It’s time that we face the danger of too many options and unlimited time.
This might be the first day on your independent journey of self-employment. Or maybe you’re figuring out how to schedule your side hustle around your day job. Well, you’re here, so the term multi-disciplinary must trigger some fireworks in your brain. And that my friend, is most excellent.
The romanticized joy of entrepreneurship. Combine it with the unrestrained creative or business mind… pure bliss, right?
At first, maybe. But if you have ever stared into a white canvas with a paintbrush, you know the absolute terror of starting. And if you have a palette of colors the size of a…
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The gatekeepers are out to lunch. It’s time to get started.
If you talk with anyone who launched an online business before 2010, you’ll likely be told that it was challenging and expensive. Reaching people was clunky and cumbersome. Certain tech or apps that we take for granted now weren’t even in their infancy.
But more to the point: it was risky.
There are only so many factors in your control. And the human element, especially that of a customer or audience, is absolutely not one of them.
But startup and marketing costs, along with the ease of doing it yourself; have drastically changed in difficulty. …
PRODUCTIVITY
Keep your momentum and reach that launch date.
How exciting is the process of kicking off a new project? Better yet, a completely new business venture or professional direction? The epiphany that this new idea is hotter than free street tacos on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
You grab a piece of paper. No, wait, a fresh Google doc.
The ideas come pouring out. Branding. Sketches of logos. Arrows of those first few steps you plan to take. You feel like Will Hunting after a few coffees, scratching down the secret to time travel on a giant chalkboard.
I bet you’re familiar with the feeling of eating too much…
COMMUNICATION
Learning to be empathetic instead of angry.
If you have grown up as a digital native or even as an ‘old’ millennial like me, you’ve experienced being ghosted. Socially. Professionally. At some point, someone has seemingly left mid-conversation and dropped off the Earth. Or at least, it would seem as such.
This has become very commonplace in the online/app dating world. To the point where it surprises no one. Or rather, that’s what most of us want to believe.
But there’s a line in the sand between social and professional circumstances. One being annoying-yet-expected. And the other, the one that relates to your livelihood, is unacceptable.
There…
INSPIRATION
Jump into the deep end while no one is watching.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“You’ll never make any money doing that.”
“People are going to laugh when they find out.”
“What business do you have in that world anyway?”
Do any of these sound familiar? If you’ve ever packed your professional or emotional bags and walked into the unknown — I bet you have.
And those quotes? They’re not from strangers. They’re not from people we know. Those deterrents are almost always from our own inner voice.
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
— Seneca
Once again, Seneca coming in hot with the truth. Nearly two…
MENTAL HEALTH
It’s not you. It’s all of us.
Returning to our social lives after a pandemic has been anything but easy. Putting aside all the concerns about safety and health, there’s a real taxing of energy that has come with it.
Many of us have realized that seeing friends and family, or hosting visitors can be draining. Sure we’re all happy to do it again.
Yet, after an afternoon being around friends again, I'm down for the count. Like a mental hangover. Many others have shared the same with me.
Have we forgotten how to be social?
Are we all introverts now?
There are various studies picking apart…
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A reminder to read the fine print before signing.
Imagine for a moment, that you live on an island. Not deserted but not a bustling metropolis either. Just a small little village of people. Kind of like the cities in The Walking Dead where everyone has banded together to start fresh. (Without the zombies.)
One day you decide that the rules of the village are too restrictive. You’ve finally had enough. It’s time to get in your boat and hustle on over to an empty island nearby.
You’ll make your own rules. No one can tell you what to do. Total freedom.
As you’re chopping down small trees for…
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Stop trying to be everything you can—all at once.
Do you remember those gameshows from years past where people stepped inside a clear box full of cash blowing around? Different countries, different currencies but all around the same experience. They had to grab as much as they could in a set amount of time — the potential was limitless. Or at least that’s what they were told.
Almost like clockwork, the person would walk out with handfuls of cash, happy about their giant score. But looking back, there was 90% of it left on the floor of the box.
If only they grabbed a few more.
This is the…
Welcome to the Westbound Creative.
It finally happened. Imposters Inc. has been given a new name, evolved direction, and a dedicated content calendar.
A few years back, I launched this publication with the hopes of shedding some light on pursuing a creative career, and the battle against doubting that path. It slowly evolved into more than that, encompassing business, personal growth, and entrepreneurial articles.
And you know — I loved that. So it was time to make a revision to my plan.
Welcome to The Westbound Creative. …
ESSENTIALISM
It’s time to filter out the gold.
We all have the list. Things we love doing. Or rather, things we tell ourselves that we love and don’t always get around to doing.
Well, it’s time to stop doing them. Every. Single. One of them.
Now hear me out.
I want to share a quick method of filtering out the gold in your mental sandbox. Because you’re never going to have time to do all the things you think you love. But you can manage to make time for the stuff that matters.
I want to talk about the process of eliminating everything other than the things you…
Michael LaNasa
Writing for the lost + the found. ‣ One part entrepreneur. Two parts creative. A dash of nomadic irreverence. ✖ Here to support and inspire life-long learners.
