Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be
One of the first websites I had thought about starting, that eventually became something else, was “The Self-Help Junkie”… which I quickly pivoted to “The Self Help Chick.”
That was in 2008.
That “Chick” morphed into “The WordPress Chick” and most of you know how the rest of that story goes (TL;DR – stuck with that brand for 10 years and pivoted to my personal brand).
Side note: I couldn’t resist… I went to the ‘Wayback Machine’ and grabbed a quick screenshot. Does anyone remember this?
Wow! Talk about a blast from the past…
Back to self-help and “Putting Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be” (and why this matters to you).
I first got into self-help in 1992. Yep. I was one of those who purchased Tony Robbins’ “Personal Power” tapes from an infomercial.
Then I moved on to the rest of the motivational dudes: Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Dennis Waitley, Napolean Hill, etc.
Eventually, I found my way to Dr. Wayne Dyer and found an intersection of motivation and spirituality that felt more aligned with who I am (and no regrets, I value all of the lessons I’ve learned along the way).
The thing with self-help is that it’s easy to allow it to become an excuse (I’m not “feeling” it, I’m not in alignment, I don’t feel inspired, I need a day of self-care, etc.).
And note that I said it’s easy to allow it to be an excuse, sometimes we need those days and moments too.
Then I read Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”, which, if you haven’t read it you should. But fair warning, it will make you take a good look in the mirror and get honest with yourself.
Without fail, Steven writes every day from 9 -3.
He doesn’t judge what he’s doing, doesn’t spend a ton of time editing, and simply writes.
I highly recommend these other three books by him as well:
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
When I read The War of Art I realized a couple of things (as well as realizing today that I need to re-read it since I first read it in 2013):
- Everything I want in my life is up to me
- It always comes back to doing the work
- Self-discipline compounds
- Resistance can (and is) a motivator
Here’s the “lesson” today that inspired this email.
“Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be.”
This is one of a series of videos (that I’ll be consuming – it’s only about 5 min) and is such a great reminder.
(*Suggestion* Watch the rest of the short video clips from Stephen Pressfield on Instagram here, they all look similar and have the title “Put Your Ass Where You Want Your Heart to Be”).
It’s not just about physically moving somewhere else (although he talks about that too). It’s a reminder that your environment matters more than you think.
You don’t have to be in your ideal location (your home, your city, town, or country in my case – although Costa Rica is pretty ideal right now 🌴).
Think about your actual workspace.
Who you surround yourself with.
Who you engage with.
And most important, what you put into your head.
I’m at a point in my life where I don’t really consume a lot of ‘self-help’ stuff anymore. I look for things that inspire me and resonate on a deeper level (in addition to the ridiculous amount of business and marketing material I consume).
I’m a life-long learner.
Not because I feel like I “have to”, but because it fuels me.
But… at the end of the day, you still have to sit your ass in the chair and do the work.
Steven Pressfield wrote for 20 years before he was published.
Don’t let yourself off the hook when you know the work needs to be done.
And if you need to physically be in a different space by putting your ass where your heart wants to be? 💗
You can do that too.
