Today starts a monthly blog series where I get into some of the most important things you should do before you decide to launch.

And I think it’s important to start by sharing with you part of my story that I haven’t really shared…Because I think if you’re trying to figure out what your business does, what you want to launch, or even just what to do first, it’ll help you to see that there was really only 1 missing piece that kept me off track for years.

Sometimes I kick myself for not starting my business sooner. Like much earlier in my story.

In fact, I look at some of the entrepreneurs I see today and think – dang, I missed the boat when I was 27 to start a business, didn’t?

But then I remember the truth of what really happened…

I sometimes feel like I spent the first 30 years of my life missing what was right in front of my face.

Now when I look back – it’s probably more like I was running around on a beach in a circle for 3 decades with the waves covering up my footprints so I wouldn’t realize it.

How could I not see the obvious themes that would not only lead me to where I am today?

The simple answer is this. I had no vision.

I was simply going from thing to thing – making it (whatever it was), getting it out to the world, and then moving on.

I only knew how to do, to make, to create, to share…and to work on things that made me happy.

And while yes – this is still what I do today. The difference is that I’m heading in a specific direction.

That’s why if I look for clues to how I became an entrepreneur – I don’t find the seeds to my vision, I find that I was learning the skills I needed to execute the vision.

• creating elaborate shows from an early age that always included a huge clipboard, task list and who was doing what
• getting special permission to organize and teach school events like an African Dance workshop, talent shows, hypnosis demonstration and my exchange student experience Q & A …(believe me, no one was doing this kind of stuff at my school)
• writing and recording music with industry pros who helped me put together my first EP
• even my day job I was constantly looking for new ways to overhaul internal business systems, inspire the team, and ended up spearheading a giant company move that included an insane construction project

So, sure, as I said – I was learning things that I use today in my business…but at the time, they were somewhat shelved because I wasn’t really working toward anything.

What’s a girl to do? How do I find my vision?

I could have kept going. I could have kept doing, creating, working on projects that lived on the side, focusing on shipping other people’s projects…I was great at all those things…and still have a list of projects that I could easily get sidetracked and DO.

Thankfully, something started to shift…and awareness started to develop.

So back to my story.

Back in the early 2000s – I was doing, doing, doing.

After years (I mean MANY years) of searching for different paths that would suit and satisfy me, I discovered the online space.

In 2005, I was creating blogs on Blogspot, LiveJournal, and had a MySpace music page (still there too but I’ll leave you to that search!), working to get my music on iTunes (album still there too!)…I was doing much of the same stuff as I do now, but in bits and spurts that weren’t really driven by any bigger vision.

In fact, the sad truth about me pursuing music is that I never had a clear statement of the reason I was recording music or what my hope would come out of it. I had a vague idea of the way my life may look if I got a record deal, made music videos, but really I stayed mostly in the moment writing music, practicing it, recording it…with no thought to how or if I even wanted it out in the world.

And nothing changed for another 4 years really (though I was still trying things on like becoming a Pilates instructor).

So What Changed?

A lot changed when I had my daughter…

And I thank her for finally giving me the space to discover and see my vision.

It was during the time I was at home with her when she was first born that I started to see where I could go, where I wanted to go… and how to get there.

Now what’s really bizarre is that I was also cut as bare as I could have been at that time. I was exhausted, depressed, and struggling in those early days with Mila.

But clearly, that exhaustion helped me get to my core.

I actually like to joke that she’s the one who helped me discover my first online course “The Thirty Day Challenge” led by Ed Dale. This 30-day free course, challenge taught me what I had been not doing so well up to that point and showed me the bones for making money online.

I was hooked.

And though I was still learning and still “doing” without much vision. Things were about to change even more!

This first online course dropped me down the course rabbit hole for awhile finally leading me to meet and work with Laura Roeder and Marie Forleo.

As soon as I saw what they were creating, I KNEW that I wanted to create my own digital experience and courses.

Once I decided I could do the same – my vision came flooding to me. (more on that soon…)

So – to kind of wrap this up and give you the real story behind discovering a business through finally discovering my vision….here’s what happened:

Over a period of many years, I’d been gaining much-needed skills that helped me back into my own business…I say back into it because I definitely didn’t know what I was doing or that I was truly headed in that direction. All I knew was that:

1. I understood how to make and execute on a plan
2. I learned the mechanics of running a business
3. And finally, As a result of all the exploration…I discovered the vision in someone else’s business model!

So what came after finding the vision? And how did I turn that into Fearless Launching?

Listen to my podcast later this week to find out the steps I took (and you need to take) once you’ve got the vision and a general idea of what you want to create and launch.

I’d love to hear more about your vision and how you discovered it or claimed it! Leave a comment below sharing where you are in your own journey!

And even if you’re still figuring out your vision, I recommend keeping an eye on the comments and learn from what other people have done.

…see you back here Thursday!

-Anne 🙂