Coaching Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Courses and Coaching for Freelancers

Monday Spark: Do you love your message as much as this guy? [VIDEO]

Recently I have been writing and speaking about the power of loving your message.

Simply put, it isn’t easy to promote yourself when you try to sell your services on the basis of the sum of your expertise and experience. You’ll never feel totally confident, because you’ll always know that your knowledge is incomplete and that other people know more than you do.

But when you have a message you love, everything changes. Instead of trying to promote yourself, or the sum of your knowledge, you promote your message.

My message, back in the late 1990s, was “writing for the web is different”. It was a new and exciting message back then, and nobody else was saying it. And it built me a business before I had any kind of expertise or experience in writing for the web.

People hired me because they loved my message.

Now…to give you an idea of what loving your message looks and sounds like, check out the video below.

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Monday Spark: Get out and meet some people.

by Nick Usborne

Working from home, all of the time, without any contact with your peers, prospects or customers is a little unnatural.

For the last 100 years – up to about 10 years ago – most people worked side by side with their colleagues in office buildings or factories.

Before that, people worked within their communities, often within walking distance of their homes.

It is only within the last 10 years or so that the internet has allowed people work from home. (Actually, I can work from anywhere in the world, as long as I have an internet connection.)

Tens of millions of people now work in this way – relying on email, the web, social media and their phones to keep in touch with industry news, and with their clients.

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Monday Spark: Place the oxygen mask on your own face first.

by Nick Usborne

As infants we are expected to be self-centered and selfish. It’s the nature of childhood.

Once we are in our teens, people around us begin to lose patience with that self-centered part of our personalities.

Once we enter the work force and commit to our first serious relationship, things begin to change. Hopefully.

And by the time we have a family, we can only wish for those days when we had the time and resources to spoil ourselves and put ourselves first.

This is a natural progression. It’s what we expect of ourselves and of those around us.

But there is a downside, and a danger.

There may come a time in your life when you realize you are devoting yourself entirely to your work, your family, your friends and maybe one of two causes you support.

But what about you? How much time do you devote to yourself?

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Get into a positive mindset before you start writing for your clients.

by Nick Usborne

When I was a fledgling copywriter in my early 20s, I attacked each project with a tsunami of positivity.

I was totally pumped, screaming with optimism, and just threw myself at every challenge and opportunity. I was like a kid in a toy store with cash in my pocket. I loved every project, even the “boring” ones for industrial clients.

I was on a natural high every time I sat down to work.

Today, 30 years and several mortgages later, that tsunami has lost a bit of its spontaneous power.

I don’t mean I have lost my interest in writing. I haven’t. I still love it just as much. And I’m almost certainly a better writer today than I was back then.

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Monday Spark: Get a boost from friends who know what it’s like to be a freelancer.

by Nick Usborne

You know what it’s like to be a freelancer, and so do I.

But many people don’t.

Even within our own homes we can sometimes feel like strangers when it comes to why and how we follow the freelance life.

In fact, when you were starting out, you probably got a few weird looks and comments from family, friends or colleagues.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be safer getting a real job?” (Ha! Like a “real” job is safe these days.)

I don’t know what it is exactly, but there is a clear and definite line that divides people who get and want the freelance life, and those who don’t. And if we are surrounded by too many people who don’t get it, we can begin to feel isolated. And if we feel isolated for too long, we can start having doubts about ourselves.

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