Here’s the thing – I come from a very strong family work ethic. It’s a BIG part of our cultural identity. And, in my family, work ethic is synonymous with hard work. We, are Hard Workers. It’s what we do, it’s who we are, and it’s part of what ties us together.
When I quit my traditional, insurance paying, consistent paycheck giving job many moons ago, it was HARD for me. Not to give up those things, but to understand where I fit in my families cultural identity now that I wasn’t Working Hard any more.
I mean, I was working hard, but it didn’t FEEL hard. It felt passionate, it felt creative and fun. I was shocked (and elated!) I was getting paid for it. Every now and then I still look around and get confused about how I fit in to the world I grew up in, because this does not feel like Hard Work. Well, it can be hard, but the good kinda hard, like, post yoga class hard.
This is something I’ve struggled with integrating, and accepting, that business doesn’t have to be so HARD. Turns out, it’s something my clients struggle with too. I often see them waaaay over complicating things, and when I ask them why, they say it’s because they thought it ‘had to be that way’ or ‘it couldn’t be that easy’. I call that, baggage 🙂
What I see is a real resistance to believing it can be easy, and a resistance to creating your business in a way that serves you and works on your terms.
Here’s what I’ve learned, as I’ve worked through letting go of my baggage about Hard Work, is there is always a hard way to do something, and an easy way. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make you lazy, or dumb, or mean that you’re taking a shortcut. Sometimes easy is easy, and that’s good.
Sometimes, things are hard for a reason. Hard is there to make you think. To help you evaluate if you REALLY want something. Sometimes we need that to help us get clear on if we want the thing that is hard or not. We’ve all seen how this plays out in relationships 😉
When a business is centered around who YOU are, it becomes a natural extension of your talents and expertise. When it’s really truly grounded in your passion and power, it becomes like your spiderman webs – always at your fingertips that you can wield to your advantage.
When you’re creating a business based around YOU, and you’re using your natural talents and expertise to change the world, you are connected to your flow. When you’re connected to your flow, you have more ideas, more creative problem solving, and more capacity to do what it takes to make your business grow. When you’re connected to your flow, it’s a very strong and powerful place, it’s hard to knock you down.
The businesses that are stuck in the HARD place, the place that’s not passionate, creative and alive, tend to be ones that are disconnected from the people running them. They’re trying to push against their own natural flow, or not utilize their talents and tools. They’re likely doing what they think they “should” be doing, now what they are on fire to create. They’re probably trying to fit into what they think a business ‘should’ look like, in a ‘traditional’ sense.
I’m not trying to make those businesses wrong, lord knows I was that business in the early days, but, that’s the quagmire. The quagmire of self-doubt, confusion, and hard. And it makes me so sad to see businesses stuck there because it really doesn’t have to be like that. What I see that holds people there is a resistance to let go of their pre-conceived notions of what work and business should be and a need to really own your unique gifts and talents and USE them in the way you long to.
I am not saying don’t work hard, don’t hustle, don’t give it your all – please do all that and then some, but if your business is stuck in the HARD quagmire, I am here to say it really can be easy, and you can have a ton of fun with it. But you’ve got to let go of some baggage, and give in to your amazing self.
Did this post inspire you to make a change? Are you already to the flow and have your spiderman webs ready for action? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
If you’re stuck in the quagmire, and can’t see to find the easy, I can help. My brain is creatively unhinged about this stuff. I’m Ellen, Money Making Expert. I help creative business owners make more money and revolutionize their businesses.
It’s my mission to help you boost your bottom line and start really creating the opportunities you want for yourself. Ready to find out what’s possible when we work together? Book your power sesh here. 20 minutes, you and me, totally free.
“Go for it! In fact, if you have ANY doubt that you might not be going in the right direction in your business, all you need is one session with Ellen. She’s not only extremely business-savvy and able to come up with innovative, creative and totally ON FIRE ideas quick-as-all-hell, her razor-sharp wit and relaxed demeanor made the whole session feel like I was talking to a (super–smart) BFF.” – Erica
