Risk nothing, risk everything

Hey 480+ friends, it’s Hannah here from Quoted Visually!

Welcome to another issue of Floating Thoughts where I share an insight, image and personal update every week or two. I’m still deciding the most sustainable frequency 😊

Dramatic or not, our lives will be defined by our ability to take calculated risks.

When was the last time you took a risk?

Leaving my 9-5 to pursue Quoted Visually might have looked risky.

But the opportunity cost of not following through became too high. It felt risker to stay.

Comfort meant inaction. I was fixated on action.

When we reach this point, we know we will do anything it takes to make the dream happen.

In a nod to Zach Pogrob, we might call this positive obsession. But even when we arm ourselves with the right attitude, is the journey easy? No!

Regress to progress

We have to be willing to deal with the instability before we find stability again.

Just like when we tidy at home, the place gets messier before it gets tidy again.

As Steven Bartlett writes in his book, like spider monkeys, we must let go of a weaker branch in order to gain the speed needed to propel ourselves forward to a stronger place.

A quest for creative fulfilment, financial security and freedom in our schedules, comes at a temporal cost to our free time.

In many cases, the responsibility of starting a business is high, but so is the potential reward.

Walking the messy path of discomfort, and embodying fear and bravery at once can yield beautiful results.

So whether you are dipping your toes in the world of entrepreneurship or happily striving forwards in your job, or both, will you choose to stay stagnant or grow and evolve?

The power is quite literally in our hands.

💡 Inspiration

Ali Abdaal has been dropping some value-packed podcasts recently on his podcast, Deep Dive, in particular, this one from Sahil Bloom is worth a listen.

One idea that really stuck out to me: ‘smart work’ precedes ‘hard work’.

This is to say that, first we have to spend time:

• exploring the map

• saying yes to lots of things

• developing the know-how

• learning where to find the gold.

Before we can ‘work smart’, get to the gold and navigate the landscape more efficiently.

I find this idea compelling, especially as an entrepreneur myself. The road isn’t easy. We have to be willing to look after ourselves but also put in the hours and not feel like hard work is ‘above us’.

Rewards will come if we play the long-term games!

⚙️ Resources

A lovely chatty lady at my local swimming pool mentioned the Association of Illustrators (AOI) to me. I can’t help but share.

If you are creating your own illustrations, like myself, and need some guidance navigating your freelance projects, then look no further:

They have some FREE resources on their website or you can do what I did and sign up for an annual membership where they run a helpline and offer additional resources.

Freelancing is less risky and less stressful when we are supported!

(and nope this is not sponsored in any way)

🗞️ Update

Since taking some time off posting on social media, I have been enjoying the clarity of letting the dust settle.

I finally feel like I am getting the ball rolling with some of the projects that matter to me, rather than just cycling over in a self-created spinning wheel.

Here are some snaps from my recent walks:

Since April, I have been immersing myself in the world of online meetings and creating templates for the lovely Metro Retro.

Visual metaphors serve as prompts to run retrospectives and icebreakers with the added fun of virtual sticky notes and more. You can check out or use a couple of my templates below:

1.

2.

I’ve also collaborated with Brunello Gianella, who is an expert in the field of intrinsic motivation.

What I love about the freelance journey is that clients become our mentors:

That’s a wrap. Thanks for being here!

Feel free to reply to this email if you have any questions, requests or feedback. I will respond at my earliest opportunity.

Big love,

Hannah aka Quoted Visually x

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