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1924

Abstract

will take time; they realise they will not earn as much (that is not why you do this) but for many, there is an assumption that you won’t have a problem getting into the work you’d like and that it will immediately make you feel better. They dream too big from day one.</p><p id="20d5">The key to success is starting small and building up. Find a good purpose in everything you do, don’t expect that each new thing will be the game-changing moment you dreamt of at the start. If you don’t cut yourself some slack and give yourself time, you will miss the good stuff.</p><p id="8ad4">I have been helping an amazing charity increase its exposure and ultimately raise money to help children that need their support. This is EXACTLY why I left my old world, yet I hadn’t seen it. Why?</p><p id="61cf">Maybe because I wasn’t directly helping raise money. Possibly as a result of not doing an action that I could immediately see leading to more money for the charity. I think the ultimate answer is I was expecting too much, too soon, and I should have been looking at the incremental movements in my new career.</p><h1 id="e1ec">Comparisons Don’t Help</h1><p id="79e5">One reason I joked on the call for not doing a meaningful job, is because my wife works on something that is having a genuine effect on the world (which I cannot even discuss!), and in comparison, what I do feels unimportant.</p><p id="6e05">But I’m learning it doesn’t make what I do worthless, it’s just different. We always compare ourselves with people we already know are doing something amazing, the leading writing on Medium, the 25-year-old billionaire, or someone that’s just cured the next deadly disease. In reality, stop comparing yourself to anyone. Focus on you. Focus on what you are contributing to. Only you can decide if this is right for you and achieving your aims.</p><h1 id="b4a1">Know What You Want</h1><p id="24ac">I spend half my work

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ing life at the moment telling people to set goals, understand their vision, aim at a realistic target or understand what you are looking to achieve. Yet, I was not really doing that with myself. If I had, I would have been ticking off little goals and be happier.</p><p id="171f">I’ve done this with my writing but somehow avoided that with my day job.</p><ul><li>I wanted to reach 50 followers on Medium, then 100. Small ticks of encouragement.</li><li>I wanted to earn enough to pay for my monthly account. Satisfied tick.</li><li>I then wanted to earn my first £1,000 on other platforms like Upwork. Very joyful tick after 2 months.</li></ul><p id="1779">So that is what I have done in all my work. I have set small, achievable goals that are geared towards my end target.</p><p id="fcff">So set yourself your longer-term goal — For me that’s a regular income that I’m happy with, working that fit my lifestyle, working with people I like, and making a genuine difference in others' lives.</p><p id="d27a">Then set yourself some smaller goals that all gear towards that long-term goal and then celebrate them more often. Below are some that I’ve been able to celebrate recently.</p><ul><li>Helping a charity</li><li>Create an affordable course that can help smaller business owners on a budget</li><li>Do pro-bono work for struggling businesses</li><li>Mentor business owners, looking to make a difference with their business</li></ul><h1 id="8a35">I Believe Again</h1><p id="2145">The takeaway for me from this experience?</p><p id="5147">After a lot of doubt and reflection, I’ve been able to put in place a process and mindset that is working for me. I’ve found by taking the time to step back and thinking about my goals, ambitions, and motivations, I can genuinely find successes in most things, which keep me energised for the future.</p><p id="b61e">I hope this approach will work for others.</p></article></body>

Stop Doubting Yourself

Why the pandemic made me question the meaning of what I do

On a zoom call, I half-joked to a client that the job we do is meaningless in comparison to what so many are doing right now. This client is a charity and the CEO immediately stopped me and pointed out that we were helping get the word of the charity out to a wider audience, so it wasn’t meaningless. I will be forever grateful to him for that statement. It has stopped me from going down a rabbit hole of self-doubt.

When I left my old businesses, set on a mission to work with smaller businesses, directly with the owners, and do work that could make a difference, I didn’t plan to produce marketing courses, run brand reviews, or mentor startups. I actually don’t really know what I was expecting would happen. But I’ve found a way to recognise the success in what I am doing, so give me clarity and mental strength.

Give Yourself Purpose, Don’t Rely on Others

I thought just by having the idea of helping others, suddenly this would happen, that it would be easy and I would constantly feel good about life and never need to question the validity of the work I was doing again. This is not the case. Obvious you might assume. Silly Garry for even assuming it. But talking to others, I don’t think I’m alone.

People that have the ambition to do something that means more and can genuinely make a difference, think it will happen naturally. They recognise that it will take time; they realise they will not earn as much (that is not why you do this) but for many, there is an assumption that you won’t have a problem getting into the work you’d like and that it will immediately make you feel better. They dream too big from day one.

The key to success is starting small and building up. Find a good purpose in everything you do, don’t expect that each new thing will be the game-changing moment you dreamt of at the start. If you don’t cut yourself some slack and give yourself time, you will miss the good stuff.

I have been helping an amazing charity increase its exposure and ultimately raise money to help children that need their support. This is EXACTLY why I left my old world, yet I hadn’t seen it. Why?

Maybe because I wasn’t directly helping raise money. Possibly as a result of not doing an action that I could immediately see leading to more money for the charity. I think the ultimate answer is I was expecting too much, too soon, and I should have been looking at the incremental movements in my new career.

Comparisons Don’t Help

One reason I joked on the call for not doing a meaningful job, is because my wife works on something that is having a genuine effect on the world (which I cannot even discuss!), and in comparison, what I do feels unimportant.

But I’m learning it doesn’t make what I do worthless, it’s just different. We always compare ourselves with people we already know are doing something amazing, the leading writing on Medium, the 25-year-old billionaire, or someone that’s just cured the next deadly disease. In reality, stop comparing yourself to anyone. Focus on you. Focus on what you are contributing to. Only you can decide if this is right for you and achieving your aims.

Know What You Want

I spend half my working life at the moment telling people to set goals, understand their vision, aim at a realistic target or understand what you are looking to achieve. Yet, I was not really doing that with myself. If I had, I would have been ticking off little goals and be happier.

I’ve done this with my writing but somehow avoided that with my day job.

I wanted to reach 50 followers on Medium, then 100. Small ticks of encouragement.
I wanted to earn enough to pay for my monthly account. Satisfied tick.
I then wanted to earn my first £1,000 on other platforms like Upwork. Very joyful tick after 2 months.

So that is what I have done in all my work. I have set small, achievable goals that are geared towards my end target.

So set yourself your longer-term goal — For me that’s a regular income that I’m happy with, working that fit my lifestyle, working with people I like, and making a genuine difference in others' lives.

Then set yourself some smaller goals that all gear towards that long-term goal and then celebrate them more often. Below are some that I’ve been able to celebrate recently.

Helping a charity
Create an affordable course that can help smaller business owners on a budget
Do pro-bono work for struggling businesses
Mentor business owners, looking to make a difference with their business

I Believe Again

The takeaway for me from this experience?

After a lot of doubt and reflection, I’ve been able to put in place a process and mindset that is working for me. I’ve found by taking the time to step back and thinking about my goals, ambitions, and motivations, I can genuinely find successes in most things, which keep me energised for the future.

I hope this approach will work for others.