the lesson I needed to learn?

Published 8 days ago • 5 min read

If It Feels Like You're Going Nowhere

I muttered curse words under my breath nearly the entire 12-mile hike up the steepest mountain I'd ever set foot on.

Step-after-step, I felt like I was hiking on a road to no where.

My hangry alarm had gone off hours ago. I'd eaten all the trail mix and turkey sticks I'd had in my pack.

I refused to drink water, because I was sick of peeing in the bushes.

I felt sweat dripping down my back and calves.

"We're almost there, Sam" our guide, Karina, said. "Keep going," she encouraged me.

"Keep going?!" I thought. "I haven't gone anywhere."

I used my tiny but mighty legs to step high up on each boulder before me, laid out like lily pads dotting up the mountain.

With each boulder, my knee would go high above my hip -- beyond my belly button even. Grunting, I'd use my hiking poles to hoist myself up each one.

Just when I thought I'd call it quits, there she was:

Torres del Paine, Chile, Patagonia [December 2024]

I'd made it to the top of the tallest mountain I'd ever climbed in my life.

This was just 6 months ago, when I spent December in southern Patagonia hiking mountains and glaciers, riding a horse (for the first time!) named Paloma for 4.5 hours each way to the only cabin on a remote island, and kayaking 25 miles down a rapids-filled glacial river.

Each one was the hardest thing I've ever done (until I did the next one).

While I wish I could tell you I blissfully hiked, paddled, and climbed each one of these while manifesting success, cradling crystals, and repeating gross motivational quotes like, "pain is weakness leaving the body" --

The truth is that I complained endlessly.

I threw temper tantrums, even. I fought the journey the entire time.

Each step on this hike in particular, felt useless -- like I was getting nowhere.

But when I reached the top, I realized the entire time I'd been slowly but steadily climbing the highest peak of my life -- even when it didn't feel like it.

I'd be willing to bet you feel this way sometimes in your business (and life!), too.

Especially if you're early on in business, it's easy to get lost in the day-to-day of setting up your LLC, building a website, creating content, trying to figure out all the backend systems required to run your business, etc etc...

Through it all,

You might have lost sight of just how far you've come, Reader.

Maybe your bank account isn't where you want it to be yet.

Or your audience size feels like it hasn't budged.

But if you really stopped to take a look around, you'd see just how far you've come from...

That job you hated
Teaching yourself how to publish a blog post on your site
Editing your first YouTube video
Writing your first email newsletter
Working with your first client

I talk about this in my book, but it's better to measure the distance between where you are now vs. where you've been, rather than where you are now vs. where you want to be.

If you do the latter, you not only won't enjoy the journey, you'll also never feel like you've made it. There will also be another mountain to scale.

Don't be like me on that mountain, choosing to struggle the entire way.

Despite what the gurus tell you, reaching your business goals takes small, consistent action over a sustained period of time.

You're doing what you need to do.

Pause.

Think about how far you've come already in your business, regardless of the results, outcomes, and metrics.

Think about how different you are than 6 months ago. Of how many skills you've acquired. Or the changes you see and feel in yourself.

I bet you'll be more impressed with yourself than you were before you started reading this email.

So --

What's 1 thing (no matter how small!) that's different today than it was even 6 months ago? Can you see how far you've come?

I'm all ears. Hit "reply" and tell me -- this newsletter is a two-way street.

Extra credit: hit "reply" and tell me what's 1 thing you'd like me to write to you about soon? Anything you'd like me to talk more about here? I'm open!

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