About

“I’m a writer.”

“I run my own writing business.”

“I run my own business from home.”

Those are some of my favorite words to say. I’m proud that I run my own business, and I use various phrases like the ones above to describe it as quickly as possible to people who ask. Normally, these conversations take place at social gatherings, such as weddings, or when I run into somebody I used to know in high school. It’s the answer to “So, what are you up to these days?”

The troubling trend

Invariably, I wind up getting the same reaction from these people: “Wow, that’s cool. I wish I could do that!” It’s amazing how often I hear that from people – or some variation of it. It disturbs me a little bit, however. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in business over the past few years, it’s that the people who are running small businesses and making money are people who are remarkably average. These aren’t brilliant rocket scientist-type people. They’re regular people who just committed their time and energy to starting and running a business. And with the power of the Internet today, we have most of the resources available to us – for free. So why aren’t more people doing it?

The meaning behind “I wish I could do that!”

When you say, “I wish I could do that!”, or “I could never [insert whatever here]…”, there are actually several interpretations that can be concluded from it:

  • “That’s too much work for me. I’d rather be lazy.”
  • “If I tried that, I would be responsible for my failure. I’m too scared. It’s safe where I am.”
  • “Do you know what people would say about me if I tried to do that?”

I think you get the idea.

We live in a world full of self-imposed limits

In various crises that I have gone through in my life, I’ve learned that limits are usually something that you place upon yourself. Once you start entertaining the idea that you can go past these limits, some absolutely life-changing things can happen. Here is just a partial list of some of the things I thought I could never do that I was able to accomplish, just in the last 5 years of my life:

  • Worked 50 hours a week between two jobs while going to college full-time
  • Flew to Taiwan (twice!)
  • Started my writing business
  • Rebuilt my writing business after crashing
  • Honeymooned in Hawaii on cash

Are these earth-shattering? Nope. But they were things that have had a profound positive effect on my life. There are things you can do, too – you just don’t. Unfortunately, in the last 100 years or so, we’ve turned into a culture that worries way too much: we worry what people will think of us, how we will look to others, and the worst things that could happen to us. All we hear (and tell) are stories of failure. We’re scared to be different.

Introducing The “I Can” Movement

The “I Can” Movement is my answer to this fear. While there are certainly things we physically cannot do (flap my arms and fly, for example), we throw around the phrase “I can’t” too much when it doesn’t apply. Let’s strike the misuse of “I can’t” from the English language! Here at The Practical Nerd, we’re going to bind ourselves together in the fight against fear and risk. We’re going to change those “I can’t” thoughts into confident bursts of “I can!”

Sounds a little mushy, doesn’t it? It sounds like New Age-y, affirmation crap. But this is more than just walking around saying “I can be whoever I want to be”. This is about doing things. It’s about action – putting your money where your mouth is. Less talk, more doing. Join me on the journey. I want to inspire and help you to take charge of your life and bust through those limits that you’ve set for yourself.

This is for average guys and gals

I’m not here to show you how to work from anywhere in the world. I’m not trying to help you build a business that runs on its own so you can sit on the beach. I’m not going to make you a world traveler. If you want to use this stuff to get there, that’s great – by all means. But if you have those types of lofty goals, this isn’t the place for you – and there are plenty of other sites on the Internet for you to follow that can help you do that. The Practical Nerd is for the day-to-day stuff. It’s for taking control of your life and being more than just an average person. Average sucks.

How to join The Movement

If you want to support and join The “I Can” Movement, click “Home” at the top of the page, and then start following us. You can subscribe to this site via RSS and you can become an active supporter of The Movement by signing up for our email series on the right side of the page. Then click “Contact” to drop me a line. I’m happy to reply to anyone reaching out.

First time here? See the stuff I’ve recommended for you to read, or look in the right sidebar on the home page for my guest posts from around the Web. Below are a few of my favorite posts that can get you started with us here:

This world is full of enough boundaries. Instead of looking around and seeing things that you can’t do, start finding things that you can do. They’re your boundaries. Break them.

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