1) Relax your timeline.

The idea that any pursuit is going to be linear, predictable, easy and that there is some kind of ready-made formula you can just slot yourself into and get guaranteed results in a specific amount of time is just absurd.

Starting a new fitness regimen, starting a new blog or business, starting a new relationship, building anything worth working hard for—we actually don’t know if it will take 30 days or 30 years. We can’t fully know, and that triggers our control tendencies.

But what we do know is first step is. We just have to do that. Once we do, the next step will appear. We don’t have to see all the angles in order to act. And when we see that we really actually do have plenty of time to get everything done, the urgency of needing all the results right now falls away.

2) Expect to fail.

There are two kinds of people: 1) those who crumble at the first sign of struggle and throw in the towel because it’s all too much, and 2) those who expect that shit will be tough. These people know that you don’t achieve anything worthwhile without obstacles. And they come to expect them.

When you ready your mind for the inevitable struggle, you’re able to approach your tough times with objectivity and without making it mean you suck or shouldn’t be doing it. When missteps show up, you see it as just a natural part of the process and you quickly get clinical and then get busy implementing a solution.

3) Stop giving your mental energy to things that doesn’t matter.

Not all decisions carry the same weight, and those who are the most successful in any endeavor get discerning real quick. They don’t get caught up in the nuance and the small considerations. They realize that trying to do 20 things perfectly is setting themselves up to waste time and eventually fail. So they get square with the handful of items that move the dial.

Eating healthy? Get in your protein and veggies. I don’t care if you have to put butter on your greens to get the down or marinade on your chicken. For 99% of people, the mental energy it takes to worry about all those small considerations is what causes them to be unsuccessful in the long run.

You have to TELL PEOPLE who you are, what you stand for and then share your struggles and successes. For now, get the basics down. Write for your audience in the places it matters: your blog, your email subscribers and your Facebook business page. If you don’t have those 3 things happening regularly, don’t stress about YouTube.

4) Quit managing other people’s perception of you.

The second-guessing of how we are going to be perceived by others. We all suffer from this, and it’s especially tough at the beginning of your journey because you have very few wins yet. Your friends and family don’t get it, or they think it’s weird or unrealistic or just another one of your crazy ideas. I understand, it’s hard to be out in front.

But those who have success in any big endeavor have stopped playing to the lowest common denominator and have quit being afraid of what people—who actually have nothing to do with it—are saying and thinking. Because you are creating a new audience of people who do care. Write for them. Show up for them. Be unapologetically authentic for them.

Trying to control what others think of you is impossible. But confidence is undeniable. Show up with conviction and watch what happens.

5) Learn to find enjoyment in the process.

You’re doing this because you said you wanted it, remember? So how on earth can you create something you love by doing shit you hate?

Inaction is not a focus problem, it’s a passion problem. It’s a congruence problem.

Write from the heart. Show up authentically. Let people see the real you. It won’t be everyone’s jam, but that’s fine because right now, your non-doing is nobody’s jam.