The Hardest Step

Let me get this joke out of my system:

The hardest step for me is any step over 4cm tall.

(… because I have mobility impairments. This is me explaining the joke, a guaranteed way to make it unfunny.)

The hardest step to take in any endeavor is the first one. I tend to spend entirely too much time in the thinking stage without ever getting to the doing stage. There are a few different factors at play: fear of judgment, indecision, the sheer chaos of my life, financial issues, and plain old ordinary procrastination. I have, however, successfully overcome all those things in the past, so I am already at an advantage when it comes to taking on new challenges because I know what works for me.

My current challenge is that I want to start a digital media business. I say “digital media” rather than “content creation” because I am open to several things beyond social media, blogging, podcasting, and making videos, although those things are likely where my media empire will start. Why? I am the creative sort, so the work will be challenging, interesting, and often fun for me. More importantly, I have disabilities that require a remote work environment and flexibility. A lot of remote jobs lack the flexibility I am looking for, and I have noticed that the pay for remote jobs I can find is not keeping up with the pay available for on-site jobs in my area. This seems like a good time to take advantage of having a small amount of income from disability benefits to take my shot at the big time.

The first step is to determine what the first step (after that first first step) should be. After consideration and research, I realize that the first thing I need to do is to find my niche. I spent a lot of my life scattered, trying a lot of different things because I have so many interests and ideas. The advice I have found from many successful people is to pick one thing and get really good at it. Being unfocused clearly doesn’t work, so let’s try focus.

Time to tackle step one. What’s your step one?