How to overcome trials in your life and business

Let’s talk about the epic trials of running a business

Welcome to the SPS Newsletter.

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.”

― Paulo Coelho

In April 2021 I became a full-time solopreneur.

It was exciting. It was scary. But because of my financial runway, the 1st few months felt like a vacation.

While I was driven to succeed and have been for over a decade.

My mind was still operating in corporate job mode.

I was doing tasks and posting online. Creating content daily. However, it was a little scattered and didn't produce the income I had hoped for.

By the time late June rolled around, I realized I had been away from corporate for a full quarter.

I hadn’t done anything that epic or significant with my time.

It hurt. I felt I should be doing more. Emotionally I felt low.

Here I was attempting to help people improve their self-performance but I had spent 90 days doing the same dumb shit and getting shit results.

I knew I needed to go on my hero’s journey and take control of my actions.

Fast forward to March 9th, 2023 and I can look back and pick out 8 trials I had to face and overcome.

Not quite the 12 trials of Hercules. I didn’t slay a nine-headed Hydra or capture Cerberus (the hound of Hades). But metaphorical maybe I did, haha

Here are the 8 epic trials of my 22 months of solopreneurship:

The direction trial:

As you know, I left corporate to be a coach but in my 1st months I did everything but that.

I affiliated products. I built programs. I focused on likes and followers.

Finally, I found direction.

I asked people if they wanted performance coaching and several said yes.

Inner game trial:

Running your own business is a raw emotional journey.

You can’t hide from your problems. I spiraled emotionally several times over the last 22 months.

But, I used journaling and meditation to explore and unblock emotional barriers as they appeared.

I have a weekly Tactical Journal system I do every Sunday that keeps me on target.

Defeating procrastination trial:

I suffered from procrastination because of my lack of direction and not working on my inner emotional game.

To defeat procrastination I created productivity systems and routines that removed it as an option.

I already knew these systems but I had let low-$$$ work and negative patterns slow me down and distract me.

Clarity of actions is essential as a business owner.

Know your WHYs trial:

I had several of my core WHYs wrong.

When I 1st started my business I wanted my external world to change. To prove people wrong. To gain status even.

But those are dumb goals and they emotionally tripped me up.

They might have been motivating to get me to start a business but they are not strong enough to keep you going when barriers appear.

Make sure your WHYs are meaningful.

Positive environments trial:

I let myself be influenced by the wrong 5 people.

I had family and friends who were supportive but negative. They didn’t understand solopreneurship. I also chased vanity metrics online because other large Twitter accounts did that.

I had to define and design my environments around what success looks like to me.

Once you do that you can ignore the noise and focus on your signal.

Defeating negative habits trial:

As a solopreneur you are 100% responsible for your time and focus.

When stressed out I would overthink. Scroll mindlessly on Instagram and TikTok. Or get lost in sports news.

I used walking and meditation as a response to these negative habits.

I even took it a step further and removed Instagram and TikTok from my phone.

Doing all of this has worked well for me.

Believing in yourself trial:

In my 1st months as a business owner my confidence went missing.

I questioned and second-guessed myself.

Then I spread myself too thin. It’s like I threw my core self-belief out the window. I forgot to take my own advice about my self-performance.

I reconnected with my basic habits and started stacking my confidence.

Taking risks trial:

I continuously place different-sized bets on myself when running my business.

There is no playing it safe. You are constantly out of your comfort zone. You don’t protect what you have - you improve what you have.

I think part of my corporate hangover had me waiting to see if things would change.

That’s not how entrepreneurship works

To expand your freedoms. You bet on yourself. You take massive action.

In Summary:

Here are your 8 trials to becoming a better business owner:

• Get Direction

• Strong inner game

• Defeat Procrastination

• Know your why and what to achieve

• Be in positive Environments

• Defeat negative habits

• Believe in yourself

• Take more risks

Big love,

ST