Being self-employed has been a huge journey of starting to take myself more seriously. It’s kind of necessary when you rely solely on your skills and ability to hustle to bring in money. If I don’t work, I don’t eat. If I feel insecure and hold back, my influence and audience shrinks, and so does my bottom line.
These are a few things I’ve been changing in order to start taking myself more seriously. I believe you can learn from these too.
1. Say “I am”, not “I want to be”…
For a long while, I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a creative consultant. The problem is, as long as I said that I wanted to be those things, they felt like distant possibilities. But once I began saying “I am a writer” and “I am a creative consultant”, I began functioning in those capacities.
Stop setting a goal of what you want to be. Become that now and start functioning in it. You’ll probably suck at the new identity in the beginning, but you’ll get better.
2. Set deadlines for yourself.
If you want to quit your job… If you want to write that novel… If you want to record the album… Set a date. It isn’t real until you put a deadline on that dream.
Set small goals and put dates on them. Work toward that big project. (Be sure you set a deadline for the whole thing so it doesn’t slip away from you, because it will.)
3. Invest in yourself.
Tons of people say they take my website seriously. But to me, they don’t really take it seriously until they invest their money in it. When they put $$$ behind advertising on my site, that’s when I know they really take my audience and platform seriously.
Do you take yourself seriously? Does your money reflect that?
When was the last time you paid for yourself to go to a conference? When did you last buy a book to learn more? Did you front your own money to start a business? Why shouldn’t you do those things?
4. Guard your time.
Guard your time from distractions. And no, I’m not saying you shouldn’t invest your time in people. I’m talking about little things, like watching too much TV or doing activities you should be paying others to do. For instance, I’ve recently hired someone to mow my lawn (also because I hate it) and begun getting produce delivered to my door. It costs a bit more, but it saves me easily an hour or two each week. It’s worth the few extra dollars I spend to have that time back.
I’m not saying you need to waste money, but look for ways you can guard your time. It’s worth more than a few bucks or missing out on watching a game live – with its hours of commercials.
5. Invest in others.
Finally, you need to start investing in other people. Invest your time, your money, and expertise. Share your knowledge and help other people grow. You don’t even have to look for direct returns on your time.
I give my time to nearly anyone who I believe in and who wants to learn how to make money. I don’t ask for anything in return, but I trust that planting seed in good soil will return a harvest. Might not be money, but it will be good things.
Maybe it’s time to start taking yourself more seriously. You have more to offer than you might think. Start acting that way.