RBBP book is an affiliate link, so if you buy anything using that link I’ll get a small percentage. I rarely use affiliate links and only for things I have used and really believe in.)

Photo Credit: harold.lloyd via Flickr

When in doubt, simplify.

I work for myself. I work from home. When people learn this about me, it generally conjures up images of me working in pajamas interspersed with full days of playing hooky at the beach… like all the time.

The reality is that working for myself is nothing like that.

First of all, I work in yoga pants, not pajamas. Thank you very much. And I haven’t been to the beach in ages. Building your own business is work. Stressing about where your next client will come from. Worrying about doing everything yourself and wondering if you have what it takes. Being both the lazy employee who watches more TV than gets work done AND the irritated manager who doesn’t know how to deal with said employee, can be crazy-making.

But does all that have to mean it’s no fun?

I got to thinking recently, I left a good-paying corporate job to do something I love, so why is it that I don’t seem to be loving what I’m doing all that much and I don’t seem to have time to play hooky. Like ever. And I feel lost (always). And like I’m constantly playing catch-up.

So after a lot of introspection and playing 20 questions with myself, I’ve clarified what’s happening: I’m trying to do too much & “keep up with” the people/ideas/ways of doing things I think I need to keep up with.

Which is just silly.

What do you need to put on hold in order to create space, find clarity, and move forward?

I get to enjoy this crazy life I’m living. So I’m letting go of a bunch of things that are holding me back and making me feel stuck. Like the shoulds (I should be posting consistently. I should be building my newsletter list. I should always be marketing. Etc). And the need-tos (I need to finish working through Book Yourself Solid Illustrated before I finish writing my new homepage. I need to create the perfect header before I start writing guest posts. I need to have more followers before I can teach a course. I need to play by the rules).

I’m letting go of the old (not-so-helpful) stories I’ve been telling myself like: “I’m not good at marketing”, “I need someone else to help me figure out my business”, “I don’t know what I’m doing”, and “I’m not *there* yet so I can’t ______”.

Making things complicated is a way of procrastinating. Overanalyzing is another. Hiding out and telling myself stories of defeat before I’ve even taken action is yet another way I keep myself from what I want: success.

I don’t need to be perfect & I don’t need my house, courses, marketing, whatever to be perfect. I just need to start.

Embrace the learning that comes through taking action.

I have made a decision to stop blogging for a couple of months (which after my limited posts recently probably isn’t a surprise, but I wanted to be upfront about it). I will start posting here again August 1.

This is all so that I can spend time simplifying my online world, getting crystal clear on what it is I want to be doing with my precious time, and focusing most of my energy on one thing: building my business.

I’ve been listening to my urges more closely. Following my intuition. It is leading me to get out of the house more, invite people into my home (for informal learning/coaching meet ups – more info coming soon), and just start teaching something (new course to be launched soon – stay tuned).

In the meantime, follow me on Facebook and sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know about new courses, local meet ups, and life changing messages.

Until August 1, here’s your homework

Think about this question: How are you keeping yourself away from what you want most in life? Share your answer in the comments or join the discussion on Facebook.

Happy Summer!

Photo Credit:Julien Haler via Flickr

Tag: summer break

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