Give Yourself a Break!
By Rebecca Matter

“I manage to raise 5 kids and am very organized – I should be able to do this fast!”

Yesterday I spoke to an AWAI member about the path she was taking to get to the writer’s life.

(I told you I was going to write about you, Lisa!)

She was feeling frustrated that she wasn’t making forward progress as quickly as she’d like.

But after a quick conversation about what she had been doing until now, I was able to identify 3 roadblocks she had put up for herself, without even knowing it.

Roadblocks you may be facing too …

First up, give yourself a break!

So many people I talk to put this first roadblock in place – they put so much pressure on themselves and set such unrealistic expectations that they’re easily frustrated or end up feeling like they’re failing.

If you’re a mom (and especially if you’re a mom of five!), chances are pretty good that quite a few other people come first in your life. Sure you may be able to run your household like a tight ship, but how much time do you actually get for yourself?

How many hours can you sit down – uninterrupted – and genuinely practice your writing? Market your services? Read something new?

Imagine if you could focus all of the supermom abilities you possess on your writing career … how much faster could you become successful?

But that’s not realistic.

The same goes if you work 40+ hours a week at a full-time job, take care of your live-in parents, are suffering with a chronic illness, etc.

So give yourself a break! And then set some realistic expectations for yourself and plan out your roadmap for getting the life you want to live with your current life in mind.

Regardless of your situation, it can be done! You just need a realistic plan.

Lisa’s next roadblock is one I happened to talk about on Monday …

You need to FOCUS and get started on one thing first.

And when I say FOCUS, I’m referring to the acronym: Follow One Course Until Successful.

If you missed my email on Monday, you can access it here. And while you’re there, feel free to add a comment below it if you need help getting focused yourself. As you’ll see, I’ve been answering people’s questions this week about their own personal situation, and am more than happy to help you too.

Like many people, Lisa suffers from allowing too many “other” choices distract her and lead her off her path to the writer’s life.

At the beginning of our call, she was going to focus on becoming a B2B copywriter, but the next thing I knew, she was talking about writing for the web.

Now sure, becoming an online B2B copywriter is a great plan. It’s my own personal plan. But remember, you have to start somewhere.

And for Lisa, she had decided that she was going to start with B2B – specifically, writing case studies and white papers. Learning to write for the web will come later. Once she’s up and running as a B2B copywriter.

Which takes me to the final roadblock Lisa faced: no clear plan.

You need a specific plan, and you need to follow it!

Late last year, I shared with you my step-by-step way to create your personal roadmap.

Going through that process will ensure you create a realistic plan for yourself and give you a clear view of where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.

For Lisa, we looked at her plan for the next month and revised it with the following:

1. Revise her website to focus on case studies and white papers.
2. Write a self-promotion letter that she can send to prospective clients.
3. Take Ed Gandia’s Writing Case Studies program and write two sample case studies. (If you’re considering this program, I say go for it. You can get through it in a weekend and start promoting your services next week!)
4. Research a list of potential B2B clients in the health market. (She’s targeting health equipment manufacturers.)

So now Lisa has a plan that’s she’s going to follow for the next 30 days. And we have a meeting scheduled for day 31 so that I can hear about her progress.

Now it’s your turn …

What will your next 30 days look like? How much closer will you get to your dream life?

Put together a realistic plan that focuses on one big step, and then stick to it.

And if you’d like to share your plan with me, you can post it below.