Strategy Sunday: Defeating Discouragement

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: “This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” - 1 Kings 19:4

When I stepped up to start up Project FED, I didn’t imagine things would be easy but I also didn’t imagine it would be this hard. I’ve gone a month without any progress in terms of sales, and that made me wonder what kind of marketer I really am. I began feeling discouraged about my progress and to think there is something wrong with me.

Being Competitive Doesn’t Help

I’m competitive by nature. If someone else can do it, I think I should be able to figure it out, too. When I have a hard time doing something, it makes me feel slow and stupid, like I’m missing something that everyone else can see.

I become obsessed with trying to figure out what I’m missing. I will watch endless videos or take courses until I get it right. I will just keep pushing myself to figure it out, and every failure triggers my insecurities over not being smart enough or good enough to get done what seems so easy for another to do.

Feeling Frustrated Over the Fruitless Efforts

All of this work that I’ve done adds up to hours of effort that have produced nothing. I’ve not benefitted the kids, I’ve not helped anyone who is out there struggling to make ends meet. I seem to have worked all this time and come up empty for it.

Yesterday, I blew off doing my posting because it just seemed to be fruitless. I went to bed feeling guilty for that, but I couldn’t make myself write another post.

Turning to the Lord for Counsel

I woke up this morning feeling like such a failure and wondering if there was any point in continuing. Maybe the Lord made a mistake in choosing me. Who am I to think I can do this?

I burst into tears when I started reading the daily Mass readings. I knew He was talking to me. I wasn’t the only person He’d ever called on to face discouragement. Elijah the prophet had, too, enough so that he wanted to die rather than continue.

He figured he wasn’t doing anything good for the Lord, but the Lord wasn’t through with Elijah yet. And He’s not through with me yet, either.

Strength for the Journey

Today’s Gospel reading is all about where we, as Christians, are to find our strength for the journey. When discouragement threatens to beat us down and we are tired of the fight, we are to come to Christ and renew ourselves in Him.

Jesus was doing the ultimate good thing for humanity, but even he was not finding that easy to do. His work was unseen by many and unappreciated by the masses. Even though he collected many followers as he went throughout Judea, many of them were following him simply to get something from him and not out of any true appreciation for who he was or what he was doing.

Some people were seeking to take advantage of his generosity. Others didn’t understand it. Some people were outright in opposition to the work he was doing, even though it harmed no one and was beneficial to those who needed it.

Good work is never easy to do. It often goes unseen and unappreciated by the masses. Sometimes people take advantage of it. Sometimes people don’t understand it. Sometimes people outright oppose it no matter how good the work is that is being done.

Jesus understands our discouragement. He understands the fight. And in Him we have the promise that if we come to Him with our discouragements and our failures, He will feed us and renew us.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” – John 6:51

This Journey Isn't About Me

One of the things I realized, as I was walking through the Mass readings, is that it is my ego that is feeling discouraged. It is my ego that is bruised by the lack of financial progress. But this journey isn't about me. This journey is about the people I'm trying to reach.

If it were easy for me, if there were never any struggles, then I would be setting them up for unrealistic expectations about what to expect when they set out to follow along. Obviously, I'm hoping to make their journey a little easier than mine will be, but - here's the truth - there is a learning curve to every new thing we do.

Yes, I've sold packages that are worth thousands of dollars, but that is a process of time and requires cultivation of relationships. It is a different thing than getting someone to buy a t-shirt and a coffee mug because the buying triggers are different.

Ultimately the reason someone spends $20 on a t-shirt or $15 for a mug is that it speaks to them on an emotional level. It represents who they are and how they want to show up in the world. 

So, marketing for that industry requires a different approach, and that means I need to learn how to shift my tactics to ensure I am speaking to them where they are. It's going to take more learning, more research, more trial and error.

But, once I've figured it out and dialed in the market, I will have something that generates a lot of income consistently...and a set of skills I can pass on to those who want to do the same thing.

Join Me on the Journey 

Sign up for Project FED's email list and join me on the journey to success. You can find this design and others in our online store.

Location: Lewisville, TX, USA

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