How to Clear the Cobwebs with New Projects

Welcome back to another Personal Brand Brief. You’re joining 17,500+ founders, ideators, and marketers who are interested in learning how to build online credibility. If you want content like this sent straight to your inbox, subscribe here .

This week’s set up:

?? Problem: You’re starting a new project and getting frustrated by all the mental roadblocks you’re hitting

?? Solution: Give space to clear the cobwebs so you can start new projects quickly?

?? Next play: Create a system to sift through your mental cobwebs so that every idea is easier to move into action

As we start working toward our goals, there are a lot of tools to find, people to meet, and problems to solve... and I kind of see those in my mind as cobwebs. ??

We need to prepare time for projects and working-life to give enough space to get rid of the cobwebs.

It’s easy to overestimate the time and effort that’s required for executing on an idea or bringing something to life. I am reminded of this after working with new clients, or when I first started setting up my own business, or in the early days when I was building a conference as a student.?

I’ve realized that ideas are amazing, but building on something and executing it is a different story:

Before you’re going 60km an hour, you need to find the car keys, test the brakes, check the oil, and get the directions to figure out the path ahead.

?It’s not until you’ve been driving on the same road for a while that you can get into cruise control and enjoy the journey. You know, when you’re driving to work or driving home you don’t recognize the turns you’re making; this is like entrepreneurship.?

The more you do something, the more refined your skills become, and the more effective you are at doing it in less time with less effort and friction.

So much of that process is just getting rid of the cobwebs.?

??Reminder: it’s going to take time before your tires are pumped up and you’ve got gas in the tank. (Read: your free marketing engine that comes through your personal brand).

Who Needs to Check for Cobwebs?

This is for people who are pivoting careers, beginning to publicly validate ideas, or building a personal brand.?

A lot of people think that they can hire a Gary Vee marketing team, send out a LinkedIn post, and become viral by the next morning. That’s just not reality.

?Your best results will only come from compound interest; this is a long-term game. ??

I get excited about the goals, habits, and ideas I'm starting this year. Although they come with a tough habit loop initially, I know they’ll eventually tick like clockwork after 5-10 years.

It’s just like personal finance. It takes time to get setup and see the compound results. But once you’re dialed in, you’re off to the races.

I’ve been in the personal branding game for 5 years. It started as a hobby, I used it to get a job, and now I teach it to others.?

So, if you’re just starting out, no matter how credible you are offline, remember that you’ve got years ahead of you in the working world (perhaps even decades).?

And as long as you’re capturing ideas, taking steps forward, and building for the long term, you’re going to be in a great spot to execute and refine your process.

This template for clearing the cobwebs comes down to three steps:

1. Understand there are a lot of things that need to get put in place before being at full speed.
2. Document everything that needs to get done so that when you have those goals/metrics you can understand you’re at full speed.
3. Develop the empathy and compassion required to give yourself grace… to understand you’re not a Gary Vee or Ellen, just someone who’s trying to build trust and thought leadership online. It’s going to take more than a month. More than a year.?

Give yourself space when you need to clear the cobwebs. Leave room for error.??

Excellence is a 10 year play,

not a 1 day growth hack.?

Give yourself more space to move and think. ??

?? ACTION BYTES?

• What “cobwebs” do you have between you and cruise control? How can you document these and celebrate when you’ve overcome them?
• When building a personal brand, what cobwebs will you need to clear to get up to speed? (buying a website domain, editing your profile headline etc).

??RIFF OF THE DAY

RightMetric COO Evan Knight shared his calendar strategy this week in an honest LinkedIn post, and I think it’s genius. If you wrestle with staying engaged throughout your week day or frequently have tasks spilling into the weekend, maybe his system would work for you. You can check out his post here .?

Thanks for reading until the end! Let me know if you have any ideas that spark or suggestions about content that you’d like me to talk about. Reach out by sending a message .?

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.?

??? Joel

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