Life on the road… equal parts fun and frustrating.
Fun because you get to travel somewhere new. There are loads of cool people (and usually a lot of good food and drink to try, which Angie likey).
Frustrating figuring out what to pack.
Interrupted sleep routines.
Fighting off the “conference crud”.
Trying to anticipate what new rule TSA could possibly whip out this time.
Fun fact: on my way out to south FL for AWAI earlier this week, I did NOT have to take food out of my bag and place it in a separate bin. On my way home yesterday, I did.
I’m starting to think TSA has a roulette (rule-ette?) wheel for rule of the week.
I digress…
All that travel and fun and frustration (and sinus medication) is worth it for the few golden nuggets that come from so many brains and perspectives colliding.
I got a few great nuggets from AWAI, but one of my biggest takeaways was the sheer number of folks who will do ANYTHING to avoid making mistakes.
I noticed it in several of the newer marketers and copywriters I spoke to.
And I DEFINITELY remember it in myself, when I was first starting out.
We’ll take this bright, shiny idea that brings us a lot of hope and joy… like becoming a freelance writer.
We’ll study it from every angle, trying to poke holes in it and make plans to thwart those problems before they come to pass.
If only we research enough, plan enough, prepare enough… we’ll be able to hit the ground running and then only have to focus on what we’re good at (and maybe work on visualizing a fancy house and plenty of cash in the bank).
The funny thing is if you take all that effort you put into finding all the potential problems and apply it to just starting the damn thing… you’d be leagues ahead of the folks that will never leave planning mode.
It’s kinda like when I first went hiking. We’re talking looooooonnnnnnggggg 10+ mile hikes in the mountains.
I consulted with friends that had a lot of experience. I got all the clothes and a water pack and even had the “right” snacks.
It took me getting out on the trail to realize… 1) trekking poles making long uphills a lot easier. 2) need a bigger water pack because apparently I guzzle it down like nobody’s business. 3) glasses fog up on the trail when you start sweating… leave ’em behind next time.
You can ask everything there is to ask and still not get the answers you need, because you don’t know what you don’t know until you get out there and DO.
So next time you catch yourself sitting down and daydreaming about that business, and that little over-planning goblin pops up (and you’ll recognize him/her because the questions usually start “but what if…?”).
What if you spent your energy figuring it out if and when this potential problem actually pops up?
You might find that problem you anticipated never materializes.
Or you might find yourself with a circle of colleagues who can help you solve it in five minutes flat so you can move on with your life.
Moral of the story: you’d be amazed what you can achieve when you don’t spend all your time and energy trying to plan for problems that may never happen.