A Facebook post in our community exploded with comments when someone mentioned “age”. DO NOT let age, experience or anything else stop you. In this episode, I’ll share 3 quick hacks to get you on track to creating a lot of momentum in your business (and your life).

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Big Ideas

There’s an idea that you’ve had and for whatever reason, you’re waiting on it. You may be thinking, “I’m too old,” or, “I’m too young,” or, “I don’t have enough experience yet,” or, “I need to wait until the tech is in place or my audience is big enough,” or, “I have this done or that done.” Or you may be thinking like, “I don’t want to fail in front of people. I don’t want to look stupid.” If any of those thoughts have passed through your mind, this episode is for you.

So, the question becomes, how do you get out of your own way so that you can move forward? I’ve got three simple hacks to help you get out of your own way…

Look For What’s Possible [02:40]

So, this whole concept of I’m too old, I’m too young, I’m not enough, I don’t have enough experience, yada, yada, yada. Here’s what I want you to do. Instead of focusing on what’s not possible, I want you to focus on what is possible. Start looking for examples. When you start seeing examples, I want you to save them. I want you to internalize them because they are inspiring and they create belief that you can do this. Because if they can do it, why not you?

In a recent post, someone wondered if they were too old. Well, there were a whole bunch of people that responded. Debbie Viola said, “I‘m 61 and I started my paint club membership in October.” Kirsten Hacks said, “I turned 53 on Friday, and I started my membership at 52 and I love it.” And then Leslie Vernick said, “Hey, I started my membership site at 62 and I just closed yesterday with 1,200 new members. You can do this.”

And so, you can do this as well! No matter whether you’re young, you’re old, you have zero experience, it doesn’t matter. What I want you to do is I want you to start looking for possibility. Look for the people who mirror what it is that you are doing, your circumstance, where you are in your journey, and take inspiration from them.

Treat It As An Experiment [04:25]

Here’s some common objections that pop up a lot… “I love this idea and I’m absolutely going to do it. I just need to wait until the tech is in place,” or “I just need to wait until my audience is big enough,” or “I just need to wait until this happens or until I have that done.”

Listen, if you’re one of those people, here’s how I want you to shift your mindset. I don’t want you to think that everything has to be perfect before you start moving forward. Because here’s a newsflash for you, it’s never going to be perfect. You’re never going to be 100% ready. It is never going to be 100% the perfect time to launch.

But here’s how I want you to shift your focus and your energy. I learned this little idea from a good friend of mine, Ryan Levesque. He said, “Think about your business as an experiment. So, how could you keep it super simple?” This is a great question to think about. If it’s an experiment, well, then you’re just trying things, right? And so, if it works, awesome. If it doesn’t, no big deal. On to the next experiment.

I always ask myself how I can keep it super simple. You know why I love that question? Because it forces us to pair it down to the basics. What’s the most simple way that I could get started today? It strips away all the complexity of having to figure out all the things and it just makes it easier.

Shift Your Focus To WHO You Are Serving[07:30]

So many people are resistant to move forward because they’re afraid of failing. And I completely get it! But here’s a little shift that I want to pass on to you that was given to me from a friend of mine.

Her name is Victoria Labalme. One time I was about ready to go and speak in front of the biggest audience that I had ever spoken in front of. I was super excited but equally nervous.

And so, I’m talking to my friend, Victoria, and she snapped me out of it. She said, “Stu, you’re worried about yourself. Stop worrying about yourself and shift your focus to who you are about to serve.” Wow. Sit with that for a moment. Instead of worrying about yourself; what you’re going to look like, what will happen to you or what people will think about you, shift your focus to your audience. Focus on them.

How is what you’re about to do going to serve them? How is what you’re going to do right now going to improve their life? Focus on that. Focus on your people. And when you shift your focus to your people, all those nerves that are getting you twisted up, they just disappear. It’s amazing.

Memorable Quote

“It doesn’t matter how old you are. Your progress only depends on your willingness and commitment to keep moving forward.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

Mary Gardella
Leslie Vernick
Debbie Viola – The Creative Connection Painting Club
Cheryl Hatch – Preschool Plan It
Victoria Labalme
Christie Hawkins – The Social Easel Online Paint Studio

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