The nature of self employment (maybe of life too) is up and down.

Things come in waves.

You’ll get 5 new projects at a time or 3 proposals all due on the same day, right?

Likewise, some days you can’t scare up a prospect or a project or a proposal – not a peep from anyone, sometimes for days or weeks at a time. “It feels like the beginning of the end,” as one of my clients once said.

I know that’s the way it is for my business. One month I have lots of new clients, everyone is saying yes, I’m doing more free mentoring sessions than usual and every single one is a home run. Another month, I do almost none. 

How and who responds and when is something I have a lot less control over.

That’s the way it is.

It’s not the way we want it (lots of new clients or projects all the time). It’s the way it is (unpredictable).

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying there’s nothing we can do.

What doesn’t change is my action. I’m still reaching out to people, reminding them I’m here, sending out my Quick Tips, giving webinars, posting on social media channels, keeping myself top of mind. That's what I can control.

I’m saying what we do doesn’t always have the effect we want it to have. But we still have to do it. Because taking action is better than not taking action. And eventually something will happen -- and usually all at once!

The best thing to do is learn to tolerate the ups and downs. Stop wanting things to happen immediately -- they don't!

You may experience this as feast or famine and it certainly doesn't have to be that. You can smooth it out (with regular marketing) so that the waves are less wavy.

But it's unlikely to ever be smooth. Even if you have steady clients with retainers and long term contracts. Things are constantly changing and you must be prepared when they do. 

Make sense?