Take action? What action?
I don’t know how many workshops, classes, seminars, or books I’ve read that boil down to “take action, take action, take action.” But they don’t cover getting to that place where you can take action, or knowing what action to take. Instead, I remember numerous times I’ve read a book, or gone to a workshop where I came out pumped up, until I realized that on arriving home, I had no idea HOW to implement all the tips I’d gotten.
Where do you find the people interested in what you offer?
How do you put together a media package?
Where do you submit a press release?
Alone, the questions just piled up faster than I was able to answer them and I simply kept hitting that wall of frustrated and overwhelmed. Finishing up my training, I felt left holding a bag with no clue what to do with it.
Isolated, it is easy to get bogged down, overwhelmed, and lost. The more and more I talk to new and experienced entrepreneurs, the more I’ve learned that I’m not alone. If I don’t have that community, collaboration, mentoring or support, it can feel like an uphill battle once I’ve stalled out. But like driving a stick shift, I can’t go forward until I take things out of gear and re-engage with those small action steps that eventually lead to the Daytona 500 of results.
But not everyone has access to a collaborative work spaces and communities like the ones we create. Maybe you’ve moved, maybe you’re shy. Maybe the next bite-size action step is simply to find new people to connect with. In the meantime – I asked other friends and community members what has worked for them as well:
• Finding people who have done what you want to do and researching the steps to their success
• Talk to a professional consultant who has experience and connections to hire or be your mentor
• Make a list of things that hit the reset button so you can start taking action again. A friend suggested things like taking a shower, a short walk, a mini-vacation, a spa moment, things that will help you start the task anew.
• A therapist friend suggested: Letting myself actually experience the stuck-ness and frustration even if that means crying and going fully into the misery. Then my nervous system rebounds and things become more clear, options naturally multiply. I guess I let myself hit bottom and then ride the rebound.
What ever you do, remember – you’re not alone. While talk does not cook rice, give yourself some slack if part of cooking rice figuring things out and breaking things down to: go to the store.
Warmly,
Kaye Porter
