One of the hardest parts about being a solo-entrepreneur is that you don’t always have a person to bounce ideas off of. You have to be your own cheerleader. Every. Single Day. I’m still very early on in this journey, but within the first month of creating Fall Line Digital, I knew that in order to not jump back into a full-time corporate job, I had to be crystal clear on my vision and my “why” or else I’d quickly lose sight of what I was trying to do. I created my founding principles in which I would do business. These principals are now the playbook for my life.

And so it goes….

Fall Line Digital was created on passion and purpose. Passion for the great outdoors, communication, storytelling, connection, people, creative marketing, technology, helping people, and work/life balance. Purpose for high-quality work, a commitment to greatness and a perpetual desire to be better. These are the principles in which the company was founded;

1. Honor your commitments. Do as you say you will. This one is simple. Don’t be the one who waits for an email or phone call, but the one that follows up. Own it. Be better. Do as you say you will, and then some.

2. Perpetual vision of greatness: There are no guarantees in life. Stay positive. Know that just like the high moments are temporary, so are the low moments. Own your vision. Remind yourself daily of your vision, and don’t get caught in a rat race. Live in the moment and you let your perpetual vision guide you towards a happy and fulfilling life.

3. Growth over comfort: Take ownership in your own growth. Never settle. Find new ways to grow. Have a vision for where you want to grow and then find the training or resources to do so. The second you get comfortable is the second is a wasted moment. Find new opportunities to continue your forward momentum towards growth.

4. Believe in yourself. Don’t look outward for approval. Look inward. Use your colleagues and superiors as soundboards, but find your own confidence. Own it, and then share it with others to cultivate positivity.

5. Don’t Play Victim: Don’t feel sorry for yourself. No one owes you anything. The sooner you realize that you are responsible for your failures as well as your successes the more you will thrive. Move through the feelings of feeling sorry for yourself quickly. Repeat: no one owes you anything.

6. Find alignment: Your success is my success, as much as my success is your success. Together we are team, working towards the same goals. We’re all in this together. Whether it’s working with a team or becoming an extension of another brand’s marketing team, find the alignment that makes everything a win-win situation.

7. Communicate with your voice: Emotions, sarcasm and tone of voice are lost in written words. Pick up the phone, meet in person, walk over to someone’s desk and communicate with your spoken voice. Be clear, concise, direct, and smile.

8. Success is a poor teacher. Be okay with failure. Fail, try, fail, try again. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Failures and successful people both fail. The difference is that successful people fail, and then try again until they are successful.

9. Don’t give up before you really try: So many times people are so close to getting what they want without realizing it. The best way to find success is always to try one more time. This could also be written as, never give up.

10. Seek out the bigger reason. What makes a successful company and a fulfilling life is a connection to something much greater. Money should never be the only driving force behind a successful business, career or life.

Celebrate your wins. Acknowledgment is the key to progress. When you take time to acknowledge even the very small wins, it helps you garner your forward momentum towards growth and fulfillment.

11. Celebrate your wins. Acknowledgment is the key to progress. When you take time to acknowledge even the very small wins, it helps you garner your forward momentum towards growth and fulfillment.

12. Trade up your problems. Life is about trading problems. What problems do you want to solve on a daily basis? Seek out those problems and trade other up worthwhile problems.

13. Encourage feedback. Feedback isn’t given freely, it’s something you’ll have to seek out. Find your own way to receive feedback. Also understand the ways in which you give feedback and how it’s received. When in doubt, leave the “constructive criticism” out.

14. Recharge, don’t endure. Resilience is how your recharge, not how you endure. Stop, reset, recharge and then go hard. The easiest thing in the world is to work really, really hard. The hardest thing is to reset and recover.

15. Good is the opposite of great. Few people attain great, in large part because it is so easy to settle for good. Own your vision of greatness and be a yardstick for everyone around you.

16. Be grateful. Show gratitude every day. To your friends, clients, network and to yourself. It’s so important to realize all you have, and it’s so easy to forget.

17. Be authentic. One of the hardest things in life is to be yourself. To own your flaws. To be comfortable in your own skin. Much like brands with an authentic story will win in the long run, so will people. McDonald’s isn’t trying to be Ruth’s Steakhouse, and Tesla isn’t trying to be BMW. Let your authenticity shine though so there is no question to anyone about who you are and what you stand for. People will accept the real version of you.

18. Give more than you take. Give. Give. Give. Give. Connect through the heart and not through the head. Approach life and business through the lense of what can I give instead of what can I get.

19. Find in others what they want to see in themselves. Everyone has a story, their unique purpose, struggle and greatness. Everyone is a hero in their own journey. Find that story. Make it special. Make other realize how special it is. Cultivate community through each other’s greatness.

20. Diversify. It’s so important to let go of your personal biases, and find connections with people who look differently, think differently and act differently than you do. The bubble effect is real, and the biggest disservice you can do is to only surround yourself with others who mirror your same beliefs and thoughts. Embrace diversity and different ways of thinking.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear what most resonates with you in business and life. What else is missing from this list that you believe in to your core?