Embracing Uncertainty and Risk, Without Letting Them Rule Your Life.

Ambitious Procrastinators and Overthinkers: Keep Dreaming, but Start Doing

For years fear was running my show.

The raw truth? Fear is a bitch. 

It has stopped more dreams than failure ever has.

Peace & Quiet: Dead People’s Goals.

Now, I'm a fan of safety – I mean, who isn’t? 

The one thing you need to know about me is that I hate unnecessary risk.

I drive semi-safely and make sure I won't run out of canned beans during a zombie apocalypse. 

But, here's the kicker: I view risk a bit differently than most.

• To me, not chasing after what makes your heart race is the most dangerous game to play. 

• Sticking to that ‘safe’ job without building anything on the side? Risky. 

• Waiting for the elusive "someday" to start truly living? Hell, that’s playing with fire.

But, but! What if you fall flat on your face? What if, after all that effort, you still suck?

Let's do a quick 101 on risk. 

Evolutionarily speaking, our brains are wired to avoid danger. "Don't get eaten by that lion, don't eat those poisonous berries, don't poke that sleeping bear." 

But we've evolved past berry-picking and bear-prodding. 

Evolution didn't anticipate stock markets or side hustles. 

Yet, many of us are stuck in the old brain patterns, missing the larger view: in this fast-paced, ever-changing world, not adapting is the riskiest move you can make.

So, how the hell do you make friends with risk? 

Start by asking yourself some tough questions:

• What am I yearning for but am too chickenshit to try?

• If I mustered the guts, what steps would I need to take?

• What’s the price tag? (And I ain't just talking money here.) We're talking time, energy, some ego bruises, perhaps letting go of that nightly Netflix binge, and embracing good ol' uncertainty.

And while we're on this introspective roller-coaster, also consider: What's Really at Stake?

Let's get real about your fears. List them. Look them in the eye.

• What's scaring you from taking action? Losing money? Bruising your ego? FOMO on Netflix binges? 

• What’s the price of just standing here, doing nothing? A shot to your self-worth? Kissing those dreams goodbye? Facing the godawful truth that you didn’t even try?

• If I swing for the fences and end up striking out, how will I feel about myself? Would I nod at my reflection for giving it a go or wallow in regret for sitting on the sidelines?

And if everything goes tits up? 

Will the skills and lessons I've picked up be of use elsewhere?

Alright, I'm not asking you to sell all your belongings and become a nomadic dream-chaser. 

No. 

The game is about taking calculated risks. 

Think of it like an expedition into the wild. Your journey won't be a Caribbean cruise; it's more like hacking through a jungle with a rusty machete. But you can contain that fear. It’s totally possible to make this whole risk-taking thing a tad less terrifying.

Budget Your Risk: What’s your limit? Can you spare 5 hours a week? Stop giving me the "I'm too busy" BS. Everyone’s swamped, but if you want it badly enough, you'll carve out the time. Spoiler alert: you likely have more time than you think; you’re just waiting a lot of it on being distracted.

If you dedicate an hour a day, five days a week, you're already ahead of the whiners who spend their time tweeting regrets.

And honestly? If you are not willing to carve an hour a day to work on your dreams, you don’t deserve them in the first place.

Commit to the Hustle: Establish a game plan. No need for perfection; it’s a myth anyway. Keep it simple. Show up. Work on your craft.

Forget judgment and second-guessing for some time; it's not invited to this party.

Pace Yourself: I know, the initial excitement makes you want to dive deep and go hard. But that's a fast track to Burnout City. 

Steady beats fast when fast burns out before the finish line. 

You're not in a 100-meter dash; you're running a marathon, with an occasional sprint thrown into the mix. 

Find a rhythm that doesn’t exhaust you. Trust me, as you build stamina, you’ll naturally up the ante.

The Time Commitment Lie

Say you allocate ‘a year of your life’ that isn’t really a year of your life anyway. 

That's 5 hours every week. 255 hours in total. The hours might fluctuate – sometimes 3, sometimes 6. 

The point isn't to clock-watch, but to stick to it. 

Things take time. Outcomes are slippery little devils; you can't always grasp them. But your effort? That's on you. So stop focusing on the costs so much, and think of the tasty carrots ahead!

Your Risk Estimator Is Broken

We all tend to overestimate risks. The sky's not going to fall if you fail. Heck, you can't even be sure if you're going to fail or succeed. The only real failure is letting fear make your choices for you.

Our brains are sneaky; they often blow the risk way out of proportion and tell you a bad bad wolf lives in that forest. 

So take a deep breath, embrace the journey, and if you stick to it, I guarantee you will be in an entirely different place a year from today. 

And who knows what’s possible THERE.

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"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one." -Mark Twain

I'm creating a course for Ambitious Procrastinators Creative Solopreneurs, who are brimming with ideas, but lacking in execution.

To move you stuff from your 'one day' pile to 'day one' and then 'done'.

• get clarity

• manage procrastination

• resistance, overthinking

• develop bias toward action

• manage distractions

  Subscribe now and get a front row access when it’s ready!

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