You're Ahead of 99% If You Can Answer These Two Questions

Hi Reader,

I was in Yellowstone National Park this past week, on my first real vacation in five years, celebrating my 30th birthday.

Internet was awful, couldn't check my emails, and no one could get in touch with me. It was awesome. Truthfully, I LOVED not being needed.

You may recall (or if not, I'll catch you up) that a big part of my story is working in Yellowstone as a seasonal housekeeping employee. It was the thing that kicked off everything:

Yellowstone → Book → Marketing → Entrepreneurship

It was my first real solo adventure as a young 20-year-old where, similarly to my most recent trip there, it was impossible for me to have been bothered by external obligations -- family, friends, duties, making good impressions, playing a "role"...

Living in such a remote place, even for just a few months, means you're responsible for your own "you-ness".

What do you actually care about?

What kind of person do you want to be?

In my case, I came back with a very new coming-of-age story that I could only think to channel into a book. I'm not saying it's the world's greatest book or that it's even good at all, but it was a huge personal accomplishment for me.

Further, it opened up a new interest of mine I didn't know I had: book publishing. In pursuit of my own goal, I had no choice but to learn everything I could about the industry to secure my own version of success.

At the same time I was working on my book, I got a job through a friend at a marketing agency, launching nonfiction books for entrepreneurs for a while. That became an even newer interest of mine.

And at the same time I was doing both of those things, I was publishing a lot of what I was learning on Instagram and YouTube. Even developed a bit of a small, niche following.

Finally, after a handful of what I like to call "micro-pivots" and some light rebranding, I decided to channel all that effort into what has now become Onwardbound Marketing, a six-figure marketing agency where I continue to work with entrepreneurs on launching products for their audiences, not just books.

It takes a LOT of work to launch anything successfully the first time -- a book, a career, a third decade of life. In order to do that, you have to ask yourself:

What is it that you actually care about?

What kind of person do you want to be?

If you don't know, you should get familiar. If you do, you're ahead of 99% of the people I talk to. The most successful brands I work with all have a sense of direction, even if they're lost in the right direction.

You have to know what that means for you.

That's for the next two weeks, when I see you again. Until then...

Onward,

Lauren Erickson
​Founder & CEO of Onwardbound Marketing​
​I help smart people make money from what they already know.