Building, building, and building some more!

Excitement. Depression. Exhilaration. Nearing Defeat. Silence. Reinvigorate. <repeat>

I’ve spent more time listening to Mike Tyson this week than anything else - except Tennessee Vols podcasts.

For the longest I’ve found Iron Mike to be an incredibly fascinating individual. He’s on my very small list of people that I truly hope I can share a long dinner conversation with. Hopefully one of you can make this happen for me!

Much of the pubic sees Mike as a crazed fighter hellbent on rage in the ring but I see a man who found success even in the midst of suffocating insecurity.

I’ve found his PoV on fear especially fascinating. His former trainer and manager Cus D’Amato taught Mike that as a boxer it is imperative to embrace fear. Fear of your opponent, fear of being defeated, fear of being humiliated in front of millions, or the fear of watching your dreams die in front of you.

As a Christian, I know this philosophy is a bit contradictory to what Christ teaches about fear. We aren’t to be fearful but rather depend on Yahweh’s watchful eye, provision, and goodness in our lives. I haven’t studied the original Biblical manuscripts and how the text was translated into the English word “fear” but I need to do this.

I certainly don’t endorse living a lifestyle of fear - that seems to be an addition in global society today. This negative perspective is poison to the body, mind, and spirit and I simply cannot understand how individuals plan on coping with life over the long-term through embracing so much paranoia.

I can however see some value in Cus’s lessons on embracing fear. Recognizing, controlling, and leveraging it to harness a greater drive from within you.

Leveraging my own fears

This regular writing is forcing me to become more vulnerable so I guess it’s been beneficial to at least myself.

My own fear of failure is very notable in my life. I don’t allow it to paralyze me but the fear of looking foolish, unsuccessful, unaccomplished, or not impactful drives me everyday.

Life is tiring these days - but the fear of falling behind pushes me forward. Maybe this isn’t completely healthy. I’m really not sure but I’ve found positives in this approach and I’m certainly not unique in it.

Hear me out on this - I’m not walking around everyday worrying how others will view me. Sure, that’s in my mind but I know my own critiques of myself are the harshest and letting myself down by not meeting my own standard is a strong driver for me.

Leveraging my fears while building my business

I’ve spoken about my web design business. It started as a very small side hustle but continues to grow in a slow & steady positive trajectory. I’m proud of this success but so far from being satisfied.

I tell my wife (kind of jokingly) that I want to build a business that my children can take over. I want my children to fire their dad some day and tell me they no longer need me to lead the charge. Having a generational business is a legitimate goal of mine.

I’m fearful of not seeing this take shape. I’m fearful of my children not having a better childhood than me - spoiler alert: my childhood was nothing short of magical so I know the bar is insanely high.

I’ve tried to recognize this fear as a healthy fear to drive me forward. I’ve embraced it and it drives me forward each and every early morning at my desk. I’m afraid of failing but not afraid of the hard work it takes to drive one toward success.

Recent pivots in my business

Not gonna lie - this section will be a bit of a commercial for my business. If you know somebody looking for a web designer then by all means refer them over to me - I pay for all referrals.

I’ve built websites for a few years now but recently pivoted and added a new subscription based web design service to my offering. I was certainly tentative doing this but feel confident in the potential upside it can have for my business.

What are the details? So glad you asked!
$250 per page | per month

How does that look in reality?
Let’s say you want a 4 page website under this plan.
You pay $1,000 per month for web design, development, SEO, enhancements, maintenance, and hosting.

A fully comprehensive website service paid month-to-month - no contracts. You can upgrade, downgrade, pause, or cancel at your own pace. You will not be locked into a contract with me.

Yes, can this eat into my project-based business that pays me upfront? Certainly.
Am I confident in my service offering to constantly return value back to the client over the long-term? Most certainly.

There was (and is) fear in this pivot.
Though, the fear of stagnating by not pivoting was greater.

Forward movement was required so I began moving.

My standard closing encouragement

Recognize the fear in your own life.

Is it personal, professional, relational, or all of the above? Only you have the answer to that question.

Recognize it. Define it. Lean into it. Leverage it. Ultimately conquer it.

I’ll say it one final time - DO NOT LIVE IN IT!

Ps… some shoutouts

A few of you have taken the time to review my service offering pivot. I’ve valued your feedback and taken action on much of your input.

My beautiful wife, my wise parents, my best friend Marcus, Daniel, Cosmin, Colin, and anybody else that I’ve forgotten to mention. My sincerest gratitude.

Here’s to success in this new approach. Here’s to your success in realizing your own fears.