What Else Can I Do?

On frustration and staying-the-course.

The same question comes up over-and-over: “What Else Can I Do?”

Massage therapists wondering why their customers don't return. Realtors whose phones just don't ring like they used to. Young professionals looking for work and getting no traction. Coffee shop owners who watch their would-be customers pull into the gas station next door for their caffeine fix. Runners who just can’t seem to get consistent yet.

It might be a sign-of-the-times, or not, but one thing is certain: it’s easy to feel the frustration and exhaustion in everyone’s voice.

When you’re asking “what else can I do?”, it’s never out of laziness—quite the opposite. You’re burning out on all of it because you’re trying to do all of it.

There’s simply no overnight success.

Most people aren’t patient. If you can adopt a patient mindset throughout your life, you’ll start to win.

Learning to run, building organizations, growing businesses, fundraising for non-profits, and fostering community simply all take time.

Often, things take a tremendous amount more time and consistency than you’d imagine going in. That’s when the frustration sets in.

Building anything requires a mindset shift away from quick wins. Every success story you see was built through consistency, repetition, and a good dose of struggle, whether people are willing to share those stories or not.

It’s endlessly tiring to keep faith in your goals when it feels like you aren’t hitting a stride yet. What you thought would take months will probably take years. Learning to consistently plug away and realize that this moment is part of the process is essential.

Simply telling you to keep going doesn’t remedy the frustration, though.

So, what else CAN I do?

The "what else" is everything you do that isn't your main job. Chances are, you’re pretty good at that part already.

It's endless what you can do but here are some things that I find help tremendously:

Take the damn coffee meeting. I know, you can only say yes to so many of them. They're not always useful. But the right meeting can change your whole life.

Serve your community with no expectations. If you aren't supporting your people, why should anyone support you? Don’t do it for your resume or accolades, either. Just do it because we need it.

Do the side projects. You have to create for yourself before you can ever do it for others. Don't do it with money-making in mind. Plant a garden, meet your neighbors, share your veggies. Take pictures and send them to loved ones. Pick up trash. Just do something, consistently.

Connect with people, every day. Create the community you want. People are so incredibly open to it. We're all lonely and crave our village. Help create yours. Doesn't exist? Start it.

Remember to stop and look back. Everything takes a long time when you’re in the midst of it. However, there’s growth every day. Your audience grows, your sales increase, your running gets a little easier. Don’t get too caught up in your long-term vision to celebrate progress along the way.

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If this sparked something in you, reach out. I'm here to help think through, to help you grow. It's possible. Sometimes you just need a fresh perspective a little motivation to hype you up.