the SPARK ~ #127 Entrepreneurial Adulting & Parenting Myself
When my kids were little, I already had it ingrained in my brain (thanks to my Mom, who was an amazing parent) that children rely on structure.
As much as they may not want it, it instills a sense of safety because they know you’re taking care of them.
I wasn’t super rigid with my kids, but we had set times for naps, baths, bed, etc.
They were so used to it that they were able to stick with it regardless of where we were.
If nap time was at 1 pm and we were at someone else’s house, they could lay down and sleep. Obviously, there were exceptions… but for the most part, we kept to the schedule.
This schedule made all of our lives a whole lot easier.
I’m ready for more ease in my business.
It’s time for me to “parent” myself in my business 😉. I call this “entrepreneurial adulting” (which I’ve mentioned before).
On one hand, I’m pretty structured.
I’m at my desk, Mon – Fri, at the same time every day, and I have certain things I get done daily.
On the other hand, it’s a little too “loosey-goosey” for what I want to accomplish.
The first quarter of this year feels like a bit of a blur with my move from Costa Rica back to California.
Now that I’m feeling settled, I know that more structure will be incredibly helpful, especially with everything I want to do this year.
Besides the tactical side of things (scheduling specific tasks), accountability is one thing I’ve found that works best for me.
Right now, I have two people I’ve set accountability up with: my therapist & my friend Jason Resnick – the accountability with them is for ONE specific thing: to start marketing & promoting myself more.
I have no problem promoting other people and sharing what they’re doing, but when it comes to promoting myself? Specifically on social…
I’m like a turtle hiding in my shell. 🐢
As an entrepreneur, we have to embrace being comfortable with discomfort.
*Side note*
That statement probably applies across the board in life, entrepreneur or not.
So… where to start?
With eight months left in the year, I’m going to start with where I want to be by Dec.31st, 2023.
Then I have to break it into chunks: probably two months at a time since we’re looking at eight months, and equal chunks feel better than starting behind a month if I look at quarters (since we’re almost through with the first month of the second quarter).
Add to that my new “build in public” experiment where revamping my personal brand with ChatGPT, and that’s plenty (that experiment plus sharing all this with you is more accountability).
I think this schedule/structure is going to continue evolving until I find what works.
The two things I’m going to take into consideration here:
- Time off: I’ve got an upcoming trip with a couple of girlfriends the first week in May and other trips I’m planning this year. I also like keeping Monday & Friday appointment-free – that won’t change.
- Commitment: I’m committed to being patient with this process. Unless there’s an emergency, I’ll stick with my schedule and evaluate at the end of each week.
I’m also not going to go sideways with finding the right tool or system to make this happen. As much as I love tools, that’s simply a distraction.
I’m going to keep this simple.
“If you cannot explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
– Albert Einstein
Spark Spotlight 🔥
Jason Resnick
Many of you are already familiar with Jason (we’re friends, and I share his stuff regularly), but his awesomeness bears repeating. 😉
As much as I love & believe in email marketing, Jason is helping me structure & implement better processes and automations. He’s absolutely my “go-to” for all of this. Regardless of your email platform, his strategies work across the board.
Featured Articles 📝
✔ Context is everything! Did you know hygiene and washing your hands were once considered emasculating? Read “8 Inventions That Once Freaked People Out Way More Than AI.”
✔ This is on point with exactly what I mentioned above (promoting myself). Read, “What’s the biggest mistake I’ve been making in my social media marketing?”
✔ Think a SaaS product might be in your future? No-Code makes that possible. Read “How We Built a SaaS Platform in 10 Days For $40 With No-Code Tools.”
Tool Time 🛠
Featured Tool:
I’ve not been shy about my love of beehiiv (and I think I may launch the AI Experiment journey there), and I still think it’s the best place to launch a stand-alone newsletter.
- Organization: a visual way to organize your ideas and projects. Use xTiles free here.
- Podcasting: turn your audio file into an article, transcripts, show notes and social content. Get CastMagic here (lifetime one-off price!).
- Testimonials: I’m working on getting this set up for easy gathering of testimonials. Use Senja free here.
- Video: I’m looking forward to seeing what this comes up with. Turn your long-form content into video. Try Pictory free here.
AI Insider 🕵️♀️
Tool: Generate a new website in less than 5 minutes. It’s not fancy, but it will get you started. Try Durable.co free here.
Twitter: I just discovered the AI Daily… it’s a little like drinking from a fire hose, but great. Follow AI Daily here.
Prompt resource: Stuck on a prompt for something specific? Explore SnackPrompt here.
*BONUS* Not tech related, but pretty useful. Get book recommendations based on your favorite books. Try Librarian-ai.com here (I was happy with the recommendations I received!).
I laughed out loud at this… 🤣
In addition to working on creating a little more structure/better schedule for myself, I’m really trying to stay present.
I feel like I have a list a mile long with things that need to be done, and even though they’re things I want to do, it can be a smidge overwhelming if I zoom out too far.
I’m having so much fun with AI, and the new relationships and collaborations I have in the works (I’ll announce the new collaboration as soon as the ink is dry). It’s easy to want to work every day.
Which will only lead to burnout, and the work I am getting done will suffer.
So I’m taking my own advice, making sure I meditate, drink my water, get plenty of sleep, and get as much fresh air and walks in as possible.
Stay tuned for tomorrow when I share the revised name of my “build in public” AI experiment.
