I know the awful truth: now what?

[geniegal]

This week I have had a real revelation about my approach to work over the last 15 yrs - Stop - starting

Teaching - bunny hopping jobs or daydreaming about leaving...then since sgoing self employed I have bunnyhopped from business to business.

This all stems, I can see now, from me not feeling like I could offer anyone anything of long term value. At the start of things I put masses of energy in and then it fizzles out. I know this is human nature but I have a particularly bad case of noveltyitis. I'm great on individual projects but over the long term I have trouble building on what I do for people.

I know this revelation is a good thing, I just feel so blindsided by it. No idea what to do with this new information.

Have just listened to steves first 2 audios Steve Pavlina Audio and I am thinking about his quote from Einstein - you need a different level of thinking to solve problems from that at which you created them.

I suppose I want to know - how do i build that f eeling that I could genuinely contribute to people over a long period and feel justified in getting paid for it?

Any ideas are welcome

cheers

[Bradman]

I feel pretty much in the same boat - looking for direction, something to get me excited about living again. Havn't had a job for two years and starting to feel worthless.

[tiawood]

As someone who has been down a similar road, I can tell you that one of the first steps is forgiving and being patient with yourself.

It's hard to change a lifetime of habits but you change that by making new habits. However, it takes time. Forgive yourself of the past, forgive yourself when you fall off the bandwagon, be patient and loving with yourself because the road is long.

Build momentum by starting off with the little annoying things you want to change. For instance, getting rid of the sugar items in your house, buying more vegetables, running on Sundays, planning out a chore list, keeping your back porch tidy, learning a new skill - anything you want but start from the ground and then build up.

And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep it up. And keep going until it turns into a habit, often replacing the old, bad habits.

Before you know it your life is heading in a new direction and you have a renewed spirit.

[geniegal]

Thanks for your replies. The day after I wrote that post I was overcome with very positive feelings of knowing what I want to do:

write
help others with a eating problem

So I want to concentrate on the copywriting part of my main business, and beating my own compulsive eating problem so I can help others

I also have a toddler site and that fits the above 2 goals. I think this is a good place to start as there is lots of content there to build on, an email list of at least 400, and a sales page I can improve.

[asleep]

I have had this problem for years now (with regards to career) and it is a major issue for me. It is my biggest weakness.

I still haven't found a way to deal with it. I'll be 100% sure about something, but can't find the reasons to stick it through the long-term, because my mind will see a 'better' way somewhere else.

[falcan]

I can relate to this. Was skipping business to business and field to field, for about 7 years, until last year. The core reason for switching for me was low self-confidence(but I thought I must do something else, because..its more right for me, its going to be better etc).

Another thing also. I was getting out of contract work gradually because I felt like my energy goes to waste more or less - by working for 1 month on something I created value for 1 person - in the end it was more people than that(people who used the app), but I never got anything back from that. Working longer and longer for the clients(fixing stuff) made me resist more and more because I felt it's a waste of my energy.

Now, when I have my own thing I'm selling(which I almost cancelled btw.) it feels so much better, working at once for all the current and future customers and getting my share back feels right. So you see, quitting something always doesn't mean it's bad. It's complex - but pretty much you must sense if you quit because you are burned out or you feel it isn't working or because you are scared to make it succeed. I think I often had the latter.

Oh last point, what opened my eyes was also my older and wiser friend, switching business about 3 times in 10 years (not too much, but they were quite major shifts), the difference was he always made it succeed, because he was willing to stick around longer (the self-confidence , he had no worries about if it would work).

[Clint Cora]

I lot of people get hooked onto the current trendy business idea or what's the latest hot money making venture without really thinking about whether they would be passionate about the field. To be successful in the long run, you must get into something that you are truly passionate. This must be a field that you would be involved in even if there was no money there.

If a field is a true passion and there's money to be made, you will have to realize that you will be living and breathing this passion with endless promotion for years to come.

So it may seem that you have to consider these factors when choosing your next venture.

[geniegal]

Great comments everyone. I can see clearly now exactly where I want to be putting my energies in - Falcan you are right about it not always being a bad idea to quit. It's fine I think as long as you realise the project is not enough for you (in any sense of the word) rather than any sense of you not being 'good enough' (in that vague sense)

[mikethedrummer44]

I think you need to create a vision. Something you can wake up and get excited about.

Earning a lot of money is fun and business helps you get to that point. However, the thought of earning a lot of money isn't going to keep you waking up in the morning — at least not for more than a few days (trust me on this one).

You need to create a vision for the future. Something you TRULY want.

So the first step is to sit down and think of where you want yourself to be in a few years. Picture what it is you TRULY want, then make a plan on how you can get there. This plan will be what you start putting in action tomorrow.

I know a lot of people talk about mixing their passions with their work. I feel like this is a recipe for disaster. Whenever you start doing your passions outside of your own time, it becomes work.

Let passion fuel your vision, and let your vision motivate you to wake up and get to work tomorrow.

Also, people are attracted to other people who have visions. We all want to get involved in something. Bring people into your vision and you'll have no problem providing value to them.