PP 158: Are You Ignoring These 4 Signs & Missing Your Side Hustle Breakthrough?
I don't care about your religious or spiritual beliefs (but I respect and welcome them all).
I want to know if you're the type of person who believes in signs? (No, I'm not referring to M. Night Shyamalan's highly underappreciated 2002 science fiction film Signs.)
When I'm talking about signs, I'm talking about the signposts of life—your gut/intuition/heart attempting to serve as your internal compass.
I used to think this was all a bunch of woo-woo malarky for people who've done a little bit too much LSD and think they interact with angels (yet I'm the same dude who's believed in ghosts and aliens my entire life.)
Things have changed, and I shifted my perspective on the matter.
Now I live for this shit, and the more I've tapped into my self-awareness, the more I'm able to notice these signs and open myself up for the opportunities flowing my way.
There are signs and omens all around us, and it's our job to notice them. You could be ignoring the exact thing you didn't know you needed to elevate your side hustle to new heights you never could've imagined (if you haven't yet, please read the book The Alchemist, as it will shift your limiting beliefs as it did for me).
The following are the 4 signs you could be ignoring that are holding you back from getting the breakthroughs you're wanting with your ambitious side hustle pursuits.
For each sign, I'm doing two things:
I'll tuck in a personal anecdotal experience for each one so you can see how these forces could be working in your life.
I'll add a QUICK MOMENT OF REFLECTION action step so you can connect the dots and pinpoint where you could manifest a breakthrough.
1. Adversity
When life hands you lemons, are you the type of person to whine and bitch about it? Or...are you the type of person to make a Vodka Lemonade (with a double shot of Tito's, of course)?
It's too easy to play the victim when adversity strikes and vent to the closest person to us (or a Facebook status) about how "this happened TO me."
Taking this stance immediately positions you as a victim, and you place that negative energy on someone else.
What if...instead of something happening TO you, it was really happening FOR you?
For me, it's been in the form of toxic relationships ending badly, yet it led to me learning how to make myself happy, which then led me to my wonderful wife, Emily (aka my Baby Mama, aka My Boo Thang, aka Ems Slice for Life).
How about when I was unexpectedly let go from my "safe job" late last year? Honestly, I played the victim for the first two hours as we just closed on a new home a week before and announced kiddo #2 was on the way.
However, I was able to snap out of it and get to work. As I connect the dots, I was able to see that the Universe was really shoving me into taking a leap of faith before I was ready, which was pursuing full-time coaching and freelance in 2020...I hadn't been busting my ass with my side hustle for over 5.5 years for nothing, right?!
So, ya, getting canned right before the holidays didn't happen TO me, that shit happened FOR me, and took his new challenge head-on and plan on sharing everything I learn along the way with you like always!
QUICK MOMENT OF REFLECTION
What's a curveball life has recently thrown at you?
What's the potential blessing in disguise or learning opportunity tucked away in it that can help you grow?
2. Fear
The Lizard Brain is the oldest part of your brain, and it was responsible for the aggression and fear triggers back in our Cave Man days when it was fight or flight to survive.
Our brains continue to try and keep us safe by disguising potentially life-changing ideas and opportunities as risks and placing them behind a wall of fear.
When we operate from fear, our minds only know how much we could lose by taking that risk. It can’t measure how much we can gain by breaking through the wall to get the gold on the other side.
It’s a paradigm shift when you learn that fear is your intuition guiding you to unlock the next version of yourself—it’s an indicator of something you’re excited about.
My biggest fears have always led to my biggest breakthroughs: sharing my work, blogging, public speaking, podcasting, and pursuing coaching in 2019.
I've learned to use fear as my cue that whatever excites me yet scares me is something I need to be pursuing.
It's because I've gotten uncomfortable and pursued my fears that I'm able to pursue this current gigantic fear of doing Perspective-Collective full-time...trust me when I say I wake up fucking terrified each day yet I'm more excited than I've ever been for anything when I find my groove in my studio.
QUICK MOMENT OF REFLECTION
What's something that excites you yet the fear of failure, judgment, or even success is restraining you from taking the first step to pursuing it?
How can you get out of your own way to unlock that next version of yourself you're supposed to become?
3. Repeating Patterns & Good Fortunes
We take for granted the minuscule good things that happen to us each day.
We, probably too wrapped up in that adversity I talked about a little bit ago, brush them off and keep pushing on with our day.
What if those little fortuitous events that happened were really cues for you to connect the dots and take action?
What if people here and there tell you that they liked your little doodles on napkins and coasters you'd do in coffee shops and restaurants?
This is a cue that you could have a future as an artist (this was me growing up, but I was convinced I wasn't a good artist, so I didn't share my work till my early 20's).
What if people sporadically tell you that you have a good way with words or storytelling?
This could be your cue that you could be an author, copywriter, podcaster, blogger, etc.
What if people randomly told you how you have a really good eye for detail?
This could be your cue that you were meant to thrive as a designer, photographer, motion graphic artist, videographer, etc.
For me, it was little things like early validation on my Instagram drawings that gave me confidence as an artist.
From there, it was little comments from people like:
you'd be a great motivational speaker
you should start a podcast
you'd make a great coach
I ignored these in the beginning, but now I can look back and see these signs have been trying to push me toward the direction I'm steering my ship today.
You better believe I pay attention now to the repeating patterns that come up sporadically each day.
QUICK MOMENT OF REFLECTION
What are some reoccurring events, patterns, comments, etc. that seem to circle back around in your life?
Make a list of them and start to connect the dots. It could be leading you to the next step you're supposed to take with your creative side hustle.
4. Synchronicity
Here's where the woo-woo malarky begins to set off people's "bullshit radar detectors."
Big Daddy Google states, "Synchronicity is the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection."
I was a skeptic who is now a huge believer, as I've seen how this has worked in my life, especially in 2019.
I'm a believer that there is a much greater power out there pulling the strings, and I'm choosing to label this as The Universe. You can call it whatever you choose to believe in, no judgment here!
I'm learning that the more I'm in alignment with the direction I'm supposed to be going, The Universe will continue to deliver me what seems to be insanely serendipitous and coincidental opportunities.
When I chose to go all-in as the Side Hustle Coach in 2019, I had to make tough choices like stop freelancing, teaching workshops, and selling products in my online shop.
It was extremely hard to do, as I didn't really know what I was doing in terms of launching a coaching program, along with copywriting and email marketing.
However, I chose this path because it "felt right," and I fed off the repeating comments from peers that I'd be a great coach.
As I stumbled early in my coaching pursuits, oddly enough, people and opportunities presented themselves and were exactly what I needed to be successful.
Out of nowhere, I had a coach and a business consultant magically cross my path that was the perfect fit for what I was needing (I didn't even know what I needed, so it made it even extra crazy). Working with them completely transformed my business, and it's why I'm able to do this full-time today.
While I was getting my program setup, I was missing the breadwinning part of my side-income, which was freelance. However, I trusted the process and randomly, opportunities showed up to become an affiliate for products and people I believed in that aligned with things I know would provide my audience absurd amounts of value.
Throughout the process of gearing up to launch the first version of the program in September, it seemed someone or something always popped up out of nowhere that gave me the answer/solution I was seeking to step into this phase of my business.
Things happen for a reason, and Synchronicity is REAL! When something unexplainable or fortuitous happens that doesn't quite make sense, just know there's a deeper meaning behind it that you should be using as a cue!
NOTE: I'll also mention the fact that I would see the number 11:11 each day or 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, and 5:55 often the last year. That's a whole other woo-woo story but when I started to look up the meaning behind 11:11 late July 2019, that woo-woo mindset quickly shifted as things all started to make sense and breakthroughs happened left and right.
If you see 11:11 often or any of the other numbers I mentioned, I highly recommend looking it up as you'll really start to see where you're ignoring signs and blessings for real.
You can think I'm crazy, but if you're tired of not seeing results and playing the victim in your life, what could it hurt to open your mind up to something that science can't fully explain?
QUICK MOMENT OF REFLECTION
What series of fortunate coincidences have happened to cross your paths?
Have people come out of nowhere to offer you their assistance? Has an opportunity shown up at your doorstep (which could be disguised as adversity)?
These are things to pay attention to. Take a moment and connect the dots as whatever is pulling the strings out there could be showing you a path you're missing.
Stop Missing Your Breakthroughs & Notice the Signs
I'm one of those type of people who feels everything happens for a reason and you attract or repel things into your life whether you're intentionally doing it or not.
You follow me for a reason.
You're listening to this episode for a reason...especially if it's your first time ever listening to me.
This episode is a sign that YOU attracted this into your life
Maybe you're creatively stuck and lacking a purpose with the work you share or desire to start sharing with the world?
Maybe you crave to build something meaningful outside your 9-5, but lack the time and motivation to make the necessary moves to see results?
Maybe you're going through some shit right now, but realize it could be the push you need to take the step to become the best future version of yourself?
Whatever it is, DON'T IGNORE THE SIGNS. The more you ignore these 4 types of signs, The Universe (or whatever you believe in) will take the hint and stop sending them your way as you subconsciously declare you're comfortable going in the same direction.
I kick out this podcast for a reason: to help creatives like you get unstuck and blaze your own path.
As cheesy as it sounds, it took me a while to fully notice the signs that this was the route I was supposed to be taking.
Coaching and kicking out empowering art and content for side hustlers like you is the type of shit that lights me up. My new Spider-Sense is always tingling as I try to catch a whiff of the next omens or signs directing me to the next steps to serve you better and get the next breakthrough.
It's up to you to do the same as your breakthroughs are waiting on you to make them happen. You gotta keep your head on a swivel and keep taking action and the answers will reveal themselves over time like they have for me.
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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