“Small progress is still progress.” 👣 ~Morgan Harper Nichols

By Jessica L. Williams • Issue #258 • View online

I am getting a course ready to be included in a bundle that will launch in December (more on that soon!). And I can’t tell you how much it has stressed me out ever since I submitted it for possible inclusion.

So many questions have been going through my head:

Is it enough content?
Will people like it?
What if they don’t find it helpful?
Why am I even doing this?
Who am I to talk about this topic?
Will these tech pieces work together?
What if no one signs up?
What if all of this is a waste of time?

But as I was talking to a client this week, it reminded me of this post, and I realized, that ultimately it’s not about me.

It’s about the people I help. It’s about the person who needs to hear what I am saying. It’s about the guy who might like his job a lot but still wants to start a newsletter. It’s about the woman who is feeling unfulfilled in her career and looking for a creative outlet. It’s about the person who wants to be an entrepreneur but can’t see a way to do it because they work full time or are caregivers or parents. Or x or y or z.

It’s about them.

And ultimately, they don’t care if it’s not perfect. They want to know how to get started or what’s possible. And from there, I will get feedback and questions to make the material even better.

I have realized that I am a person who shares what I know and what I’ve learned, and I think that as long as I continue to lean into that and present that to the world, I will be in good shape.

But I won’t know unless I first put it out there and focus on the person who needs my experiences, stories, and approaches to things.

And those questions that keep popping up in my head? The answer is, “You’ll never know unless you give it a try.”

On to the picks!

P.S. Thanks so much for all of the support around my 2021 goal updates last week. 💖

Note: This email may contain affiliate links. If you click through my link and make a purchase, that means I may receive “thank you money” at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love.

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#loves 😍

🎧 Listening: 2020 Wrapped. Spotify keeps hinting that the 2021 Wrapped will be out soon (!!!), so it’s been nice to get a reminder of my top songs from last year. Who were some of your top artists? Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, and Alessia Cara dominate my list. I’m also excited to start listening through my first pair of Airpods that I got through an $89 Black Friday deal (never seen them this cheap! 💪🏾)

📚. Reading: The Widest Net. One of my favorite authors and humans, Pam Slim, has a new book out this week all about building a community of happy customers, creating a consistent pipeline of leads, and finding new audiences and outlets for your work. She is the one who introduced me to the “side hustle” term so many moons ago and introduced the concept of tiny marketing actions—excited to read it!

🧘🏾‍♀️. Tool: Down Dog Meditation. Meditation is one of those things that I cannot seem to do consistently, but I saw that Down Dog’s app has recently added walking meditations. It’s helpful to turn those on for 5 or 10 minutes when I’m out walking anyways. It helps me feel more present and mindful. And I do believe even with meditation that every little bit helps.

#reads

Clarissa Explains It All

@Clarissa_Laskey

You are so much more than where you work or what you do for a living, so please preserve as much time and energy as you can to put toward living your life. 🤎

2:57 PM - 9 Nov 2021

Here’s how I finally got myself to start exercising

It’s funny that we know we should exercise because we always feel better after and, of course, the physical, mental and emotional benefits. But even still, it’s hard to get motivated to exercise most days. Christine talks about a lot of the mindset that keeps us from exercising. One part of it could be that we don’t want to be bad at it. And if we can’t do the recommended 15 to 20 minutes, we may as well not even start.

Christine has a different approach which I can get behind because #babysteps. First, Christine committed to the smallest goal possible: she started running for 60 seconds every day. And if she did more than that, great, but at least if she did that every day, she felt like a success.

This approach of baby steps and consistency can also extend to your business, newsletter, and passion project. So what is your “one better than nothing”?

“After a few days of running for one minute, I started feeling a genuine desire to keep running. Not because I felt like I should exercise more or I had to do more to impress people, but because it felt more natural to keep running than it felt to stop.”

ideas.ted.com • Share

Triple Your Twitter Reach: 30-Day Twitter Reply Challenge

“The goal here is to get yourself in front of the kind of people who will ultimately get value from your tweets.”

Twitter has become my primary social media platform over the past year, but I need to use it more. Josh created a 30-day challenge you can use to help reach more folks in your audience. I especially like his strategy of simply replying to others. I am thinking about doing this. Who wants to join me? Josh also shared this Notion template created by a member of his audience that can help us keep track of our progress.

joshspector.com • Share

#icymi

😍. Last issue’s top pick was: Ruth’s Simple + Spacious Planning Workshop 2022

☎️ Need help starting your side hustle or newsletter? Let’s dream and scheme.

🤝. Get introduced to others within the #jesspicks community!

#classifieds 🗞

Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation: Shop mystery gift card raffle until November 20. Donate $20, get gift card worth at least $25. All funds go to financially assist families in crisis.

Carefully curated digital marketing news, tech, and actionable advice, delivered every weekday to 19,000+ marketers. Check out Stacked Marketer.

On 11/16-17, WIBC’s Successful and Surrounded Summit will feature amazing speakers discussing the importance of community and how it has transformed them personally or professionally.

👀. Have something you’d like to promote to #jesspicks 1100+ readers? You can buy an ad or sponsorship here.

#lifevibes

What a wonderful reminder. 😍

#supporters ☕️

Thank you Chelsea, Amy, Ricky, Kirsten, Vin, Julie, Nicole, Humza, Greg, Kristin, Kirstyn, Jess, Cheryl, Krysta, Adrena, Vidya, Kristyn, Danielle, Keryn, Terry, Vanessa, Meredith, Lauren, Meg, Maria J., Chivon, Kim, Luciano, Colie, Chasity, Laurie, Latienda, Collette, Anne, Kristen, Liz, Katherine, Monale, Betsy, Melissa, Lindsay, Jennifer, Kayla, Madison, Rae, Stephanie, Christine R., Christine M., Frances, Hannah, Chris, Brandy, Mea, Kristian, Maria K. Avery, Adam, Barbara, Shenee, Desiree, Lisa, Kandice, L’Oreal, and LaVerne for being #jesspicks supporters!! ❤️

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By Jessica L. Williams

#jesspicks is a hand-picked roundup of the best resources, inspiration, and tools for side hustlers. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday. ☕️| | Curated by @techbizgurl.

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Chicago, IL

“For me, success is not a public thing. It’s a private thing. It’s when you have fewer and fewer regrets.” 😌~Toni Morrison

Saturday, November 6, 2021

My 2021 goal updates and why time is your friend. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

“Small progress is still progress.” 👣 ~Morgan Harper Nichols

Older messages

“For me, success is not a public thing. It’s a private thing. It’s when you have fewer and fewer regrets.” 😌~Toni Morrison

“Ask yourself daily: ‘What can I learn here?’” 👩🏾‍🎓~Morgan Harper Nichols

“Imagine how you want to feel at the end of the day. Start working towards that now.” 🤔 ~Lin Manuel Miranda

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