Tech Spaz - Journey from luddite to wiz kid.

I grew up with dial up internet. I was a teenager in AOL chat rooms, and my first cell phone was a brick that I got in college, and only used for emergencies. My work life up until now has been built on the backs of Millennials whom I buy lattes for in exchange for help with things like Excel, building data platforms and cool social media content. It’s been a highly successful and highly productive approach to living in the 21st century, until now.

Owning a small business with a staff of one requires you to wear many hats. You are the finance department, the program department and in this day and age most importantly, you are the communications department. When I said “Yes” to my desire to open my own coaching business, I never dreamed I was saying “Yes” to becoming a graphic designer as well.

Here we are, six months in, and I am proud to say I have almost got the hang of this. I make customized and on brand Instagram squares, I’ve added this blog to my website, I have a scheduling app that works, and now, I have a Newsletter that I think is functioning in the way a real-deal, easy to read newsletter should.

Don’t let appearances fool you - this took TIME! This took feedback! This took belief and most importantly, the mindset that I was capable of making this happen.

Mindset.

It’s something I think about a lot in my work as a coach. The only thing that stands in the way of us becoming and doing exactly what we want, is our beautiful pink and grey wrinkled up brain matter. That squishy little orb nestled in our skulls functions like a traffic light. When the light is green, we are cruising, smooth sailing, doing things we know how to do, but the minute we see yellow - and in my mind, yellow was newsletter templates - we get all sweaty and nervous and create a whole heaping mess for ourselves. Either you send something that is less than great (me) or you don’t do it at all for fear of looking bad (been there too).

My first newsletter was too small - I created it on a design website that didn’t integrate with my mailing list. It was perfect looking under a microscope, but highly unreadable. I sat with the feedback I got, and tried it again. So many people (Millennials) I know create awesome newsletters - surely this wasn’t rocket science - it was just basic science. I knew that I could ask some questions, and learn how to do it eventually.

I took the first round of advice that I got and integrated with a new list serve. My second newsletter was easy to read in some places, but my links were weird and messy and too small and hard to read. UGHHHHH! Guys, I tried so hard and I failed, AGAIN.

What I know about myself is that once I fail multiple times, I call for help. I phoned a friend (this one was born in the 80s) who said - YES, start a blog, that’s the answer to your issues!

I did, here we are, and I am feeling, well…GOOD! I am feeling good that my failure brought me to exactly where I need to be right now. This will inherently be a better version of my newsletter and next months, will be EVEN better.

Did I fail publicly? YES, yes I did - to hundreds of people. Also, I did it twice.

Will I fail again? Probably but you know what I say to that?!

HOORAY!

Every time I fail, I learn something new. I then get to apply that new thing, and witness my own growth. I get to celebrate that growth, and then once I’ve sufficiently celebrated, I get to look ahead. I also know that there isn’t anything I can’t eventually learn, and for me, that’s one of the most beautiful gifts my squishy brain has offered up to me over and over again. My capacity to learn and create is endless, and frankly, it a beautiful miracle that each one of us possess.

I do not struggle with perfectionism in the way that many of my clients do. It’s a real challenge for many, and I know how painful it can be when you don’t feel as though you haven’t produced your absolute best. It can be painful, limiting and humiliating, and those feelings, well, they suck.

I invite you to dance with me in the space of “I messed up! Yay!”. When we experience this paradigm shift of celebrating our errors, and seeking new ways of being and doing, that’s when we grow. That’s when we move from “Spaz” to “Wiz”.

What are you thinking about trying or doing that feels like it’s in the yellow zone?

What would happen if you tried and failed?

Let me know how it goes. I love to hear about failure, because I know that means you are on your way.