Episode 120 – Why “Make money from anywhere!” is a bunch of bologna

Unpopular opinion alert: why I believe that laptop life “equating” to freedom is far from true. Before you close out of your Podcast app and you’re like, “Bonnie, what are you talking about?” Let me explain. I know you’ve seen those Facebook and Instagram ads showcasing a “girl boss” sipping a beachy drink with laptop in hand, promising you she can teach you how to make 7-figures working poolside if only you sign up for her webinar.  Know what I’m talking about now? People are always telling us the same thing: if you buy into what I’m offering you I can teach you how to make money from anywhere on your laptop. And although that sounds all good and well, I have a bit of an issue with this mindset.  WORKING WITHOUT A PLAN IS WORKING WITHOUT A PURPOSE Through the hundreds of creatives I’ve worked with over the years, few of them are actually able to achieve that effortless freedom on their own. Because the people who are pushing those “laptop lifestyle = freedom” ads don’t know what freedom looks like to you! They don’t know what your definition of success looks like or the goals you have for your life and business. They simply are trying to get you to buy into a method that worked for them to achieve THEIR definition of success. What they aren’t telling you is to get there you will spend more time on your laptop implementing all the marketing strategies these “successful gurus” are teaching. But spending more time on your laptop trying to chase after that lifestyle where you can work from anywhere and hit your goals is not going to propel you forward because you are unintentionally working without a plan. And working without a plan is working without a purpose. You cannot build a creative business of your dreams, or become a profitable designer or strategist by just aimlessly working. Instead you have to pursue a way of working and propelling your business forward that allows you to chase after you definition of success. CHASE AFTER YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS As a business strategist, designer and educator I create educational content that fits my definition of success. But I don’t just create content for this podcast, host my six-month group coaching program, create free trainings like “how to triple your income”, or an entire page of free resources for designers just to add more noise to what is already a very noisy space. I do it because I want to change this approach our industry has created to implementing all the things the experts teach us we need to do, but not actually seeing the results you want to see. A few weeks ago, I wrote this post about why I think it’s time we stop listening to the experts.