Start by #normal40

 This week, I’m working long hours in the field.

I’m not doing it for the money; I’m not being paid. 

I’m doing it for the simple joy of connecting with the land.

A joy that can’t be bought, only experienced.

This is my new life. I make all the ends meet, and I make all my obligations work. But I no longer live by my calendar — my calendar lives by me.

The path I took was not easy, or obvious. I’m not rich, and what I walked away from came with a cost. Getting here was not free; it was a trade. The same will be true for you: It won’t be easy, it won’t be obvious, and it won’t be free. It will be a trade.

Some make it, others don’t. 

That is a fact.

But making this trade — where my calendar works for me — is impossible to regret.

This is me today … but 18 months ago:

I quit my corporate job.

Before I quit, I had a client.

Before I had a client, I became a coach. 

Before I became a coach, I got clear on who I was.

Before that, I wrote down what I would no longer tolerate.

Before that, I accepted my future wasn’t where my feet were.

Before that, I felt my gut begging me to finally bet on myself.

Before that, my life’s calendar was built around quarter end.

Before that, I had to pretend I felt better than I really was.

Before that, I felt like you.

Here’s my best advice: Start.

The most intelligent people I know never start because they can’t see the end. They start by asking all of the wrong questions, like “Does it scale?” and “How much can I charge?” and “How will I stand out in this crowded field?”

Why? Because these questions are impossible to answer before you actually start. These ‘smart’ questions are your excuse to wait another quarter or year to really start.

These intelligent questions are simply stall tactics; excuses you need to justify why you’re still there. And, there you are. See how smart you are.

The answers you seek are found where you least want to look. And where you don’t want to look is in the vulnerable place of actually taking an action to start. 

You don’t have to quit anything — nothing — to start.

But if you ever want to make a bet on yourself, to live out your best days, to take back your calendar, you need to start so that you can one day quit. 

Go back to my list and work your way from the bottom up. 

Where are you on that timeline? 

What are you willing to do about it? Nothing? Fine with me.

But if you want to finally bet on yourself, if your future isn’t where your feet are, if you know what you no longer wish to tolerate and you don’t know what to do about it ….

You’re in luck — this is the Normal 40, and this is what we do. If you want to do something to start, join 3100 in our private, closed, and free Normal community. Or download “The 14 Questions That Changed My Life.” from my website or book a free ramble with me.

In this moment, you will or you will not. 

In the next moment, you own the result.

See you when you get here. 

Don’t be late.

I’ll be here.