“How’s Dream Year going?” (I get that question a lot, which I like.)
“It’s going great”, I tell them, and that’s the truth. I’m dreaming, I’m scheming, and I’m making progress. I’m turning the tumblers on the BlogRocket idea model in hopes that I can figure out the best way to bring maximum value to the bloggers I want to serve.
Has it been easy? Nope. I’m keeping count, and I think I’m up to about 9 different times now where I wanted to quit. 9 different times where the following thoughts hijacked my brain:
+ “Who do you think you are to do something like this?”
+ “There’s no way this is gonna work.”
+ “You have no idea what you’re doing, it would be so much easier to just forget about this.”
+ “This is gonna fail and people are going to pin it on you and remember this as a huge disaster.”
+ “You can’t compete with what other people are doing, so stop trying.”
+ “Stop kidding yourself. You don’t have what it takes to start and run a successful small business.”
I’ll be honest. The Blog Coaching idea isn’t new to me. I was tossing it around back in 2009. And every time I had myself convinced it was a good idea, the voices would get loud and shout me down. Usually, I listened.
So what’s different this time around?
I found something that’s louder than the voices. Money. After talking it out with Erica, I decided to sign up for Dream Year knowing that once I had committed my hard-earned cash to the dream, the voices in my head were going to lose a lot of their power.
And guess what, it worked.
I still hear the voices all the time. Like I said, there’s been about 9 times already when I wanted to quit because of them. But then I remember that I’m invested in this and that I have no other option but to see it through. And then the voices get tired and go away to regroup (they always regroup).
I don’t know what dreams you have that the voices like to shout down, but I do know that you don’t need to listen to them. Shut them up by making an investment in yourself. And if you don’t have any money, find some other ways to neuter the voices. Tell your 7 closest friends about your dream and ask them to ask you about it. Post updates on your blog or Facebook for other people to read. Think of something.
Every person who ever conceived a great idea heard the voices about why it wouldn’t work. Your goal is not to come up with something so amazing, the voices will have nothing to say. (They will always have something to say). Your goal is to find something louder than the voices. Maybe it’s a financial investment. Maybe it’s the accountability of friends. Maybe it’s the advice of a counselor. Whatever it is, figure it out.
Then you can move forward with the work you’re supposed to be doing.
Will it be easy? Nope. But that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be.