For many years I used patience as an excuse for not innovating or updating my writing practice. In this episode of my podcast for authors, Happy Write Now, we discuss how you could be subconsciously sabotaging your success under the guise of patience.
Below you will find the transcript and show notes for Episode 3 of the HWN podcast. Share your thoughts on the episode in the comment form below. I'm excited to jump on this journey with you! What are your favorite mindset and writing podcasts? Let me know.
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Transcript:
Before we get into podcast #4, I have a quote for you “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” -Samuel Johnson
It is 6:42 AM on Monday, August 27th. I’ve already recorded podcast #4 twice over the weekend and kept getting errors in my file that deleted all of my audio. I think I know now a workaround for why I kept getting that error that deleted my podcast on two occasions, which you know makes my blood boil bit but it is fiiinnneee.
This episode was originally about comparison, and I actually also recorded it live on Instagram the first time, and I know some of the people on that live have told me that comparison was something they struggled with - so while it is not yet on the podcast I’d like to think that the message met who it needed to. So for now, I’m going to talk about patience. I will re-record the comparison podcast another time and maybe it’ll be perfectly in-line with who needs it then too.
Today’s topic is patience, something that I have had some trouble with over the past year. As a big dreamer, you guys know this, I kind of want to jump into everything RIGHT NOW rather than letting ideas breathe or waiting until I’ve cleared other projects off my plate. This has helped me so much this year , as I’ve been able to EXPLODE into the writing and personal development space in a way I wouldn’t have been able to if I slowed down. My authorpreneur life isn’t patient. My fiction life, is. I’ll share with you where I have benefited from jumping all in, where patience has served me, versus where I have not and the differences between them.
First - where patience wasn’t right for me. I have been positioning myself as a writer on social media since January 2018. But, I was still dabbling as a blogger everywhere else. Blogging is my history!
I started blogging regularly in 2010 and was very patient there. I tried what I thought was the right thing to do and kept at it for years. I changed genre of blogging occasionally, but the formula of what I was doing was the same. But it wasn’t until after I attended a social media conference for Disney Moms in April 2018… Or maybe it was March, I’ll have to look it up. But anyway, it wasn’t until I went to that Disney Social Media Moms conference that I realized it wasn’t who I was anymore.
I am a writer. I was an authorpreneur in the making. And while I’ll talk about Disney until the cows come home in my personal life and I do hope I get more Disney invites, because it was AMAZING and totally the highlight of my blogging career, I didn’t fit in with that crowd anymore. I was blogging out of habit, not passion. I let that patience turn into stagnation and a habit. I wasn’t innovating in blogging or really looking into best practices. I was just doing the same thing over and over again.
But at that Disney conference, it was one of the first times I realized my future was more to create courses and products for myself. It helped me realize that I wasn’t part of the space of lifestyle content and sponsored influencer posts like I used to be.
So, while i had been calling myself an author since January that year. I didn’t put forth my Authorpreneur identity and really step into the success I knew I could make there until around April. So it’s been about 5 months. Only 5! And that blows my mind.
I wasn’t patient there. I jumped in, retired my old website and created a new one, started the Happy Write Now newsletter, grew my following on Instagram to almost double with genuine engagements and encouraging content, and launched my first product - The Happy Story Bible. Now, even this podcast. Less than half a year later. All of those moments were inspired action that completely changed my life and I was not patient about it at all.
And then, where patience has served me - in my fiction life. Ember Dragon Daughter, my YA fantasy novel, is currently in draft 3. I’ve had a lot of trouble with this draft because books aren’t typically complete from start to finish in under 5 months and I’m feeling that strain as this book has been a year and a half in the making.
This is the first book I’ve ever taken past the first draft, so every time I write I am learning something new. It has been beautiful turmoil, if I’m being honest. I LOVE my story, but it is also something that has really challenged me. And challenge is good.
Whenever I open my document I see my growth and all that I’ve changed since draft 1. And while being patient has felt very difficult, I know that this growth is worth it because when I do finish this novel, I’ll be a better author. When I finally deam Ember’s story ready for the masses, I’ll be able to write the next book quicker and with better quality. Challenge breeds strength. This book is building my character and my skill level.
Where patience serves you is when you learn from it. With my blog, where I patiently maintained the status quo, I wasn’t learning at all. I was honestly floundering without even realizing it. And on my authorpreneur path where I just jump in - I’m building confidence with each new opportunity I accept I am growing my confidence and power, showing my life whose boss. While it does take patience to reach the success I know I can achieve, the steps to get there are a running marathon with my best time - under 10 minutes a mile.
I hope that this look into a different view on patience has helped. For a related topic, check out my IGTV - I have an episode called Imperfection is the Goal that I think you’d love.
Have a happy Monday.