Jane & Ruthanne’s Excellent Adventures: Sparking a Fire with Jen Sincero

My friend Ruthanne Bohrer-Agosa and I do a lot of fun stuff together, so we decided to start a little series for Old Mission Gazette called “Jane & Ruthanne’s Excellent Adventures.” We basically go to local events and do fun things in the Grand Traverse area, and then I’ll write up a story about it.

We’ll kick it off with this week’s National Writers Series event featuring Jen Sincero, author of the “You Are a Badass…” books. Check out all her books over at Amazon.com (Full disclosure: I have an affiliate account with Amazon, so if you buy anything through that link, I get a tiny percentage. Really tiny, but as mom always says, every little bit helps.)

Jen’s talk couldn’t have come at a better time, because I’ve been feeling a little stuck with my work lately. She definitely sparked a fire that reminded me why I do Old Mission Gazette and the Old Mission Peninsula Store, both of which are my full-time job.

I started the Gazette four years ago, because my skillset as a writer and long family history on the Old Mission Peninsula was a perfect fit for my passion – writing about and taking photos of the Peninsula. But as any entrepreneur knows, earning a living wage from your business requires so many other things.

Like bringing in advertisers; marketing the Gazette and OMPstore.com; creating and listing new products at OMPstore.com; maintaining two Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts; sending the Gazette email newsletter out regularly; fine-tuning what works and what doesn’t work; doing interviews; answering email (so much email), and 835 other things.

Sometimes I get bogged down in the minutae of running a business and lose track of why I started it in the first place. Not to mention blending in all the non-work stuff – exercise, spending time with family and friends, de-cluttering the house, and so on and so forth. So far, a sense of balance remains elusive.

And perhaps the biggest obstacle for me is simply “getting out of my own way.” That is, as Jen puts it, “owning” my brand and moving forward in faith and confidence. Most entrepreneurs I know don’t have anyone else to cheer them on every day. We have to be our own cheering section. Sometimes it gets exhausting, and that job at Costco looks more and more enticing.

But let’s get real. I’m basically unemployable at this point, because I’ve been running my own business and making up my own rules for so long, that I don’t fit into any sort of regular job structure.

So Jen’s talk came at the perfect time for me, when I really needed to light that fire again and remember why I do what I do. And it worked. I do feel energized and ready to move forward into the new year.

Here are a few nuggets I gleaned from Jen’s talk – great for not only entrepreneurs, but everyone.

• The truth is what you choose to believe is the truth.
• Get a routine in place and do it every day. Don’t fall prey to the falsity of the past.
• Fear is sent screaming in the other direction when you look it in the face and confront it.
• Use your fears as your service, your path forward. For example, if you have debt, demand of yourself that you pay that debt off. Use it to light your fire.
• Growth isn’t for weenies.
• Don’t ever give away your services for free (I do this way too often).
• Own what you’re doing. Focus on why you feel called to do it.
• Changing your life is one decision away.
• If you’re dealing with a fear of being successful, remember that we’re all going to die at some point, “so get on with it, sister,” says Jen.
• If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

It’s been two days since Jen’s talk, and in those two days, I’ve done several badass things, including contacting National Writers Series director Anne Stanton to see about becoming a media sponsor for the series. It’s in the works. (I’ve known Anne for years, and her husband Doug, who started the organization, even longer, dating back to high school.)

The next National Writers Series event is Feb. 13, 2019 – “An Evening With Tommy Tomlinson,” author of The Elephant in the Room (check it out at Amazon.com).

Click here to get tickets and see other upcoming National Writers Series events.

Jane runs Old Mission Gazette and its sister site, OMPstore.com. Click here to partner with the Gazette and spread the word about your business, and click here to buy cool stuff at the store. 

Ruthanne is a Licensed Massage Therapist and dōTERRA Essential Oil Advocate based at Smith Chiropractic in Traverse City. Her therapies include Relaxation, Therapeutic, Shoulder and Hip treatments. To set up an appointment, call her at (231) 645-0665. 

Got an event you’d like us to attend and write about? Hit me up at [email protected], or send me a message on the Old Mission Gazette Facebook page.