Why You Need to Struggle at First to Succeed Later

Hey Friend!

Today’s conversation is about why you need to struggle at first to succeed in the end.

If you flashback with me to 2016, I was on the struggle bus! I had recently lost everything in my network marketing business and was stumbling in the dark, with no idea how I would redeem myself as an entrepreneur.

At first, I wrote weird blogs on subjects like how to style your mantle. The other day my husband said, “Look what popped up on my Facebook feed.” It was a not-so-subtle reminder of that wonderful time when I was throwing spaghetti at the wall and struggling.

My first YouTube video was extremely awkward too – it’s unlisted so don’t try looking for it. When my son saw it, he laughed hysterically at me. It was so bad!

Here’s the point. I did struggle at first. If I had given up because my blogs were bad, my videos were awkward, and my offers didn’t take off, I WOULD NOT be where I am today.

I have failed so many times! But I’m here to share why it’s okay to be imperfect and struggle when you start. You’ll only experience success when you allow yourself to struggle at first.

Are you ready? Let’s do it.

A Billion-Dollar Example of Struggling at First

A great example of the struggle at first concept comes from Sara Blakely. She is the founder of Spanx. In her early days, Sara struggled with countless rejections. She pitched her idea to hosiery mills nationwide but nobody took her seriously.

She was constantly told that her idea was bad and her product wouldn’t sell. But instead of giving up, Sara embraced the struggle and used rejection as motivation to push forward. This is a lesson she learned as a child.

At the dinner table, her father would ask her, “What did you fail at today?” He taught her to view failure not as negative, but as a stepping stone toward growth and eventual success.

Sara reframed rejection and stumbling blocks as necessary parts of the journey. From her failed beginnings, Sara went on to create a billion-dollar business! Isn’t that amazing?

You cannot give up just because it will get hard. If it isn’t hard already, it will be. I believe you need to struggle at first so you CAN succeed. Let’s explore why in the following concepts.

Concept #1: The Power of Humble Beginnings

The first concept is the power of humble beginnings. You must have a foundation for resilience. If you took off like a rocket ship, had immediate success, and became a million-dollar earner, you would not have any resilience.

When you have a lot of success, whether financial freedom, time freedom, or leading and shepherding a team, opposition WILL come up, it’s guaranteed. You must have resilience! You must be refined by fire!

When you struggle at first with humble beginnings, it teaches you more than the easy wins would. These failures provide insights that you would otherwise never learn. I believe that creativity and growth also come from humble beginnings.

A Struggle at First Keeps You Humble: Take Me For Example

If you look at the first year of my podcast, it was messy. I was all over the place.

• I talked about a lot of weird things
• I stumbled over my words
• I wasn’t niched in
• I had bad art

It wasn’t great. Because I did struggle at first, it taught me how to become a great speaker. I learned how to dive deeper into content. Now it’s like second nature to me. I’ve been able to refine my craft. Trying and failing will be the greatest teacher you could ask for.

Concept #2: Develop a Learn By Doing Mindset

The second concept is to have a learning-by-doing mindset. Taking imperfect action will lead to progress and learning. Hear me again. Imperfect action leads to progress and learning.

The first time I created an offer, it was terrible. It was a weird Facebook course. I didn’t even have a platform to host it on. It was in a Facebook group. I didn’t understand how to charge for it and didn’t have a contract. It was messy. But because I learned by doing, I got a little bit better.

One of my favorite questions is how can I become one percent better tomorrow. One percent is doable. It’s digestible.

Focusing on an outcome beyond your reach means you’ll never get there. You don’t get somewhere overnight. Taking one step at a time, you get somewhere over countless days, months, and years. Take one step at a time and partner with God through it all. Learn by doing.

Why do you need to struggle? Why is it okay to be imperfect? Because, if you wait for everything to be perfect, you’ll never start. You MUST start now even if it’s ugly.

The tendency is to wait until everything is clear and perfectly mapped out, or when you have more time.

Spoiler Alert: You’re never going to find yourself in that position. And if you do, it might be too late. I think people have fears about starting. The reality is you should fear never having the opportunity to start.

The Profitable Podcast Bootcamp Will Help You Reduce Your Struggles at First

As I’ve discussed, you will struggle at first, but I can help reduce your struggles by giving you the exact steps to create a profitable podcast.

It is possible. You can have a profitable podcast that produces steady income on autopilot – and without social. I have packaged my 5-day Profitable Podcast Bootcamp in an affordable training for you.

Over five days, you’ll get step-by-step training where you’ll learn:

• How to start and grow your online business
• How to create extra income
• How to find consistent clients
• How to make sales on autopilot from your podcast
• How to stop second-guessing yourself

You’ll also receive guided workbooks, bonuses, and extra credit. You’re going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! One of my boot campers, Melanie said, “This bootcamp was so rich in tactical content as well as heart, joy, and faith. Stef is generous with her knowledge, expertise, and giftings. Her team is so supportive. It’s been a blessed and abundant five days with mic-drop moments galore.”

Head over to Profitable Podcast Bootcamp and grab this special training today. I’ll see you there.

Concept #3: You’re Doing This for the Glory of God

The third concept is to grasp early on this isn’t about you. One of my favorite ways to reframe this fear is that I am not doing this for myself. I’m doing this for the glory of God. This way, you’re more likely to begin without worrying whether it succeeds or fails.

If you’re working for the glory of God, you‘ll have urgency. You have a GO in your spirit instead of a weight. You’re not afraid because God will help you do it. Open your mouth and He shall fill it.

Whether recording a raw podcast episode, putting a rough draft out, or getting the course going, do the thing! Even if it’s messy.

Maybe you need to forgive someone or say sorry to someone else. Maybe it’s time to take a break when you haven’t had one in forever. You have to start now even if it’s ugly. Remember, beginner-level skills will become medium and expert-level skills with time.

Concept #4: Document Your Journey

The last thing I want to talk about is the concept of documenting your journey. When you struggle at first, AND YOU WILL, it’s gratifying to know how you got to where you are.

On a recent spotlight call, I mentioned this to my Podcast to Profit students. There are so many moments I wish I had written down when it was really hard.

One of my students is going through a very challenging period. It‘s about her podcast and someone in her life dealing with something difficult. It’s what her podcast is about. It’s a very controversial topic to sit in and podcast about.

I told her to take a moment and document how you feel today. Write or record a video. It doesn’t matter what format as long as you do it. Here are some questions to ask:

• How does it feel to be in this mess today?
• How does it feel to be in tears and fear when everything’s not working?
• What are the thoughts running through your head?

Speak authentically. Even if you never think you’ll share this story, those are the things you want to document. This will allow you to look back on your journey and glean the lessons and blessings God has brought from those moments. Maybe they’re stories of redemption that have come from it. You’ll never appreciate something more than when you read it after the pain.

I Documented My Struggle at First With a Five-Year Journal

One of the ways I document my journey is with a five-year journal. Every day has a page from that year so you can see your progression in little snippets of time. The one I use is called the Levenger Luxe Leather 5-Year Journal. I love it!

The other day I opened my journal and read an entry from 2019. I won’t name the person but she’s one of the largest podcasters in the industry. She had just come out with a podcasting course. It was the same time I was launching my podcasting course, Podcast Pro University.

I wrote that I would never make it because she has a podcast course. No one will ever buy mine! I had all these negative beliefs. I should just quit and build something else. She was going to take all the sales in the world. How ridiculous of me!

It’s so fun to read those entries now and recognize it wasn’t true. It was fear and the voice of the enemy telling me to stay small rather than listen to the voice of God and push forward. God had people for me who were aligned with my values and morals. I would be a gift to their business.

I had to move! And look at what God has done! That course became Podcast to Profit, my six-month group coaching program. It’s amazing!

What if I had quit? In the beginning, I was struggling but I didn’t quit. And you can’t quit either. So document your journey and know there will be a day when your struggles are just stepping stones to where God is taking you.

You Will Struggle at First: It’s Okay to Be Imperfect When You Start

And honestly, it’s probably necessary. You’re going to struggle at first. So get out your notebook and ask yourself these questions:

• What is the ONE thing you need to do right now?
• What is the ONE you’re afraid to do?
• What is the ONE thing you’re struggling with?
• What limiting beliefs are you telling yourself over and over?

Maybe you’re telling yourself, not now or you’re not good enough.

Write down your answers and then write the next three things that must happen for you to start. You may struggle at first. You’ll probably be imperfect. And that’s okay!

As soon as you stop reading this, I want you to do the first thing. The best thing you can do is leap forward with faith and know that God will help you get there.

Be prayerful along the way, be wise, and invest in yourself. But don’t stay still and don’t stay stuck.

Before I go, I have one quick reminder to join my Profitable Podcast Bootcamp. It’s five days of deep-dive training that will help minimize your struggles.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
~Romans 15:13

Alright, friends. I hope this blessed you and I will see you again really soon.

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