Imperfect Action: Embrace it for Life Outside the 9-5 with Less Hustle and More Flow
Imperfect Action: Embrace and Understand the Concept to Get to your Goals
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Move forward, take action, keep momentum, and know that imperfection is ok. In fact, you may be the only one that actually notices if something is not perfect.
I would love to think that the moment my 7-month-old blog went live on Groove, a bazillion people opened it up to read.
Ummm nope, not so.
I would love to think that my new life outside corporate is 100% about living the 4-Hour Workweek about 9 or 10 months after I read the book. The truth is: it isn’t all there yet. Building a business (because yes, writing a blog is a business) to earn income doesn’t happen overnight.
So again, no. My life is not a 4-Hour Workweek. Yet.
Image by Manish Dhawan from Pixabay
In my commitment to myself to live a life of less hustle and more flow, it is filled with imperfect action. The need and will to move forward even when my corporate self would’ve waited to be closer to perfection, drives me. (though we all know that doesn’t really exist in corporate settings since things evolve with big corporate so much and, often, our hard work isn’t even remembered by many).
I am embracing imperfect action.
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
Own Imperfect Action: Get in the Mindset of Less Hustle and More Flow
There are so many opinions out there on mindset. My opinion: define it however you want but own your mindset. For me in my new FreeAt50 chapter that means owning imperfect action.
When I started my blog, that meant using WordPress to get it out there with a bit of research but not enough for long-term monetization. The reality is I just wanted a quick way to test out if blogging was something I wanted to do.
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
Recently, it meant that after 2 months (not 14-hour days I might add) of rebuilding my blog onto Groove, I was going to launch it even though:
· Groove is still in beta and some features, like sharing from the page and commenting, weren’t available yet.
· I would have some learn-as-you-go tasks like getting my sitemap to Google, updating my Google Search Console and how to format the theme template to the aesthetics I want.
By the way, this week included a couple days that were over 14 hours!
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
The difference, those hours were spent at home, and for my future. Not for a future I thought was mine but could be cut off at the whim of corporate restructuring decisions made by people I didn’t know or waste time panting in front of for attention. (Harsh I know, but I am SO full of the belief that no matter what, you are just a number.)
It’s not just my discovery, I have some amazing guest authors that share their stories of escape.
Mindset: keep moving forward and keep your “why” in mind, the 1st step I wrote about in my cornerstone post.
What is a cornerstone post? If blogging is in your plan, I have a post about that as well!
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Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
Imperfect Action and Investment Decisions for the Next Chapter Outside 9-5 Life
I have reiterated this reality from the start: if you are serious about creating income streams and letting go of the chains a corporate paycheck have on you, then you must invest.
For me this meant:
1. A coach. I wrote in more detail on the value of having one here.
2. Technology. Groove is my key (if you haven’t seen it already) to my blogging and online needs.
Reasoning and justification? You need the tools to move forward. But do not get into the old corporate analysis paralysis. The beauty of this life is I don’t have to present options, run a PowerPoint in a meeting for approval and await every department from accounting to legal to IT to give the “OK.”
This life means I am in control of spending. It can sound scary, but it is about my future. Think of it this way, you may have been told you “need to go to college” and you went. You did not question the value of investing thousands (maybe even 10s and 10s of thousands) you just found a way and paid the money.
Why wouldn’t you budget for education, and the tools such as technology (for an online entrepreneur tech is the foundation right?) and invest. You may make a spending decision that wasn’t the most effective use of your dollars but that is also a learning experience in building a business.
Imperfect action: research what you need, give yourself a deadline to make a decision and INVEST.
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay
The Effects of Imperfect Action: a List Filled with Happiness
This all leads me to a list. “Happiness” sounds corny I know but truly, this list of effects imperfect action creates should make you smile.
1. Accomplishment.
If you like to check boxes to know you got something done, breaking your goal into tasks, and marking each task “complete” will be sooo satisfying. (I admit, I can be a bit OCD and will sometimes write tasks down just to check them off even if they weren’t on my ‘original’ list!) Even better, when a big project like a product launch (or redirecting your blog’s domain!) happens, the sense of accomplishment is huge, even if you do have to work on some details along the way.
2. The absence of stress.
Ok, you may have a lot of things in your life that cause you stress but taking action on any one of them will lower it if not make it absent. And if you have one really big thing (like moving a blog!) that is “hanging out there” taking imperfect action will lift a huge weight off you most likely.
3. Time.
Your imperfect action may be closer to perfect than you originally thought and that means, with it off your plate, you have more time that you own. Whether it’s hitting the beach, reading a book, or binging Netflix with your family, you own that time to spend any way you want.
4. Money.
I’m not driven my money. But I am driven to get to the point where this blog puts my food on the table so to speak. Well literally actually! The longer you linger on things when your goal is to escape the 9-5 it’s “money flying out the window” to paraphrase my coach. Yes, having a coach is something I was able to ask a bunch of experts about. It is one of my tricks to the imperfect action mindset.
5. Affording to have an opinion.
I will not name the corporate friend that gave me this line. I was talking about my professional freedom and how transparent I am on social media and my blog. After all, authenticity is important to me. And he said “you can afford to have an opinion” in the context of how toxic corporate life can be. Moving forward allows me this one.
Photo by Malhar Garud on Unsplash
Use Imperfect Action and Share it in the Ditching the 9-5 Facebook Group
If you want to get more ideas on moving forward with your escape and designing your lifestyle of professional freedom, jump into my Ditching the 9-5: Inspiration and Resources to Make it Happen Facebook Group.
Now.
And if you want personalized kickstart - that leads to specific action: book a call with me and type IMPERFECT in the booking notes! Click here.
