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Tag: fear

Face Your Fear And Start A Blog!

Published 09/21/2014

So you’ve thought about starting your own online business and blog but you haven’t. Why is that?

One of the reasons could be because of your fear. Your fear will tell you everything it can in order to stop you from accomplishing your dreams. It will tell you that you are not good enough, or that someone else is already doing it better. It will tell you that blogging is too technical and you won’t be able to figure it all out. Your fear will say, hey, you don’t really have any time. Maybe you don’t know where to start because you have to many thoughts bouncing in your head. It might even tell you that you have no idea how to run an online business, and everything is just too confusing. You feel lost or overwhelmed.

In situations like this when your dreams are involved, you should always do the opposite of what your fear is telling you to do.

All of these thoughts have also gone through my mind before I started this blog. I was paralyzed and didn’t know where to start.

But then I came across minimalist blogger Courtney Carver’s Zero to 100 ebook for beginning bloggers. It is a step-by-step guide on how to start a blog with PURPOSE.

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I was a bit skeptical at first, but after she gets you to face your fear and start pursuing your dreams, along with a very motivational speech, I was hooked. I had nothing to lose, and only a lot to gain. It was because of this course that I actually created this blog.

So if you’re feeling a bit stuck, I highly recommend you check out this microcourse and give it a shot!

The course will help you: 

  • inspire ideas
  • narrow them down
  • create a blog name and tagline
  • launch your blog (on your own or with help)
  • reach your first 100 subscribers
  • make your first $100

And some reasons to start a blog today:

  • Share your story and quality content to help people
  • Start a business
  • Improve your writing skills
  • Learn something new
  • Be vulnerable
  • Connect with awesome people
  • Earn money
  • Work from anywhere
  • Solve problems
  • Be creative

I also recommend a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The whole premise of the book is to get us to look at all of the limiting beliefs and fears we have, and how we can really own and control our destiny and live our life’s purpose. Seriously, check it out!

Please share your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to hear them. If you liked what you read, please subscribe!

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Mastering the Art of Letting Go

Published 05/07/2014

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“The root of all of our problems is our inability to let go.” – Leo Babauta

I apologize for being a bit MIA this week, I’ve been busy from day until night everyday with interviews, teaching and consulting work, but I’ve been aching to get back at my blog! Today, I bring to you a free gift, an e-book created by the talented writer and minimalist, Leo Babauta, who is also someone I look up to and is a huge source of inspiration in starting my blog.

The e-book is called The One Skill: How Mastering the Art of Letting Go Will Change Your Life. The title sort of explains it, but basically it’s based on the Zen idea of letting go, and when we can master this we can reduce our stress, procrastinate less, improve our relationships, increase our ability to deal with change, learn to change difficult habits, and become more present in our lives.

The biggest thing I took away from this book was the idea that our expectations or fantasies are based on ideals, and when we have certain ideals about the way a situation or a person should be, we set ourselves up for disappointment, stress and anxiety. This causes fear, fear of things not turning out the way they should. But when we can just learn to let go of these ideals, the fear disappears, and we become more present, happy and productive.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it, take a look for yourself and see. It’s a pretty easy read and the benefits are huge.

Pick up this FREE e-book here and check out Leo Babauta’s amazing blog at zenhabits.net. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this e-book if you read it! Let me know in the comments below or send me an email at lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com.

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Breaking Free From Vices

Published 04/21/2014

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“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – Joseph Campbell

Today’s blog post was triggered by an interesting and challenging experience I recently had and I felt like I wanted to share my insights with you. I was faced with a situation where in the past I would have gone to one of my vices in order to cover up fear and emotion, but I was able to push through it in order in order to gain a richer and more meaningful experience. I’m using this as a metaphor for this blog post on how we use things, or clutter, or bad habits in order to cover up something that is underneath.

Do you have any vices?

Any bad habits, negative character traits or reactions that are unhealthy for you? Shopping? Drug use? Alcohol? Dating? Sex? Over-eating? Gambling? Even habits like watching too much television or YouTube when you could be focusing on something more meaningful or productive? We do them because we think they will make us feel better, and they do but only for a brief moment. Just as soon as it started, the happiness goes away and we’re left with an empty feeling at the pit of our stomach and we need to fill up the hole with more of these vices again. And the cycle continues.

These vices are all forms of distractions keeping us away from a more focused, happy, authentic and meaningful life.

What we really need to do is get to the source of what is really upsetting us and leaving us feeling empty or afraid. What are we trying to run away from within ourselves? And what are the triggers? It is usually an emotional issue that we are trying to avoid and only when we come to grips with what we’re emotionally avoiding can we have the blissful and meaningful life we want (and deserve). We won’t need to turn to our vices to make us feel better.

Think about the life you want to live. Refer to this blog post to help you.

How to recognize when you are using vices as forms of distractions and get focused:

1. Become aware of your negative habits, write them down if you need to. It might be difficult to recognize when something is bad for you if it feels good. But if you are constantly feeling frustrated that things are not going the way you want them to in your life, (and it is happening over and over again), it is a good sign something needs to change. The first step is awareness.

2. Notice when you feel the need to act on your vice. How are you feeling at this very moment. Are you bored? Lonely? Depressed? Scared?

3. Face your issue head on. Stop for a moment, don’t head for the nearest shopping mall or alcoholic drink. Instead take some time to sit and do nothing and just feel your emotions. Nothing bad will happen to you.

When we are able to be comfortable with being alone with ourselves, we learn more about who we are. And to know ourselves brings us closer to authenticity and true happiness. It takes courage, but it is necessary if we want to have the life we want. When we can do this, we won’t need all of the old vices that we are used to going to. Also, don’t be afraid to talk openly and honestly if your issue involves other people, because the results may surprise you.

From my personal experience, when I made the conscious decision to fight against my go-to vice, I was finally free, like a ton of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders. I  was free from being “stuck” in an old habit and being miserable and unhappy with the end results. I knew I had to stay focused on my life vision if I wanted to be happier. I grew so much from this and I want to make sure I am continuously growing and learning from these types of experiences and moments for the rest of my life. It’s basically ‘unlinking’ old associations, and creating new and more positive ones. Nothing could be better!

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

What are some of your vices? Do you notice when they come up? Let me know in the comments below or send me an email at lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com.

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