“To aim low means to accept mediocre accomplishment.”
– Ryan Holiday describing Steve Jobs’ mentality
Happy Tuesday!
Is it May already?! WTF!?
Hope your 2021 is rocking it… mine is. I can barely keep up with all the writing work coming my way.
Between writing my 2nd book, editing a new client’s book, being lead copywriter on retainer for 8-digit companies, doing Anti-Marketing Jumpstart Kits, and handling all the other, miscellaneous projects that come in… I’m like fawwwk. I need three of me — three brains and three sets of hands lol.
Every day is a fun challenge to do more and be more than I did yesterday… while never letting a single area of my life slack.
I know the exact areas where I’m slacking. (Eating too many rice cakes, eating too much fat from the Factor meals, not attacking the debt I still have, aggressively enough…etc.)
I know I could still be doing way more work… and it’s always a test, pushing those boundaries.
Society tells everyone to “slow down, do less, and accept less of yourself”… I’m doing the opposite.
It’s a constant dance between harnessing my natural energy (which is chill), and creating more energy through my daily actions.
I don’t believe we have to succumb to what we ‘naturally’ are — we have a choice on how to use our innate qualities. And we can develop new qualities and habits.
Pace and rhythm are always interesting things to consider in business… because everyone operates differently.
- Are you drawing in new clients, new leads, and sales at a steady pace?
- Is that pace “too fast” or “too slow” for you?
- Does your perspective need to change?… or your level of action? (or both) to have the pace you want?
- Are you impatient for something to happen?… or resting too comfortably in what’s already happened(/ing)?
- Are you still wasting unconscious chunks of your day on dumb shit?… or really maximizing every available 15-minute chunk of time for its intended purpose?
- Are you seeing PROGRESS?
As a business owner, I naturally work at a slower pace than most people. I like to dive deeper into my projects, which simply takes more time and thought.
AND I like to make lots of money… so there’s this ongoing challenge to get everything done a little bit faster, more efficiently, and without compromising quality… so that I’m not slowing myself down unnecessarily, when I could be upgrading my work speed naturally.
I see other people compromise on their products’ quality, and that always bothers me. I don’t want to be like those people.
My goal is to bring my fucking best to every project.
And what was “my best” a year ago should now my 60%, because I’ve grown so much.
To do that, there’s a certain rhythm and pace in how I do things each day… going hard on a task or activity for a short period of time, then “resting” my brain by doing something physical like a workout. (Or vice versa.)
Some people don’t need as much rest… good for them.
I never try to match other people’s pace or rhythm in business… but I’m always challenging myself to do more than what *I* think I’m capable of each day.
If you have the same challenge, a good affirmation to use is:
“I AM CAPABLE OF MORE THAN WHAT I’VE BEEN TOLERATING…REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVING.”
Ponder that… and have a great week!
Michelle
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 