In this podcast episode, we break down the phrase “fake it ‘till you make it” and talk about the practical uses and the impractical side effects.

Our three main problems with the idea of “faking it till we make it.” 

1. It never ends because there is no quantifiable “making it” period. How do you know when you’ve made it?
2. It breeds the foundation for the Imposter Syndrome. Even if you’ve gained experience, this way of thinking will knock you down into believing that you’re not supposed to be here or that you’re no good at this.  
3. It doesn’t allow you to learn and grow, because you avoid vulnerability.  

We talk about the psychology of what happens to your long-term confidence and growth and what you can do to maintain a healthy confidence level.

“Faking it” breeds a long-term identity crisis. You become obsessed with your external image and you end up putting yourself in a lot of stressful situations.     

We share stories of things that we experienced when we launched a photo portrait studio in 2013 and how “faking it till we made it” affected our business starting out and as we grew.

The Next 3 Steps to keep “fake it until you make it” in check

1. Set a goal for when you’ve “made it”. It can be a monetary amount, a certain number of clients, your number of products sold, or even a time frame. It’s entirely up to you and your business goals. But the point is to set a tangible goal and allow yourself to say you’ve “made it” and can stop “faking it”.
2. Take daily action towards “making it”.  Stop spending time, money, and energy projecting that you’ve made it and just focus on actually doing the things that put you on course to your success.
3. Find other ways to build confidence. You can do things like taking courses, networking with peers, and getting client reviews.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources

Leave a voicemail for an upcoming podcast: www.learnit-doit.com/podcast

The post The Problem With “Fake It Until You Make It” appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In this episode, we’re talking about resolutions/goals, making a plan, and how to actually achieve those goals! We are well into the new year, and if you are like most people, those lofty goals you set up at the start of the new year have already fallen to the wayside. So let’s dive in, and see what you can do to create better goals and set out to actually achieve them!

Episode Summary

Most of us would love to make a plan to grow, both personally and professionally. But it’s easy to set goals that are too lofty, aren’t really actionable, or are inconsistent in nature. The best way to really achieve new heights is to set small, reasonable goals that you can easily insert into your everyday routine. Turn your goals into daily habits so they really stick and can help create long-lasting, sustainable change in your life.

Take action each day to reach your goal

• Make a plan and commit to it
• Break down your goal into specific, daily actions you can take
• Insert your daily action/habit into your everyday routine

For example, if you want to exercise more, set a small goal to do 20 squats every day. Then tack those squats onto something you already do every day, like brushing your teeth. So now, when you brush your teeth, you’re reminded to do your 20 squats as soon as you finish – or if you’re super talented, simultaneously!

Think about Improving 1% Each Day…

Taking a few minutes each day is totally doable! Whether it’s reading for 5 minutes, taking a 10-minute walk, or doing 20 squats – set these actionable goals that are super-specific and schedule them into your day. These small steps will lead to more and more improvement.

If you can take your goals and turn them into habits, THAT is how you can really create CHANGE in your life. If you think about it, that is what these goals are for, right? We are trying to make a change – and long-lasting change, at that! The best way to create lasting change is by developing a habit, and small daily action is exactly how to get that done!

Lighting the Spark

While 20 squats a day may not get you in the best shape of your life, it’s all about LIGHTING THE SPARK! On days when you are super tired, 20 squats are so easy you’ll still get it done. But on days when you are super motivated and have the time, those 20 squats might turn into 10 push-ups, a short jog, jumping jacks, etc. What started as 20 squats each day has turned into a short exercise circuit that we do daily – all we needed was a spark, and daily action to create the habit!

The Next 3 Steps:

1. Commit to a small, consistent, daily action you can take. Make sure it’s something SO simple that it will only take you 5-10 minutes to complete. Just light that spark!
2. Schedule it – Set the same time every day to do that activity. Maybe it’s when you first wake up at 8:00 am or after you brush your teeth at night. Just pick the time or routine activity to attach it to, so you actually get it done.
3. Show up – Do it EVERY day! “Don’t break the streak!” should be a mantra! And if you do miss a day, it’s OK – life happens. But keep your commitment by following the rule of NEVER missing 2 days in a row.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.

Recommended Resources:

• Headspace – Sign up for Headspace
• Leave us a voicemail and be on an upcoming podcast – www.learnit-doit.com/podcast
• The Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear

The post The Easy Way To Make A Plan Work appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Then we found out that we were expecting a baby girl and that slowed my progress a bit and it definitely changed the content of what I’d be reading.  Despite all the excitement, I was still able to read more books than I have any previous year, including a few pre-baby titles. And with every book, comes a whole lot of lessons to put into practice…

My Top 4 Must-Reads from 2019

1. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
2. How to be an Imperfectionist – Stephen Guise
3. Declutter Your Mind – S.J. Scott
4. Everybody Writes – Ann Handley

My number one must read from 2019 was A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, in fact, we are only a few days into January and I just finished re-reading the book.  This is the kind of book that you can keep coming back to and get something out of every time. I think that’s something I really enjoy about personal development books; the lessons you learn while reading them are really dependent upon the moment you are in and what is going on for you personally at the time.

How to Be an Imperfectionist was one of the last books I read last year and it really hit home.  If you suffer from perfectionism and find yourself not finishing things – or worse, not starting things –  because you are waiting for perfection, then this is a MUST READ. This book details the root of perfectionism, how it manifests itself in your life, and step-by-step habits to put into practice so you can “become an imperfectionist.”

For the self-marketers out there, I think Everybody Writes is a must-read.  And in reading the book, you’ll realize that these days, we are ALL writers whether we consider ourselves writers or not.  This book is full of tips, concepts, and insights that will make you a better writer. As someone who is constantly creating content and marketing materials for my audience to consume, this book was incredibly insightful and immediately applicable.

Declutter Your Mind was another book with immediately applicable concepts.  If you are looking for a book to read to kick off the new year with a bang, this book is an easy read and loaded with advice and activities you can start to implement right away that will improve your productivity and peace of mind.  I read this at the start of 2019 and you’ll find that we talk about a ton of these concepts in our blogs and podcasts because they are super helpful for the self-employed business owner.

In Summation…

These books definitely taught me a lot of lessons to implement in the new year and I look forward to diving into my 2020 reading goals.  This year, I’m sticking with the 30 book challenge because I really want to hit it and know that I can make it happen if I put my mind to it.  I may have a few re-reads on my list, like “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” a classic that I try to read every couple of years to refresh myself on the age-old concepts that book shares on relationships and success in life. 

For those of you who’ve been meaning to read more, challenge yourself to read a certain number of books this year and let’s hold each other accountable.  The key to getting your reading done is to make time for it regularly and to have a list of books that you want to read so that you always are a few books ahead of yourself on what is coming next.  There were a few times this year when I finished a book and a few weeks would go by before I realized I didn’t have another book on deck to read. So I recommend planning a few books ahead and always looking for new books to add to the list.  Reading is a great way to take a break throughout the day, clear your thoughts, learn and grow. Let’s make it happen in 2020!

And I’m also always looking for recommendations and would love to hear what personal development and business books you might recommend. Share in the comments your favorites and I will be sure to check them out! And as always, I’ll be sure to share my book reviews throughout the year as I find titles that really speak to me which I think you might enjoy.

Happy reading, DOers!!

The post A Year Of Reading In Review – 2019 appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

I recently read “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” by Stephen Guise and I am extremely happy that I did.  I’m always looking to improve the areas in my personal development that I feel are weak and for this instance, in particular, I was looking for ways to improve my habits to maintain personal confidence. On a day to day basis, we’re aboard this crazy roller coaster called life and I’m just looking to make sure I’m wearing my safety belt.

I was drawn to this book because I found that the preview spoke directly to my creative personality.  Personally, I am a planner. I love being prepared in every situation and my mind feverishly rushes through checklists, what-ifs, and worst-case scenarios.  As a business owner and a creative person, I never realized that the pursuit of perfectionism has been what I’ve been hung up on all these years.  

On many occasions, I’ve gone into analysis paralysis, where I’d overthink something to the point where I’d choose to do nothing instead of moving forward.  The mere fact that there might possibly be the tiniest chance of something going awry would lead me to inaction, which would then evolve into guilt that would add to my daily stress. 

As I was trying to make everything perfect to avoid possible embarrassment, I was totally overlooking the life experiences that imperfection teaches us.  Understanding that there’s no true risk in being imperfect [unless you’re in the medical field!] and that the important thing is to just show up and let go of those mental projections, will help you create a much happier and more efficient version of yourself.

I am so happy that I found this book because it teaches you simple, actionable steps to improve your daily habits and headspace.

Who would get a lot out of this book?

If you are a self-proclaimed perfectionist, you NEED to read this book.

If you procrastinate by making sure that you have ideal conditions, an ideal mood, or ideal timing to complete your task, you NEED to read this book.

If you constantly project the outcome of events by listing all the things that will probably go wrong, you NEED to read this book.

If you’re constantly avoiding failure, humiliation, and embarrassment, so you always take the easy way out, you NEED to read this book.

What are our takeaways and how will we apply them?

This book teaches a series of mini habits to help you create actual change in your daily life rather than provide a sense of fleeting motivation.  Here are the takeaways that I’ve already applied to my daily routine.

1. Embrace imperfection.  Doing things wrong is the only way we get better, so the only thing that matters is gaining the experience by doing them.  As soon as you “OK” yourself to be imperfect, you’ll feel a huge sense of relief and allow yourself to get right to business.
2. Stop ruminating. The only way to get over the past is to accept it.  Rumination is a painful form of procrastination where you rehash past events, go through the shoulda, woulda, coulda and end up choosing to relive your nightmares.  Stop replaying old movies in your head and start accepting what has happened and know that each new moment gives you an opportunity to take your life where you want it to go.
3. Implement the concept of binary thinking.  Make your tasks easy to complete by simplifying them to a pass or fail concept.  Instead of getting nervous and procrastinating because you have to give a perfect presentation free of embarrassment that everyone will love, make your goal to simply get up and start talking out loud.  The more you add to the “story” of your task the more you begin to project the outcome which fires up your negative and nervous emotions and stops you in your tracks.  
   1. Another simple example is rather than thinking that in order to go to the gym and get a good workout you have to feel up to it and be motivated. Just make your goal to drive to the gym. That way, you either did it, or you didn’t and it completely bypasses your subjectivity on the matter.
4. Change your language.  Pay attention to the words you say.  In particular, use the term “could” instead of “should.” “Should” always leads to guilt and resentment towards yourself and the task you need to complete. “Could” still gives you the opportunity to do the tasks and keeps your subconscious mind from delivering a guilt trip.
5. Let go of embarrassment.  If you find yourself avoiding doing things because you don’t want to be embarrassed, then you’ll never get to where you want to go.  Embarrassment isn’t a harmful risk and has no unhealthy side effects. It’s 100% temporary and you can actually choose to let it go. Experiences are what help you become more confident and allow you to give less weight to the feeling of embarrassment. Stop seeking approval from the fictitious “everyone” because it’s just causing you to have low self-esteem.  The more you’re able to participate in your life, the more practice you will get and the better you’ll be. If you think about it, everyone who has ever been great was a failure almost 1000x more than they were great. Dreaming big doesn’t always require aiming big. Aim at what’s in front of you to make it attainable and take aim often.
6. Flip the switch on motivation.  Our culture is constantly throwing out ways to get us motivated to take action.  There are books, seminars, and coaches all dedicated to helping us get enough motivational feelings to take ourselves out of the rut we are in and spring us into action.  The trouble with this model is that it won’t work all of the time. Sometimes we just don’t feel up to it. When you aren’t feeling creative or you are in a bad mood, climbing up that hill to motivate yourself to get stuff done is extremely daunting and let’s face it, unlikely.  If you flip the switch and decide to stop waiting for or trying to build motivation, and instead just start by taking action, you’ll find that action actually creates motivation MUCH quicker!

GET THE BOOK

How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.stephenguise.com

The post Book Review: “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Learning how to control your schedule is crucial to being in business for yourself.  Without setting proper processes, boundaries, and expectations, you’ll soon find yourself running in circles and spending most of your day in between productive activities, rather than getting things done and feeling accomplished. This is a lesson we learned (the hard way) when we were running our measuring business.

How We Learned This Lesson The Hard Way

As we described in Episode 0 – Who are Rhi & Pete and What’s this Podcast All About? we started a side business doing carpet estimates for multiple carpet installers who were contracted with a box home improvement store while we were in college.

Every week, we’d be sent the contact information for 20-40 people in the New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts areas that we had to schedule appointments with for that week.  Our territory included 9 stores that spanned 86 miles at their furthest points. In order to effectively schedule ourselves, we had to account for: 

• The location of the home we were measuring
• Any traffic or construction we might encounter on the way
• What we had to measure and how long that might take 
• Hoping the people we were meeting weren’t running late or not showing up
• Using map books, printed directions and old school GPS devices without real-time traffic updates.  

Needless to say, scheduling all these appointments was quite the cumbersome task.

When we first started, we would simply call each person in our pile of paperwork and ask them when they were available, and put them in our calendar.  We’d write down the list of appointments we’d scheduled in order, print out directions from the internet, hop in the car and hope for the best.

Before long we realized there had to be a better way.  We’d run into traffic, no-shows, incorrect directions, and endless days full of stress, running late, and rescheduling.  Our days were long, stressful, and inefficient and we realized that it was costing us time and money. It was pretty agonizing at first…what had we gotten ourselves into?!

So how did we attempt to fix this problem?  Well, we started by sitting down and outlining all the places where we were running into issues.

Once we outlined our major issues, we decided that if we could improve our ability to estimate how long tasks actually took and improve our customer process, we could get more estimates done in less time, and create days with less stress and more productivity. 

Sound like a dream come true?  Well, it certainly was for us! We went from barely getting 25 estimates done in a week to easily scheduling 50 estimates and working fewer hours…this was like doubling our income without increasing the number of hours we were working!!  It was all about efficiency.

So, let’s take a look at how this could be applied to your business to save you time, decrease your stress, and increase your productivity (and hopefully increase the amount of money you’re making)!

How We Solved This Problem

1. The first thing you need to do [and as we did in our situation] is to define the problematic areas of your scheduling process.

Take a hard look at what processes or routines (if any) you use to schedule yourself.  

• Is it first come first serve for your time slots?  
• Do have dedicated days for certain clients, geographic areas, meetings, or work? 
• How do your personal obligations fit into this schedule? 
• Are there certain tasks or obligations that keep being bumped for “things that come up?”

Consider your answers to all of these questions and try to pinpoint the places that are creating the logjam and stress for you.

For our measuring business we uncovered that our biggest roadblocks were:

1. We were constantly underestimating the amount of time it took to complete a measurement, travel between point A and B, and stop for lunch/gas, etc.
2. We were assuming that every appointment we made was going to be kept by the customer without any sort of reminder process.
3. We were letting each customer set the day and time when we would come to them, rather than being more efficient and scheduling similar locations in the same time window (kind of like batching our stops together based on location).

2. Second, we brainstormed solutions for each of our roadblocks.  

Problem 1: We realized that it was extremely important for us to be realistic about estimating the amount of time we needed to do our jobs correctly.  In order to do this, we recorded the time each task took us for two weeks of measuring (because each job and destination was different every time) and we used the averages to help us schedule and plan.  This is what we came up with: 

Time spent measuring

• Single Room: 10 minutes
• ½ house: 25 minutes
• Whole House: 45 minutes

Driving Times

We used MapQuest at the time and just added a 15-minute buffer for each stop.  This gave us time to get gas, eat and helped with any traffic we encountered.

2 Hour Window

We gave our customers a 2-hour window on when to expect us.

Having these numbers allowed us to use a formula for scheduling. We’d just plug the numbers in and know exactly how much time we needed and it saved us from guessing or trying to figure it out every single time.

Problem 2: We encountered a lot of no-shows.  Most of the time people just forgot because they too, are bad at making or keeping a schedule.  So to fix this issue, we told each customer that we’d call when we were about 15 minutes away and we made sure to get the phone number of the person that we’d be meeting.  This is twofold — first, a lot of people were meeting us and this 15-minute heads up ensured that they’d have time to still get there if they forgot; second, we weren’t always meeting with the person who we originally scheduled the appointment with.

Problem 3: We’d just start calling the customers as the jobs came in and asked when they’d like us to come. This made for total chaos in our schedule and made for very long and stressful days.  To solve this issue, we batched together when we made our phone calls. We decided since the store’s policy is to call the customers within 48 hours of receiving their paperwork that we’d wait until multiple jobs came in so we could organize them by geographic location, map out our ideal itinerary and begin making calls.  

We also decided that we were going to give the customer two options for the appointment (ie. We’ll be in the area on Monday morning or Wednesday afternoon, do either of those times work for you?).  The majority of the time those time slots did work and that’s the moment when we started making our schedule on our own terms.

Realizing that our clients don’t know our schedule and don’t assume we are always available for them was a big lesson.  We always felt like we needed to accomodate them in order to provide an awesome service, but the truth is, the more efficient we are the better service we can provide.  It’s also so much easier for our clients to choose between two options than to review their entire schedule and toss out their own ideas. We assume that their suggestions are convenient for them, but sometimes they are just as random as you allow your schedule to be when you don’t control it.  Giving a few options shows that you are organized, efficient with your time, and accommodating because you are giving them options.

Improve your process to get more done

Lastly, think about ways in which you can improve your process to control your schedule more.  For us, it meant letting our customers know the window during which we would arrive, and telling them we would call them when we were on our way to their location with an exact time.  It didn’t really take extra time on our end because we were already in the car. What it did do though, is allow some flexibility for us if there was traffic or other unforeseen reasons why our day was running a bit off schedule.  It also meant that our customers knew exactly what to expect, knew that we valued their time, and made our “no show” ratio almost zero!  

Now, if you’re schedule meetings with your clients, no-shows may not be a big issue for you.  But I am sure we have all had meetings cancel last minute, or arrived at a location to find that our client was running behind or no longer had as much time to meet with us as we or they had planned.  This can really mess with your schedule and efficiency. Think about simple ways you can improve or add to your client process in order to improve your efficiency and I am sure you won’t regret it!

Let’s do this!

Now that we’ve outlined a few ways you can audit and improve your processes, habits, and management of your schedule, it’s time to put it into practice.  Take a few of these tips and start implementing them in your business and see how you can start to be more efficient, avoid unnecessary stress, and take control of your schedule!!  

Have you tried any of these methods before?  Have other ideas you want to share? We want to hear what works and doesn’t work for you!  Comment below to share the scheduling challenges or successes you’ve experienced.

The post How to Control your Schedule and Accomplish More Each Week appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Last fall, we were looking for a jolt of positivity and enthusiasm to zap us out of a funk.  They weren’t dire times [we were actually in the midst of developing and producing LIDI], but we were definitely in the need of a 3rd quarter pick-me-up to help us spring out of bed on those colder mornings and finish strong.

What Prompted Us to Pick up this Book?

One random night, while we were caught mindlessly scrolling on our phones before bed – we happened to see a friend of mine post about You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero on Instagram and I thought, “what the heck? – I’ll give it a read!”

Honesty Alert: Reading You Are A Badass was like drinking a 2 pm Redbull and finishing the day with a slam! It’s a shot of adrenaline to get you past the small roadblocks that you’ve built up in your mind that are currently standing between you and your goals.  Its “No B.S.” attitude is just what you need to wake up from the craziness in your mind and start taking action to live your best life!

Not only did this book completely jazz us up – it actually sparked feverish creative energy that helped us reach our year-end goals and prepare ourselves for the launch of this very website.

Who would get a lot out of this book? 

If you are currently pursuing a goal and you’re feeling “stuck,” this is a great book for you because Jen Sincero paints a comically honest picture of the harsh truths that we all need to hear.  Whatever your reason may be, I bet that the majority of what’s keeping you from the success you’re looking for are roadblocks that are actually quite simple to remove.  Sometimes a slap in the face can help change your perspective and if you feel like you’re ready to understand life from a new perspective, then you absolutely should read this book.  She’s raw, funny, and tells you the things that you need to hear without the sugar-coating. This book is oh-so-human, real, honest and just the kick in the butt you’ve been looking for!

What are our takeaways and how will we apply them?

1. Awareness & Consciousness

When you start getting into self-help books, there is a lot of talk about the “ego,” and if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t think you are the greatest (even though you totally should value yourself that much), it’s hard for you to believe that you have an EGO problem.  

The truth is, the “Ego” is your subconscious that is “driving the bus,” so to speak, when you put your brain on auto-pilot.  It’s the little voice in your head that pulls you down, helps you make terrible decisions that sabotage your goals, or reminds you of a bunch of useless false beliefs you’ve been taught throughout your life at just the right moment to hold you back.  

I love how simply, and realistically, Sincero talks about this concept of the ego.  It’s so important to take a step outside your “self” and realize that you CAN make changes to your life, things aren’t always going to be the way they have been, and everything you’ve been told isn’t necessarily gospel.  If you want something, you can have it…just tell that voice in your head that you’ll take it from here and make it happen!

2. Gratitude: The Gateway Drug to Awesomeness

Appreciating when someone does something for you seems like a simple concept.  Sometimes we say “thank you” without really thinking about it or feeling it. The truth is, when we can really take a minute to truly feel gratitude and appreciate the things and opportunities we have, it puts us on the frequency of receiving more of those awesome things.  When you are in a good mood, you notice more good things coming your way. So when you are having a down moment, take a minute to be present and think about some things that you really appreciate and you’ll find yourself climbing out of that mental hole and pulling yourself into that happy place again!

3. “I Tried” is the Poor Man’s “Kick Butt”

I love that Sincero points out that we as people tend to let ourselves fall short of a goal because we aren’t really willing to do what it takes.  People who are successful push themselves outside of their comfort zone again and again. They achieve their goals and reach the highest levels of success because they simply aren’t willing to let anything get in the way of that.  The truth is, if you want something bad enough, nothing can stop you. So don’t make excuses or allow yourself to fall victim to yourself or outside obstacles. If you REALLY want something, you’ll make it happen!

4. Give Yourself  Permission to be You.

All too often we allow ourselves to settle or be less than our best versions of ourselves because of something someone else says or a silly belief we’ve been holding on to.  The truth is, anything you want to be, do, or have is totally available to you if you can get out of your own way and really believe it’s possible.  You deserve to be the best version of yourself; whatever that means to you.

Link to the book: You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

Author’s Website: https://jensincero.com/

The post “You Are A Badass” Book Review appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In our maiden voyage of the Learn It – Do It Podcast we introduce ourselves and give you a little insight on what this show will be about.  We’re a husband and wife team who’ve been in business for ourselves since the fall of 2008. We share our story of how we jumped feet first into being self-employed entrepreneurs and discuss how we navigated the challenging task of creating our own opportunities in business.  Over the last 10+ years, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients and we noticed that almost everyone struggles with similar challenges. We decided to focus this podcast on the topics of Content & Marketing, Business Strategy and Personal Development, because no matter what industry you are in or what your business is, these topics play a crucial role in running a successful business.

Episode 0 Summary

• We introduce ourselves as business owners and podcast hosts
• We talk about our qualifications and experience in this space
• We share why we wanted to start this podcast
• We tell you what this podcast will be about and talk about who it’s for
• We describe the show format and episode details

Recommended Resources 

Check out our creative media agency: 

Do Something Different Media – www.dosomethingdifferentmedia.com

If you want to apply to be a guest on the podcast head over to www.learnit-doit.com/podcast

The post Episode 0 – Who are Rhi & Pete and What’s this Podcast All About? appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Why did we decide to read this book?  What prompted us to pick it up?

In February 2019, Rhi and I attended a conference called “Think Better, Live Better,” hosted by Marc and Angel Chernoff [of marcandangel.com].  One of the distinguished keynote speakers was Humble the Poet, who is an author, rapper and spoken word artist. Humble, or Mr. Poet (we’re basically besties by now), presented on how to overcome fear and adversity to stay creative.  Most notably, how to overcome failure, which is bound to happen at some point.

During his presentation, he discussed his upcoming book Unlearn and shared a few chapters with the audience and we knew immediately that this was definitely something we’d be interested in reading.

During the break after the afternoon speaking sessions were completed, we got to meet Humble and talk to him briefly about creativity and pushing forward even when you think you’ve hit a dead end.  He was extremely eloquent, helpful and insightful [and we thank him again for taking the time to meet with us!. 

We waited until the US release of his book and immediately snatched it up and read it in a day and a half.

Who would get a lot out of this book?

This book is a collection of his social media posts and they can be read as daily lessons.  I chose to read it cover to cover, but you can literally pick it up and open to a random page and get some great life knowledge. Humble The Poet doesn’t spout off puffy cliches, instead, he tells it straight and lets you know that you’re not alone in whatever pain or suffering that you endure.

I think that anyone in the trenches of a creative career will absolutely get a lot out of this book.  The author is extremely transparent about the battles that we face internally and externally as we continue our creative journey.  Through both the ups and downs, his lessons ring true and they serve as a great daily reminder to stay on the level and to remember what we’re actually doing here.

What are our takeaways and how will we apply them?

I’ve paraphrased my favorite takeaways, but really, each of the 101 lessons are true takeaways.

1. The only truth to life is death – everything else is what you decide to make of it. This message is incredibly helpful, especially when you find yourself in a distracting cloud of stress and fear.  It allows you to center yourself and remember the big picture.
2. Our minds are the cause of our unhappiness – not the actual world around us.  We can’t expect life to be the fairytale that our brain feeds us. We’ve got to cut the cord of the rom-com expectations that we’ve created for ourselves and actually take a good look at how fortunate we are in our own lives out here in reality.
3. We all experience pain – it’s how we grow, push our boundaries and do extraordinary things. If we spend our time building barriers of protection we are just setting ourselves up for catastrophic failure.  We only learn from stumbling and falling here and there. In addition, the happiness and sense of accomplishment that we’re all striving for only comes when we step out of our comfort zones, experience new things [good and bad], and notice that this journey is exactly what we’ve been looking for all along.
4. Don’t allow the opinions, expectations or narratives of others to affect you and your day to day life. You have to remember that each person lives their lives inside their own head and they’re only concerned about themselves.  When you view it from this perspective, the weight of opinions and expectations of others is lessened. It is up to you to live your own life and make it what you want.
5. You are the only thing or person that can make you happy.  This is a big one.  Our reaction is to look outward for happiness, but the truth is that it can only come from within.  So in order to get a head start on your own happiness, immediately stop looking to any person, product, or vacation to create happiness.

Uncover your favorite takeaways by visiting Humble’s website and/or ordering the book Unlearn here.

The post Book Review: “Unlearn” by Humble The Poet appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Tell me if you’ve experienced anything like this in your professional career –

It’s way past your bedtime, you’ve been burning the candle at both ends and you just feel completely drained.  As you finally get ready to drift off into the coveted dreamland where you can finally relax — it hits you. Your brain reminds you about an important email that you need to remember to send, or you come up with a great idea or solution to a problem you’re having, or you stress about an interaction with a client/family member/friend/co-worker that you had recently.  All of these things, good or bad still put you in a slightly frantic state because you don’t want to forget it tomorrow, but you’re not going to do anything about it immediately — because, remember, you’re in your bed — resting “peacefully.”

What does this all mean?

Your brain’s memory card is maxed out.  It can be tough to function when thoughts are overflowing in your brain.  Whether you’re dealing with issues in your personal life or your professional life, it is extremely tiresome and taxing to hold it all inside.  It will start to drain your energy and, in some severe circumstances, cause physical ailments to your body.

In addition, it is very difficult to conjure the energy to be the best business owner or creative entrepreneur that you can be.  All business owners and entrepreneurs are creative. We use creativity to find ways to solve problems in our businesses on a day to day basis.  We are creative in the ways that we deal with our project management and our client management. We’ve used our creative brain to develop our products and services and by being in business for ourselves we’ve literally created something out of nothing.  

Being creative takes energy

Not just mental energy, but physical energy, too. So where do we get this energy if we always feel overextended and bursting at the seems?

We journal.  It may sound sophomoric – but a journal is the best antidote to stress problems, overwhelm and confidence issues.  

Let’s define what I mean when I talk about journaling.

Journaling is a physical way to let go of all of the bloated thoughts in your brain.  We’re not writing a diary — we’re not throwing ourselves a pity party either. We’re simply rolling up our sleeves, putting the pen to the paper and allowing ourselves to release all of the mental anguish that we’ve been storing that’s been causing us stress and sleepless nights.

Personally, I have a composition notebook as a journal.  I commit to writing one handwritten page a day [about 10 minutes].  I use daily prompts that I Google to make it an easier task — simply answer the question provided by the prompt.  I write entirely stream of consciousness and hold no weight to what I’m writing. The point is to let it flow. Let it out. Simply.  I actually never re-read any entries. For me, the purpose of the journal is to let go of bad things and set intentions for good things.

For you to get started journaling I really strongly recommend using prompts.  It eliminates procrastination by about 97%. When we got started, we used prompts from www.marcandangel.com for the first few months.  Marc and Angel are best selling authors and professional life & happiness coaches.  If you just head over to their blog and search “Journal Prompts” you’ll find plenty of content to get you started.

So, what are the creative benefits of journaling?

1. If you start your day with journaling then you will find that you’re automatically starting your day with creative momentum.
2. As you write each day, you’ll uncover things that will lead to thoughts and ideas which will help you be more creative.
3. It helps get your brain in shape – EXAMPLE: Running – At any time we can just run from here to there, but for most of us our distance and speed are limited by the shape our body is in.  If you start running daily [like a training regimen], it won’t take long before you can consistently run further and faster. So the more that you journal, the more sustained creative energy and momentum you’ll have in the long run.

Now picture yourself getting ready for bed after a day full of positive energy and momentum — yes, you’ll still have ups and downs, we all do, but now you know that if you just write it down, you can allow your conscious and subconscious to let go and, finally, you can go to your dreamland and relax.

The post Journaling is a Super Easy Way to Clear Your Head and Calm Your Mind appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

How to stay sane and get a day’s worth of time back

I love my iPhone, and I bet you love yours, too. These little pocket miracles allow us to do incredible things. We use them for almost everything in our life. But, as Uncle Ben from The Amazing Spiderman says, “With great power, comes even greater responsibility.” It’s been a decade since we welcomed these little internet machines into our lives and they’ve morphed into an actual extension of our bodies. Many people don’t leave their phones more than an arm’s length from their body, 24/7.

It may seem that we’re addicted to our phones because we’re on them too much, but it wasn’t until the new operating system updated a while back and gave us all the screen time app that I realized we’re not addicted to our phones; we’re just unconsciously using them.

Let me give you an example.

When I checked my stats after the first day of use with the app installed, it tracked that I had picked up and opened my phone over 160 times in one day! ONE-HUNDRED and SIXTY instances of completing a physical activity and I couldn’t accurately recount one of them! Nevermind trying to remember why I opened my phone in the first place.

Why does this happen? When we take a passive approach to our daily life and fall into whatever happens next, we’re living in a state of “reaction,” rather than “action.” More plainly, we’re just waiting for things to happen and dealing with whatever happens because we don’t have a plan of our own.

How much time are we spending?

During my first week using the app to track my screen time, I averaged 3.5 hours per day. It doesn’t sound that bad because, after all, I use my phone for phone calls, messaging, social media, YouTube, and email. That’s a lot of stuff that I’m getting done, so three-ish hours isn’t that bad.

It’s not until you multiply that by 7 days and get 24.5 hours of screen time a week that it becomes hard to swallow.

In other words, for 1 full day out of a total of 7, you are scrolling through your phone. You now have a 6-day week (yikes!).

How many times do you run around feeling rushed and wishing there was more time in the day? Without even realizing it, you’ve spent an entire day’s worth of time looking at your phone, often unconsciously.

This article isn’t at all about giving up your phone, because I genuinely believe the cell phone is the greatest invention of an era and incredibly useful for managing modern life. But, I do want to point out that for one day a week your face is staring blankly at your phone. So when you feel stressed out or exhausted about not having enough time in the day to be successful, you can look at this and smile, because you’ll realize that there is more than enough time. Let’s face it — you’ve already carved out a full day to play with your cell phone.

Don’t be Reactionary Larry

Let’s compound the fact that you weren’t present, aware, or conscious for the majority of those hours spent on your phone. When you are acting mindlessly, you are approaching life in a reactionary state. Being reactive means that you’re at the whim of the very next post, topic, email or phone call and whatever it may be is going to determine your emotions, attitude, and energy for the rest of your day. All it takes is seeing a post of an old friend, an ex-colleague or a news headline to hijack your thoughts and shove you directly down the rabbit hole. All of this happens in your mind, while in real life you’re just waking up, brewing your morning coffee or waiting for a client meeting to start.

Why do we live in this state of reaction? Why are we so passive about allowing the onslaught of media and content we can’t control rule our days and weeks?

Don’t stop using your phone. Just make sure that when you do use it, you’re doing it intentionally to accomplish something. If you’re going to open your phone to scroll through Instagram, then do it, but be present while doing it. The point here is to take control of your emotional state and avoid falling down the social media crapshoot.

Stay out of The Rabbit Hole and avoid “Scroll Thumb!”

Pay attention only to those things that make you feel good. We naturally give more attention to the negative things that affect us and less attention to the good things that happen. Strange right? Well, we have an instinctual need to compare ourselves, judge ourselves and others, to get validation on who we are and to find out what we’re worth. It turns out, that need is just our ego, and our ego is a devious instigator who likes to rile up our emotions.

When you’re scrolling a social feed unintentionally, it’s easy to fall into the never-ending rabbit hole of negative thought and judgmental emotions. As I said before, it just takes one photo or comment to set you off emotionally, and it’s almost like you’re thirsty for it. For some reason, we yearn for that personal shock factor to help us feel relevant or to acknowledge that we have a sob story, too. We all have it tough in one way or another. The human experience is not an easy one. So why do we allow ourselves to ingest all of this noise that can seriously take control of our mood, feelings, relationships, and energy? The truth is, we aren’t choosing to let this happen consciously, but it is our choice to make a conscious decision to change it.

Your mood doesn’t magically change when you close your phone. Once you’ve materialized negativity through your emotions, it can consume you. That is why it’s incredibly important to begin to view your phone simply as a tool to accomplish a task. That task could very well be for entertainment, and that’s fine, as long as that’s what you’ve planned to do.

Also, if you’re ever in physical pain, either hand cramping or you have a case of scroll thumb, this is a sign that you’ve been using your phone mindlessly. For the sake of our hands and thumbs, please practice intentionality with your phone and you’ll find that you’ll be less stressed and have less physical pain.

Happy scrolling!

The post Hold Up! How Much Time am I Spending on my Phone? appeared first on Learn It - Do It.