Monologues: Discipline drives passion
Branching out and doing something you've always wanted to do is to be celebrated. Too often we get stuck in what we think we should do, or what people tell us is the right thing to do. Sometimes the right thing to do isn't even the best thing to do. It's more often than not, the safe way, the path with least resistance and roadblocks. No one ever achieved much by sticking to the same-same.
You've got to strike a nerve, get that feeling of what the fuck have I got myself into and then say to yourself (even in the mirror) you've got this, you can make it happen.
You've got to strike a nerve, get that feeling of what the fuck have I got myself into and then say to yourself (even in the mirror) you've got this, you can make it happen.
When I decided to hang up my suit in Advertising, I wasn't exactly sure of what would lie ahead of me (I suppose no one really does) but what I mean is I didn't have a solid game plan, I just had a bit of a dream and vision of what I wanted to be doing. For me that was enough to change tact and set sail going solo in something that would be a completely new adventure.
Going from a very busy, hustle-bustle agency working in teams of amazingly talented people, to just yourself, at home in your dressing gown, trying to write and find inspiration was a struggle.
But sometimes you face a few headwinds. Going from a very busy, hustle-bustle agency working in teams of amazingly talented people, to just yourself, at home in your dressing gown, trying to write and find inspiration was a struggle. I'm a real people's person so that has been the biggest adjustment. Everything is on me, it's either do it - or don't. Secondly, is the no stable income, but that was to be expected. However, it doesn't stop you questioning if this venture 'pay off' so to speak. But if you're following your passion, don't let money start to deter you, as it can and easily will.
Just last week my girlfriend sent me an article on Linked In where Brandon Stanton the creator of Humans Of New York explained that
following your passion requires more discipline than passion
and that's really ringing true to me at the moment. Discipline can come in waves, I'll get really fired up, be productive...then get distracted, find other things to do which I know are easier tasks. Then before you know it an afternoon flies by. Focus, motivation and determination - if only they were a vitamin you could take. But like we've always been told, write to-do lists & daily goals and cross then off as you go, they're like mini-achievements which all add up.
What I'm getting at is it can be a big ask to get moving at pace you desire when there's quite a bit of adjustment required after a significant change.
It can be a big ask to get things moving at the pace you desire when there's been quite a bit of adjustment required after a significant change. Starting my new solo venture was to start immediately post a holiday to the states and Mexico, but then there was Christmas, then straight into New Years, so progress was sluggish. But with the turn of the new year I've stepped on the gas and I'm getting shit done. Thank goodness.
While I probably haven't had the most productive or time efficient days of my life, there's so much I am reading, learning, and experimenting with to see what might work. While this may not bear many fruits in this early stage, I think it's still doing some good in the long run.
But I'm here right now doing it, giving it a go and I'm loving putting my energy into this men's fashion blog and everything that comes along with content creation. I just hope I can really make something of it and that people will get as much out of it as I do. That for me will be the ultimate.
Keep you posted as we write on.
jb