Back in February 2022, I decided to write about my passions. I didn’t know where to start.

I’m am not entirely dumbfounded by writing because I did have an existing blog at the time. I am an experienced “albeit old school” web designer as well. In fact, I’ve been posting online through some sort of personal website since 1995. So this should be easy, right? This journey still feels different.

My writing journey started during another experience. During a 10-month training, a group of leaders inspired me. This group of leaders are members of ITSMF (Information Technology Senior Management Forum). We represented the Global Institute for Professional Development Executive Academy Cohort for 2023. As I shared and learned with a small cohort of roughly 30 executive leaders, a fire was lit to do even more for others.

I realized I missed sharing what I’ve learned with my grandfather and father after their deaths. I miss managing a bigger team. It gave me more chances to share knowledge and learn from others. I missed helping others soar higher.

I had big aspirations but let me be straight up with you, what really happened is I froze. Starting a journey like this would take time, I’m not a serious writer. I was a below-average student in English and always struggled with long essays. I knew that if I didn’t come up with an approach that would work for me, failure was sure to occur. Sound familiar? Happened to you before as well?

I understand the fear of failure because I have failed at other start-ups. What I do have is a never-quit attitude. I will turn a failed experiment into stronger odds of succeeding the next time.

Failure is inspirational feedback toward a path of success.

I promised a friend during this experience to change the world; now it is time to do it.

Let me take you behind the scenes here. You'll learn the approach I took to overcome my doubts on a challenging journey to start writing.

• Understanding your why
• Have a big visionary goal
• Deep learning from experts
• Develop a roadmap and operational system
• Start. And tell someone about it

Starting a new project can make people feel nervous and scared because they don't know what to do. You don't have all the tools or knowledge to be successful. You feel like you may fail before you even start.

I'm going to show you a better way to approach it:

Here is how to dismiss the doubt and start strong, step-by-step:

Step 01: You must understand the "why" behind the journey

If you don't take time to understand why this project is important, you'll lose your way. It is so easy to give up on a hard and long journey so having a "reason why" is paramount.

Think for a moment about these three situations and how the "strong start" person responds:

1. Leader speaks to the team before starting a 2-year project
2. Parents learn their unborn child has a heart defect
3. Single mother shares with kids the plan to rebuild their home after a tornado destroyed it

The strong start leader will anchor on why it is important to not only begin but be successful in the journey.

When assessing your own journey, it may be helpful to use a framework like The Five Whys. This framework is often used to find the cause of a persistent problem. You can use the framework in any situation where you need to understand the true intent. It's flexible and easy to implement.

My "why" is centered on seeing my community thrive by investing in great concepts, powered by people that have the grit to get it done.

So ask yourself, why are you starting down this important journey?

Note: Justin Welsh's why is a movement for living as a solopreneur.

Step 02: Have a big visionary goal

No one gets excited about easy goals, not even a single person. Yet, many people and businesses set short-sighted goals.

Let's take an example of small business start-ups. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 20% of new businesses fail within two years. In addition, about 45% fail in the first 5 years, and around 65% fail in the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more.

Top 6 Reasons New Businesses Fail - Investopedia

One of those reasons is not having the right business plan, which also means the right goals. One key factor that can determine success or failure is setting a big, visionary goal. This goal should address an unmet need that will persist.

To bend the odds of success in your favor, set a visionary goal that excites you, your team, and your audience. The right visionary plan creates believers and, in turn, followers. Speak with real customers or stakeholders to test the message with your audience. Doing this cements the vision prior to going big on your plan.

Next, use the S.M.A.R.T. framework to set milestone goals that contribute to achieving the long-term vision.

My goal is to help 1 million people achieve their life goals

I know. It's a lot of people. It hits home for me.

Remember, it is the journey with milestone wins along the way that excites.

Step 03: Deep learning from expert practitioners

You are smart. I know this because you landed on this article and made it this far.

When starting a big goal, you may have gaps in your toolbox and lack the necessary skills. We are talking about an uncomfortable journey. You need to address the doubts and minimize failure points.

To do this, you'll need to learn from expert practitioners already doing the work. Let's make this very specific.

1. Go on LinkedIn (pick your platform) and search for 10 people that are doing what you plan to do
2. Research each person by going deep into their content
3. Follow, subscribe, and buy their products
4. Consume at least 2-3 books that teach you concepts that you don't know well
5. Take notes on patterns that emerge and lessons learned
6. For 30-60 days, journal and read daily from expert practitioners to learn from them.

Time-box this deep learning for only 60 days. You must leave this state and move on to the crucial phase of creating systems and taking action.

Before you act, you should learn.

After 60 days, you will learn the basics of what works for you. You will no longer be a beginning. You will remove doubts about what to do and how to start. You will have at least one way to start accomplishing your goals based on a proven method from experts.

Step 04: Develop a roadmap and repeatable operating system

At this point, you should have an idea of where to start. Take what you've learned and create a plan.

Your plan is like a roadmap, with 3-6 milestones to guide you towards your big goal.

With a plan in place, you'll need a repeatable system to follow. This is an operating system.

No, we will not create a competitor to Microsoft Windows or Apple iOS. You are going to develop a repeatable plan similar to a recipe that can be used repeatedly.

Why is this important? A repeatable system is easier to follow. A repeatable system produces the same or very similar results time after time.

Imagine for a moment you eating at your favorite restaurant and the meal that you choose most often. If you've dined at this restaurant for years, you know it has a unique taste you crave. The restaurant and this meal have a system that delivers similar results everywhere.

To make your own repeatable plan, start with the basics steps. Outline the everyday tasks needed to accomplish each goal. Make checklists to document steps to complete tasks. Make best practices that you will follow as you do the work.

Do not aim for perfection here. Document a system that you will follow. The goal here is to follow and enhance a process along the way.

I use Coda as my all-in-one tool for my operating system.

Create your process. Follow your process. Improve your process along the way.

Step 05: Start! Then tell someone who knows you well about it

Now it's go time. Start doing. Take the first step.

Taking that first step can be challenging. If you follow these steps, making your first move easier will be easier.

The key to making these early steps successful is to tell others about your journey. When you share your plans with someone else, it helps you stay accountable and positive.

I take this concept seriously.

To establish accountability easily, talk to people in your circle.

1. A close family member who encourages you
2. A friend or co-worker that you talk to often
3. Share publicly on a social media platform that you're active on
4. Anyone that you meet with or will see weekly who will ask you regularly how things are going with your goal

The choice of who serves you best here is not always obvious. The goal is to find people you can check in with regularly that care.

Expert Tips: Work alongside someone else who is at the same stage you are and that's just as motivated as you are. You'll level up together.

Another option is to pay for performance. If you have it in your budget, you can also pay for a coach to stick with you.

Get started right now by taking an extra 5 minutes and write down your "why". Write down whatever comes to mind.

Now you can handle a difficult project by following a simple method.

Start today and tell me all about your journey.

Next Week: We will magically create time in your schedule

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