Keep Showing Up

The Wise Frog

A few summers ago, this frog kept showing up to our kitchen window. He'd sit there feasting on all the goodies that were being attracted to the kitchen light.

Showing up at that same spot every few nights like clockwork. And it paid off for him.

It was looking back at this photo (top of post) that the frog's message became came to me:

Keep Showing Up.

But Life Is So Busy!

This is a constant struggle for me, and you too I'm sure.

I have:

Family.
My members and clients. I help entrepreneurs, business owners, coaches and creatives with their 'web'. Website, social, SEO etc.
A part time job. Barbering - my first trade that I still enjoy doing one or two days of the week. This helps me keep in touch with people in 'the outside world' and stops me from getting lost in my Macbook too often.
Music... playing drums in bands and songwriting.
Taking snaps (like the one of this frog).
And all the 'paperwork' that goes with 'life' and business - paying bills, filling in this and that form etc. etc.

...and I've found that the key is this:

Thinking In Broad Strokes

broad-strokes. Noun. (plural only) (idiomatic) Major features or key points; outline. (idiomatic, especially of a narrative or artistic work) Developments, movements, or descriptions presented in a bold or sweeping manner, without intricacy, adornment, or subtlety.

I find that the clearer I'm able to get (to MYSELF) on exactly what-it-is I want to achieve (from say my blog or my business), the clearer I get on what I must do right now... and the more I can actually get done.

Allow me give you an example from my personal journey...

My 'broad stroke goals' for my business over the last 18 months were to:

1. Get even clearer on exactly who I'm trying to reach and why

I ended up coming up with the 'statement' below which I now use all over my 'web' and in the footer of my emails...

"Total Web Formula is for action-takers with ideas, business owners, consultants and creatives who want to take charge of their ‘web’ by applying an up-to-date, battle-tested formula that’s proven to generate profits."

It took some work but it was well worth getting clear on.

2. Make sure my 'web' (website, blog, social etc.) was speaking to those EXACT people

This made me go over all the messages on my website, blog and social channels - making sure my messages were helpful, clear and making sense to the right people - that is: the people I most like working with.

Again this took a while, but my website now performs much better. That is: it turns more visitors into members and clients.

3. Make sure I'm able to offer my Clients a secure Membership area

Making sure that I was able to offer my clients Premium content and a high level of hands-on support from a secure membership area was, and still is, very important to me.

I also wanted the admin side of things with regards to payments etc. to be all taken care on virtual 'autopilot'. So for example if a payment failed due to member's expired credit card, the system will follow up with an email for me (automatically) without me even needing to know or be involved.

I ended up choosing Member Mouse (affiliate link) for the membership side of my website in June 2016 and I'm very happy. I can take payments by credit card through Stripe, members can also pay through PayPal and they can even pay with Bitcoin!

Which brings me to my most recent 'broad stroke'...

4. Add a Cryptocurrency Payment Option for My Members and Clients

Having begun the journey of learning about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in June this year, I'm now at a stage where I believe it would be remiss of me not to offer my members and clients an option to pay using Bitcoin. Blockchain technology is no doubt going to change the way the world works in the coming years.

In 1992, most of the world would never have believed - even conceived that we'd be doing our banking and communicating with government departments over the internet on mobile smart phones. And similarly today - most of the world doesn't yet believe or conceive that in the not-too-distant future, progressive companies, banks and governments will be more and more embracing and leaning on blockchain technology to deliver quicker, smarter and cheaper solutions to real world problems and challenges.

I see cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and the 'digital revolution' as much about the technology as it is the currencies. It's the possibilities that are emerging from the technology that is one of the most exciting parts. It's the solutions for now and the possibilities for the future that have me believing that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. I think we'll see that some will change, some will adapt and become great, and others will fall way - as we've already seen.

It's for all the reasons that I mention above that I think accepting Bitcoin on my website is important, now.

I managed to find some good help on accepting Bitcoin using Member Mouse (which I mentioned earlier in this post) and CoinBase (that's my referral link) - the two of them (Member Mouse and Coinbase) work together seamlessly to make accepting Bitcoin straightforward.

Broad Strokes Kept Me Showing Up

'Setting My Broad Strokes' - that is, getting very clear on the broad strokes of my business and purpose for my business meant that over the last few months I was able to keep showing up (with a purpose).

I was able to make short To Do lists (based on my crystal clear broad strokes). And although I was super busy and had plenty of interruptions, my short To Do lists made from my broad strokes (goals, reasons and purpose) kept me going forward.

The cool thing was that I finally felt like I had the clarity and energy to keep showing up and finally DO what I set out to do. And ultimately, I did it. And so can I encourage you?

Two things...

Keep showing up, and broad strokes.