Stumble

“I don’t really know what I’m doing. None of us do.”

I get so nervous when I get on calls to interview authorities for the case studies.

Right now, it’s on my mind. I’ve got a batch of interviews lined up with some heavy hitters. Folks who’ve sold millions of books and racked up millions more in YouTube views.

What precedes the call is:

• I listen to dozens of hours of them speaking on podcasts.
• Read their books.
• Pour through their social media posts over the years.

I’ve been a fan of their work for some time, for many, if not all.

I’ve had them on the mind for so long that, when I come to speak with them, it’s like speaking with any other artist I listen to on Spotify or actor I watch on Netflix.

I’m clumsy and awkward in those first 5 minutes, but fortunately I relax as we get into the conversation on how they grew their business.

I’m fortunate to get the opportunity to speak with them a second or third time and develop a relationship. One in particular is now a client.

In those conversations, at some point, they often say something along the lines of:

“I don’t really know what I’m doing. None of us do.”

They’re not superheroes. They’re just like you and I – filled with self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

They’re stumbling, trying to figure things out along the way.

That’s what distinguishes them from every other unknown competitor in their field.

Forward motion

They move forward regardless, despite the fact that they don’t know what they’re doing.

They develop and maintain a writing habit, mostly unaware whether tomorrow’s post will resonate or not.

They speak on stage, even if it makes them feel uncomfortable.

They launch new offers they’ve never delivered before, optimistic and enthusiastic that they’ll deliver value, but never really knowing how they’ll turn out.

Nothing goes according to plan, but they proceed regardless.

Along the way, they invest in themselves. They pay for coaching and support on areas that they want to improve on in the context of building their brand.

All of the above is coupled with a discipline to pursue one thing and disregard all the ‘good’ opportunities that come their way in order to focus on the one great. They still stumble, taking on too much then beating themselves up about it, but they inevitably find their North Star - focus.

The behaviours of the equally smart ‘have-nots’ contrast with every one of those points above.

They’re static and busy in all the wrong ways.

They dip in and out of writing, never doing it long and consistently enough to build a habit.

They don’t speak on stage. They’re waiting until they have something meaningful to say, but of course, they never do (because writing is thinking, and they don’t write).

They rarely launch new offers. They typically tinker with existing and plan new ones, but they never actually launch in a meaningful way.

They plan, plan, plan and never execute.

Waiting to find the perfect answer, taking one step forward, and when nothing happens, take a step back and plan some more.

The point I’m making here is this:

If you’ve not made the progress in recent years that you’d hope for and have scrambled around for answers as to why your brand isn’t where you want it to be, ask yourself:

How often have I stumbled?