Three years ago, on Valentine’s Day, I hit the publish button on the first iteration of Kuel Life.
That proverbial moment, I wasn’t the actual person to hit any such button, was both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time.
What If?
“What if my baby is ugly?”
Like a freight train, “What ifs” raced through my mind. “What If” no one visits the site; the site breaks; no one finds value in my years-long effort? “What if my baby is ugly?”
And let me tell you, that by comparison to what you see today, my baby WAS ugly. Kuel Life 1.0 was built by me. If you’re asking yourself “Is Jack technical?” The resounding answer is NOT AT ALL. But here’s the deal, I was so compelled to move forward with my vision that I basically felt I didn’t have much of a choice. So I cobbled together, with the aid of YouTube, Google, and buckets of tears, a functioning live URL.
Was it ready on February 14th 2018? Turns out it was ready –– enough.
At the time, I was the only content contributor. The content was sparse. There was no shop. It was a gangly skeleton of a much richer, only in my head, vision. I had no Instagram followers, no Facebook Page likes. Hard to have those when you don’t even have an account.
The Art Of Can-Kicking:
I coined a term back then when my friends and family would ask how it was going with my new venture. “I kicked the Kuel Life can down the street a bit further today”, I replied. Seriously, that’s what it felt like –– a seemingly fruitless game of can-kicking towards a non-visible goal, in some far away land.
I did not spend much time thinking about or measuring myself against a goal. In all honesty, three years ago I didn’t really know what my goal was. Once again, I just knew the general direction.
Kuel Life originated from a self-serving place. I was incredibly frustrated by my quickly disappearing visibility. Playing small is not my strong suit. Where were all the women that looked like me? How come I didn’t see them in any of the media forms I consumed? Living quietly for any extended period of time, much less 25 or 35 years, is unacceptable. I know this to be true for many women.
Am I special? No, not really. I promise; if I can do this, so can you. There’s nothing magical or particularly unusual about my skills or talents. Curiosity, a willingness to be frustrated, uncomfortable, and the patience to teach yourself is all one needs.
Here’s what I know to be true after four years. Four, because I’ve actually been working on Kuel Life for that long. No one goes from idea to execution in a hot minute.
Don’t Wait To Be Perfect –– Just Start:
“This is worth repeating… I am not special.”
We are ever evolving. Every part of us –– our mindset, our desires, our bodies, our relationships, our businesses. Every part of our life is constantly morphing. If we wait for perfection we remain paralyzed. Something is better than nothing. Something, at its best, gives us a building block. At its worst, something let’s us know what doesn’t work. Which is just as useful as knowing what does.
This is worth repeating… I am not special. I did not have a perfectly thought out, five-year, plan for this Kuel Life adventure. The truth is, I still don’t. Ssshh, don’t tattle on me. What do I have? I have a compass, a general direction, an ever-growing tribe of like-minded women, and a willingness to publish. Which means sometimes I fail publicly. However, I know in my heart that this will ensure I don’t perish.
