I’m fifteen years into my business journey, and there is so much I still do not know. It seems like every day there is something new to learn. Not only about my business and the people I serve, but about myself. How I am wired; the future I want to create. The past I can’t seem to shake. In today’s episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to dive into a few lessons that I’m learning about business. It’s all about solidifying and creating a future that not only works for me but inspires other business owners to dig deep and go further than they thought possible. Business isn’t easy, so why make it harder on yourself than it already is?

What does it mean to trust yourself? Inspired by a quote from Seth Godin’s book, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, I’m exploring what it means to trust yourself and how trust connects to your passion. For most of my business, I found it easier to trust someone else’s interpretation of me rather than trust my thoughts, desires, and feelings. But as I consider what it means to trust myself and do the work connected to that trust, I see an interesting new path forward. To outsiders, it looks a lot like where I’ve been before. But to me, it feels so much different.

How much time do you spend thinking about hypothetical scenarios, and how will you respond to them? If you’re anything like me, more time than you’d like to admit. After all, you’re proactive and responsible, but there is a fine line between planning and procrastinating. I recently realized that the more time I spend planning for problems that may or may not exist, the less time I spend producing work, improving my craft, and connecting with others. In today’s episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore several theoretical problems, why they are distractions, and how to keep moving forward.

If I were to summarize a common phrase I read, it would go something like this: “You are unique; the world needs your voice.” Every time I take that in, I nod along in agreement, but then another part of me starts questioning it. “Yes, I believe in the state of uniqueness, but with over 7.9 billion people in the world, not everyone needs my voice.” These feelings compound as I consider the way society takes the complexity of personalities and uniqueness and simplify them according to categorization, you know, putting people in boxes. Some groups are deemed worthy of speaking and being heard; others are silenced and shoved aside. Before I know it, a phrase meant to empower becomes something that overwhelms and quiets my soul. In today’s episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore what it means to share your unique voice for yourself and those around you.

A trap I’ve fallen into is only producing the exact amount of creative stuff required of me. No wasted effort. Efficient. I hold tight to it all, pretending every morsel of my creativity is precious. But today, my thoughts are different as I combine inspiration from Jeff Tweedy’s book, How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back, with a fertile imagination in the initial stage of a new project. With all this energy and drive, what if I capture every idea possible without worrying about whether it’s correct or not? I’m going to explore this idea and ways to store your unused, rejected, and surplus ideas for future use.

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw506.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 7:19 — 11.1MB)Are you focused on telling a better story or becoming a more impactful storyteller? I think a lot about stories.

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw504.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:52 — 17.3MB)How do people make decisions? Not better decisions, the right ones, or even the wrong ones, but any decision from

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw502.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 7:16 — 11.0MB)There’s something to be said about having a productive, creative habit: doing your work, transforming ideas into art, and sharing

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw500.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:42 — 19.8MB)Welcome to the 500th episode of Getting Work To Work. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has listened to

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw498.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:46 — 15.8MB)Every week it seems that I’ve got something to say: I’m writing newsletters, podcast monologues, planning for interviews, and producing

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw496.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:13 — 17.8MB)My mind surges with words and affirmations found in the game known as “self-help business buzzword bingo”: Confidence, comparison, imposter

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw494.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 16:52 — 24.2MB)I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt the fear found in being lost before, both literally and figuratively. Neither

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw492.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 15:47 — 22.7MB)In a recent conversation with my business coach, I talked about my business and how I have operated for the

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw490.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 16:42 — 23.9MB)There is a lot said in the creative world about comparing ourselves to others: how we shouldn’t compare our rough

https://media.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/content.blubrry.com/gettingworktowork/gwtw488.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:06 — 19.0MB)A recurring theme on Getting Work To Work is feedback, which is a critical component of the creative process. But to