I DON'T ALWAYS FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE.

rusticsimpledesign
Jul 21
3 min read

When I first started helping other small business owners, I had this nagging fear in the back of my mind…what if I’m a fraud? Because, confession... I don’t always follow my own advice. Let me explain. You’ve probably heard the phrase “hindsight is 20/20.” It’s that moment when everything clicks into place, after the fact. Or the 30,000-foot view, where you can see what someone else can’t because you’re not stuck in the day-to-day details. That’s what it’s like when someone gives you good advice from the outside looking in. They’re not in the weeds with you. They can see things more clearly.

wrong way sign shows that it's ok to change your systems when building a passive product business

That’s where I was when I built the frameworks for my membership. The steps poured out of me like divine instruction. I wasn’t in the middle of the chaos. I was standing back, seeing the big picture. And I created a system that made sense. It was simple, flexible, and it worked. Most importantly though, I designed it to be editable. You could follow it step-by-step or make it your own. That was the point. I knew us creative people all speak a similar yet completely different language when it comes to how our brain is organized. So I needed a simple system that could be adjusted to suit any of us.

It felt so clear when I was the guide. Fast forward to me, walking the walk instead of just talking the talk. (Go ahead and cue the dramatic music… dun dun dunnn.)

Members started asking to see my process, start to finish. So I said, “Absolutely!” But the minute I started hitting record, I felt that imposter syndrome creeping back in. Because I realized something- I don’t follow my own system exactly anymore. I’ve adjusted things. Tweaked steps. Sometimes, I’ve even thrown the whole thing out the window and just followed my gut.

Which shouldn’t be a problem, right? I literally created the system to be flexible. But still, I caught myself worrying: what if this makes the system look broken? what if people wonder why I adjusted my own system? will this make me look like a fraud?

But then I had a palm to the forehead moment.

I was talking to a member, explaining how she could take what works and leave the rest. That these tools were meant to serve her, not box her in. That action matters more than perfection.

Uh-huh, you hear it too, right? I realized I wasn’t giving myself that same grace. So instead of letting that fear paralyze me, I went ahead and filmed my process and talked about how I adjusted the framework for this project. And the results were so encouraging. Seeing me shift the system in real-time actually helped them more than if I’d stuck to the script. It gave them permission to make it their own, too. And that’s when I saw it clearly: You don’t have to do things perfectly to be helpful. You don’t have to follow every step to the letter. You just have to keep going.

I recently watched an artist talk through her design process. She kept apologizing, saying, “I’m so new and I'm sure there’s a better way to do this.” But the whole time, I was thinking, I love this. I love seeing how she decided to bring her art to life. I was so inspired by the choices she made. But we all have those moments where we second-guess ourselves wondering why anyone would care to see how we are doing a particular thing. But interestingly, through all the content I've consumed and analytics I've watched- I noticed that mostly, people are curious. They want to see how you came up with an idea or how you chose your art medium or why you chose the color palette you did.

Your path doesn’t have to look polished or perfectly planned, in fact with the rise of AI, people prefer the messier parts. (which is making my perfectionist brain a little on edge if I'm being honest. I much prefer to present the completed package not the messy middle.) But my point is that we’re each just trying to bring something to life that feels meaningful. And that means your systems, your creative mess, your weird little shortcuts, they’re all important.

So no, I don’t always follow my own advice to the letter. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe the best advice is the kind that leaves room for change. And maybe giving yourself grace is part of the system, too.

Warmest regards,