by Sometimes, I disgust myself.
Last week on January 2nd, I went back to work refreshed from the holiday break, if a little travel-weary…
(I spent Christmas/new year between Berlin, Paris, London and Brighton, much of it on planes, trains and autom- rail-replacement buses)
…and, let’s be honest, slightly heavier after the holiday excesses.
So on Jan 2nd at the crack of 9 (I’m no early riser, never was, never will be) I started walking to my co-work space for the first time in 2019.
It was cold. It was windy.
It began snowing, just a little at first.
Then the weather decided to show me who’s boss.
The snow quickly turned to sleet, powered by the freezing Berlin winter wind and whipping horizontally into my face.
It was so cold I may have seen a White Walker.
Anyway, I leaned into the snow and pressed on, glad of the extra layer of warmth the festive period had added to my, er, ‘writer’s physique’.
When I got to the office half an hour later, I looked like a polar explorer.
With melting snow dripping from my flushed face, I slumped into my seat to start work for the first time this year.
To anyone watching, this would have looked like a pretty dismal picture.
But not this time. This time, something was different…
I thought back to this day in past years, when I would return reluctantly to whatever J.O.B. I had at the time, hating it and feeling like the Xmas holidays had just been a stay of execution.
(Maybe you know the feeling.)
In fact, I’ll even admit there were a couple of times when I experienced the back-to-work blues even after I’d started my own biz.
But not this year.
This year, I realised with a mixture of pride, contentment and downright disgust, that I’d become one of those awful people who LOVE going back to work in January.
I admit it:
I disgust myself.
Here I was, wet through, shivering, bleary-eyed in a near-empty office (ok, a pretty comfy workspace library with couches) on January 2nd…
…and absolutely loving it.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve always avoided colleagues and co-workers who look too cheery in the first week of the year.
I regard them with side-eye suspicion the same way I view happy-clappy ‘gurus’ like Tony Bobbins, or couples in matching Christmas jumpers…
Relentless positivity just ain’t my bag, and I’m ok with that.
Yet here I was, so keyed-up to get back to my client work and personal projects, to check my inbox (seriously! What is wrong with me?) and take my first Zoom call of the year, I even forgot to make my morning coffee.
WHAT KIND OF MONSTER STARTS WORK ON JANUARY 2ND WITHOUT EVEN NEEDING COFFEE?!?
Like I said, I’m disgusting.
So maybe this year, the NYBs (new year blues) just forgot to pay me a visit…
Or perhaps it’s because last year I made a key change to my business:
I reconfigured the way I work, and the way I communicate the value of my work around what makes me unique.
And I started playing to my strengths instead of simply doing what was expected of me as ‘a copywriter’.
(This refocusing is part of what I help others to do now too.)
Anyway, I really do feel great about what this year has in store for my biz, AND yours…
January can be a pretty difficult time for a lot of people – even if you’re lucky enough to have your own biz to run, and good people around you.
(Yes, that’s true even if you’re solopreneuring it up in toasty Chang Mai or sunny Medellin or wherever.
Watch out for those NYBs, they don’t need visas to pay you a visit.)
Developing my Selling Unique process and then working on its first projects in 2018 – helping some great businesses better communicate their unique awesomeness along the way – has given me a drive and enthusiasm I never had at this time of year before.
This January, I’m ready…
I’m ready to help growing businesses like yours bridge the gap to your best prospects and connect more deeply with them using messaging that generates long-term trust.
I’m ready to help startups and small biz-owners strengthen their core message and make more sales to people who need their products.
I’m ready to help consultants, course owners and solopreneurs uncover what really sets them apart from the ‘competition’, and to communicate that to their ideal clients and customers.
But if that sounds like something you’d like to start your year off with, here’s something to bear in mind::
I’m about to raise my fees. But not before ‘Blue Monday’.
Whazzat?
Blue Monday is the third Monday in January…
It’s considered by many to be the most depressing day of the year due to a ‘perfect storm’ of NYBs, long dark nights and the arrival of unpaid credit card bills (yikes).
So as a tribute to ‘The Most Depressing Day Of The Year’ and a fond reminder of my pre-Selling Unique grumpy old self, I’m holding off on the new year’s fee-hike…
…but only until Monday January 21st 2019.
So if you’d like help getting some new sales messaging in place for a higher-converting 2019, or you just want to hop on a call with me to finally get some clarity in your biz’s core message for attracting customers…
Now’s the time to take action.
Check here, here and here for some ways to get help from disgustingly-energised (even without caffeine!) upbeat 2019 Pete…
But at incredible-value 2018 prices.
All applications received before ‘Blue Monday’ (January 21st) will be eligible for the old rates, regardless of when we start work.
Here’s wishing you a disgustingly-happy new year too!
