You Will Fail

1 Tip (For Growing Online)

I was a “dumb” kid. I had…

• a speech impediment

• was painfully shy; and

• really struggled w/ school

The “enrichment” kids were pulled out of class once a week to go to another school and live that Montessori life.

I was pulled out of class once a week to go to the library and pronounce words correctly…

for stickers.

It was painfully obvious — to me and all the other kids in the class — which kids were “smart” and which kids were “dumb”.

And, whether I was cautious of it or not, I wore that label for a very long time.

Eventually, I found the “hack” that allowed me to navigate school successfully.

An arduous, 6-step, studying process that proved that I may actually be “smart” (by academic standards).

I simply had to work harder than anyone else to realize it.

So that’s what I did.

I worked harder, I became a “high achiever”, and people started to notice me, in both school and sports.

The attention fed my work ethic, but it also fed my

• Perfectionism

• Negative internal voice

• Lack of self-compassion

I started navigating the world to reverse engineer “success” and completely limit “failure”.

My focus was on “not losing”, instead of “winning”.

Because…

I was never going to be that “dumb” kid again.

And then I became an entrepreneur.

If you’re a high-achiever, it’s likely you also hate failing.

Perhaps you’re also navigating the world in a way that limits risks, bad decisions, and missteps.

I get it and don’t blame you for those fears.

Problem is…

You’re working really hard against an inevitability.

YOU WILL FAIL… MANY TIMES.

Because failure is a reality of human existence.

And, if you’re an artist, creative or founder, failure is a reality of your daily life.

I wish I could tell you it gets easier the more you do it. But that hasn’t been my experience.

Each time has sucked just as much as the last.

So, as you head into this week, take this 1 tip with you…

You are not entitled to success and failure is inevitable.

• Accept this

• Actively try to fail more; and

• Slowly get comfortable with these realities.

Because web3 (and the world!) needs what you’re building.

Even if your fear of failure has you thinking otherwise.

BONUS: here are a couple of my notable failures

• I spent years and thousands of dollars building tech products that didn’t solve anyone’s problems

• I left my wife in Toronto the year we got married to move to New York and help a friend run his ailing company, only to leave a year later with nothing

• I invested 3 years and close to $100,000 into a business that shut its doors in June 2020 because of its multitude of inadequacies

Here’s my post about the last one:

2 Tools (To Help You Get Efficient)

At INTENTIONAL. our philosophy on daily content creation is three-fold:

1. keep it simple

2. post consistently

3. maximize efficiency w/ tech

These things are a must if our small team is going to deliver high-quality results for our clients.

So, here are two of my favourites tech tools this week:

1) beehiiv: an all-in-one newsletter platform that lets you easily create, monetize and scale your newsletter.

• How we use it: it’s the very platform that I use to create and distribute INTENTIONAL. AF to you every Sunday.

• Costs: Launch (free, up to 2,500 subscribers), Grow ($49/month), Scale ($99/month)

2) Savvycal: a scheduling tool helping you find optimal times to meet with others. Think Calendly - but better.

• How we use it: book client meetings, find availability among various people, as a key part of our sales funnel, et al.

• Costs: Free, Basic ($12 USD/month), Premium ($20 USD/month)

Note: these are not sponsored or affiliate recommendations. Just tech we use and like.

Catch the INTENTIONAL. AF podcast for more tips and tools. Each week we do a LIVE brand audit of some of the biggest projects and companies in Web3! In Ep. 02 we dive into Degen Toonz.

3 Tweets (With Gems From Me & Others)

Here are some of my favourite tweets from this past week:

1) Lauren Joseph: proving there’s no “one way” to build a personal brand, here.

2) Clint Murphy: reminding us to get out of our own fucking way, here.

3) ME: reminding ya’ll to make sure you get PAID for your time, here.

That’s all! Keep pushing this week and remember…

you got this 💪 

I’ll be back next Sunday,

kristina, with a “k”

P.S.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: We recently launched the INTENTIONAL AF. Podcast; your go-to resource to elevating your brand in Web3. Every Wednesday we’re dropping brand + marketing reviews, tech tool recommendations, and 1 personal brand tip you can implement TODAY! Check us out on YouTube and Spotify and, if it provides value, please give us a like and subscribe.

#2: 1:1 Coaching: I help 2-3 high-potential artists, creators, and founders build their online brands quicker with my 1:1 paid coaching service each month. If you think this is you, respond to this email for more details.

#3: Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for even more tips, tools, and tweets to help you grow your bada*s brand.

P.P.S

• I’m Canadian. There will be extra “u”s, double “l”s, and more. This is not a mistake. It’s willful.

• I’m Queer. A mother, a wife, and an advocate for equity of all people, not just Queer folks. Openly, and without filter, sharing the journey of building my personal brands means being authentically me.

• I’m living with mental illness. I’ve been in psychiatric care for depression since I was 12 (I’m now 39). My experiences with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, panic attacks, and ADHD shape my perspective.

If any of the above isn’t for you, please unsubscribe.