10 Things You Need to Know to Launch "Your Thing"

What follows is a whip smart and revealing guest post from Laura, one of the amazing women who took part in the inaugural Get It Off the Ground Group Coaching Program. (Which reminds me, cupcake! The 2011 Groups are starting NEXT WEEK! There are a few spots left- but you need to register NOW!)

I’m honored to host Laura (aka Big L) on Stratejoy today and excited to let her “share her thing”! And if you’re lucky, she’ll explain what’s up with Richard Simmons! Without further ado….

“Let’s transform your thing into our thing!

Have you ever had an idea so big that it occupies your thoughts every day? Have you ever been so focused on a vision – on the “I wish” and “What if” – that you made little or no progress toward actually achieving it?

Have you ever tackled something – a project, business, invention, book – with such fierce independence and ownership, you were unwilling to ask for help?

Have you ever felt so passionate about something that you went so far as to close yourself off to others’ advice? Not because you lacked respect or love for the people giving it, but because you wanted to do it your way. You wanted to make your own mistakes and decisions; take your own risks and leaps of faith.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have something in common.

If you answered yes to all of these questions, we have a lot in common!

Good news, right? Because you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy (and neither am I), phew! But the better news, as I recently learned from our fearless tribe leader Molly Hoyne, is that you can change.

Why would you want to? Because when you replace a need for independence, protection and productivity with a desire for sharing, exploring and honesty, you become a hell of a lot more efficient. Not to mention, your feelings of accomplishment, confidence, clarity, and fulfillment skyrocket. But if you’re like me – or like I was before signing up for Stratejoy’s inaugural Get It Off The Ground (GIOTG) group coaching session – you feel as though you have those things already.

That’s why mindful productivity is the benefit of GIOTG participation I want to touch on. The concept is output-oriented, so it appeals to our need to strive, but it’s still rooted in emotion and intention. Thanks to Molly, and the five other women who formed our intimate entrepreneur group, I learned a lot about it. Things like:

Rather than numbingly checking things off the To Do list, you’re better off asking yourself whether they deserve to be there in the first place.
You don’t have to figure everything out yourself or create absurd expectations in order to be successful. Being thoughtful, taking the time to plan, and loving and listening to yourself are actually way more important.
When you find yourself avoiding doing something for days, weeks or months, try pausing to ask yourself what you’re afraid of. That is worthy of your time.
Instead of moving puzzle pieces around in your mind, where you’ll inevitably lose some, put your thoughts on paper. You can still move ideas and tactics around, and pause and resume as you need to.
Small steps add up to big accomplishments.
If you’re waiting for huge chunks of uninterrupted time to make progress, you probably never will!
When you’re your toughest critic (and you probably are!) it gets in the way of your progress. It does not make you better.
Articulating what you wish for yourself and your life makes working toward it a lot more exciting.
Connecting with your desires and intentions will allow your outputs and outcomes to really shine!
Other people might not see the specifics of your mindful productivity – a lot of it is behind the scenes stuff – but they’ll feel it!

The result of all of these learnings? I journaled, thought about and realized things I never had before. I made short term and long term plans that felt realistic. I established new systems for how to keep my work, ideas and To Dos organized. I learned to lead with my intentions, desires and goals, and follow with my actions and outputs. I gained confidence and a new perspective that I don’t want to lose.

Best of all? I learned how to workshop through A Thing.

My thing this time was, ironically, a self discovery project called 30 Things.

In a nutshell, it’s a commitment to saying yes instead of no 30 times in a one-year period. My BFF and I both did this, blogged about it along the way, and over the course of the year, our outlook on life totally changed. From slowing down enough to shop at the Farmer’s Market, to singing karaoke and going zip lining. From starting my own business, to discovering yoga and getting engaged. And yes, there was that thing with Richard Simmons…

The journey was loaded with self discovery, realization and fulfillment.

My vision is for other people go on the journey, too, in their own way, to create their own invaluable experiences. Aside from all of the tools and insights GIOTG gave me, it led me to create a Ning community called My 30 Things, where my BFF and I hope to build and support a community of people who want to embrace Yes in their lives. 30 Things will show you how.

And if you’re interested in checking it out (and I hope you are!), you have Molly to thank.

GIOTG helped transform 30 Things from a vision to an achievement; from my thing to our thing.

Laura, 27, Nova Scotia, Canada: Runner, continuous improver, ideas junkie, yogi, and the strategist and storyteller behind Red Balloon Relations. Check out her life-changing 30 Things Project or find her on Twitter.