Last week, I shared how building in public almost killed my business aspirations. In case you are dealing with a similar struggle, we’ll be diving into how I climbed out of the hole and finally found what I wanted to do. I’ll be giving you the questions, thoughts, and reframings that I needed to finally figure out what in the hell I wanted to do.
Before we get there, as always, here is the song of the week. It’s a track I wrote and produced about ten years ago before I quit making music:
I wrote this song in the midst of working to escape poverty. I tell the story a bit in the post. If you’re interested in learning more about the journey from 10 years ago Josh to now, that account might be a cool follow.
Anyway, onto the newsletter.
escaping the build in public trap
Last week, I left you with a few thoughts and questions sit with. Let’s revisit those really quick. First, the recognition of reality:
Our time Is Limited. We will never be able to do everything we want to. And we’ll definitely never be able to do everything we possibly could do.
But We’re Lucky. Because automations, machinery, and the internet have made it possible to experience 500% more than what our ancestors could … even 30 years ago.
And So Priority is the most important thing we can figure out. Because time is ticking, and that thing we’re putting off until “my kids graduate” or “when i build this business and can work 4 hours a day”… that is the thing that we need to make possible.
And lastly – the hardest lesson for heart-centered, empathetic people to learn… over and over again.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. Just you can solve that problem for someone, doesn’t mean you have to. Or even that you should. Often times, that help is counterproductive anyway. (Footnote: if you want to know why, reply back and I’ll write another newsletter about that).
If we’re agreed on these facts of reality, then we can move onto the questions. If we’re not, then shoot me an email back and let me know where we don’t agree.
the first step of escaping the build in public trap
The first step in escaping the build in public trap, especially for empathetic, mulit-passionate creators is to stop building in public for now.
You need space.
- From the opinions of others.
- From other people’s problems.
- From the multitude of new opportunities to distract you.
And then you need to ask yourself the following three questions.
One: Am I primarily in this to make more money?
The answer to this question will help you narrow down what you’re optimizing for. If your answer to number 1 is yes, no problem. No judgement here, I spent the first ten years of my career money chasing. You often can’t focus on your purpose until your primary needs are met.
And if the answer is yes – I’ve got great news. Making money is fairly easy compared to finding your purpose. Pick an idea, and stick with it for six months. You’ll make money, I promise.
Now. If your answer to question one is no, then it’s likely you’re in this venture to find a way to spend your time on more meaningful ventures than working in an office somewhere. And that’s great!
But then you need to understand and accept two things.
- You may never make money doing the thing that aligns with your purpose.
- That’s okay.
Multipassionate creators face a challenge. You find purpose in exploration and experimentation. And the moment you narrow down and try to make money doing it – the exploration feels boring, narrow, and tainted.
And that’s where your pivot will come from. You’re searching for “the right thing to stick with”, but that’s simply not how you work. We’ll come back to this sticking point later.
Two: What will a business enable for me that I don’t have today?
For me, this was “time freedom” and “freedom to explore my interests”. Ironically, by trying to start a business on the side, I realized that I had created time freedom for myself. I could never create the time to explore my interests in the past, but I sure could sacrifice time and money to create a side-hustle. Weird how that works huh?
Now for you, your answer may be different. But – you’ve got to get into alignment with yourself on why you want a business. Because business itself is fucking hard. And the majority of people who successfully start them succeed simply because they like the activity of business. It’s fun to them.
And it’s possible that a super-stressful business isn’t the only way you could accomplish this goal. Try brainstorming 5 ways you could accomplish that goal without starting a business. See if any of those are easier. More aligned?
Because you could be just like me. You actually just want time to pursure your interests and find purpose. And it’s possible, that by trying to start a side-hustle – you’ve already opened up space to do so.
You don’t need the business.
You need to prioritize yourself.
Three: Do I naturally operate in a way that aligns with the business model I’m trying to launch?
This was the last brick to crumble the wall I was facing. I was always “about to launch, as soon as my job calmed down”. Or “when I found the right idea I could stick with”. Or when I get inspired enough to build the habits business required.
But – after 1.5 years of seeing the same pattern happen, I had to admit that the business models I was chasing simply wouldn’t work for me.
I don’t talk about this much, but I’ve been diagnosed bipolar. And this means that I will have major bursts of energy a few times a year. And it also means I’ll feel demotivated for about 35% of the year. And worse – this pattern is somewhat in my control, but is unpredictable. It’s often
And having an “always on” business simply wouldn’t work for me. That means that:
- Podcasting
- Coaching
- Teaching classes
- Posting on twitter three times a day
- Providing a service like digital marketing
Would lead me right back to where I was today: upset that I have obligations that I’m not motivated to do.
If I was going to find a business model – I needed something that could withstand those ups and downs. That could be worked in bursts and then work in the background while I was down. That had low-effort tasks within it for down periods.
Finding these patterns about yourself is vital if you’re going to find something that you not only stick with… but that you actually enjoy doing day to day.
Like that was the point right?
But finding these patterns about yourself is always challenging. For me – it took going to therapy for a year and getting help. If that’s not something you do today, it could be helpful to have an external person to talk to and help you identify them.
It certainly helped me.
getting over the build in public hump
Now. I promised that I’d come back to a sticking point of not being able to stick to things. And here we are, at the end of the newsletter.
For as long as you don’t feel confident and aligned in the approach you’re taking. For as long as you aren’t clear on what your outcomes are. For as long as you aren’t sure that the business model you have will work for you…
You might want to stay away from build in public.
It has a tendency to take hold of your brain and focus it on things you don’t care about.
My advice to build in public?
Build momentum and clarity in the core of your idea before you start building in public. That way, when you show back up in public – you have a solid core to protect your brain from the distractions and vanity metrics.
Next week – I’ll speak to the markers that it’s time to return to build in public.
For now, let’s figure out what you’re trying to do here right? You don’t have to build a business to have everything you want. It’s just one of a million approaches to be happy.
If you’re stuck on the “I have to build a business” part of this, feel free to shoot me a short email. I can’t promise to respond in depth to every one, but perhaps I can make a newsletter about the themes I’m seeing and what I’ve done.
Until next week,
Josh