Loyalty Growth Lab

[EXPOSED DAY 29] Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” 🪓 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Or at least, Google says he did. I obviously wasn't there to confirm.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💕 But I love this quote. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Because sometimes I get antsy about taking a break.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I was always brought up to keep working - no matter what.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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👩‍🏫 Unless I was dying, my mom was sending me into school.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✈️ I've had to cancel holidays that were already booked because I was told if I didn't, I wouldn't be hired for my dream job (this was at Virgin, funnily enough - so much for family values, eh?).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🎄 I've worked on Christmas and New Years because my boss asked me to.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If there's one thing I'm not afraid of, it's working.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Which, ironically, means the one thing I AM afraid of is taking a break 😅 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A few weeks ago I was forced to take ten days off work. I had a family crisis and made the decision to stop everything to be with the people I love.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💆‍♀️ It was my first time taking a proper break in a year. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And you know what?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In addition to being able to be fully present with my family during that difficult time, I also felt my axe being sharpened.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💡 Ideas for my business came to me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🧘‍♀️ I got back into meditation.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📖 I started reading again.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏋️‍♀️ I picked up a new fitness regime.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's actually made me think that I'd love to bake in a one- or two-week break every three months.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💻 Work is important.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🛌 But rest is just as important.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'd love to know: how do you create space for rest in your life? Are there any habits you've created that work best for you? Let me know in the comments!

[EXPOSED DAY 20] Let's be honest here: starting a business is hard.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And I'm still waiting for the day it gets easier 🙃 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Besides the sometimes awkwardness of describing what you do, there are the days of doubt.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There are the days (and I had many, especially when I first started out) where I felt the fear of "WTF am I doing?". 😱 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🙉 "Is what I do valuable?"⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🙊 "Is anyone going to buy from me?"⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🙈 "How am I going to make a living off of this?"⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And then there are the days of picking yourself up and figuring it out. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And failing.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Launching something, and it not going to plan 🤦‍♀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The tricky clients who make you want to bang your head against a wall (reason number 101 why I only work with F**k Yes Clients now!).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Seeing your peers winning and, while you're so happy for them because it shows you what's possible, trying desperately to figure out how you can replicate their secret sauce (pro tip: you can't. You have to find your own).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💰 Investing a scary amount in yourself.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⏰ Working until 9PM.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
💭 Thinking about your work over the weekends.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🗺 Pivoting your offering because the first draft didn't exactly land as you'd hoped.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I've been there. And if you're a business or membership owner, I'm sure you've been there, too.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Anyway, all this to say: you're not alone.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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How awesome is it that we get to use your creativity to build things that people buy?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's tough, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Would you agree? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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PS⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here's a gift and letter and sent me on my first day of self employment 🥰

[EXPOSED DAY 19] We were in limbo.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The pandammit had hit, and we'd gotten out just in time.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
We took the 5AM train to my parents' in the countryside, expecting to hide out for a week or two.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That was 11 months ago.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Our plans of moving from England to America had been in the making for years.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But now they were on ice again.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Especially considering what was going on Miami (AKA where we wanted to move to. AKA the city of YOLO when it comes to C).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
So we were living at my parents because the last place we wanted to be in lockdown was in our tiny zone one flat.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
And so "one more month," became another month of "just one more month."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
All was well. But it was exhausting. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This feeling of never knowing when life would be taken off of hold (I think everyone felt varying degrees of this!).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Until one day my husband and I were on our daily walk.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
"What if we just said, "f**k it," and moved to America?" I asked.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
He didn't have a job lined up. My business was still a baby. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But we had savings, and a "what's meant to be will be" attitude.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
And 6 weeks later we moved.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
People ask me all the time if I like Miami.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
And honestly? Eleven months in, I don't know how I feel about it yet.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But I'm glad we made the leap.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
There's never a "perfect" time to do anything. Whether it's joining the gym, or moving country, or investing in yourself to take your business to the next level.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But progress always beats perfection.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Instead of looking at all the options laid out in front of you with analysis paralysis, make a choice. It's only once we take the step that we can understand whether the step was the right one (or not!).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I'd love to know: what's one thing you've been holding off doing, waiting for the "perfect time"? Let me know in the comments!