My biggest mission at the moment is really helping to abolish this hustle mindset. You don’t have to grind yourself into the ground in order to be successful. And one of the things that I’ve been discussing a lot is letting go of guilt, letting go of guilt when we’re not working, letting go of the pressure that we put on ourselves. 

Guilt and pressure are two of the most unproductive things that we can do as entrepreneurs because what actually ends up happening is we put so much pressure on ourselves to work a particular amount or to show up at particular periods of time, rather than just thinking about how we want our life and business to look. 

And even if we do think about how much we want our life and business to look and when we want to work and how often we want to work and all of these different things, what most of us end up doing is actually feeling guilty about not working or stressing about future tasks that have already been allocated a time to be completed.

So, how you can actually build your business around your life? Let’s find out!

If you did like this episode be sure to screenshot and share on Instagram and of course tag me + Jess, @erinmayhenry, and @jess.williamson8.

THE FREEDOM OF BUSINESS

I know for me, I started my business, not because I necessarily wanted to make a ton of cash, but because I wanted freedom. I used to go to uni and then get the train into the city to go sit in a call centre. I hated it. So I was always saying to myself “I have to be able to be in control of my own time.” That was the number one thing that I wanted. 

What I actually then did was totally rebel against organization & system structures, which in time actually made me less productive. And so what I found is this really, really nice balance between being organized and being structured, AND building my business in a way that suits the lifestyle that I want to live. 

The biggest piece of the puzzle is obviously then letting go of the guilt that it should look any other way. Letting go of the guilt that your friends are working if you’re not. 

You know, we are coming to the close of 2021 and it has been a really difficult couple of years. I think pretty much everyone I speak to is dealing with some level of overwhelm or exhaustion or just lack of motivation. 

Now is the best time to just give yourself a grace period where maybe you don’t need to show up as much, but you are starting to think about your business on how you want it to look in the new year, starting to make plans, starting to do the behind the scenes work for setting yourself up for an extraordinary, extraordinary 2022.

I know for me, that’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to systemize more, but I’m also trying to lean into, like I said, letting go of the guilt and pressure that I don’t need in my life when I’m actually just trying to build something that feels good for me.

SHOW UP AUTHENTICALLY

It starts with just getting to know yourself. There’s actually a lot of power in being yourself online. Whatever that looks like to you.

If in a world of reels and vlogs, it feels better to quietly speak your truth. do it! It’s okay to be a little more soft-spoken, a little more introverted and if that’s the way that feels most authentic to you. Lean into the power of being your quiet self in a world that can’t stop talking, if that’s what feels good to you!

A lot of the people that are talking about being authentic online often speak to the narrative of “everyone told me to be quiet and be the good girl but now I’m f-ing here!”

I do a lot of speaking events and I always tried to get into this mood of like the woo hype girl and like being louder. And then I realized actually, I don’t have to be any of those things, but that’s what I was like seeing online. 

You don’t have to be super loud. You can just say what you need to say. It makes an impact and then, you know, move on. 

The more you become yourself in business, the easier it becomes to create content, attract dream clients, create aligned offers.

THE POWER OF SHOWING UP AS YOU

There’s this natural tendency for humans to contradict themselves. And yet that’s the thing that everyone is so afraid of doing online.

But yet when you fully sink into the “this is who I am and one day maybe I’m going to be a little bit more sassy because I’m in a mood and I’ve got my period and I want to show up in this way.” That’s actually what people are more familiar with, the highs and lows of the human experience. 

Someone along the lines has to give people permission in order to do that. It wasn’t a part of our human consumption or media production experience for someone to grab a camera, hold it in front of their face and start talking about their day. And yet somewhere, somewhere along the lines, someone tried it and now vlogging is a very integrated part of the video experience. 

So if something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it and try the thing that your intuition is telling you, because maybe it picks up and maybe it doesn’t and that’s okay. Even if it doesn’t, at least you tried more likely it will because it’s the thing that feels most authentic to you.

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL LIFE

There is so much pressure on the internet to build certain financial success online or to reach certain numerical goals.

1. One part of it is knowing what success means to you. 

2. And the second part of it is how to plan your life around your business, around your life. 

People get distracted by what they see online. They see the 6-figures so they make that their goal. And then it’s like, what is the next monetary step? Yeah. And they forget about all the other things. Like no one wants to be a millionaire. They want the symptoms of being a millionaire. 

Decide what those symptoms look like for you.

“We put all this crazy pressure on ourself. Like I decided that I was going to launch a course this month. And I was like, why? Like, why am I doing this? Because now I’m just working 24/7. I’m not eating right. Again, I am not sleeping properly. I’m not having fun. And so I pushed it all the way out to January because I just want to have fun.”

We put all this crazy pressure on ourselves and adopt other people’s ideas of success. And then we end up in this hustle culture.

Let’s enjoy life. If you want to go to the beach on a Thursday and just say, well, that work is going to get done later, then why not? The work can fit around what you want to do. 

LET GO OF THE GUILT

There’s always going to be a little bit of an element of guilt because if you didn’t care completely, then you probably wouldn’t be in business. But, your to-do list will never be done. But one day you’ll life will be.

You’ve got to just make time for the thing.

[23:30] LEARN HOW JESS ORGANIZES HER BUSINESS SO SHE CAN STAY PRESENT IN HER LIFE

• The apps she uses to give you to-do lists a home (outside of her brain.)

• How she uses Google Calendar to keep herself accountable to living life.

• The mindset shifts that allowed her to release the guilt and make the most of everyday.

Be sure to connect with Jess:

https://www.instagram.com/jess.williamson8/

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