Grab a cup of coffee, I’ve got another long one for you guys!
September 30th means it’s officially been 2 months that I’ve ventured out on my own to be a full time writer, speaker, and coach.
The good news is I’m still alive, my bills are paid, and I haven’t lost my mind from working at home.
Lots of good news, however, also comes with a lot of lessons. I pride myself in being transparent with you all and as such I’m going to be as open as possible with the lessons I’m about to share. My hope is you either change the way you think about work and life, or you avoid having to learn things the hard way.
Because let’s face it, going rogue and working for yourself is NOT EASY. Sure, it gets easier as time goes on, but not everyone is cut out for this sort of stuff. And unfortunately, with all the “Quit your day job!”, “Be a revolutionary!”, and “Travel the world while you work!” content out there, we can easily forget that while all this stuff and more is totally possible, it also comes with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Setting Boundaries
September has been a major lesson in boundaries – with friends, family, prospective clients, and my money.
Boundaries to let the people you live with know they can’t constantly interrupt you just because you work from home.
Boundaries to let people know that yes you do charge for services and no they can’t keep getting free stuff.
Boundaries with my money so I know what I should and should not be spending on. So I know what I value and what is worth it.
Trusting
I think it was Ali Brown who once said if you want all of your stuff to come up you should forget therapy and just start a business. Nothing makes you question yourself quite like jumping and going for something. At the same time, nothing feels more exhilarating either. It’s all a major lesson about trust.
Trusting in yourself. That you can pull this off.
Trusting that the money will come (because I’ve been proven time and time again that it does).
Trusting that when a problem strikes you’ll know how to handle it.
Trusting that you have more than enough.
Trusting that when things don’t work out here’s a very good reason for it.
Canceling Out the Noise
I was having a session with a client and we were coaching around the copy for her website. She works with entrepreneurs who need help picking which ideas to go for and then implementing them. During our session together she was trying to get very clear on what her clients were dealing with. After some back and forth she hit the nail on the head – they’re dealing with too much outside noise telling them what they should and should not be doing.
This happens ALL THE TIME. Not just with entrepreneurs but with everyone.
How often have we backed down from something we knew damn well was a good idea because other people tell us it doesn’t look right, feel right, or seem right?
How many people have their careers and lives decided for them?
How crazy do we feel with all the crap on our Facebook feeds? All of which we know isn’t really real anyway.
How often do we hear “Oh, well you should be over that by now” or “That will never work,” or my all time favorite “Yeah that’s great and all but it doesn’t seem practical.”
Better yet how often to we talk ourselves OUT of stuff because of all the self-imposed noise in our own head? We talk ourselves out of experiences. We talk ourselves out of a business idea. We talk ourselves out of careers and relationships. We talk ourselves out having to make important decisions.
We need to work at canceling out the noise every once in a while. For me this means picking up my meditation practice again and again. It also means an experiment where I’m going on a social media fast for 3 days (I’m on this fast while I write this. I’ll let you all know how it goes.) I for one have let too much noise get in my way this month, and it’s about time I do something about it.
It’s all worth it if you know the BIG WHY.
I got very clear some time ago on why I wanted to run my own business. I need to be creative all the time. Asking someone for permission to go to an appointment irritates the shit out of me. I believe I am more than capable of deciding how much I should be getting paid and how to spend my time. And, above all, I know that down the line when I’m ready to settle down and have a family, that I would much rather be there for my kids instead of in an office somewhere.
Knowing this makes every hardship worth it. It’s made (almost) every financial decision easy. It’s made saying no easy. It’s made my next steps more clear.
As I look back on the last few months I realize that my life is finally starting to look the way I want it too. I’m traveling more than ever (and I don’t have to ask anybody for permission to do it!). I make money doing stuff that I totally love. I can mold this and grow it into anything I want. I get to hang with awesome people and it’s actually a part of my job description.
Am I rolling in tons of dough? No. But I am making more than enough to spend money on the things I actually value. Like my health, and traveling. And I know damn well that there is nothing stopping me from growing and making more money.
At the end of the day you have to be willing and ready to work for what you want.
It’s not going to fall into your lap.
You’re not going to know the answer to everything.
You’re going to have to stand your ground more often than not.
You’re going to run into problems – guaranteed.
You’re going to have to make tough decisions.
And if you can roll with the punches, think fast, proceed with perseverance, and have a hell of a lot of faith in yourself you can make almost anything happen.
Going after what you want will test you. It’s like the Universe is asking you “So how much do you REALLY want this?” If you keep going you’ll be surprised at what amazing things start to unfold. After all, the miracle occurs right when we’re about to give up.
Some Quick Updates
If you’ve made it this far into the post then I totally commend you! It’s been a while since I’ve done some of the usual blogging updates so here goes.I promise it’s short and well worth it 
1. I’m speaking at Financial Blogger Conference in St. Louis! – Yup, I’ve made traveling and speaking a part of my job. You can check out all the details here.
2. I’m almost finished with my coaching certification! – I’m on the very last leg of my life coaching certification and I couldn’t be any more thrilled! This a big reason why September has been a little crazy but the entire experience has been well worth it! This process has taken me about 18 months and I’m proud to say that this may be the first huge thing I paid for all by myself – from beginning to end. If all goes well then come November I will officially be a Certified Professional Coach and on my way to be credentialed by the International Coaching Federation. I may just throw myself a little graduation party! 
3. I have a few spots open in October for free Fire Up Your Biz sessions! – Feeling stuck in your business? Ready to drop whatever is stopping you from going after what you want? I help people make some major shifts in just 30 minutes and I’ve got some spots open in October for free Fire Up Your Biz sessions – click here to schedule your session!
That’s all folks! Thank you for being so amazing with me the last few years! Wouldn’t be where I am without all of you! If there’s anything at all I can do to support you in your endeavors feel free to hit me up amanda [at] amandaabella [dot] com.
Image via Disfunkshion Magazine