Why You Want To Build A Body Of Work (vs. Take Whatever Comes Your Way)

“A body of work is big and deep and complex. It allows you to experiment and play and change and test.” Pamela Slim in Body Of Work: Finding The Thread That Ties Your Story Together

Building a body of work can sound crazy intimidating when you’re in the early stages of building your expertise business.

And yet, the sooner we start committing to something bigger than selling the next project, the faster (and higher) our revenue line tends to grow.

Building a body of work means that:

You decide who and what matters enough to you that you’ll persevere when it gets hard (because at some point, it always gets hard).

You say no to the things that will take you sideways from your mission (or beat a hasty retreat when you suddenly realize you’re on the wrong path).

You give yourself the grace to experiment without feeling like you have to know all the answers (because who ever does?).

You decide what “work” means (maybe part of your work is a beautiful garden or raising good humans).

You align yourself with kindred spirits where you bring out the best in each other (remember those projects where you were on fire—those are your people).

It doesn’t mean you have it all figured out when you start.

Because if everyone waited till we knew with certainty, we’d still be sitting there on the sidelines, impacting no one.

Building a body of work—one that impacts the world you care most about—is a noble calling. It will help you minimize regrets and maximize your influence.

But it’s also a way to steadily grow a business that feeds you—in revenue and impact.

All it requires is asking yourself one question before committing: How likely is it that this _______ (client, ally, project, idea, content, community, path) will make me proud—even years from now—that I said yes?

It’s a long game, but one definitely worth playing.

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