a story behind a seemingly unremarkable photo 📸
anticipation > anxiety
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As I was deleting old pictures from more than 4,000 in my camera roll, I found the one you can see below. It's unremarkable, to say the least, but the moment I saw it, I felt this warm fuzzy feeling of gratitude and accomplishment.
I took this photo in a cosy laptop-friendly cafe on Jan 2, 2023. It was an early morning, probably around 9 am and - as you can see - I had the place all to myself :)
I still remember what I felt and what I was working on that day - my first offer suite of comprehensive Salesforce trainings for companies, based not on someone else’s templates I needed to follow, but on my own exercises and methodology.
Even though I had no clients on the horizon, no online presence, not even a business bank account or a contract template, on that day, I wasn’t feeling anxious.
I felt EXCITED about all the opportunities I was about to create, envisioning myself running my workshops for cool companies whose products/services I use (I checked that off my list a few months later, by the way)
I felt supported because I had my mentor to reach out to when I had doubts and questions (and I had manyyyyy)
I also had a direction where I wanted to go and the next few steps forward laid out that I was focusing on.
It hit me recently when I stayed in my childhood room in Poland, that just a bit more than 2 years ago I used to DREAM about small things that I now take for granted, like:
working from nice cafes, co-working spaces and hotel lounges
sharing my essays, creating my proprietary materials, and running projects like I've always wanted to
showing up on video, which I always knew I would love and be good at, but felt ashamed to do so, because what would other people say
having supportive friends, who also actively create the life they want instead of always finding excuses and reasons to complain.
None of these bullet points would get gazillion likes on LinkedIn nor grant me a cover of the Forbes magazine, but if you ask me... they are not so small - I dreamt of these things, and not such a long time ago!
At the same time, I don't want to stop here. I have big plans and goals.
I want to grow the reach and impact of my mentoring business, support more folks who feel overworked and unrecognised in their current workplace to confidently build a successful and enjoyable career.
I want to create multiple sources of scalable income that will enable me to not be tied to my desk, but instead build a beautiful and abundant life for me and my family, while also giving back significantly to my community.
... and plenty more, but let me stop here :) These are huge dreams. It will take a lot of time and effort to turn these visions into a reality. But they excite me and give me a sense of direction - I don't need to motivate myself to work, because I know what I am working towards.
Well, - here's the caveat - this is true on most days, because - inevitably - there are also times when I feel like progress is not progressing and maybe I am indeed delusional? Why do I even bother, nobody cares and I’m so behind either way compared to XYZ, it's never gonna happen ....goes my internal chatter.
Especially on these days, when ‘the next thing’ seems far away, it’s easy to lose track of all the amazing things we once wished for that are now our reality.
I find it natural to focus on lack, but to celebrate what I already have…? For that, I needed to actively train my brain to strengthen that appreciation muscle. Because as corny as it sounds, it is the journey to get there, that's actually the fun part and celebrating every milestone, no matter how big or small, is what makes this journey much more enjoyable and sustainable.
So it’s my invitation for you to reflect:
What are you taking for granted (including the skills you’ve acquired and progress you’ve made) that you used to dream of?
How can you celebrate and appreciate all the progress you’ve made?
Do you even have any big dreams, so big that you'd be slightly embarrassed to say them out loud, because people might call you delusional? What are they and what if they're not that delusional after all?
I'm happy that I saved this unremarkable still life composition featuring my laptop, notebook and a flat white and so grateful to my ‘past selves’ for all the progress and all the small steps forward that happened since then.
Combined, they’re not so small anymore.
Keep moving & I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines,
Agata
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INSPIRATIONS
Can you imagine a world WITHOUT “Bohemian Rhapsody”? Calendly? “Hamilton”? As unbelievable as it may seem now, even artists like Queen, who had blessed us with so many iconic songs, faced a large share of rejection for years when they were starting out. I loved this podcast episode that suggests viewing rejection as a crucial training ground for honing our skills before we reach our time to shine
I’d like to start networking, but I feel uncomfortable in large groups of people. What can I do? Here are 8 introvert-friendly suggestions to build meaningful connections that don't feel like a chore.
What does levelling up in video games have in common with going through life crises? I really hope you find time to listen to this conversation - it's filled with calm wisdom.
I've listened to Sade a lot with my mum as a kid and through this set, I've discovered some of her lesser-known (and beautiful) songs. My favourite music background lately.
Contact me
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