089: How to Handle the Ups and Downs Of Being a Self-Employed Entrepreneur

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"Learning is a gift, even when pain is your teacher." -- Maya Watson

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You should be excited to get out of bed in the morning. You should be itching to knock out 40 minutes of money-making tasks on the computer, then leave the computer.

If you're feeling unmotivated, get off the computer until you do.

THE LONG GAME
1. Treat your business like a real business: boundaries for "focused" time (Four Daily Tasks) -- no split focus
2. Anytime you're making a decision or deciding to commit time to a task, ask yourself: will doing this really earn me more money? If you're not sure, then is it worth risking an hour or 5 minutes to find out? (Usually: yes.)
3. Look to put yourself out of business, because if you won't, someone else will. (Which means: move your business to the next logical step.) Complete what you start, but after completing and getting the low hanging fruit, don't rely on that income stream to keep paying you for 10 years.

SETBACKS
4. Support System & Mastermind: have someone to talk to who understands you
5. Light at the end of the tunnel: don't plan more than your next product, next book, next three podcast episodes, etc. Go back and connect the dots later.
6. Make Money: you'll be more excited (and have an easier time justifying what you're doing to others) if you're making some initial money

MINDSET
7. Take Time Off the Computer to Think: Either weekends, or specific days of the week. Don't just "zone out" all day and all week staring at the screen. Take quiet walks or drives to think, too. Exercise to clear your head and reduce stress.
8. Be an Above-Average Person: Actually listen to what people say in your everyday life. Avoid being the zombie who drifts through things. Don't watch so much of the news, and avoid live TV if possible. Quit gossip and complaining. You take actions, things don't happen to you.
9. Have an Abundance Mindset: Provide lots of help for free to others, not to feel superior or to get credit, just because it makes you feel good.

ACTIONS
10. Traffic: most people setup their site hoping everyone will find it. WSO's, seminars, viral affiliate program, retargeted traffic -- get lots of people to your site
11. Strengthen Your Content Muscle: this doesn't necessary mean writing. It can be webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, product creation. Get used to producing "something" helpful to others at least every few days -- paid or free. Note: build content on sites you control, not forums and Facebook.
12. Minimum viable product: What's most important is that you take action, that it leads you to making more money, and that you complete and follow-through. Getting it "done" and 80% right is better than getting it perfect and 100% right, which is impossible.