Bet on Yourself by Sarah Turner
This blog was supposed to be my “Books and Podcasts” for the month, but I am still in the thick of the book (it is so good!) and I want to share what I have gained from it so far.
This is my third year in my entrepreneurial journey, and as one does, I’ve hit a bit of a wall. My website is up, the brand is established, I’ve got a regular newsletter with dedicated readers. And yet I feel as though I have no idea what I’m doing. I still feel underqualified, unskilled, and as though I am throwing shit at the wall.
In the most auspicious sense, this book could not be more full-circle. “Bet on Yourself” is written by Sarah Turner, who is actually responsible for you reading this right now. Sarah’s signature program, Write your Way to Freedom, is what piqued my interest in copywriting and how I took my first steps as a wannabe copywriter.
Purchasing her book and it being YET AGAIN the perfect tool for where I am in this journey is actually insane. And I can't wait to tell y'all about it.
And something else sort of cool happened in the middle of chapter 2: I had taken a break to start digesting what I’d read so far, and I opened a notepad that I've had unused for several months. But I had to pause, because despite never having used it, at the top of that first page, in my signature purple ink, is a number. “8844 8844.”
It's not my handwriting, but to my knowledge nobody I've known has had access to this notepad, it being buried under my desk forever.
Curious. I know I sat there for at least a minute staring dumbly at the numbers, trying to compute how exactly they got there. And then it occurred to me to look them up.
So I plugged the sequence and the words “angel number” into Google, and L O L
“More than just a comforting sign, 8844 is a powerful spiritual number that signals renewal, healing, and a redefinition of prosperity,” said one site.
Another one: “The message of the 8 and 4 combination is that an important phase of your life is about to end. Your angels want you to know that as things change they are helping to guide you to a new situation better suited to your needs, desires and soul purpose. This may be pertaining to a work/income issue or situation. You will be glad for the outcome.”
And can I just say how uncanny this timing is. I love it when the universe does this, it always a reassurance and validation of the moment.
“Bet On Yourself” literally JUST told me about the power of trusting in your desire for freedom and change in our freelance journeys. And the ironic part is, I am exactly where this book says I might be right now: knowing I want change, being hungry enough to go for it, yet still wildly uncomfortable with adding "entrepreneur" to my identity.
I don’t really feel like one. I’m still working my 9-5, and I'm not raking in benjamins like I thought I would three years in. Granted, 2 of those years were spent learning and establishing the vision, but still! Why am I not a millionaire by now?
The more I read, the more I realize: Sarah says the thing that you’re scared to say out loud. How embarrassing and cringe it feels to label yourself a business owner before you’ve even made a dollar, or admitting that you’re having an identity crisis but feel the need to keep it under wraps for the sake of others watching. Which is exactly where I am currently.
She also says the things that you really needed to hear today. She sprinkles affirmations of gentle truths throughout chapter 3, making the book as much of a practice as it is motivation and validation. The rest of the book contains prompts and journaling opportunities, so it feels very involved and interactive.
Reflecting on a lot of the questions made me realize how much of my “business” issues were wrapped up in an identity crisis. Like Sarah says, “. . .personal growth is your secret weapon for business growth. . .”
As entrepreneurs, our business is usually a cornerstone in our lives. It’s wrapped up in our mornings, noons and nights. It’s all too easy for work and “real life” to overlap when you run your business from home, so doesn’t it make so much sense that healing the self might work out kinks in your biz?
Another thing I really love about this book is how Sarah is talking directly to YOU. You don’t feel like she’s on a podium preaching truths; “Bet On Yourself” feels like coffee with a friend. It’s sisterhood and community without the “holier than thou” attitude you get from common broprenuers.
She calls it your “testosterone free guide” for a reason! Even though she’s a medical copywriter (and has the facts to back it up!) Sarah encourages you to cultivate a relationship with your intuition, even if from a scientific standpoint. There is evidence that intuitive action and affirmations make tangible, compounding change and harnessing that superpower is far more valuable than any get-rich-quick scheme Chad could boast unto you.
“When you imagine that something is true, you create a neural pathway toward that truth” (pg. 62). It’s not all just hocus pocus. You can literally hijack your brain into a reality that you want to live, and you should. It’s those molehills that finally add up to a mountain, and you’re at the top without feeling like you sprinted up Everest.
This book is making me feel like I finally understand my own brain. I can differentiate between who I thought I needed to be, and how to approach it as the entrepreneur I actually want to be. For any business owner who feels as though there isn't enough time in the day for anything other than survival mode, Sarah reminds you that less is more, and life is only worth living when you live it. This book is your permission to take your life back and stop standing in your own shadow. And as we step into Sagittarius Szn, I can’t recommend this book enough if you are also at a point where you are doubting the process or getting lost in the “shoulds” of owning a business.
“You get to decide what entrepreneurship looks like to you.” As in, babe its YOUR business. Hustle culture isn’t the way anymore. 80-hour work weeks aren’t going to make you more money- in fact, Sarah argues that its actually making you less.
If you read this book or if you don’t I want you to take one thing away from this: take one small step towards that identity shift today. Small shifts compound into big ones and I KNOW you are dreaming big. Because at the end of the day, entrepreneurship isn’t a title you earn; it’s an identity you grow into. And I’m finally growing in the right direction.
<3 Ryan
