As some of you may know, my wife gave birth to our daughter, Remei Luxe, a few weeks back. And, even though she’s our third (my fourth), at 38 years old, it’s been an adjustment… and a lesson for those of you on your freelance grind.
If I’m being honest, the first week or so after we got home from the hospital, I did nothing. The first week I was just euphoric and wanted to spend all my time with her. I forgot just how tiny they are when they’re first born.
But, they start growing quickly.
And, the long nights start to set in.
And then, it just becomes about sleep. Or rather, lack thereof. I’ve felt like my wife and I have had a decent balance, taking turns, but still there’s only so much you can do. Eventually, it catches up to you.
And, the last week or so, I’ve felt like a zombie.
Getting anything done has just felt overwhelming.
You’ve likely noticed. 🙂
In particular, though, it’s my routine. Before little Remei came along, I’d developed and settled into a nice routine. Not just work. Eating, exercise, homeschooling. I’d basically “figured it out”. Then, this little lady came along and blew it all up. 😀
So, I’m reeling a bit.
But, today, I’m reminded of the thing that’s always got me through. I remember my sophomore year of high school. You have to remember, I grew up in a dirt poor household and didn’t feel like I had a ton of options.
Right or wrong, at the time, I felt like football was my only way “out”. I’d be good enough that I could get a scholarship, get my college paid for, get a degree and that would be what changed my life.
But, it wasn’t going well.
My sophomore year, I barely played. And, it was beginning to look like the football thing might not work out. So, I started to panic a bit. My mind went in all sorts of different directions as that school year ended.
But, eventually, I simply resolved that I was going to dig in and work harder. That’s all I really knew how to do that had produced any results for me up to that point. And, that summer, I put on thirty pounds of muscle. The next year, I had a breakout season, an even better senior season and got the scholarships I was after.
Plenty of similar stories from my time in Iraq.
And, building my freelance business.
What you need and what I’m getting with all this is… the ability to rally. Things aren’t always going to go your way. Hell, if you’re like me, things will rarely go how you plan or envision them. The only way I know through is to just work harder.
For me, I’m working on a new routine.
One that accounts for little Remei.
There’ll be stops and starts.
But, I know if I stay committed to the vision and just keep cracking away at it, I’m going to figure it out. It’s like Greg Popovich says, “Just keep pounding the rock, eventually, it’s going to crack.”
In any case, take that for what it’s worth.
That said, let’s get down to business…
When I speak of routine, what I mean is a system I’ve built to consistently bring in new business that only requires a small time investment from me in order to work. A “funnel” if you will. This is one of the first big things I figured out with freelancing.
And, it led to me get 4-5 new client requests each month.
And, for big 3-5K projects.
In any case, I talk you through that routine in my Beginner’s Guide to Freelance course… along with a bunch of other freelancing fundamentals that’s meant to help you fast-track your success as a freelancer.
If you’re interested, you can enroll in the course on Udemy here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/freelanceonudemy
Later,
John
P.S. If you prefer Skillshare, you can learn how to get all my classes, including this one, for free here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/skillshare
