In an effort to really embrace all the U.K. has to offer before we leave, I joined a netball team. I naively thought it was just like basketball.
It is not just like basketball.
My first game was last week and I spent the entire game being fouled because I moved my feet after getting the ball. Guys, you can’t move your feet once you get the ball. It is VERY hard to stay still.
To keep me from racking up the fouls, they parked me under the net to be the goal scorer. Though I got the ball close to 20 times, I scored zero goals. If we had more team members I’m pretty sure I’d be riding the bench. Luckily, though we did score some points. My teammate Lizzie managed to score three in a row and make it look completely effortless.
On our way home from the game, I congratulated her on her success and in a very British fashion she shrugged me off saying, “it’s all about confidence, isn’t it? I believed I could so I did. Just like with anything in life.”
Oh, Lizzie. So athletic and so wise.
But, of course, she’s right. It all comes down to confidence.
As Jordan and I were recording this week’s podcast episode, I had so many flashbacks to meeting my first freelance client 3.5 years ago. I was a nervous mess.
When I pitched her and her husband my idea, I met them in a posh London club with Pippa Middleton at a nearby table (I was so out of my element). I took them through my powerpoint presentation which I “designed” with a hot pink and neon green color theme (what was I thinking?). It was a breakfast meeting but I declined food (I’m so awkward). And when they asked for my price, I all but offered to work for free.
Confidence in those first few days and getting those first few clients was really hard to come by.
Everything I read talked about starting a side hustle, making money on your own, getting a solid roster of clients. But very few talked about how much confidence it takes to actually get started.
This week on the podcast I’m taking you through how I cold pitched to get my first few freelance jobs — and included in the show notes the emails I used to get them. If you’re even just a little bit interested in freelancing, you might want to give it a listen.
Plus, if you missed it last week we interviewed the incredible Shannon Lee Simmons. She’s a CFP and makes all money topics (including debt) so approachable and kind of even fun. She had some excellent tips for anyone who is looking to tackle their debt, all served shame-free. Give that listen here.
We have 11 more netball games this season, which is probably going to be the extent of my netball career. I’m planning to find myself a ball and head down to the neighborhood court this weekend to work on my shooting…and my confidence.
Make Me Smart
smart-ish reads from around the internet
A great read on Serena Williams: her new fashion brand, her champion mindset, and how after multiple failures she decided to invest in herself:
“Millions of people have ideas every day and they just remain ideas. But how do you get the idea to become something successful? I am a strong believer in visualisation. It’s like this meditation. You need to see things happening and envision yourself in a fantasy world, and really believe in that fantasy world until it comes true — or else it’s just going to be an idea.”
Does work-life balance exist in the gig economy? I’m writing this at 8:30 pm on a Friday night, but this surprisingly feels very balanced. But with 20-30% of the workforce currently part of the gig economy, the question of work-life balance is real, and there’s not really a lot of it.
I’ve been weirdly fascinated with MLM’s for years now, and this podcast is everything I didn’t know I was missing. Read this article and listen to this podcast. It’ll suck you in.
And if you ever worry that you don’t have a talent that someone will pay you for, remind yourself that people make money filming videos of themselves eating. The world is your deep fried oyster.
