photo credit: Roman Königshofer via photopin cc
Like most, I do my art in the margins. I have a day job, one I like very much, and so my writing and product making and speaking and platform building have to happen on the side. Some have called this a “side hustle.”
I’m supposed to tell you that if you work hard enough, your dream job can become your day job, and of course this does happen. It happened for Chris Guillebeau, Jeff Goins, Michael Hyatt, Jon Acuff, Andy Traub, Dan Miller, Jonathan Milligan, and others. But what if that doesn’t happen for you?
What if this is always a side project?
So what?
How Your Future Can Hurt Your Present
Don’t miss this. The minute we start to fear what lies ahead in the future, we sabotage the present. One of the most powerful weapons of the Resistance, to use Steven Pressfield’s term, is to get us to focus on how our art will be received rather than actually making it.
We destroy now because we’re afraid of then.
We think about the Amazon review before we’ve written a paragraph.
We wonder about revenue before we’ve explored the tools we’ll need to launch a business.
We’re perplexed about traffic before we’ve published a blog post.
Forget all that. A very wise man once said “Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.”
Today is so precious. Today is when you can decide to live out your passion, today is when you can tell the other voices to leave you alone, today you can be the artist you were meant to be.
Get to it.
Getting Closer to Your Dream
Try these these 3 steps:
- Set a goal and write it down. There’s nothing like writing down a goal to keep you honest and get you motivated.
- Get some relational support in place. Whether it’s monthly coffee with a friend, a creative circle, a mentor, or an online community, we all need help on this journey. Make a call, send an email. Do what you need to do to give yourself the support you need. And remember, you’ll receive as well as you give.
- Calendar it. “What gets scheduled gets done,” says Michael Hyatt, and he’s right. The things we place in our calendars are the things we end up doing. If we “make time for the things we care about,” we care about what’s in our calendars.
Bonus step: Go “distractions free.” Do what you need to do to clear your mind of distractions when you’re doing your art. I use a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones and listen to ambient music, and I just download ed Antisocial to keep myself away from Twitter and Facebook when I want to be doing my art!
Question: What’s one goal you have for helping you get closer to your dream? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Hi Chad I just discovered your site tonight, I’m in the place where I feel the call stirring to do something greater with my life. Your comment relating to Esther and for such a time as this resonated with me. I have written bits and pieces over the years, and have lots of ideas,notes and scribbles in journals but have never been able to piece them together. I have been reading through some of your posts and plan to follow through with some of your suggestions and ideas. Just looking for some inspiration and encouragement at the moment so thanks for your posts.
Catherine, welcome! I’m so glad you took the time to write. And welcome too to the bigger journey of this call you’re feeling. Take one step at a time and do your best to enjoy the journey! Let me know if i can ever be of help.
Thanks for your encouragement Chad definitely one step at a time and setting realistic goals. I want to write with a true sense of purpose and know it is going to make a difference in someone’s life. I’m a small fish in the great ocean of writers but I know God sees the bigger picture, I am looking to him to inspire and lead me. I have done the questionnaire and Need to work on some aspects of nourishing so I think that’s my starting point. Thanks again.
Terrific! Working the Nourishing cycle almost always produces fruit in the flourishing cycle. Keep in touch. I’d love to hear how it goes.
I have set a recent new goal to blog at once every two weeks about what matters most to me. I’ve never worried about traffic, it is hard enough to just get thoughts collected, research completed, and words out.
I have also started meeting 2 times a month w a fellow blogger.
The discipline of “making time” by scheduling has only been somewhat successful. I have a thought that will be the toughest habit to build.
Chad: I like the headphones idea. And I’m working towards a reality where writing will become a regular habit, rather than just writing when I need to. Part of my challenge is storing ideas and accessing them again. By any chance, do you use Evernote?
I use Evernote very rarely, but I know a lot of people swear by it. My friend Jonathan Milligan sells a course on it. One of these days I’ll teach myself on it and will probably end up just as fanatical as the others…
Hi Chad! I definitely think too much about “tomorrow.” I’m finishing up two book proposals and last night had a dream that I was on a plane that kept taking off but couldn’t get airborne…it just kept landing again. lol I’m such a linear kind of person – I like to have the goal, work toward it, achieve it, move on. But some things are out of our direct control. I have the goal, I just need to keep the passion.
Natasha, thanks for this comment. I thought so much of it that I’m quoting it in my next blog post! Thanks again.
Thanks so much for this encouragement. You are right, I need to stop worrying about how I’m supposed to get “this” done or how much “that” is going to cost me and start finding people that can help me find the answers and move forward. I needed this kick in the pants. 🙂
Terrific, Mama! Too often I get hung by trying to learn everything I need to know before acting. I’m better off learning as I’m doing.
I have been working hard this year at just doing it. Write it. Then do the rest. Write first. I’m still learning.
I’m big on setting goals and writing out to-do lists. I set goals at the beginning of the year and review them quarterly. I break those goals down into weekly to-do items. I find this most effective for me. Is it perfect? No, because the unexpected things sometimes happen. But if I don’t do this, I get less done.
Antisocial sounds like a great product. How are you liking it so far?
Love it. Super easy to use, inexpensive, and helps me stay on track!
Thank you so much Chad for this reminder! I so needed this. You are right…so what. If you love what you are doing the rest is just gravy. Today is truly ENOUGH to think about…
My goal is to schedule my time more wisely (which also means not letting social media distract me 😉 ). Thank you for your constant reminders to pursue and do!