I know I’ve been paralyzed by that question in the past.

I have so many interests — things I love to do, things people tell me I’m good at, and things that I can’t let go of, even if I try. How’s a girl to decide where her true passion lies?

I set aside a month to rest and reflect. A whole 31 days without actively pursuing any passion, but rather considering the things that I love, the things that drive me, and the things that have shaped who I am. I journaled, talked with close friends, and restrained myself from choosing any one thing and running with it. The last was harder than you might think! Any time I came up with an idea, I wanted to jump straight into it, sure that this was the next big thing I was to pursue. …

I scroll and see the lifestyles of successful small business owners and cannot put myself where they are.

They chillax. I have children.

Productivity tips that they swear by are…

This is more or less a stream-of-consciousness piece; lightly edited to make sense, but otherwise pretty raw.

I’m supposed to be writing an emotionally draining piece that has been weighing on me for months. Nearly a year, actually. I wrote part one late in 2019 and it’s a fairly popular piece. I’ve known since then that I would need to tell the whole story, especially since there are plot twists you wouldn’t see coming just reading that first chapter. It didn’t end the way I had hoped, but the story needs told. Maybe that’s why the story needs told.

It’s draining though. Not just this one piece I’m trying to write either. …

Last year I did something that completely changed the trajectory of my business.

I stopped listening to everybody.

There are plenty of “gurus” out there talking about this social media hack or that launch strategy. I was addicted to lead magnets and free downloads. True, I learned a lot from the free advice available everywhere…

But it also held me back.

Trying to patch together advice from different experts was exhausting and time-consuming, but I did it for over a decade. …

In 2016 I quit the most “normal” job I’d ever had. The previous year-and-a-half I had split my time between the desk and the lecture platform. It was stressful and ultimately just not a great fit.

I’d always struggled to fit in.

That spring I found myself adrift. I knew I didn’t want another day job, but the entrepreneurial project I had started as a high-schooler had never grown enough to actually sustain me. I couldn’t just go back to that.

Thankfully I hadn’t been brought up to believe that I had to be “normal” in order to be successful so 2016 ended up being the most pivotal year of my life to date. …

You’ve seen the advice: Keep a journal! It’ll help you make more money, get a better job, improve your relationships—it will change your life!

Why not try it?

You will never know what journaling might do for you unless you give it a go. So go!

Here’s how to start a journal:

1. Start recording your thoughts.

That’s it.

Ultimately journaling is simply recording your thoughts. You can write them down with a pen in a paper notebook. You can record them as audio files. You can type them into your phone or computer. …

What’s the goal?

According to Campaign Monitor marketing emails average about an 18% open rate and 2.6% click rate. In contrast, our latest launch sequence had upwards of 51% open rates and an average click rate of 4.4% — and we sent these emails to a pretty cold audience.

The goal is different for each email and every sequence you write. Emails hyper-focused on getting clicks can easily have click rates of 12–15% or higher!

A deep strategy that lets each email build upon the last will improve your conversion rates—and improved conversion rates mean more sales.

Ultimately more sales is the goal, and the goal of these 5 emails is to turn your subscribers into students. …

How do you feel when I say, “Time to write an email to your list!”?

You are not alone if your stomach turns a little or you make a sour face. Even I get that feeling sometimes — until I remember that I have a secret weapon that makes writing emails fast and easy. I’m going to share it with you in a moment here, but first I want to introduce myself.