One year ago I promised myself I’d write every week about turning my sidehustle into a 6 figure lifestyle business.
Whenever I felt like I was shouting into the void,
when I felt like I was wasting hours a day on writing for nothing,
When I felt like I was failing to convert my content into cash
I could refocus on my WHY:
I wasn’t doing this to sell courses or coaching,
I was doing this to help people.
So actually I was winning.
This promise has kept me going through the usual expected slumps of motivation and peaks of overwhelm
It’s been one year since the inaugural episode #1 of Life by Design.
It feels weird now to look back at my own promise 1 year ago.
Although I’ve made some adjustments along the way, I feel like I’ve been pretty true to my promise,
and to the motivations that started it all.
I’ve tried to be as honest as I can without oversharing,
as realistic as I can be without being condescending,
as practical as I can whilst still addressing abstracts like mindset.
A huge part of this has been sharing my own story, which is something I’ve never been comfortable doing.
But my story is not just my HOW, it’s my WHY too.
I’m not talking why I started a solo business,
I’m talking about why I spend a huge amount of my time running an education business that makes no money.
When people ask me what I do now,
it is getting harder and harder for me to give a clear answer…
I’ve been writing for 1 year.
A lot has changed.
So it’s time to reintroduce myself and share my story again.
But, no this isn’t another manufactured rags to riches story for social media.
I hate those generic over exaggerated templates you see on Linkedin.
They seem to get likes,
But anyone with any marketing savvy can spot them from a mile away.
And they reek of BS.
The last few years I’ve been very fortunate.
If I could narrow down what limited success I’ve had in life,
it would be…
- Learning valuable skills in my youth
- Consistently repeating good habits
- Occasionally making the hard choice.
That’s all.
I never struggled to find enough money to eat,
I didn’t dramatically quit my job to pursue my dream with no money in the bank
I had a good upbringing and a stable childhood,
I had the usual teenage angst but nothing unusual or extraordinary.
In fact my life has been perfectly ordinary.
Which seems like a good opportunity to shine a light on some guru BS you see a lot on social media:
the curated “transformation story” is designed to make you feel like you’re lacking, or behind, or not making progress.
Be aware of the sell
There are two types of stories you see on social media.
The first is designed and tailored to sell,
The second is about educating.
I pride myself that my story is “honest”,
At least more honest than most gurus.
But…
My story is still a sell in disguise, just as all stories are.
The story is a transformation journey:
where you are now vs where you could be.
Most stories you see on social are a sell in disguise.
Often the sell is hidden behind “value”.
But at the end of the day,
everyone is selling something…
Including me.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with selling.
I wouldn’t sell my coaching services if I didn’t believe it helped people.
I sell a solution to the painful journey I’ve navigated myself.
I help my students go from frustrated and burned out, to wealthy with free time.
My testimonials from my students speak for me in this regard.
But I want you to be aware of the sell everywhere you go,
And with your newfound wary awareness,
you can guard yourself against feeling like 💩 when you hear about “overnight success” from another guru online,
or compare yourself negatively to their progress.
That “speedy progress” is in fact what most gurus are trying to sell you,
packaged as a course, or training or whatever.
Speaking of my coaching, if you find yourself in the situation as I was in my journey
and if you’d like to see more behind the curtain, you can book a chat with me.
That’s about as “hard sell” as I’ll ever get.
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