A Life of Purpose

[Michael569]

 

[Michael569]

 

[Michael569]

 

[Michael569]

Finally, after 5 months, I managed to get back to Blogging. Was fun to explore another interesting topic. A YouTube video on the topic should follow soon. 

Currently spending some time back in Slovakia for a few weeks to attend a wedding of our friends. Yet another close couple getting married. The pressure to get more serious about this part of our life ever growing. Seems like every conversation here starts with babies, weddings, building a house and moving back. I'm realising that sooner or later we'll have to tackle these topics for good. 

Part of me wishes I started my clinic 5 years ago and have more answers by now but at the same time I know it wasn't possible without the journey that lead to this place. It just couldn't have been any other way. 

Things have a way to resolve themselves eventually in one way or another 

[Michael569]

 

 

[Michael569]

 

[Michael569]

 

 

[Michael569]

An idea what a stage yellow sales could look like

Edited February 8, 2023 by Michael569

[Michael569]

I forgot about this journal. Other than spamming it with my old YT videos, I have yet to make much use of it. 

I've lately concluded that being a small business owner is fucking hard! I always knew it would be difficult, but you don't realise what you're getting yourself in until you're in there. One of the cool things about a 9-5 job is constantly being told what to do. This is the tool; this is your inbox. You are just reacting to emails from clients. That's your job. Easy 

Well, not so much anymore once you turn into a biz owner. Suddenly, everything needs attention; there is no overhead management, plan, or task list.  The amount of stuff that needs attention is sick. Most of it doesn't even contribute to the primary goal of what I want to do. I feel like the things I enjoy, which are guiding clients, making plans and researching, make up 20% of my time, and the rest is dedicated to marketing, content planning, strategy, accounting, branding, legal stuff, etc. Either way, I cannot imagine not doing it anymore; it just isn't quite what I romanticised it to be when I was back in school. 

I've decided to stop all social media posting until April and am working on a more strategic approach. I have a friend who works with social media to help me rebrand all my content and create a consistency of colours, fonts, pictures,  logos and elements. She has already done great work on my new logo, and I was happy with her rates. I'm excited about this new stage as I've noticed that my social posts were shit, there were inconsistencies, the Instagram grid was non-existent, and it just seemed dull. Not to mention that most of these posts were long, technical and unreadable, so that needs to be fixed. 

I have yet to start making Reels, even tho I know I should. YouTube content wasn't too hard, but Reels compared to YT feel lik being naked in front of the audience. Something in me is resisting that experience, I cant tell if it is cringe whenever I watch any of my old videos back or fear of exposure. It is probably coming up anyways. 

I've recently started implementing the time-blocking method. I find this helps me discipline myself although there are still leaks (such as when I am procrastinating on a forum right now). Overall, I'd say this method has increased my output t least 15-20% with the potential being 50% with more discipline. My whole calendar now looks like a colourful brick wall. I've also been moving my sleep block forward. Waking up at 6:30 rather than eight is much better and helps me get much more done. It just seems my body still needs to recalibrate over the weekends. I also need to be careful not to cut below seven and half hours to prevent burnout. Helps me start my day with a 20 minute meditation in pitch darkness before sunrise so I really enjoy that bit. 

The cool thing about scraping my posts for February and March is that I finally have time to research topics I have been interested in for so long. Right now, I'm elbow-deep in colorectal cancer and uncovering a lot of cool stuff that I didn't know anything about (Red Meat, if you are reading this, here is a middle finger ,,I,, ) 

More could be written, but I'll continue another day. Back to marketing salt mines. - whip crack - 

 

+ cool playlist for you geeks who haven't played this game but should 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Michael569

[Michael569]

I've been invited to do a talk as a part of the Mental Health dedicated event that a friend of mine is hosting in Austria. Even though I initially agreed, recently I observed my mind trying to rationalise its way out of it. I've been spending some time pondering on this self-sabotaging effect that I've definitely noticed in the past. My mind has been screaming counter-arguments at me: 

• "what if there are medical students in the audience and you get challenges and cannot answer" 
• what if you have tech issues ? 
• what if you look riddiculous ? 
• do you HONESTLY think you have what it takes to lecture to other people in an academic setting???
• what if nobody shows up for your workshop 
• is it all going to be worth the money? 
• what if people think you are full of shit? 

I've never been super confident standing and speaking to groups of people and with the covid environment, my work has mostly turned into video conferencing which I've grown accustomed to and I really enjoy working this way but it also made me more complacent. Hiding behind the screen is easy. Giving real-life talks and leading an actual workshop is not. 

But I am glad I eventually accepted to do one 2-3 hour solo and one co-op workshop on brain health & ADHD. Now having gone over this drama, I am even getting excited a bit as I've never actually done anything like this before. I'll definitely use the opportunity to recycle all the information I gather for social media posting over summer so none of that time won't go in waste and I've been meaning to look into the research on ADHD for a long time now. 

I've dedicated 3 * 45 minute slots in my calendar for each week until end of March to work on presentation, gathering research and my own presentation skills. 

I'm also excited to finally meet these awesome people that I've been speaking to for ages but never got to meet. 

Good stuff! 

Alright, gym time....

Edited February 19, 2023 by Michael569

[Loving Radiance]

@Michael569 Awesome to read about your LP process, and also great to hear about the mental health event in Austria and how you deal with the stories your subconscious comes up with to keep you safe from that life-threatening event!

Thank you for sharing, I learn so much about the challenges of LP from you… Makes me think if I should start a journal for that purpose too, even though I am still in the limbo phase of orienting myself in that regard.

Edit:

About the styles, marketing, branding etc… I feel that “The Holistic Psychologist” has a sound presence on YouTube and Facebook.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Loving Radiance

[Michael569]

@Loving Radiance thanks for much for your input. Yeah it's been quite a journey but I am fortunate to be in a place like this where others are dealing with the same and a lot of knowledge and knowhow is being shared. ]

16 hours ago, Loving Radiance said:

Makes me think if I should start a journal for that purpose too, even though I am still in the limbo phase of orienting myself in that regard.

I think you should I'd be keen to catch up on your story. I know you already have questions popping up at the back of your mind, as per the other post you raise a few weeks back. I don't journal as much on here but the few times people commented has actually been helpful. 

I will check out Holistic Psychologist channel, thank you 

[Loving Radiance]

@Michael569 Will do, thanks

Edited March 3, 2023 by Loving Radiance

[ValiantSalvatore]

17 hours ago, Loving Radiance said:

About the styles, marketing, branding etc… I feel that “The Holistic Psychologist” has a sound presence on YouTube and Facebook.

Sorry to move into the journal, I saw this and checked the channel I can't believe the channel grew in 3-4 years to 350k I watched it when it had 10k or smth. I really did like her during that time, as she came from a very technical side of things and had a Ph.D and went into the health spectrum. 

She really hits the pragmatist spectrum, this is very good imo. Even with the most technical things it boils down to very simple things and then bringing it to people imo. 

Hope this comment is fine! I am a bit astounished to see that the channel grew so quickly to 350k, yet with her experience I don't doubt it with good marketing skills. 

[Michael569]

On 03/03/2023 at 11:54 AM, ValiantSalvatore said:

Sorry to move into the journal, I saw this and checked the channel I can't believe the channel grew in 3-4 years to 350k I watched it when it had 10k or smth. I really did like her during that time, as she came from a very technical side of things and had a Ph.D and went into the health spectrum. 

She really hits the pragmatist spectrum, this is very good imo. Even with the most technical things it boils down to very simple things and then bringing it to people imo. 

Hope this comment is fine! I am a bit astounished to see that the channel grew so quickly to 350k, yet with her experience I don't doubt it with good marketing skills. 

Thanks for your comment, no trouble at all, all input is welcome

I've subbed to her channel and will give it a try during my next cooking sessions which is most of my podcast time  

[Michael569]

Felt like relistening to this one. Was exactly what i needed. Been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately with juggling way too many plates and this definitely helped reprioritize  stuff

 

[Michael569]

I have realised that over the past 6 months, this forum has become an incredibly huge distraction for me and I keep procrastinating here and avoiding the hard tasks, challenges and questions I need to figure out in my life and in my business. On average, I would often spend up to 90min - 2 hours here in accumulated time. That needs to stop, I need that time elsewhere. 

Going forward I want to be putting more time into my marketing planning, social media content, client work and figuring out more effective ways to expand my clinic otherwise I'm never gonna be able to leave the 9-5 and with the change of management, I am starting to resent it more and more each day.

I've recently also made a decision to extend my clinic to women because I no longer associate with the decision to go men's health only. I still work with women so what the hell is the point anyway !!! So I need to put work into redesignign my website, changing name and changing all my ebooks to that point. 

And with planning a kid within the next 12-16 months I can't afford to be fucking around anymore. 

So thanks to anyone who has been following along with my posts around here. Thanks to Leo for building this super amazing place! 

Anyone who liked my responses feel free to connect on Insta or Facebook (links on my website, at the bottom - see signature), I'll be sharing more health stuff there. 

Going forward, I'll be taking between 4-6 months off from here (more if I deem it useful) . If you see my logging in it must have been by accident

Take care everyone!! 

[LfcCharlie4]

@Michael569 Will miss you helping stand up for what evidence & actual nutrition science shows! 

Health & fitness section will be like a graveyard now lol 

But agree, go expand that business!! 

[Michael569]

I read a quote a while ago: “in the heart of every man lies a kingdom; our quest, then, is not conquest, but the unveiling of our own majesty”

I re-read it so many times before the profound message hit me and I realised I had gone lost completely chasing rainbows and butterflies. I lost the spark and the flame that once burned so bright was all but gone. I used to have such a passion but I let myself get seduced by the wrong things and wrong people. Nothing was making sense anymore. My old business did not make sense anymore, the direction I was taking felt stupid, pointless and lunatic. I lose interest in some of my hobbies and even my relationship did not benefit. My mind got flooded with anxiety and worries about the present and the future. 

But maybe I had to lose myself so that I could find myself again. 

Over the past 6 months, I had spent a lot of time in blank silence, reflection and solitude. I've done a fair share of journalling. I would sit down on the beach in November, light a small fire and just stare into the darkness. I lost interest in socialisation a bit, got disconnected from my family. Took me much longer to get motivated. I had even noticed I was forgetting a lot of things - from my nutrition school, things I had learned and that I was doing when pursuing my nutrition clinic, I felt I was losing a lot of that. 

This has been going on for a while, but throughout this purification of my soul through stillness (and weight training) and disconnection from this place and few other, I have been finding myself again and I think I have been connecting to my true core for the first time. Some of that dying passion has been rekindled. I started reading books again which was a huge thing and something I had fallen out of completely. 

I started redesigning my business model from the scratch, it never made sense to me the way I originally designed it and I realised I was supressing those feelings of rage and disgust inside myself for too long. I was never speaking with my true voice - it was as if was running on a script, trying to mimic influencers and things I saw online... But it never worked. Of course it didn't. Some things cannot be faked. A

I'm in the process of buildign my new online practice. I feel connected to it way more than I did to Andro Health. It is taking a lot of time to build and I have been impatient a lot. It is far from complete but at least i'm heading the right way. My mentor has been harsh and critical with me but without his help I would have never made it. I needed to learn this lesson. I needed to go down the wrong route for a couple years chasing the pot of gold before realising I was heading the wrong way. I've now been re-learning the way I talk and the way I do things. 

I've also made peace with a few things in my personal life too - made a few decisions, put decisions in motion, and that has liberated a lot of my mental bandwidth. This forum has been a part of my life since 2016, when I first joined but I think I also got lost here. Too much time spent arguing and debating. 
I'd like to change that, be of more use to folks around here, learn something and appear less arrogant and presumptuous. 

At least I'll try.... but its good to be back. 

Edited February 27 by Michael569

[Yimpa]

Welcome back!