Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to celebrate how far you've come in adulthood.
Speaker 1: Other people aren't necessarily going to notice and celebrate your accomplishments,
Speaker 1: particularly as more people try working for themselves, so we
Speaker 1: need to be our own cheering sections to stay motivated
Speaker 1: and on course. Over the past few decades, it has
Speaker 1: become easier and easier to start your own business. Technology
Speaker 1: lets us work from anywhere. We can advertise our services
Speaker 1: on the web and reach people all over the world.
Speaker 1: Covid has accelerated this trend, with many people deciding that
Speaker 1: they simply don't want to commute to regular offices anymore
Speaker 1: after they've experienced remote and more flexible work. There are
Speaker 1: a great many upsides to this. I love the freedom
Speaker 1: of running my own business. On the other hand, there
Speaker 1: are certain things that you do miss out on. Good
Speaker 1: Managers are always looking for ways to recognize their people.
Speaker 1: Some of this is kind of silly that it works,
Speaker 1: like really a plaque with your name on it, a
Speaker 1: T shirt about that project that you just finished, being
Speaker 1: taken out to dinner, to mollify you about the month
Speaker 1: of late nights. Rationally, no one should feel better about
Speaker 1: working late for a month just because their boss bought
Speaker 1: them a thirty dollar steak. And yet on the margins,
Speaker 1: it does indeed make people feel better, and those plaques
Speaker 1: do indeed make people feel celebrated and happy. When you
Speaker 1: work for yourself, no one is going to give you
Speaker 1: a plaque, and let's be honest, you probably don't need
Speaker 1: the clutter, though if it would make you feel better.
Speaker 1: There are all sorts of companies that make reward products
Speaker 1: and they will hook you up with however big a
Speaker 1: plaque you want. Instead, you are probably better off keeping
Speaker 1: the cash and thinking about other ways you can celebrate yourself.
Speaker 1: In particular, think about how far you've come since your
Speaker 1: professional journey started. Sometimes it is hard to see differences
Speaker 1: in day to day operations, but if you look back,
Speaker 1: you'll notice how much better things are than they were.
Speaker 1: If you've got any particular numbers, those would be great
Speaker 1: to write up and then share with the people in
Speaker 1: your life who will applaud you. So For instance, if
Speaker 1: you've really been hustling for the past two years, but
Speaker 1: you just signed your first major contract with a repeat
Speaker 1: customer who came back to you great. No pitching was involved.
Speaker 1: Note this, congratulate yourself, send a note to your mom,
Speaker 1: tell your mastermind group, or heck, tell the other parent
Speaker 1: you talked to at the playground. Or let's say that
Speaker 1: you managed to complete a project in less time than
Speaker 1: you planned. No, you don't need to make a project
Speaker 1: T shirt, but you should definitely give yourself some time
Speaker 1: off as a reward for your newly developed efficiency. Take
Speaker 1: yourself out to lunch. You're better yet, go somewhere like
Speaker 1: a museum or for a hike in the middle of
Speaker 1: the day. You'll feel happy, and as a bonus, the
Speaker 1: memories don't take space in your closet. And if you
Speaker 1: do something big, feel free to throw yourself a party.
Speaker 1: Probably no one else is going to, so if you're
Speaker 1: waiting around for that to happen, you're going to be
Speaker 1: waiting for a long time. So set yourself a big
Speaker 1: goal and then have a celebratory dinner when you hit it.
Speaker 1: Look at how far you've come. You know, the milestones.
Speaker 1: I mean doing a certain amount of revenue in business,
Speaker 1: publishing that book, landing that keynote at a big conference,
Speaker 1: landing your first international client. I'm sure you can come
Speaker 1: up with a reason to have a party, and frankly,
Speaker 1: these days we could use some more celebrating. So take
Speaker 1: a look back on your professional journey. Celebrate how far
Speaker 1: you have come. I'm going to be hitting the seven
Speaker 1: unique episode of Before Breakfast soon, so I'm pondering how
Speaker 1: I will celebrate that. What will you celebrate? I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear about it. You can let me know at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
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