Shutting the Door on Self-Doubt: A Framework for Growth FTH: 101

I am all kinds of excited today. It’s been a challenging few weeks with everything going on with my back (and if you missed that, you can read/listen to what’s going on in the last podcast episode). I did my border run to Nicaragua, which went really smoothly, but man was I exhausted afterward. Fortunately, I was smart and planned to take care of myself the day after. I didn’t have any calls and allowed myself to go with the flow. Which pretty much meant working at my desk as long as possible and then moving to my bed- regardless of the time of day. I brought a cooler with my ice packs for the journey, which made all the difference in the world. Now I’m set for another 90-days. Which is so close to Christmas, but I’ll still have to do one more border run before I go to California in early December. I will apply for Costa Rica’s digital nomad visa after the holidays. The digital nomad visa will allow me to stay in the country for a year without border runs, open a bank account here (bye-bye international fees!), get a driver’s license, and be a part of the national health care system here (called Caja). I’ll pay into Caja, but I’m happy to do so. Now that all that is out of the way, I can focus on business again. I have 3 weeks until my back surgery, and it’s game on! There’s something about knowing you have a ‘sprint’ ahead of you with an end date (even if it’s just for a week) that makes it much more manageable to stay focused.Now that you’re all caught up let’s get into Shutting the Door on Self-Doubt.Shutting the door on self-doubt came up on a call with my therapist this morning (I’ve jokingly said that I will have to pay her royalties at some point  ). We were talking about a new project I’m working on, and I was sharing my challenges with naming it. If you’ve ever been stuck on naming something, you know what I mean (and if you haven’t been stuck, can you share your secret with me?). I had picked a name (or so I thought) for my new project, and two of my dear friends in this space whom I completely trust asked me if that name was right. The whole thing came about because I had hired a couple of people to have logos made. Nothing felt right.It’s time to #FtheHUSTLE! Sign up here! Instead of trying to figure it out with the existing name, my friends asked if I could use a different name. Holy lightbulb moment!!!  I solved this (and will share the name and what it is) within the next month, but I returned to a book I read years ago when I wanted to name something else. The book is called “Hello, My Name is Awesome” by Alexandra Watkins. Side note: Go to her website for some before and after name makeovers her company has done. Her website is “Eat My Words,” and I LOVE the tagline on her site: “Your brand name shouldn’t look like someone got drunk and played Scrabble.”  I highly recommend the book. It’s pretty short (about 128 pages). She gives many examples of companies she’s worked with, brands needing help, and then very specific exercises for coming up with your name. And yes, she “names names.” She has something she calls the ‘Smile & Scratch’...