I’ve been sitting with a realization that hit me hard.
I’ve been selling myself short.
For years, I told myself I wasn’t good at business systems.
Structure? Not my thing.
I’m creative. I follow inspiration. I wing it.
But here’s the twist.
I just finished the second draft of my fourth book, Love, Loss, and Lizard Poop: What Living With Reptiles Taught Me About Life’s Greatest Truths
. And my business coach recently pointed out a glaring contradiction.
She asked, “How did you manage to write four books? That’s a massive undertaking.”
Here’s what I told her:
“For this one, since it’s a memoir, I started with an outline of the main themes I wanted to explore. Then I made a list of stories that fit, and wrote whatever felt most alive at the time. Once I had enough, I pieced it together, then shaped and edited the whole thing.”
Her reply was a text message, but I am pretty sure she rolled her eyes when she wrote it.
“You do have systems. That’s a system. A really smart one.”
Oh. Right. That landed.
It made me realize that maybe I am not bad at systems.
Maybe I just had not noticed the connection between the structure I naturally use in creative work and the structure needed in other parts of life like business.
That reframe shifted something deep.
It is not about being a “systems person” or not.
It is about caring enough about something to figure out how to make it work in your own way.
So here is my nudge to you:
- What is something you have been telling yourself you cannot do… that might just need a reframe?
- What if you have already figured it out in one part of your life and just need to apply that same magic somewhere new?
It’s worth sitting with.
Your turn:
If this sparked something for you, I would love to hear about it. You can share your thoughts in the comments or send me a quick note. Either way, I always enjoy hearing the different ways people discover their own hidden skills.
PS: Love, Loss, and Lizard Poop is a sassy, soulful, and surprisingly tender look at what 17 years with reptiles taught me about life. More on that soon.
Solid points all around.