Don’t Worry It's Part of the Process: Journey to Sophia Speakss
It’s September 1st, Woooo hooooo!!!!! I am so excited for this day and for many reasons, but the main reason is that if you are reading this I did it!! So, I’ll cut the theatrics in a second, but I followed through on my goal of having this blog launched by September 1st and just want to celebrate!!
So now that I have gotten the celebratory moment out of the way I want to get transparent and real with you about the journey to the here and now. I read someone’s Twitter post that said something like, “Don’t parade around all of the high moments of success and tell me that I can succeed without telling me about the struggle”, and I FELT THAT!! People love to talk openly about their wins, their gains, their achievements and the high moments but it’s rare to see or hear of people sharing their moments of doubt, confusion, loss, and fear. I am so happy to share this blog with you and I hope that you gain insight and perspective from it; HOWEVER, I want to honor the struggle because it got me to where I am now. So without further ado, here we go.
I knew 2019 would be the year that Sophia Speakss would debut and like any good idea I started strong! I created a WordPress site, wrote and posted a few pieces earlier in the year and did well but honestly, I was not consistent. As time passed, I was somewhat ashamed and disappointed that I had an amazing idea to share and connect with others but was failing to follow through. I decided to take my idea serious and got in touch with a web designer to create a more polished site, I reached out to fellow bloggers and gained insight on how to “do” the blogging thing and even invested in seminars and books on creating and writing. It was time to be serious and commit.
As time passed, my excitement grew as the concept of “Sophia Speakss” began to take form and truly looked like something. I was finally seeing all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Although everything outside of me was coming together, I’d often catch myself slacking off on what I needed to do to prepare and said, “September 1st, you WILL launch Sophia Speakss.” This hard deadline was scary but exciting, I had something to work towards and for.
Two weeks before the first I was writing and creating but something was off, my excitement had waned and eventually came to a screeching halt. I brushed it off and decided I’d get back to it soon. One week from September 1st, my excitement for the blog was back but suddenly I was unsure and was questioning everything, “Is my site good, enough?” “Will anyone even read it?” “Am I even good enough to be a blogger”. After the questioning, doubt crept in and I began to answer my questions; “This site doesn’t look like THEIR site, no one will want to read it and who are you fooling??! Those writing classes weren’t all that great, you aren’t a REAL writer.” Someone asked me what I envisioned for Sophia Speakss and told them of different ideas and goals I had for the blog but as I answered I inwardly doubted everything I said. I was COMPLETELY uninterested in writing, talking about and thinking about Sophia Speakss. In all of the negative emotions that were surrounding me I continued to write and create, trusting in God and believing in myself.
When you are working towards your goals remember:
Doubt and confusion are part of the process. - If you are a thinker like me, there will be moments where you question EVERYTHING you are doing. It's ok to feel lost just don't let feeling lost lead you in moving forward. Don't get too cozy with those feelings; acknowledge what you feel and move forward with confidence!
Cheer for yourself even if you are the only person making noise and be LOUD! - I am extremely blessed to have friends and family that cheered me on and kept me accountable during this entire process. The reality is they have goals and dreams too and can't devote all their time and energy to making sure I am encouraged and supported in my endeavors. Cheer for yourself every step of the way and I mean EVERY step. You sold your first product?? Applause! You lost 2 pounds?? Applause! You went to bed on time every day for a week?? Applause! As you are reading this I have had or am having a slice of cake to celebrate starting and completing this post!
It’s not going to happen overnight but start somewhere. - Sophia Speakss started in March 2018, I had nothing but the domain name sophiaspeakss.com! I purchased it knowing that I wanted to blog but didn’t know how it would come together. I had a few dollars--to pay for the domain name-- and a dream. It’s TOTALLY okay if you don’t know the whole story, you aren’t supposed to know. Decide to take the first step and just start
Embrace struggle, it’s developing you. - Here’s where I want to be transparent, struggling is NATURAL. If newborn babies have to struggle to make their way into the world, why would you think your big, dusty self would get it any easier when going for what you want??! Every struggle you face can teach you IF you are open to looking at it from a different perspective. Some of the best lessons come from struggling; if you must struggle at least take something valuable from it, you can learn a lot.
It’s Ok to want to quit, just don’t. - You owe it to yourself! I read a book and it talked about how we often fight hard to keep our commitments to our jobs, our families & friends, and other events but give up quickly on what we commit to for ourselves. You owe it to yourself! Do what you must to get to where you want to be and DON'T STOP until you get there.
I am a recovering procrastinator and quitter and if this was 2018, September 1st would have come and gone. Although I was uninterested and had no passion for the idea I was once passionate about, I kept at it and in the words of Whitney Houston, I took it "Step by step, day by day”, and I did it!