Every Thursday I feature a “throwback” post from my blog archive. The goal is to look back and discover new lessons or opportunities to grow. This week’s #ThrowbackThursday is going to be slightly different. That’s because today is a big day here at the This Awesome Life blog. Today’s post is number 100. So, in honor of post number 100, here are a few things I have learned over my time with this blog.

1. Consistent beats perfect ten out of ten times. 

I have written forty blog posts since November of 2022. That’s forty posts in seven months. (I also just turned forty yesterday so that’s a fun stat.) I originally started this blog in June of 2015, roughly eight years ago. From that time until November of 2022, I wrote sixty total posts. So, in seven months, I have accomplished two-thirds of what it took me eight years to do. Why is that? Because for the last seven months, I have committed to showing up. I have committed to sitting down and writing SOMETHING even when I don’t feel like it. Have they all been amazing? No. Have they all been perfect? No. But they have all represented a commitment to honing my craft and building the necessary muscles to consistently produce. 

Previously, I would wait until I had the perfect thought, the perfect idea, or the perfect story to even think about writing. Then, I would try to craft the perfect post around said thought or idea. If my content made it through those filters, maybe I would hit post… maybe. Here’s what I learned, when I got more consistent, my writing also got better. It’s still not perfect, but I would put my current work up against inconsistent Brandon any day of the week. Good news: This truth applies to anything you do. It applies to writing, speaking, cooking, dancing, running, building, and any other skill you can put your hand to. Consistency leads to mastery. 

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Speaking of consistency, I share these posts
through my newsletter twice a week. I’d love
for you to sign up! You’ll get a free gift as a thank you!

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2. I am my most difficult audience. 

This community as well as my friends in the Guaranteed Goals Community have cheered me on and pushed me forward since day one. You have helped me to improve my writing and have been a constant source of energy and inspiration. It seems like the posts that I am the least proud of or the most afraid to share are the ones you all connect with. Again, it’s not perfect. It will never be perfect. Art is not perfect, it can’t be. And that’s the beauty of it. If you have something inside of you that you want to share with the world, share it. Paint the picture, write the book, launch the podcast, or create the video. Just create. You will always be your own worst critic. So, share your work with some people who will lift you up and give you the energy and inspiration you need to get going. Side note, the Guaranteed Goals Community is a great place for that. Tell them Brandon sent you. 

3. “Don’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

I interviewed my friend Tara for my podcast (launching Monday, May 22nd) and as we were talking before the show, she was encouraging me and just speaking some really great words of life. She is a bit farther along in her writing journey and I was asking a lot of logistics questions about the process of publishing. I am sure she heard the fear in my voice when she said, “Don’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling.” This is a piece of advice she has given often, and I can see why. Those words hit me right in my core. I immediately wrote it down and can all but guarantee, I’ll never forget it. I don’t know what your dreams are. Whatever they are, don’t let fear hold you back. There is more out there. God has a plan for your life and it is “more than all we can ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20 NIV). So, go forward with confidence, and don’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling. 

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I’ve learned way more through my stories than
I can share here. That’s part of the reason I’m
releasing a book! Check out the details here:

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4. You don’t get to win if you don’t play the game. 

This one is from Jon Acuff. He has been a mentor to me over the last few months and this is one of his “Soundtracks” (a repetitive thought that plays over and over in our head.) This soundtrack is one that has pushed me forward lately. I have goals and dreams that I want to achieve. But if I don’t play the games that it takes to accomplish those goals, I don’t get to win. I don’t get to sell my book if I don’t write my book. I don’t get to grow this blog and this community if I don’t produce content and invite others in. And I don’t get people to listen to my podcast if I don’t sit down and record episodes. Leaving your dreams inside your head is a great way to guarantee they never happen. Step on the field. Play the game. Experience the heartbreak of defeat. Come back stronger. Get the win.

5. The best way to get from where you are to where you want to be is one step at a time. 

Writing 100 posts sounds like a lot, and honestly, it is. But it all happened one step and one word at a time. Those posts represent the 100 times that I sat down to write and actually did it. That’s 100 times that I fought through the distractions and created something. It’s 100 times that I resisted the urge to press “Select all” and then “delete.” It’s 100 tiny victories that led me here. It’s 60,000 words and hundreds of stories. It’s countless moments and countless whispers of God saying, I was with you in all of it. All in all, it took me 8 years to write 100 posts. But over the next year, if I keep taking step after step, I’ll write another 104. In one year, I’ll do what it took me eight to do before just by just showing up one word, one story, one moment at a time. Thanks for being with me for the first 100. Here’s to 100 more!* 

What lessons have you learned recently that have helped you move forward in your calling? 

*There are so many more things that I have learned along this journey, and I could go on for pages and pages. But I actually want you to read this blog so today, I stuck to my top 5.