Progress Report 1

3 minute read · By Warren Wong

Here’s a progress report on my journey so far. Inspiration comes and goes. Lately my motivation has been waning.

Just a few months back I was all gung-ho and couldn’t wait to get my blog up and running and breaking into YouTube.

Recently, I’ve been losing touch with that initial “fire”.

What makes us want to do something?

Is it motivation, inspiration, or pure willpower? In my opinion the answer may lay somewhere in between.

It is never black and white and no one size fits all.

What does that mean for you and I? It means that we have to continually test the waters and see what works and what doesn’t. The other option is to not try at all and that isn’t really an option.

For a while I was waking up at 430 AM and sometimes even 4 AM to write and work on my side hustle.

After writing, I would try to supplement my learning with LinkedIn Learning videos to improve my professional toolbox. Then I would get ready for a full days of work. After coming back home, I would try to get more done, whether that’s getting a bit more of my website built or looking into equipment for videos.

It was non-stop, I was making progress, but…

Is it sustainable?

I’m here to tell you that it wasn’t easy and wasn’t sustainable. I was pushing myself to catch up with the end goal in mind.

I wanted to work as fast as possible to get content out there to make up for all the “lost” time. It was when I remembered an article that Arianna Huffington, successful author and businesswoman wrote.

In her article, she talked about quite literally collapsing from sheer exhaustion and waking up in a pool of blood.

My never ending results oriented mindset. When I put my mind on a goal I want to get it done as fast as I can. With that, comes a lot of sacrifice and stress.

The past 5 months have been a whirlwind. I was able to get my blog up and running, and posted curated content on a semi-regular basis.

I’ve been able to get all my social media platforms up and running and creating content.

I had to learn how to source pictures, create a website, build an audience and much more. None of which I knew beforehand.

Related post: My Story (A inside look at the progress I made so far)

Working on this while working full time and also working on my transition plan from my current job to a new career field is also in the works.

What was I doing?

I spread myself too thin. In the past few months I flew 2500 miles each way back to NYC 3 times for family, wedding, and networking events.

Then I just flew back from Illinois for work and writing this at the airport flying back to San Diego from Ronald Reagan Airport.

Needless to say, I’m pushing myself. I have many lofty goals and sometimes I wonder what it’s all for. Is it the pursuit of money, fame, freedom?

Maybe it’s all of the above. At a certain point, after reading dozens of self development books and watching hundreds of hours of inspirational and how to videos you start to figure out what the “right” answers are for any given obstacle.

Does money make you happy? Yes, only until a certain point. What are 3 life changing habits? Go exercise, read, and eat healthy.

The answers are all out there, but why do we continually choose bad ones?

Maybe it’s human nature, maybe its lack of willpower. It’s probably something in between. I believe that if it was that simple we would all be robots. Without feelings, no wants and desires, and passionless.

So, what’s the alternative?

I’ve learned to pace myself. Can I keep up what I’ve been doing? Sure, but at what cost. It isn’t sustainable long term and it comes at a cost of my sanity. What I love doing will turn into a chore rather than my passion project.

After taking a small break, I am beginning to get back on the horse and create more content. I keep reminding myself to take it one step at a time. Progress takes time.