It’s become painfully clear that I am spending far too much time thinking about my life, my business, and just about every other damn thing possible and not doing much about it. This is not the way to improve my situation or build a business.

Obviously.

So it has to change. Period.

The Fear Of Change

If it isn’t obvious to everyone who reads this blog, I fear change. I have stayed in my comfort zone far too long and although I like to fool myself sometimes into thinking I’m breaking out, I’m really not.

Sure, starting a Podcast, creating a mastermind group, and sharing personal details about my life and struggles was new and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t really getting me out of my comfort zone.

When I was going through the LifeSpring personal growth workshops years ago, the instructors would send us out to perform “stretches”. A stretch was some act that put you WAY outside your comfort zone. And it was one of the most uncomfortable and painful things for people (including me) to do.

But that’s where the growth is. Way out there!

For example, at the time of the workshop in 1997, I was known by most as overly arrogant, narcissistic, and conceited. That was my deal. So, for one of my stretches, my coach wanted to teach me a lesson in humility and vanity. I was asked told to dress as a homeless person and beg for change on a very busy street corner for 4 hours.

To push myself out of my comfort zone, I was asked to approach strangers in the street and begin discussing something I was very uncomfortable with, religion. I was then asked to walk into a McDonald’s restaurant during lunch hour, stand on a table and begin preaching from the Bible. I had to circle the restaurant for almost an hour before I built the courage to go in.

And the most difficult exercise was when I was asked to walk through a busy shopping mall, hand in hand with another member of my class. Also male. We were told to dress in very flamboyant clothing with the intention of drawing stares. And that we did!

At that point in my life, I cared very much about what people thought about me and was horrified when some friends saw me and ducked around the corner as not to be seen.

And even thought neither of us was gay, that didn’t matter. Everyone clearly thought we were and it was so hard not to turn and run out. But then something odd happened. I let go and stopped caring. It was an incredibly empowering feeling and I truly felt free at that moment.

It sounds silly now, but when you are pushed so far out of your comfort zone that you feel physically ill, you know there is a tremendous amount of personal growth at stake. Whether your fear is public speaking, fear of criticism, or whatever, when you take deliberate action on getting past them, it’s an incredibly inspiring feeling.

Life Without Walls

What can we accomplish if we didn’t care what others thought? What would be possible if we broke down our walls? How would our lives be different if we pushed our boundaries to their limits?

I think about that time in my life as some of the best I’ve ever spent. I learned more about myself that I thought possible. Literally I didn’t think I was capable of such personal growth.

The reason this is so significant right now is because I am going through a great deal of personal difficulty and personal growth. Now is the time for me to recreate myself and become the person I need to be.

And none of this is possible without action.

A Little Less Conversation

elvis

I’ve talked myself silly on this blog and haven’t done a lot in the way of acting on it. I’ve received hundreds of comments and emails offering advice on how to take action, ways to make money, and ideas for generating business.

And it’s finally time to do it.

But before I get to what this post is all about, I want to share what’s going on with my side projects right now.

Personal Training

This has been going well. My boot camp class is still going strong and I’ve decided to start my morning boot camp program in January instead of December. I hope to add an additional$500-$700 per month to my income with this second boot camp. Now it’s time to market it like crazy!

I also contacted an old client of mine who I trained for 2 years, who may start back up training again. I’ll write a post about her sometime because she is amazing. To give you a brief history, she’s in her mid fifties and has been blind since age three. But she has one of the most positive attitudes I’ve ever come across. She’s the training director for a non profit organization in D.C. and  travels all over the world, goes to concerts all the time, and lives her life to the fullest. She also never complains-even when I’m torturing her during our training sessions!

Fiverr

My Fiverr gigs have been doing better and I’ve sold a handful so far. The feedback I’ve received has been very good, so I know I’m providing value! I have not really been promoting it and it seems like my gigs are kinda lost in Fiverr limbo. I do plan to add video to them, which should increase their visibility. And feel free to buy one if you need help with something 🙂

Here they are:

  • Blog Critique
  • 21 day accountability partner
  • Useful ideas on how to land an interview with important and successful people

My Niche Site

I love the idea of building niche sites. I love the idea of creating a stream of passive income. And I love the idea of diversifying my income via different avenues. But I don’t love it enough to follow through with getting one totally done. I launched my site weeks ago and although it is live, I have yet to add more than a few articles or monetize it.

It comes down to time management with this one and without setting up a specified time to write these articles, build back links and all the other things associated with this business model, it can’t and won’t work. But I am definitely going to pursue it and I have a number of keywords ready for new sites.

My eBooks

My new free eBook, 20 Real Life Cubicle Escape Stories, is done. It’s been done for almost 2 weeks. My web guy is having some technical issues getting it all together for the widget he built. It should be up very soon though.

And today was the day I was supposed to launch my eBook about surviving your day job. I publicly committed to releasing my first ever product in my post, At The Crossroads, and the day has come….

Taking One Step Back And Ten Steps Forward

Over the past few months, I’ve eluded to a big project that I’m working on, and which I plan to disclose here soon. It’s something that I find very meaningful and will impact my life and the lives of many others as well.

It’s something I have been thinking about a great deal and with a little nudging from a friend, I’ve decided to go ahead with it. So this is where I will be focusing most of my energy for the next month and plan to introduce it publicly in January. That being said, I have decided to take a step back from this and not release my eBook right now.

I’m not giving up on it, I just don’t think it fits into my vision for this blog at the moment.

I can hear the groans of disappointment now :), but I believe what I’m working on will be of much more value to you.

I could certainly finish the eBook and sell it, but I keep asking myself why?

  • Is it to make a few bucks?
  • Is it just to finally produce something?
  • Will it change people’s lives?

When I answered these questions, I didn’t like the answers. So instead of spending any more time on this right now, I am investing my time of something that I believe will offer 100x the value. This is my big step forward into action….

January 2. D-Day

As of right now, I plan to officially roll out the specifics of my project on January 2, 2012. This is a far cry from just another eBook and my hope is that it’s something that will be life changing for you and me.

I am also working with a seasoned veteran in the Internet marketing space and someone who has become a coach, mentor, and friend. So the good news is that if I screw it up, he will be there to help me fix it!

I’m looking forward to 2012 in a BIG way and hope you’ll join me for the ride….

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