|
Last week marks another anniversary of me living on this planet. It’s crazy how this year in particular passed by extremely quickly. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t productive. So I’m going to take you back and share 10 things I learned since my last birthday. This is going to be a long one, so get comfortable. 1. I am 100% certain that I’m introverted. There were two things that led me to believe this. First, when COVID lockdown was announced, there was nothing but a smile on my face. I knew I was going to have a good time. Second, I’ve heard stories of how extroverts find out they’re extroverts. When they hang out with people, they feel energized and want to hang out with more people, but I’m the complete opposite. 2. Don’t take friendships for granted. Making friends was so easy when you were still in school. You saw the same people on a regular basis, school clubs, and had after school activities. But now that I’m done with school, I always wonder about ways to make new friends as a busy adult. That’s why I’m grateful for the friends I kept in touch with and the new ones I made throughout my college career. 3. Be very strict about who you associate yourself with. The saying of you becoming the people you associate with the most is very true. I’ve been around people who acted in certain negative ways, and I realized I was slowly adopting their behavior. Long story short, I distanced myself from them and started doing the next thing on this list. 4. Practicing gratitude does wonders for your outlook on life. I used to religiously write down things I’d be grateful for everyday, but then that habit fell during the lockdown. I recently picked it up again and it completely changed my outlook on life. I honestly don’t remember a day that I would’ve considered a “bad day.” Of course, bad things still happen, but I dwell on them a lot less now. 5. Have patience with yourself when learning new things. During the past year, I picked up some new hobbies. So in addition to practicing copywriting, I was also learning music production and sketching. Of course, when you learn new things, you’re going to produce bad work. But it’s important to remember that it’s part of the natural process of improving. 6. Question everything. I’m talking about everything, from how you operate your business, your skill set, your methodologies, your life situation, the news you read, the statistics they throw at you, the “experts,” people’s behaviors and their motives. It requires a bit of brain power, but it does help you become open-minded and see things from different perspectives. 7. We’re fortunate to be living in a time with the level of technology we have now. Especially during a time like this, I don’t know how we would keep ourselves sane from lack of social activity if Zoom, cell phones, FaceTime, social media, or the Internet didn’t exist. 8. Keep imposter syndrome under control. It really does hold you back from doing a lot of things. For example, when clients would ask me if I could help them with projects that I’m unfamiliar with, I’d be tempted to turn it down and refer them to someone else. But I’d be doing myself a disservice if I did that and approached the projects with a can-do attitude. Or when I first decided I wanted to be featured on podcasts, I thought I didn’t have enough knowledge to be a good guest, but nothing has gone wrong so far. 9. Perseverance is an important trait to have. When I worked on my old blog, I thought I’d never be able to monetize it. But I kept building it, kept adding more content, and built my traffic. Eventually, I received my first affiliate commission. I still remember that day as if it happened yesterday, where I was and how I got the notification. Making my first dollar on the Internet will always be a special personal achievement. Or when I started my copywriting career, I thought I’d never land my first client. But I kept going to networking events and meeting new people. Eventually, I found the one person that basically hired me on the spot. The point to take away from both stories: Keep going no matter how bad and hopeless things seem. 10. It’s okay to do nothing once in a while. Unless you support the hustle culture, having some downtime and putting your work aside for a little while is good for you. You’re less at risk of experiencing burnout and you just get to live in the moment. Hopefully, this was helpful to you in some way, shape, form. But that’s all I got for you today. About the author: Ellisen Wang is an email copywriter and the author of “How to Become an Email Titan.” You can read the sample chapters of the book and learn how to write email copy that your subscribers will never get enough of and will make them want to buy from you by opting in at EllisenWang.com. When you opt in, you’ll also get daily copywriting, email marketing, and business tips sent straight to your inbox. If you don't want to optin, you can also read through the blog and listen to the audios for more marketing content and training.
Related Articles -
self improvement, personal development, business,
| 
