Chapter 3 - You Should Practice What You Preach

Chapter 3 - You Should Practice What You Preach

Own It

Have you ever tried to venture outside your comfort zone to learn something new?

If so, you'll know that it's easier said than done due to the hurdles you have to overcome initially.

So what do you do?

Many people found success by turning to their peers, YouTube videos, or even buying a course.

In this blog, I'll share with you some tips to ensure maximum success when you pursue a new goal.

Note, before I begin I'd like to reiterate that NONE of these tips will be effective if you don't make the commitment to taking action. 

Consistent, daily, and productive application of these tips will help you succeed no matter what the goal is. 

Let's begin!

So What Now?

In my last post I challenged many of you to write down the barriers to a goal that you deemed difficult or unattainable.

I’m a big believer of practicing what I preach, and this blog will detail my journey over the course of this week as I took a spoonful of my own medicine and challenged myself to expand my crochet abilities.

I owned it.


The Three Golden Rules

If you're looking for a shortcut to achieving success, this isn’t the blog for you.

The best method to ensure success in anything you do is by focusing on these Three Golden Rules.


Rule #1 - Failure Isn’t Always A Bad Thing

When you first begin a new endeavor, you should go into it with an open mindset and understanding that things most likely will not go your way on your very first attempt.

But, this is okay! This isn't a losers mentality encouraging mediocrity, rather this is a gentle reminder that the journey is just as important as the destination.

When you go into an endeavor or project expecting perfection, you’ll be more likely to get frustrated and throw in the towel prematurely. 

My first blog was titled, ‘Allow Yourself To Fail and See What Happens.’ This blog was an embodiment of me coming to grips with the idea that this vision would not be easy to obtain.

Part of what held me back over these last few months was simply not being able to live with the fact that it may not work out how I intended.

I allowed my mind to cripple my ambition, my aspirations, and my efforts. My own doubt was a crutch until I sat and evaluated how bad I wanted this.

I encourage you to evaluate what’s important in your life. Discover your WHY.

Your why will help you realign when you steer off track.

Your why could be your family, future, or dreams. Harvest that energy and convert it into something productive. 

You’d be amazed how many projects I started and set aside because I didn’t like the way things were going.

I often ponder where I would be now if I’d simply powered through during those moments of frustration. 

Over the course of your journey to reach your goals, enjoy every part of the journey.

Enjoy the small successes that are birthed out of inconvenient setbacks. 

Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination.

When things don't initially work out, stop and take a step back. Then, breathe, evaluate the situation, and identify what can be done differently going forward.

The difference between yourself and a millionaire is that they didn’t allow a minor setback to prevent them from reaching their goals. 

You shouldn't either. 

Rule #2 - Step Outside Your Comfort Zone For Help. 

This is a problem many people I know struggle with. I’ve often struggled with putting myself out there and ‘bothering’ someone with a question that I felt they would think was trivial or stupid.

I never wanted to be the person that was annoying someone with constant questions and problems. In a way it was due to insecurities I had with myself. I felt that people viewed me as someone that had it all together, when the reality was I was stumbling along just like them. 

Does this sound like you?

What I’ve learned is that there are so many tools out there to help people like you and I.

YouTube is a great tool that I've become best friends with. Not only are there insurmountable tutorial videos for projects large and small, there are so many people out there that simply want to help. 

Over the course of this week, I’ve noticed that after I posted a seemingly simple comment, there was an influx of people that joined my thread of comments searching for the same information.

It was almost like the bystander effect, but for for social media.

Everyone had the same question, but no one wanted to stick their necks out and ask it. 

In turn I noticed that I gained more information than I’d originally intended!

The internet is a great tool to gain information and while many of you are uneasy about confronting people face to face with questions, the internet offers an invisibility cloak to allow you to seek information without direct judgment. 

This week I’ve learned that chances are if I had a question, there were at least one or two other people with the same question. So, I encourage to not let your uneasiness get the best of you. Ask away. There are so many wonderful people on the internet that would love to help you out.

How can they do that if you don't seek help?

Rule #3 - Tune Out The Doubters. 

My last tip is very simple in concept, but difficult in application.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” ― Suzy Kassem.

In the heat of frustration, it’s easy to doubt yourself and overvalue the opinion of others that don't want to see you succeed.

I advise you to ignore them.

Instead, ensure that you have a grounded support system around you to offer constructive criticism, rather than people that only want to criticise.

Take a break from hanging out with those crowds or engaging with social media content for a day. 

The doubters often live within their comfort zone and fear failure more than anything. 

Their insecurities manifest in the form of them encouraging you to shy away from new opportunities because it justifies them engaging in the same behaviour. 

Don’t listen to them and don’t quit. 

Earlier in this post I mentioned enjoying the journey and the nay-sayers are definitely part of the journey.

Those that question and doubt you now will be asking for your help and support in the future. 

Steer the course.

What Now? 

You now have some of my most successful tips for success. Of course there are many more tips I could offer, but I try to keep my blog posts short, sweet, and to the point. 

If there is anything that you’d like me to go more in depth about, I encourage you to email me at thehookupuf@gmail.com.

Not only am I more than willing to help, reaching out to ask for help with concepts that are foreign to you is my second tip for success, as mentioned above! 

Challenge Yourself

As we head into the week, I challenge you to ask your friends and family what are some of their current goals or projects.

Then, I encourage you to ask them how you can assist them in reaching their goal. 

Like I mentioned earlier, many people let their fear of asking a question prevent them from being great. Maybe your you have the answers they need!

My current success now can be attributed towards my friends reaching out to me and asking me what I needed help with over this journey.

Had I not expressed my desire to start the crochet business, I would not be in the position I am in now with a full blown web design company! 

Believe in yourself, work hard, stay consistent.

Thank you all for continued support!

Self Reflection Questions

To help kickstart some of the topics and ideas touched on above, it may be beneficial for you to write down your answers to these five questions below.

  1. How can I create a set of goals that have clear, definable results?
  2. How can I measure the progress, timeline and success of my goals this year?
  3. Do I have goal deadlines? If yes, are they both realistic and motivating?
  4. How will I react if I don’t achieve one of my goals this year?
  5. What can I do DAILY to motivate myself to accomplish my goals this year?

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed and get posts delivered straight to your mailing using the form at the bottom of the Home Page page https://www.hookedup.us/.

*Unsubscribe Anytime*
Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.