But this is what I do to myself every time my natural flow moves into a natural ebb and then back to flow again. I beat myself up for the ebb and almost strangle the very life out of the flow by setting some absolutely insane expectations.

I do this even though I’ve written about the art of imperfection—about failing up and embracing the bloopers. I talk a good game. But my inner taskmaster does not allow for imperfection. And so, I fired her and tried something new.

Instead of running myself ragged trying desperately to catch up, I decided to actually look at the list of tasks and see what really needed to be done. In doing so, I realized that none of it was mission critical. Yes, I would have liked to have never missed a blog post. And I confess that I thought about writing a few pieces, publishing them and changing the publication date so I could fool myself into believing that my record was unblemished. That would certainly satisfy my inner taskmaster. Checks in the boxes for everyone!

Instead, I let it go. I decided to just get back to work.

I won't say that it was easy. I was very tempted to catch up on everything and make sure that the list was done. I was tempted to live up to my own unreasonable expectations of myself. But there was something wonderfully satisfying about crossing items off the list; declaring an item finished that was never even started.

And that’s when it hit me. I had items on my list that were just not important. I didn’t have to know everything there was to know about every aspect of my business. I didn’t have to read every single newsletter that landed in my inbox. And I could capture ideas quickly and put them in a tickler file for later.

And I learned that not everything on my list was important—or even interesting.

What if you could just let go? What if you didn’t have to catch up every time you faltered? What if a nosedive off the back of the wagon didn’t mean you’d never get caught up? What if some of the things you do just aren’t necessary? I’d love to hear about your experiments in letting go. Is there something you can let go of today? Please share your thoughts, questions and experiences in the comments.

And now, here are my favorite five posts from the last few weeks. Leo Babauta challenges us to step away from our goal-driven lives and adopt a new approach. Molly Gordon shares her wisdom to help us see that our work is original and helps us to know when good is good enough. Tara Sophia Mohr invites us to join her in exploring how we respond to criticism, and why women and men react so differently. Charlie Gilkey invites us to take action so that we may dance with the Universe. Finally, Jamie Wallace reminds us how to truly connect with one another so that we can build better and stronger relationships.

Without further ado, here are my favorite five posts from the last two weeks. Jennifer Louden encourages us to claim our ability to be human magpies, collecting inspiration and cobbling it together to form part of our own story. Charlie Gilkey talks about how we show up as a project comes to an end, and why our presence at that time is so very important. Peter Shallard takes on manipulative marketing and makes the case for showing up honestly in your business. Cheryl Dolan shares some wisdom from her Platinum Presence program and gives practical advice on how to choose how you show up in any conversation. And finally, Jamie Wallace calls you to bring more of yourself and your fun to your marketing.

There is beauty in failing.

We don't often think of failure as beautiful. But if we look past our fears and insecurities and plug into who we really are, failure becomes a beautiful teacher who provides us with the opportunity to tap into the greatest parts of ourselves as we learn and grow.

Last month, I launched my very first online class. I knew what I would be offering and what I wanted those who participated to take away from the experience. I had a plan for the launch and a sales page in place. I even managed to put together a bloopers reel! I was nervous and excited and learning a tremendous amount about how to launch a new product or service.

But as the start date for the class drew near, the excitement was replaced by fear. Not a single person had signed up for my course. I failed. But even more devastating than the act of failing was the fact that I felt like a failure. I let my fears and insecurities define me and I started to doubt everything I know about myself and my business. I couldn't even market my business well enough to fill a simple class! Who was I to help others with their marketing?

But failure is always a teacher.

Just as I was about to dive head first into my own personal pity party, a phone call from a friend interrupted my dysfunctional revelry. I sang my song of woe and then we got down to brass tacks. I made three critical decisions that day:

1. I decided it was important for me to continue sending out my launch emails. I needed to finish the process; I needed to follow through on the plan.
2. I decided that I was going to run the class regardless of whether anyone signed up. I would recruit a launch team to take the course in exchange for feedback, ideas and suggestions. This would allow me to improve the course and launch an even stronger version at a later date.
3. I decided to keep going. I recommitted myself to my business and my marketing plan, to focusing on my clients, and to staying open to opportunities that would allow me to share my work with a larger audience. 

Failure is always a teacher.

Once I had made these decisions, I was able to look closer at what was working and what wasn't working with the launch of my online class. One thing was clear: I hadn't been marketing consistently or for a long enough period of time to really build and connect with my audience. And, by launching the course publicly, I was failing to honor my own process.

I launched the course because I felt behind. I kept seeing all of the classes and courses and workshops and programs being offered and felt like I wasn't keeping up with the crowd. I felt clumsy and slow. And I allowed my fears and insecurities to guide me instead of tapping into my inner wisdom and listening to what I know to be true.

What I know is that my process takes time. I like to revel in it so I can give the very best of myself. I also know that I like to test my new products and services before offering them to the world. By skipping over that step, I failed to honor myself and my process. But I also failed to honor the people I am called to serve.

The truth is that the work I do is not about me. It isn't about my fears or insecurities. It isn't about whether I'm nimble and quick and brilliant and always coming up with something new and better and faster and stronger. The work I do isn't about me; it's about being of service. And I lost sight of that in the rush to prove myself worthy.

And so, I took a step back and reconnected with my inner wisdom. I remembered what is at the very core of myself and my business and I plugged back in to my creativity and authenticity. Only then was I able to reach out for support and step back into service.

There is beauty in failing.

To fail requires that you try to do something new—something that you may or may not be able to do. To fail is to push yourself beyond what you know is possible and to experience something that is outside of your comfort zone. To fail is to grow, to experience and to live. To fail is beautiful.

When is the last time you failed to accomplish a goal you set for yourself? How did you handle it? What did you learn from that failure? I’d love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts, questions and experiences in the comments.

Below are my favorite five posts from the last two weeks. Molly Gordon gets the ball rolling by helping us change the way we look at the art of making a profit. Scott McKelvey reminds us to value our own expertise enough to speak up when a client is headed down the wrong path. Bari Tessler provides some gentle guidance to help us get in touch with the value we provide. Jamie Wallace takes a look at the connected arts of asking and giving. And Angela Wheeler reminds us that the most effective way to connect with yourself is to play!

First, identify what is holding you back. Do you have a clear idea of what you need to accomplish (build a Web presence, book speaking engagements, host a teleseminar)? Are you trying to do too many things by yourself? Are you inconsistent in your marketing efforts? All of the above?

Getting clarity on what is holding you back is critical to finding the tools and getting the training or mentoring required to take the next step forward. You’ll need an honest self- assessment or an assessment by someone knowledgeable and external to your business to tackle this step.

Next, you need to be sure that you are not operating under one or more of the three biggest misconceptions that interfere with your ability to create a workable marketing plan for your business:

The decisions that you make about what to do first, what to do next, and what not to do at all in your marketing program have a direct effect on how well you handle the challenges of your workday and how much revenue you have the potential to generate. How do you make these decisions, and have confidence in them?

By carefully and deliberately setting the marketing goals for your company, and employing good time management practices to achieve those goals.

So how do you prioritize to maximize the time that you spend on marketing?

By asking yourself the following four questions:

Let’s say you have decided that your most important marketing activity is building a robust email list to support an upcoming product launch. Your current list of marketing activities consists of attending live networking events (2½ to 3 hours twice a month), building a following on Facebook (2 hours a day), blogging three times a week (3 hours per post), and building a new website (1 hour a week). You excel at networking and have a Rolodex full of business cards; you have a decent following on Facebook; and you are getting lots of comments on your blog. You know your current website needs a new look and enhanced technical functionality (including an opt-in box) and have decided to build a new one yourself.

Looking at the four questions above and applying them to your goal of building a mailing list, one possible assessment is the following:

Under this scenario, it would make sense to prioritize the website-building activity by outsourcing it to someone who can do the job quickly and well or by reducing the time spent on Facebook and your other marketing activities and spending most of that time building the site yourself.

Finally, it is important to remember that flexibility is a key component of successful prioritization. When things don’t go as planned, you need to be able to adjust your activities accordingly while keeping your ultimate goal in mind.

What is your biggest source of online marketing overwhelm? Share it with us in the comment section below.

Below are my favorite five posts from the last two weeks. Jamie Wallace sounds the rallying cry and let's us know that there is indeed an uprising afoot! Shelley West helps us be a better friend to ourselves and advocates radical self-care. Sandi Amorim reminds us that our whole purpose is to become more fully ourselves. Jac McNeil calls out the game players, pretenders of generosity and fake friends and offers an alternative way forward for all of us. And Amy Kessel helps us take time to make space for the new story that we are writing.

Over the last several months, I have been practicing the art of imperfection. I’ve been taking chances and trying things without obsessing over whether the seed of an idea would actually work. I’ve been pushing myself out of my comfort zone and taking bigger and bigger risks.

Earlier this month as I was launching the first in my series of online courses, I decided to have a little fun with the launch and the course. I had already shot several videos for the online class, so I decided to make use of what I had formerly considered unusable material to create a bloopers reel to go out in my Valentine’s Day email.

Who Says Marketing Can't Be Fun?

Had you told me six months ago that I would do a video celebrating my mistakes, I’d have promptly declared you certifiable. At the time, I was just recovering from my first experience shooting a video for the homepage of my website and had hidden my camera away in the deep, dark corners of my closet.

But after I got over the sheer terror of being on the wrong side of the camera, I found that I actually enjoy video! I like the fact that video can showcase my quirky personality and that it allows me to just riff on an idea and say whatever is on my mind. Video is, in some ways, a lot more forgiving than the written word. It's also better suited to really showing people who we are and what we’re like.  

One of the things I love about video is that it doesn't have to be terribly polished. I’m just sitting there in front of my bookcase talking to you. Sometimes the things that pop out of my mouth surprise me. And because I find editing video to be a royal pain in the arse, I allow my videos to be more spontaneous than my writing. What you see in the video is a good representation of my usual way of interacting with the world: a little quirky, a little sassy and very definitely opinionated.  

But being seen this clearly also brought up a lot of insecurities.

I love that video showcases my quirky personality, but it was also a little frightening to put myself out there so completely. And when the video was shared widely, I was astonished! I loved the attention, marveled at the attention and shied away from the attention—all at the same time. But I kept getting positive feedback from folks who were glad to see the craziness that usually ends up on the cutting room floor! Not only did the video make people laugh, but it helped them remember that a lot of effort goes into the final, edited product and that nobody's perfect.

But then, someone noticed a typo in the opening credits. I had misspelled the name of my own company. I went from feeling incredibly empowered and happy to have taken such a risk to small and foolish. My feelings of inadequacy increased when I realized that I couldn’t simply update the video and fix the error.

I was astonished by my own reaction. One simple observation threw me into a tailspin. And then the woman who had noticed the typo told me that she thought it was an intentional, tongue-in-cheek part of the blooper reel! That’s when I realized that what I thought of as a gruesome mistake was just a different type of blooper—every bit as worthy of a laugh as my video gaffes. And so, I left it alone. Another blooper in a reel of bloopers.  

How do you embrace your bloopers, gaffes and quirks? I’d love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts, questions and experiences in the comments.

Below are my favorite five posts from the last two weeks. Christine Kane talks about identifying and attracting your ideal clients. Corinna Gordon-Barnes gives some valuable advice about the value of a day job as you build your business. Abby Kerr takes us through the five phases of brand development. Kerri Richardson tells off her monsters and shares a few tools to help you silence your inner critic. And Cigdem Kobu helps you get past the immediate fears and concerns of the present to create a vision for the future that makes your heart sing.