I feel like a beginner again.

.

I think is not only interesting, but important for those who follow me.

You see, although I was a beginner 18 years ago, and I fondly and deeply remember that experience, the hard work, the desperation, the not knowing if it would ever work, the endless days, the wondering if I was doing it right, the thinking I might have to go back to “work” . . .

And I’ve told that story, that journey, many many times.

But I fear that when someone new meets me today, and they only see the Sean Mize with x accomplishments, and y level of subscribers, they don’t believe I understand where they are.

And the crazy thing is, I feel like a beginner now, and I am seeing things through - what I believe is - their lense now.

You see, when I started the first time, 18 years ago . . . I was . . . 18 years younger.

I know . . that’s common sense . . but what that means is I was:

• Single

• Lived on a couple thousand a month

• No responsibilities

• No wife

• No children

• No one looking to me for advice

• Nothing. From scratch.

Also, I had:

• Endless energy

• Ready to make my mark on the world

• Willing to do whatever it takes (and if I worked 100 hours a week, no one would  be hurt, feel neglected)

So for years, when people with:

• Lives

• Wife or husband

• Children

• Dying parents

• Debt

• Lack of energy

• Lost their job and struggling

• Tons of responsibilities

• No time to carve out 3 hours a morning for thinking

• No way to get 3 hours a day of writing time

• No way to spend 2 hours a day writing sales letters until you are really good at it.

So here I am, beating a drum about all the things to do to be successful:

• Get your thinking time

• Commit 3 hours

• Be focused

• Work harder

• Sleep less

• Work on your lunch break

For many people, (maybe you) that’s IMPOSSIBLE.

With 4 kids, one is always screaming, they wake up when you do, wake you in the middle of the night . . .

Lunchtime is for catching up on schoolteachers, grocery shopping

Evening you have to read to the children, spend time with your spouse or your relationship rots, the bills are calling . . .

And I tell you to: work harder, focus more

That’s IMPOSSIBLE for you.

And at one time, I understood that theoretically.

Maybe.

But in my own limited experience, I could only say, find a way, find a way to focus, and so on.

I couldn’t really say, I know what it’s like to work with endless distractions.

Family that doesn’t understand.

People who demand your time.

Who want your thinking time in the morning.

Want the last hours of the day.

Need you during the day.

I just couldn’t truly fathom what it means to only be able to work online for 2 hours a day, but that 2 hours a day looks like 12 10 minute blocks.

(I don’t know what that looks like day to day either, but I’m a lot closer to understanding).

But I couldn’t even understand having just 2 hours a day, and no thinking time.

Constant stress and distractions and misunderstandings and pain and responsibilities.

Oh! 

And one more thing . . . in my youthful exuberance I knew that I knew that I knew that the work I was doing was meaningful.

I was writing articles and books and recording training that taught deeply what I was doing, and I believed people loved it and wanted more (the fact that they would come back again and again and make more purchases felt like it confirmed that to me).

So when folks ask me, what should I teach or write about or sell, and I say,”what interests you the most” and they write me a list of 10 unrelated things they are “interested” in . . .

And I ask them, which one are you passionate about and they either don’t know, or they have 4 things and are incapable of choosing just one . . .

I couldn’t fathom that.

I don’t know what to do with it.

Because my experience online for 18 years, plus 12 years in business before that screams at me: choose one thing and focus on it.

That’s what I’ve done for 30 years.

That’s my frame of mind, and it’s made me a good living.

I simply could not fathom someone not getting that, as it’s a core, central business truth from marketing 101 in first year college.

And yet . . . most people who start an online business didn’t take marketing 101 in college.

They’ve had a successful business or job or some of them are starting out in life and have no work experience, and very little life experience, but they have a kid or family or responsibilities. . . . and no concept of business.

But my limited mind couldn’t see that.

So through a long series of events, after 18 years in this business, I’ve tired of teaching “marketing 101”

I felt guilty about it for awhile . . and yet I think, well, many humans retire or get a second career after 18 years . . .

I guess it’s okay to get bored after 18 years.

And I think a lot of that boredom is driven by beating a dead horse, trying to get people who aren’t driven like me, who haven’t studied what I’ve studied, who don’t believe in the online dream, they are just poking their noses into it, and desperately not believing that it’s real or for them.

And combining that with life circumstances that no longer guarantee a couple hours of thinking time in the morning.

—> No longer guarantee the time to wind down at the end of the day.

—> No longer guarantee no interruptions while working.

And the loss of desire to teach the thing that at one time, I was very very good at.

Brings me to a place where:

• My environment looks a lot like my average followers’.

• My drive looks a lot like my average followers’.

• My understanding of exactly what I want to teach is a lot like my followers . . one day it’s one thing, another day it’s another.

• No clear focus.

• No distraction - free guarantees.

And so as I am starting this new newsletter business.

Although I know I’m starting it with 18 years of experience.

I know how to get followers and subscribers.

I know how to upsell and downsell.

The core components like, what do I teach?

What is my exact plan?

Exactly how does it monetize?

Even, where and how do I work?

How do I follow the Lord’s leading day by day, and hour by hour, instead of having a one year plan I’m getting His “help” with in implementing.

Those are unknowns.

So as I forge ahead with this new project . . .

I feel like a beginner again.

If you are a beginner, or a beginner again . . . .

I hope that in watching this project unfold, you can get a taste of what it’s like to build something from scratch.

And to see it being done from a beginners’ mindset all over again.

And from someone who is finally starting to feel like . . .

A beginner again.

Of course it’s not exactly, because I do have experience and knowledge and followers.

But my mindset is much more like my followers’ than perhaps ever before.

My deepening understanding of the constraints of time and energy and emotional bandwidth is much more like my followers’.

I hope you learn from my “beginner again” journey.

If you want to follow along with me on this journey, you might want to check out my new “Follow Along” Coaching Program

You’ll get to see what I do each day for 90 days, and I’ll give you stats, suggestions for your own newsletter, and more . . .