There’s one lesson I’ve learned a MILLION times in business–

You don’t hit your goals with ambition or talent. You hit them by “becoming the person” who is capable of hitting those goals.

• Want to get your 1st client– Become the person who reaches out to people, educates them on problems, and presents offers (without being salesy)

• Want to hit your first $10k deal– Become the person who overdelivers to clients, nails intro offers, and structures retainer deals

• Want to hit $10k/month– Become the person who ……

You get the point.

Now the question is: How exactly do you "become the person”?

The answer…. HABITS.

Your goals may be different as you evolve in this journey, but the core skill that’ll help you “become the person” at any stage is building strong HABITS.

In today’s newsletter, we’re diving DEEP into the world of habits. We’ll cover– A habit I’m trying to build (and what I’ve observed), 3 core reasons WHY habits are your biggest edge, and WHAT habits I recommend for my Solo CEOs.

Let’s dive in:

Over the last year, I’ve been trying to build a “Morning Pages” habit.

What are morning pages?

Julia Cameron, in her beautiful book “The Artist’s Way”, talked about this practice.

The simple idea is– First thing in the morning, you do a stream of conscious journaling. You let your thoughts flow. Write down whatever comes to mind.

By writing down your thoughts, emotions, and feelings, you declutter your mind and start the day with AMAZING clarity. I've been going through a TON of changes in my business over the past year. So, morning pages has been my go-to-habit to stay in control!

Have I been perfect with it? NO.

I'll go for weeks where I do it every single day. I miss it sometimes. But I always get back to it!

Recently, going back through my journal, I noticed something:

On certain mornings, my stream of consciousness (my words) would all be about– How anxious I was, how panicked I was, and how overwhelmed I was.

And whenever I saw this, my mind immediately thought– "Oh, maybe it's because you're in a high-pressure situation. OR maybe you've had too much on your plate".

But when I went back to my calendar, the reality was different. I noticed that whenever I felt this way in the mornings:

• I hadn't slept early the night before

• I (maybe) had some alcohol

• And many times, I skipped exercise the day before

The realization was painful–

When I feel anxious and overwhelmed, it actually has very little to do with how much is on my plate. It has A LOT to do with how well I've taken care of myself.

And almost immediately, I knew I had to write this specific newsletter.

3 core reasons WHY habits are your biggest edge as a consultant entrepreneur

Reason 1: You (the entrepreneur) are your business's most valuable asset

Your habits are the infrastructure and the scaffolding of your business.

Think about it– As a solopreneur consultant, how many roles are you juggling to keep your business in play? You are the expert, the builder, the marketer, and the closer.

Now, if you aren't at your 100% best, do you think your business will thrive like you want it to?

I've seen this with SO MANY students:

• When you’re burnt out, your messaging becomes desperate

• When you’re overwhelmed, you skip follow-ups

• When you’re not sleeping well, you avoid getting on sales calls

If you don't take care of your health and well being, and you aren't at your absolute BEST energy, your business will reflect that. And more importantly, your sales will reflect that.

Reason 2: Systems >>>> Goals (especially for you!)

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, famously wrote: “you don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

I know you. I know how busy you are.

• You might be married

• You might have kids

• You might have pets

• You might have health challenges

• You might have ADHD

• You might have a life outside of work (Shocking, I know!)

Life is complex.

So if you think that you're just going to magically remember to do the things that you need to do, you won’t. You need habits that MAKE SURE you do the right things…and not leave it up to chance.

Imprint this in your mind–Systems >>>>> Goals!

Reason 3: 95% startups fail. But 95% of entrepreneurs WIN–But ONLY if you stay in the game long enough.

Finally, accept this: if you have the entrepreneurial bug, there's nothing you can do that will cure you of it.

You're ALWAYS going to WANT the freedom, the entrepreneurial success, and the impact of seeing your clients win. And you’re ALWAYS going to be dissatisfied without showing yourself that you did it!

And there are only 2 paths forward: Either you'll WIN, or you'll give up before you win.

Which means that all you need is to stay in the game long enough so that you can find real success. And that means: Taking care of yourself.

Strong habits will help you outlast the test of time. And then you're GUARANTEED to win.

The Solo CEO’s habit stack: 4 steps to start systematically integrating habit into your life

Step 1: Start observing your actions (and habits)

I say this all the time. You can't optimize what you don't observe.

And so, the very first step to habit design is gathering data. Start observing yourself and start tracking your actions. Don't judge yourself for it at all. This is just to get things started.

Awareness is always the first step. Be kind to yourself but also be brutally honest.

From here, we'll notice what is working, what isn't, and we can start modifying and replacing habits we don't want.

Step 2: First, start integrating daily habits

Now, the first thing is to start daily. Yes, you want to treat these as non-negotiables, so can make progress EVERY DAY.

That being said, you must avoid the temptation to fall into all-or-nothing thinking. You WILL miss a day here or there. And when you do, the point is not to think, “Well, that’s it! I failed!”

Instead, think, “Huh, why did I miss that? What can I learn for next time?” And then get started right back up again.

The goal isn’t perfection, but progress—over time.

I recommend these habits:

• Morning Pages: Free flow journaling on paper first thing in the morning.

• Moving your body: At least 7000 steps. Your brain works better when your body is active.

• End-of-the-day check-in: Bullets: what I did, what I learned, what's the plan tomorrow.

Start the day with clarity, stay active, and decide the priorities for the next day before you sleep.

Just doing this will COMPLETELY transform your life. And you won't believe how few people do this consistently.

Step 3: Then, start integrating weekly reviews

Once a week, sit down and review core metrics of business and life–DMs sent, Responses received, Sales calls, Client meetings, Revenue generated.

This is your CEO thinking time. Think about the questions–what you're learning, and what you'll do next week. In your plan, make sure you're doing BOTH urgent work AND important work. That you work ON the business, and IN the business.

Your weekly review must include:

• Lead generation activities and results

• Client delivery progress

• Financial metrics

• What's working vs what needs adjustment

• What’s lighting you up vs. what’s draining you

Weekly reviews will firmly make you the CEO of your business instead of just another busy freelancer.

Step 4: Finally, start integrating “Future You” reviews

Last level: zooming out to design your future. You can do this monthly, quarterly, yearly, or any other timeframe you want.

This is you, the CEO of your life (not just your business), thinking about:

• How is your business serving you?

• Are you going toward your vision?

• Do you need a pivot?

These reviews are higher level gameplans to help you stay true to your vision (why you got into entrepreneurship in the first place). Ask yourself:

• Is my business creating the freedom I wanted?

• Am I moving toward my bigger vision?

• What needs to change for me to love this journey even more?

There's no right way to do this. You’ll design your own!

That’s it!

Building habits is about building your own personal operating system.

Energy, mindset, execution– all of the things that go into it, because that is what is going to get you to those $10k+ months and stay there and continue to grow from there. Your habits determine who you become. And who you become determines the business you build.

So, take this as a much needed wake up call.

And start prioritizing yourself. Not for today’s you, but the future you.

They deserve it!

With love and growth,
Kasey

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