Jump and course correct later

You won’t ever know if those day-dream ideas will ever become
something if you let them stay in your mind.
Here are the 5 different phases that I lean into when I’m on a mission to bring an idea to life:

So you’ve got this idea?
You’ve felt the visceral ping?
You are stopped in your tracks thinking about it?

Pause

Now lean in.

Phase 1 Actions:
Before you allow your mind to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn’t, here’s what I would recommend doing right away if you can:

1. Grab your journal and start writing or drawing it all out

2. Open up your notes app and starting typing away

3. Record a voice note to yourself without any boundaries or limiations

4. Call the most expansive or supportive person in your life to set up a call to tell them about it

^ The intention of each of those actions is for you to get your idea out quickly without thinking too much. The reason why you don’t want to let yourself think too much about the logistics is because the brain is programmed to make decisions and predictions based on narratives and previous patterning for protection—which may end up shutting down your idea flow state.

Phase 2 Questions:
When I’m in the very beginning stage of a new idea that feels aligned with my authenticity to follow through with creating, I ask myself questions like the ones listed below:

• Is this new idea solving a problem?

• What would be the best-case scenario if this idea became tangible?

• Do I know anyone who would be a good resource for me to reach out to?

• What could I gain from giving this idea a shot?

• What is lighting me up by thinking about this new idea?

Phase 3 Questions:
Once I’ve walked myself through those questions, next is to address the narratives/fears about initiating my idea:

• What story am I telling myself about why it wouldn’t work out?

• Am I afraid of what others would say or think about me if I did this?

• Am I afraid of this idea failing, or am I afraid of the idea actually succeeding? (more common than you would think)

Phase 4 Actions:
After I’ve gotten honest with myself about the stories I’m programmed to tell myself as to why it won’t work or why people would judge me, it’s time to take action and experiment.

• Research day(s)

  • I’d recommend grabbing your computer and heading out to your favorite coffee shop to step into a research day

  • Dedicate at least 90 minutes to learning more about your idea

    • wild melts example: the week I had the ping to start a tallow based skincare company, I took myself to Wolverine Farm to research all about tallow. I already knew a good amount of the sciencey side of it, but I wanted to understand all I could about where to source, how other companies have done it, and how I was going to do it differently

• Look for expanders

  • Expanders are defined as: An Expander is a person that you identify with that’s already been where you are now, and has gone on to become successful in, owns, or embodies what you want (job, relationship, house, success, friendships, relationship with self, etc). They allow you to “see to believe” that what you want is possible - the feeling of “Oh if they can have/do that, I totally can too!” —To Be Magnetic

    • Making a list of who you know personally know that expand you or this idea

    • Making a list of people on the internet that expand you or this idea

• Experiment

  • If your idea is a physical thing that you can hold, set aside a weekend to making it over and over and over

Phase 5 Actions: Jumping without perfection
Once you’ve found expanders to prove to yourself that “it” is possible (doesn’t have to be the exact same thing as what you are aiming to create, but you need to see to believe that ideas are capable of becoming tangible) — now it’s time to jump.
Ha, my least favorite part. Maybe some of you perceive me as a brave, beefy business gal, but to be honest, I wait quite a while to do the jump.

• What can the 1st jump look like?

  • wild melts example: because I had already made my first batch of tallow skincare jars, my first jump was to actually give out those jars to a few friends for them to try out and to have them give me honest feedback

  • If your idea is to start a bone broth business, your first jump could look like you making a batch and dropping it off to friends or family for free and asking for honest feedback on how it tastes and if they wish something were different about it.

• What can the 2nd jump look like?

  • wild melts example: I received such rad feedback from all of my testers that I felt empowered enough take the next jump and I applied for a Farmers Market spot

  • If your hypothetical business or idea needs a platform, the 2nd jump could be you signing up for a 14 day trial with squarespace to start building your site, coming up with an instagram handle and setting that up.

• What can the 3rd jump look like?

  • If you decided to create some sort of hub for your new idea, the 3rd jump could be you sharing that link to 15 people in your life

The whole goal of this piece is for anyone to see the different ways someone can create structure when getting ready to jump off the cliff with a new idea.

Steer clear of perfectionism for the sake of your mental health AND for the sake of your idea. In a way, perfectionism creates more hoops for you to jump through when you’re trying to create something new.

Enjoy the journey
Soak it up
Because if you’re idea works — you’re never going to want to forget the very beginning.

with love,
katie