Things have been pretty quiet on the #customerlove front lately. I don’t know if that means a lot of you have fallen by the wayside, or if you’re all too busy working on your big 29th Day Launches to tweet. I hope it’s the latter.
But I want you to know that if you ran out of steam or into a roadblock, if you feel like you flaked out, it’s okay. I’m the last person to criticize. I don’t call this place The Complete Flake for nothing.
The important thing is to learn from the experience, regroup, and try again — right? Right?
Yeah, I never listen to that advice either. I get tired of all the rah-rah, you-can-do-it posts too. But this is just burnout talking, because we both know we CAN do it.
Years ago, when I was a waitress going to night school to learn radio, I complained to my mother about an assignment that was particularly difficult for me. It involved writing a three-minute news feature using clips from an interview I had done with an illegal immigrant about his life in the U.S. I was excited about how good the material was, but scared I couldn’t write well enough to do it justice.
Mom, who had given me her last savings to pay my tuition, got a worried look on her face.
“You’re not going to quit, are you?”
I knew she MEANT, “You’re not going to quit THIS TOO, are you?” Because I had pretty much given up on everything up to that point. And I wasn’t just out of high school — I was 31 years old by then. [What? I’m a late bloomer!]
I heard myself say what I’d never even thought before:
“No, of course not. It’s just hard, that’s all.”
What a concept.
I finished the assignment, and it was very good. Can’t remember what grade I got but I’m still proud of it. And I learned that I could finish something hard. I felt a confidence in myself I’d never experienced before.
This is like that. Things that seem hard when you first try them get easier the next time. And after a while, you wonder what the problem was — or forget you ever had one.
Or you start to think, It’s just hard, that’s all.
p.s. If you’re struggling and need help, or just want some company while you work on your Thing, Laura and Holly at Cottage Copy are holding a #customerlove cram session on Skype tomorrow. I’ll be there too. Tweet @thecopycorner for details.
C’mon, it’ll be fun. 🙂
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And, let me tell you, there’s great satisfaction from completing something that’s hard to do.
I wish my #customerlove cohorts much success with their launches – even if they’re a little bit late getting out of the gate! But please, push past the hard parts to get out of that gate!
The things you learn by completing this will make the next time easier.
(If that isn’t incentive enough, I guess we could have all chipped in $500 to a fund on start day, and if we launch, we get our $500 back. If not LaVonne and David keep the money! How’s that for incentive.)
Haha!! Great idea for next time!
~LaVonne
Great post LaVonne,
I think this #customerlove challenge is very much a case of the ‘ripple in the pond’ effect . . . it’s not going to disappear at the end of the 28 days. . . it’s just going to keep on ‘rippling’ ~
There are so many great lessons, inspiring people and ideas that have come out of this ‘challenge’ that for many it will continue to be quite a life changing experience!
Thank you so much again for everything you have done!
warm hugs
Lindyklk
Thank you, Lindy! I totally believe in the power of the ripple. 🙂
~LaVonne
I don’t feel like flaking just yet, but I can always appreciate a nudge.
Thanks for visiting, and here’s a friendly nudge! ))
~LaVonne
LaVonne, you continue to impress me. That is a GREAT post. Thank you.
I haven’t flaked, I’m just slow. I’m just getting my arms around My Thing and have been writing up a storm – a flurry of posts and guest posts are getting ready to hit the ether. It’s coming, and it’ll be amazing. Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Aww Susan, thank you! I can hardly wait to see your amazing Thing — be sure
to let me know when it’s ready!
~LaVonne
I bookmarked this to read later and never got back to it, which is pretty flaky 🙂
I may be adopting “It’s hard, that’s all” as my personal motto for a few days!