Do It Messy, Do It Inspired!

This month marks my 3-year anniversary as an entrepreneur with my business as a speaker, executive coach, and talent development consultant. I left a senior leadership role in a large organization to pursue my side hustle full-time, and I have never been happier.

This was not an overnight decision. I had been pursuing my business as a side hustle on evenings, weekends, and precious vacation days for over a decade but always felt fearful about pursuing it as my all-in career. Could I match, or increase the salary I made working in an organization? What about health insurance, and retirement benefits? After 36 months, I have learned so much and write to share my lessons and learnings.

Courage is Fear Walking

As a speaker and executive coach, I have frequently asked my clients and audience members the pivotal question: What would you do if you were not afraid? Some extraverted folks would shout out their dream scenario for all to hear, and the reflective types would jot down their desires privately. I heard consistently that these individuals rarely gave themselves permission to truly consider why what they wanted to do evoked fear.

Naming the fear is the first step. Dig deep to discover if you are living your life on purpose or with purpose. Are you designing your next step, or letting it happen by default?

When I identified my actual fear – a scarcity mindset, and not being solvent financially, I was able to deconstruct the facets of the fear and address the obstacles with solutions. A mentor long ago encouraged me to follow the fear, because that is where the juicy stuff happens. She was right.

Disrupt Yourself

Many of us get stuck in the fear of what our family, friends, and colleagues will think, and it immobilizes us from moving forward. I watched my parents, older clients, and friends let go of what people think and celebrate their seasoned life journey with joyful abandon and clarity that comes with a certain age. While the sage age of wisdom is wonderful, you need not wait until you earn that age to surrender how you feel about what other people might be thinking about you. Letting go of what doesn’t serve you takes practice and patience, so approach this new behavior with self-compassion.

• What do I need to let go that is not serving me well?
• Why am I refusing to let go of what needs to go?
• Why am I avoiding moving forward?

Do it Messy, Do it Inspired

I’m a proverbial planner but I have learned as an entrepreneur that perfection is the enemy of the good, and it’s ok to be messy. Creative ideas come from getting your hands dirty and trying new things. To be inspired, you need space to reflect, ponder, dream and then it’s time to act. Honor the baby steps and lean into the forward momentum.

It won’t be perfect (ever) and it’s better to do it messy, and do it inspired, than not do it at all.

Superego

We often talk ourselves out of pursuing what feels scary and succumb to deeply ingrained messages we have heard since we were young. Freud called this your superego. Well-meaning family members perpetuated the messages they were fed as children, and the generational impact is lasting.

Perhaps you were told never to talk about money, and this has impacted how you negotiate (or don’t) when offered a salary for a new job? Perhaps you were told not to speak until you were spoken to as a child, and this has hampered how you are seen and heard (or not) in the career world? Perhaps you were taught to be humble, and as an adult you have a hard time acknowledging the accomplishments you have achieved and recognizing others for their great work?

Don’t blame your parents or relatives – they had their issues to deal with a generation earlier. Consider what you must unlearn and undo to create a fresh new page on which you can design your next step with new eyes and unbiased intentions.

Small Steps

While I activated my career dream in a big way three years ago, I didn’t get here overnight. I have been developing my business slowly over the years, building clientele, developing a brand, and gaining traction with a global community that values my work.

Start small and commit to something you will do on a regular basis to advance towards your goal and mitigate your fear. Focus on what you can do and find an accountability partner(s) who will help keep you on track with support.

What I know for sure is that time moves fast, and life is too short for regrets. Stop waiting and take a chance on what will make you happy. Start writing the book, look for a new job, end the unhealthy relationship – whatever you would do if you were not afraid. Your time has come.

I have made a career out of reinvention and I offer actionable solutions about how to design your next steps in my book, Your Career Advantage. Discover how you can design a future that honors your values, interests, personality, and strengths. Life is too short to suffer in a life and career that does not empower you. You deserve to enjoy your career and love your life now.