Flashback: Evergreen Advice from CFC 2013

For my own reference and yours, here are my notes from the short talk I gave on the “How to Grow Your Business (With or Without Employees)” panel at the Creative Freelancer Conference at Moscone West in San Francisco held June 22-23, 2013.

I deviated and ad-libbed, but this will give you the general idea of the content.

Answers

Before you look for answers, make sure you’re asking the right questions. There are lots of answers out there, but most of them have nothing to do with you.

Authorship

You are the designer of your own life. It is the biggest and most important project you’ll ever have. You are living a personal Choose Your Own Adventure book every day. You are the director and star of a real-time movie that is unfolding as we speak. Your life is a creative work of art. You may have sources, but you are the only author. Create your masterpiece.

Criticism

Criticism reveals more about the critic than the object being critiqued. This is also true of self-criticism.

Bravery & Fear

Bravery cannot exist unless there is also fear. It is normal to feel fear. Fear is an opportunity to be brave. The reward of bravery is freedom. Know the difference between good fear and bad fear. The difference is in the level of excitement you feel with the fear.

Self-Confidence

The most important quality in your life toolkit is self-confidence. Everything else is details. EVERYTHING. If you don’t have self-confidence, fake it ’til you make it. If not you, who? If not now, when?

Time

Every person on the planet — young, old, rich, poor, healthy, sick — has the exact same amount of time in the day. No more, no less. What are you giving your time to? What is not getting your time but should be?

Growth

Does growth have to mean more? Can it mean better? Can it mean less? Can it mean lateral movement?

You decide for yourself. And feel free to change your answer whenever you feel like it.

Thank you for listening.