These are the only two results of any endeavor.
My late mentor Dan Miller sent this to me in a message years ago:
“At the beginning of each year, I set goals and plans to do things that have the potential to not work. If they fail, I learn. If they succeed, I profit. Either way, I win.”
Whenever I find myself hesitating about a decision, I re-read this. I hope it helps you, too.
I used to create and edit resumés as a side hustle.
I learned soon after I started that it wasn’t the best business to run. Not because I was bad at it (my resumés were gorgeous and well-made), but because no one who could hire my clients ever got the resumés I made.
By the time I started that little business, resumé screening software had taken over the business world. And most job postings were getting anywhere from 200 to 1,000 applicants a piece. No one was seeing my clients’ resumés.
Someone would get those jobs, but it was unlikely to be the person I was helping.
If you read books like What Color Is Your Parachute? or 48 Days to the Work (and Life) You Love, you’ll learn that sending out resumés to companies only works about 4% of the time.
That means you’d have to apply for 25 jobs to get one response (just a response, not a hiring decision). And those are just basic statistics—you wouldn’t actually get a response 1 in 25 times. You might have to send out 100 applications and only get responses on the last 4.
So what to do?
I’ve been asked recently by numerous people if I could help them fix their resumés. And I’ve declined every time.
“I don’t do that anymore,” I say, “because it no longer works.”
What does work is simple: connection.
The old saying is, unfortunately, true: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And in the connection economy of the 21st Century, that really is the only thing that matters.
By connections, I don’t mean the hundreds of people you barely know on LinkedIn. People who are creating content to (maybe) entice the platform’s algorithm in the hopes that someone will see them and say, “Let’s hire Jane.”
I mean real people that you know: friends, family, coworkers. The barista who knows your name. The husband of the banker who handles your mortgage.
If you want a to get a job in the modern economy (and 88% of those available are never posted online), you have to talk to a lot of people.
Every job I’ve ever had, I got because I knew someone. Every. Single. One.
Half the time I wasn’t even looking. The other half, I asked for help. I told lots of people with whom I’d built relationships that I was looking.
Now, I also know that’s probably some of my privilege showing. But it’s the advice that I’ve given everyone who’s asked me over the last couple of years. And for those who have listened—and taken ACTION—it’s worked out.
Now, I’m no networking expert. Nor do I “network” in the slimy business sense.
I’ve just read a lot and built relationships with people.
In addition to the couple of books I recommended above, I’d also tell you to check out:
Both of these books have strategies on how to TALK to people in ways that will (eventually and without being sleazy) lead to jobs.
Resumés don’t work. Connections do.
But resumés are easier—a way to hide from the difficult, but effective, work of having meaningful conversations with real people.
Do the thing that works, not the thing that’s easy.
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Two quotes came to mind while I was walking and thinking this morning:
“It’s easier to love what you do than it is to do what you love.”
—Seth Godin
Then, of course, my brain went to Dan Miller:
“Passion is more developed than discovered.”
—Dan Miller
Happiness is easier to achieve when we enjoy what we do.
But it’s not always easy to create an income doing something we already enjoy.
It’s easier to find a reason to like what you’re already making a living doing than to try to create a business around a passion or hobby.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try—I’ve done it with lots of my passions.
Music…
History…
Personal development…
Philosophy…
But in nearly every case, depending on that passion to pay the bills robbed me of the very same enjoyment that drew me to it in the first place.
If you’re doing work that’s mind-numbing, agonizing, and completely without joy or merit, please find something else to do. This bundle will help you in your search.
But for many of us, we’re just spinning our wheels, trying to find ways to monetize a hobby. We’re telling ourselves we’ll never be happy until we’re working in this passion or that one.
If you think you can, try to find enjoyment in what you’re already doing. That’s one of the tenets of Zen, and it’s also a path to true happiness and contentment.
If you’ve read this and still feel it’s time to make a change in your career, I highly recommend you check out this career search bundle my coach Dan Miller created. It has everything you need to:
If it’s time for a change, Dan Miller can help you make it.
Being stuck is rough. It can leave you with feelings of hopelessness, frustration, or even anger.
Maybe you’re in a dead-end job you can’t stand…
Or your money situation is quickly moving from bad to worse…
Maybe you don’t even know why you’re feeling stuck. All you know is you are.
So how do you break the logjam?
The good news is there are a few things you can do now that’ll help you get unstuck:
Speaking of mentors, my coach Dan Miller is hosting a free masterclass today at two different times: 1pm CDT and 7pm CDT.
And the best part? The whole thing is about getting you unstuck no matter your problem.
“5 Reasons Big Dreamers Get Stuck And How To Blast Through Them To Success”
You can register for your seat here.
If you’re tired of going it alone and want an outside perspective on your problem, I strongly encourage you to sign up.
You’ll come away with fresh ideas, a renewed sense of hope, and strategies for moving forward on your most important goals.
There’s still time to register, but it’s happening TODAY. So make sure you sign up before it’s too late.
Save your spot now by clicking here!
I’ll be there too. I hope to see you this afternoon.
It’s okay to feel a little stuck sometimes… Stuck not knowing what to do or how to do it to make a change in your life.
Maybe you’re dreaming of a job that you actually enjoy… A job you wake up excited about doing.
Maybe you’re dreaming of time to spend with your family instead of working all that overtime just to make ends meet.
Or maybe you’re dreaming of work that puts your skills and talents to good use doing something that really matters.
But you don’t have a clue where to start or you’re just scared of letting go of the J.O.B. you have now.
It’s okay to feel stuck.
But it’s not okay to stay stuck.
My friend Dan Miller has helped thousands of people take their dreams and develop a plan and act on them with resources like his New York Times Bestseller 48 Days To the Work (and Life) You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays.
He’s going to be hosting a FREE Masterclass that I think you should check out on Thursday, July 15th with two times to choose from — 1 PM CT and 7 PM CT.
“5 Reasons Big Dreamers Get Stuck And How To Blast Through Them To Success”
You can sign up here.
He’ll walk you through those 5 reasons. Chances are one (or some) of them are what’s holding you back from your dreams as well.
He’ll also help you with some immediate action points and some real-life examples of people who have used them so you can start blasting through those stuck points to the success you’ve been dreaming of.
So take action NOW and save your seat for this FREE masterclass.
Click here to sign up.
I see you there, hiding away to dream about what it would be like if you weren’t in your current J.O.B.
It’s so great to have big dreams.
So what now?
Feel stuck in moving forward with those dreams? Do you want them to become more than just a break-room diversion over a bologna sandwich or a microwave pizza?
My friend Dan Miller has helped thousands of people take their dreams and develop a plan and act on them with resources like his New York Times Bestseller 48 Days To the Work and Life You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays.
He’ll be hosting a FREE Masterclass that you NEED to check out. It’s Thursday, July 15th with two times to choose from — 1 PM CT and 7 PM CT.
“5 Reasons Big Dreamers Get Stuck And How To Blast Through Them To Success”
He’ll walk you through those 5 reasons. Chances are one (or some) of them are holding you back from your dreams as well.
He’ll also help you with some immediate action points and real-life examples of people who’ve used them so you can start blasting through those sticking points to the success you’ve been dreaming of.
So open up those eyes, dreamer, and save your seat TODAY for Dan Miller’s FREE Masterclass.
Dan Miller sent out an email a couple of weeks ago entitled “Why Are You Stuck?” It struck a nerve in me, so I pinned that email to the top of my inbox and read it every day for the last two weeks.
Today, I finally took the time to craft a response and send it back to him. I thought I’d share it with you as well.
I’m a great writer—in fact, I do that in my day job. That, combined with my teaching experience, is why I was hired. Because I’m good at, and enjoy, writing, I keep thinking about, journaling about, and contemplating becoming a freelance copywriter as a 15-hour a week side business.
(Click here if you’d want to learn how YOU can start a business with only 15 hours per week)
I eventually want to become a full-time marketing consultant and a business coach for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business folks. I’m already doing the latter as part of my day job, just not as often as I’d like.
And…I keep getting cold feet, talking myself out of it. But today, I think I’ve finally been able to express what’s holding me back. It’s not a fear of cold-calling people or getting rejected…
I’m afraid I’m going to let them down! I’m afraid I’m going to fail to live up to my prices. Or write bad copy. Or that I’ll wireframe and write copy for a website, and it won’t work! I’m terrified of charging someone money for something and failing to deliver what I promised.
It seems disappointingly simple that my hold-ups come down to a simple fear of failure. But there it is. Dan asked me the question, and this morning I finally had an answer for him.
What’s holding you back? Maybe you’re thinking of starting a business or becoming a freelancer yourself. If so, I encourage you to click here and enter your email address.
You’ll instantly receive three free resources including 10 business ideas and how to start a business with only 15 hours per week!
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***Occasionally I include affiliate links in my posts for people and products in which I strongly believe. This is one of those posts.***
I got an email from the 48 Days Eagles (affiliate link) asking what my main business goal is for 2021. I thought I’d share it with you as well. So here goes:
“I want to help small businesses and entrepreneurs write better copy for their websites and marketing efforts so they can increase the sales of their products and services and grow their businesses.”
Why do I want to do this? Because if I can help others succeed in their business endeavors, they’ll be able to live out their hopes and dreams.
Now it’s your turn. Use this awesome layout to create your own business goal.
What’s your dream? Have you spoken it into reality yet?
And most importantly, can I help you with your dream or business?
Let me know in the comments!
CLICK HERE TO JOIN US (affiliate link)
What are you excited about for 2021? One of the things I’m really looking forward to is a study of Napoleon HIll’s Think and Grow Rich. I’ll be doing this with my 48 Days Eagles Community of entrepreneurs and its founder Dan Miller, author of the New York Times Bestseller 48 Days To the Work and Life You Love.
We’re kicking it off with a family movie night. We’ll all be watching the movie online together on January 19th. Then we’ll start our study on January 25th, focusing on one chapter a month. And we’ll be meeting the fourth Monday of each month to discuss our readings.
Join us! It will be life-changing for you and me.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN US (affiliate link)
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If you’re hoping to begin living a fulfilled and meaningful life while still making a nice living for your family, you have to find your sweet spot.
We all have one. It’s the place where our passions and talents meet the world’s willingness to pay us.
My friend and mentor Dan Miller, author of the New York Times Bestseller 48 Days To the Work and Life You Love, is hosting a webinar on Thursday, January 14th to take you through the steps of determining your own unique sweet spot.
There are two times to choose from: 1pm CST and 7pm CST.
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*Occasionally, I’ll create posts with affiliate links. These don’t cost you a penny but can result in a small commission for me if you purchase anything.
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