Create Time For the Things That Matter! Stop Ironing and Start Your Online Business.

Create Time For the Things That Matter! Stop Ironing and Start Your Online Business.

So, What’s Up with Ironing? And Why Did I Stop Ironing?

You’ll be hard-pressed to find me ironing these days (pun intended). I am not the only one who has recently had an Ironing epiphany. An article in the Seattle times shows that Consumers are taking the chore of ironing and figuring out simpler, faster and often cheaper ways to accomplish it. I am one of them; more details are below.

In my weekly newsletter to my subscribers, I wrote to them about my reasons for not ironing my clothes. I was overwhelmed by the email response I received from my’ Parents who Biz’ tribe. Everyone who wrote me an email identified their proverbial ‘ironing’ and how it limits them from pursuing their dreams.

If you know me, you know that at one point in my life, I loved ironing. I ironed clothes, t-shirts, handkerchiefs, socks, bed sheets, towels and even newspapers. I truly loved the smell of freshly ironed clothes mingled with fabric softener. I loved how neatly the fabric would look in the cupboard. I loved the feeling of being helpful and engaged for long periods doing an activity that yielded immediate results.

Here is the thing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with ironing. If anything, it helps to sterilise clothes—the problem when it becomes a crutch that prevents you from pursuing your goals and ambitions.

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I Realised: I Was Missing Out on My Own Dreams

What Happened to The Love?

Why did I stop ironing? It dawned on me that I was busy with activities. These activities helped to dull the entrepreneurial fire that was inside me. So busy that I couldn’t see what was glaring at me in the face, the proverbial elephant in the room. For me, it was a dissatisfaction or just the frustration of having to stop developing my career as a stay-at-home mother.

Do Not Get Me Wrong. Family Is Everything to Me!

Do not get me wrong; family is everything to me. I wanted to continue to ‘work’, and at the same time, I wanted to be present for my children. I knew that I wanted to be the one who packs their lunch and takes them to school. I also desired to pick them up from school and take them for after school activities. I wanted to be the first to hear how awesome school was or not! I wanted them to eat meals cooked by Mama.

At the same time, I know deep down inside of me, I was created for more. My experiences and education had not been in vain. My life lessons were the stepping stones to my purpose.

Until One Day, As I Was Ironing, I Listened to A Podcast Called SPI.

And so, I tried to iron out my other calling and water down the desire to do more in my career life by doing more activities. Until one day, as I was ironing, I listened to a podcast called SPI by Pat Flynn. The tagline at that time made me stop and listen, ‘… working hard now so that you can reap the benefits later. Pat often talked about how he got laid off from work and pivoted into an online business. I heard someone share their story in such an authentic way. His story resonated with me. I was a stay-at-home Mum who needed to continue developing her career.

 

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How A Simple Eureka Moment! Give Me Back My Dreams

AHA! Eureka, this was something I could do! I could start and build an online business from the comfort of my home, just like Pat. I could earn multiple income streams from this business model. On top of that, I could still have the time freedom to pick and drop my kids at school without having a boss looking over my shoulder or telling me I was distracted at work. I could do this! and I did, and so can you!

I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur since I was a wee bit. I wanted to own a business. A company that I could build and invest my financial, mental and physical strength.

Was I Crazy? Online Business Is Not for Non-Techy People Like Me!

So Here Was a Business Model that, in Theory, Worked for Me.

So here was a business model that, in theory, worked for me. I could run it from the comfort of my own home, and I determined my working hours—time and financial freedom at the same time.

And, if you are like me, self-doubt started to rain on my parade. I heard terminologies such as landing page, SEO, algorithms, backlinks, email list, audience, tribe … I could go on. And for a while, I stopped pursuing my dream. It seemed too complicated. Online Business was all well and good, but it was not for me. I was not techy enough. I had no idea what SERP rankings were, and frankly speaking, I was in over my head. Or was I?

I Found My ‘WHY’.

The battle is in mind. Have you ever run a 5K or 10K and finished the race within your personal goal targets? The chances are that you were feeding your mind with positive narratives all through the race.

I had to dig deep inside of myself to ask myself the seven levels of why. Why was it so crucial for me to start and build an online business? Why was it so important to have the time and financial freedom? I realised It was vital that I left a legacy for the generations that would follow me. I want my children to have choices and my grandchildren to have even more options. I want to break down the limits I had placed on myself and soar as high as my dreams could carry me. My, why led me to change my thought processes because it was bigger than me. It was generational.

I Adopted a Growth Mindset.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I began to thirst and hunger for all the knowledge I could amass on starting and building an online business.I watched YouTube video tutorials, listened to more podcasts, followed my heroes on Instagram and Facebook, and joined Facebook groups. I immersed myself in learning and implementing.Yes! Little Old me made her website. If I can, you can too! I finally dared to invest in a domain name and hosting, and I even built my first website.

 

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How I Said “Goodbye” To Ironing for Good!

And that’s why I stopped ironing and started feeding my soul. I stopped ironing and started investing my time in learning how to start an online business. I now do email marketing, build websites, write blogs, and grow my social media following. I stopped being busy and became intentional so that I could iron out my life goals and ambitions. I started waking up before 5 am and spending time reflecting, reading my spiritual books, and just writing down my thoughts, ideas, dreams, and goals.

So, Is Everyone in The House Walking Around With Creased Clothes?

I don’t iron anymore because I don’t need to. I have developed great clothes folding skills. I don’t even need to fold the garments on a flat board- I air fold (a blog post for another day). The trick is to fold the clothes immediately when they come out of the dryer. Oh, a quick tip -Fabric softener is my partner in crime.

Kindle The Fire Within

There are lots of activities that we can engage in that keep us busy but at the same time don’t add any real value to our lives. These activities are time-sapping, and most of us don’t realise how these activities are slowly sucking out all the life out of us.

Start Spending Your Time Doing the Things That Truly Matter!

A quick question for you, what is it that you need to ignite in your life? And what is it that is preventing you from pursuing and achieving it? For me, it was just being busy doing stuff.

Take some time today to think about the things that keep you busy but not productive. What are you going to stop metaphorically ironing in your life? Reflect on what you can do to serve others. And once you know what you want, be obsessive about it and then imperfectly start! (No perfection here, just action).

Consider starting your own online business. Build it around your family obligations. To get you started, I have a FREE kickstart guide that propels you towards your entrepreneurial journey. Click here to Download.

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