Ah, communication.

The world would be a better place if more people were better communicators.

We can either complain that they’re not or work to improve ourselves and our own communication. I choose the latter!

Here’s the problem: other people aren’t hearing you. You don’t feel heard, you’re not getting what you want in life, and you think it’s other people’s fault.

You want something. You think you’ve told someone. They don’t understand (or worse: they think you never told them), and you’re left disappointed.

How do we fix this?

The first thing to acknowledge is that communication is both the sending and receipt of a message.

If you’re broadcasting and nobody’s picking up the signal, you’re not communicating.

We talk about how you can take ownership and responsibility for communication to ensure you’re heard.

You’ll be able to resolve a lot of relationship problems and avoid arguments if you learn how to communicate.

It’s hard to say “no”. We often feel a sense of obligation and don’t want to offend anyone, or maybe we just feel bad. We don’t want to disappoint people.

While “no” can be a hard word to say, it’s the only tool we have for creating more time.

Yes fills time. No makes time.

But it’s not enough just to say no for the sake of saying no. We need to look at the deeper reasons for saying yes. When we say no to one thing, we essentially give ourselves the credits to say yes to something else.

So you’re making content, grinding it out, and publishing on a consistent schedule, but no matter how hard you work, it doesn’t seem to move the needle.

You’re not making sales.

Crickets.

What’s the deal?

That’s what your bank account wants to know.

Something is broken.

I used to be in IT. I ran a computer repair business where we performed on-site services. I’d get a call from a client who said something was “not working.”

I’d drive out to their location and check under the desk. It was “not working” because it wasn’t plugged in.

Something’s not plugged in when it comes to your content strategy.

Here’s what I believe:

I think the world is a better place when people are able to do what fulfills them and work in areas where they can create the most value.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that when you feel stuck. Maybe your boss is overbearing or your family isn’t supportive. Maybe you’re in a toxic environment or you hate what you do.

Some people say, “Quit your day job and do what you love!” That sounds nice and all, but it lacks practicality.

We all know people who quit their job to pursue their passion only to end up having to look for a job again.

Rather than quit your job, there’s another more practical alternative: you can overlap.

When I was first getting started in business, I had Superhero Syndrome. I wanted to do it all myself, and I didn’t want to delegate because I was scared.

I was scared that other people wouldn’t care as much as me, wouldn’t care about the quality, and wouldn’t work as hard.

The thing is, you started a business because you want freedom.

I mean, you want money too, but what good is money when you work 18 hour days, hardly see your family and don’t have fun anymore?

You want money and freedom—and a business can give you that!

But right now, things look different:

You’re exhausted.
You have more work than one human can possibly do.
You need help—desperately.

Somehow at the same time, you also can’t afford to hire help.

You don’t even know who your first hire should be—let alone where to look for this person.

Today’s episode will be touching on some of the things we discussed in the Hiring Bootcamp workshop.

seanwes conference is coming up soon (and the price increases next month)! You can save $500 when you register today at https://seanwes.com/conference.

Why go to a conference? Isn’t it just as good if you look up the speakers and read their blogs?

This misses the entire point of conferences.

I could go on about the value of hearing people speak in person and getting to ask your questions, but the point of good speakers is to bring like-minded people together.

If you’re interested in things like copywriting, personalizing your marketing, building your own community, spreading the word about what you do, getting your money right, or being more creative, those are the type of people we have at seanwes conference.

As much as you want it to be what you know, it’s WHO you know.

I always wanted it to be what I knew. But that’s just not how the world works.

Relationships are everything.

You can build relationships online, but it’s the slow way. When you spend just a couple of days with someone in person, you accelerate that relationship faster than six months of online communication.

What you’ll find is, relationships with smart people lead to more relationships with more smart people.

The best way to increase your influence is not by increasing your knowledge but by increasing your connections.

Slow down.

Think for a moment.

What do you have planned today?
What do you have going on this week?
What do you hope to accomplish this month?

Why are you doing what you’re doing?

Seriously. Why is it you’re doing the things you do?

We get caught up in following the motions of daily life. We fall into patterns and do things without thinking much about them.

There’s nothing wrong with routine—so long as the routine you follow is taking you where you want to go.

Where is your routine taking you?

Today, Aaron Dowd joins me to talk about habits.

Aaron has three habits he says will 100% change your life if you implement them.

But maybe more interesting is the first part of the show where we talk about where habits come from and how they form.

Do you ever stop to think about the things you do automatically? When did you form the habits you have now? Why did they form?

More importantly, what do you do if you don’t like the habits you have? How can you intentionally form new habits?

We talk about how to form new habits by paying attention to the trigger, routine, and reward (known as The Habit Loop).

I’m on sabbatical right now as you read this, and I thought it would be a good time to share my experience with writing my first book.

After several years of sitting on the back-burner, I finally set aside time to write my book, Overlap.

The Overlap book is about getting from where you are in life to where you want to be—purposefully.

It’s about picking the next thing when you’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s a guide to transitioning from what you’re doing now, that you don’t like, to what you really want to be doing.

We hear phrases like “do what you love” and “pursue your passion,” but those clichés are hardly actionable.

When you boil it all down…

* What do you literally need to do?
* How can you build a business for yourself?
* How can you start your own thing?
* How can you create financial freedom for yourself?

That’s what Overlap is about.