PP 108: Stop Brewing a Latte Excuses & Make it Happen (Coffee Caffeinated Kick Series Pt. 3/3)
Stop Brewing a Latte Excuses & Make it Happen
With this series, I wanted to build off the 3 Life Lessons Pizza Series with a coffee cup art episodic adventure. I knew the topics well beforehand because they came directly from you. Each episode pertains to some of the biggest creative struggles you have shared with me through my onboarding team newsletter and thePrivate Facebook Group. I admit, as I schemed, dreamed, and outlined this series...I googled top coffee puns to help me form these oh-so-clever titles.Don't get me wrong, I know some of these were extra cheesy—or would it be creamy since it's coffee? If you don't know by now, I love puns, wordplay, and dad jokes almost as much as I love my cats—and that's saying something. Much of what I talk about tends to hover on the serious side, so my weird love of puns helps inject a bit of comic relief.
New Routine = New Challenges
For some reason, though, writing this series was more difficult than normal. As I write this, November is ending, and Scotty just turned three months old. Emily just went back to work, and we're in the beginnings of trying to find our new routine in life.I thrive in a routine, but with how rapidly he's growing and changing, I've had to adjust to a new routine which feels like every other week. Thankfully, he is starting to sleep through the night—most nights, that is.To be honest, I've been a sleep deprived, half-functioning, coffee-fueled zombie fueled since he was born late August.The only way this podcast gets done is by:
waking up at 4:30-5am, sippin' some coffee, and planning each episode
recording solo shows or interviews on my lunch breaks
creating episode artwork in my non-writing mornings, my 10-minute breaks at work, and during the times when Emily is pre-occupied doing mom stuff with Little Scotty
My goal is to knock out everything that needs to be done in my spare pockets of time during the day. That way, I can be present at home at night.I've cut out a lot from my typically piled-high plate and say no to a lot of pretty cool freelance because of this.It'd be so easy to use all this as an excuse to why doing a podcast isn't possible right now, and I feel you'd understand. Believe me, this shit isn't easy. Especially when I'm feeling a little down and out and doubting myself.Yet at the same time, I know this shit matters, not only to me, but to you too. I hope this provides value in your life and helps you see that you can make shit happen for yourself. If a little nobody like me from Iowa with a day job, student loan debt, and a family can—then you most certainly can too.
Excuses, Fear & Discomfort
Everything boils down to excuses, fear, and discomfort. It's easy to make excuses and attach the blame to something else.From my experience, I know there are many things that hold many of us back from the people we're meant to become and stop us from positively impacting other people.That's why the final part of this Coffee Caffeinated Kick Series is Stop Brewing a Latte Excuses & Make it Happen.Today, we're going to hold ourselves accountable and follow through on our commitments. That way, we can get a little closer to becoming the future version of ourselves we crave to be.
Excuses are Easy to Find
[perfectpullquote align="full" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“If it is important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.” - Daniel Decker[/perfectpullquote]Let me know if this sounds familiar:
"I want to post a drawing each week on Instagram, but there's not enough time when I finally get settled at home."
"Yesterday I planned on starting my workout program, but I'm so busy at work that, when I come home, I'm drained."
"Last week, I said I was going to start my Youtube account, but I'm afraid people will think it's stupid."
So many of us say something is important to us—yet we don't prove that by walking the walk or talking the talk.I say this all the time: if you 'kind of' want something, you're going to 'kind of' see results. Many of us never see results because we never start, or we half-ass invest our effort knowing we have a bag of excuses to bail us out.I hope this feels like I'm speaking directly to you because I'm talking to myself as well. I'm guilty of all the above— and my life, especially with Perspective-Collective, is littered with excuses.
My Biggest Excuses Which Led to the Biggest Results
My biggest creative excuses since I started Perspective-Collective in 2014 are:
Blogging: Back in April 2015, I said I wanted to blog, and it took me until June 2015 to start
Excuse: Fear of judgment
Result: Blogging unlocked my next level of potential, let me find my voice, and provided opportunities like speaking and building authority
Podcasting: Back in April 2016, I said I wanted to start a podcast, and it took me until August 2016 to hit publish
Excuse: Fear of judgment mixed with a hefty excuse of lack of time (too much Pokemon Go)
Result: Take the results I had from blogging and throw 19.5 gallons of gasoline on it—basically it unlocked a whole new level of potential and built community
Pinterest: October 2018–I want to take Pinterest more seriously, but I tell myself I can't start until I've finished this Pinterest course I bought and it's almost December now
Excuse: By far, I say I don't have time when, in reality, I haven't built it into my routine
Result: (I started pinning Nov. 28) My goal is this will double or triple traffic to my website, podcast, and Instagram by the end of 2019
The 4 Main Bucket of Excuses
Time: Schedule your success and find pockets of time (168 hours in a week)
A1 Method / Plan one big thing a day
Money: You don't need a lot to be resourceful with what you have
Printer paper, a #2 pencil, and a smart phone will take you far
Motivation: Comes from the act of doing
"Where your focus goes, energy flows." - Tony Robbins
Fear: Your intuition, disguised as fear, holds you back from that next level
"Lean into your fear until your fear disappears." - Lewis Howes
How to Follow Through
If you need a little bit of help of strategically helping yourself follow through with something, try one or all of the following:
Write down your goals on paper and place them where you'll see them every day
Eliminate 'try' and 'hope' from your spectacular vernacular
Visualization and affirmations (vision boards and speaking positively to yourself)
Create urgency by making a start date
Make a small, manageable commitment to your routine then add to it
Build it into your daily routine
Make a public announcement
Post weekly updates
Find an accountability partner
How Badly Do You Want it?
Think about that quote I left off with, “If it is important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.”Coming from a sports background, I constantly have a coach in my mind screaming at me: "How badly do you want it?!"Back then, I didn't want it that much. I was content on being above average, and I settled.Now that I found that thing that makes me creatively fulfilled and serves a purpose, I want it more than anything now.That's it, though—you have to find the one thing that makes you want it badly. If you truly don't want what you say you want, an excuse will always bail you out.Stop brewing a latte excuses and make it happen—your future self will thank you.
Enjoy This Episode?
Let me know what you think by sharing a video or photo of you sippin' coffee and listening to this episode and share with me on Instagram @perspectivepodcast.
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CREDITS
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico