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b'The Nitty-Gritty:\\n\\n\\n\\n* How Jamie Varon decided to embrace an \\u201ceffortful\\u201d attitude and put more intention into her work* Why living and working from France reset her satisfaction meter and helped her find a new level of confidence* Her weekly writing practice and how that habit has impacted her ability to show up and do the work* The results she\\u2019s experiencing\\u2014personal and professional\\u2014from embracing a new working style\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nI used to find confidence in the fact that lots of things come easily to me.\\n\\n\\n\\nI taught myself how to play the piano as a small child.\\n\\n\\n\\nI could pitch a softball at 60mph without much practice.\\n\\n\\n\\nI got excellent grades without studying.\\n\\n\\n\\nI was given extra responsibilities at my first jobs.\\n\\n\\n\\nMy default mode was to expect to good at whatever I tried. I expected things to be easy and effortless.\\n\\n\\n\\nMost of the time, this was good. It meant that I had the confidence to try new things or step up to a new level.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut operating like this also had a serious downside.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe downside of finding confidence in things being easy is that, when I tried something that didn\\u2019t feel easy, I ran the other way.\\n\\n\\n\\nAnything that took effort or practice tore down my confidence and left me feeling like a sad sack.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis month, we\\u2019re examining confidence. Specifically, we\\u2019re looking at how small business owners find the confidence to take a big step forward.\\n\\n\\n\\nAs you might imagine, lacking confidence in anything that required me to actually work at a thing didn\\u2019t serve me well as a business owner.\\n\\n\\n\\nFor years and years, I ran my business in a way that allowed me to avoid hard things.\\n\\n\\n\\nI hired contractors instead of making a home for employees. I relied on more passive marketing instead of picking up the proverbial phone and closing the deal. I avoided examining my own mindset instead of confronting my biggest fears and weaknesses. I set goals that felt safe instead of taking a long hard look at what I really wanted from my business.\\n\\n\\n\\nA couple of years ago, I started to get real with myself.\\n\\n\\n\\nI realized I had been coasting. And, while coasting felt good, it wasn\\u2019t really what I wanted to be doing.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis was around the same time I started bouldering.\\n\\n\\n\\nImagine a 15ft wall\\u2014or, quite literally\\u2014a 15ft boulder.\\n\\n\\n\\nYour job is to start at the very bottom and use your hands and feet to work your way to the top.\\n\\n\\n\\nUnlike big wall climbing, bouldering doesn\\u2019t use ropes. You fall on pads. And, you will fall.\\n\\n\\n\\nI was terrible at bouldering at first. Like, truly terrible.\\n\\n\\n\\nLooking back, I\\u2019m not sure what even possessed me to sign up for the class. And I\\u2019m less sure what made me decide it was a good idea to go back for the second class!\\n\\n\\n\\nGetting on the wall the first 5, 10, or 15 times, I felt weak. I felt inept. I felt truly terrible at the task set before me.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut I kept getting on the wall. I practiced\\u2014and I hadn\\u2019t truly practiced anything in my previous 35 years of life.\\n\\n\\n\\nEventually, I got better.\\n\\n\\n\\nNow, I teach bouldering at my gym and other climbers come to me for tips on a regular basis.\\n\\n\\n\\nBouldering taught me how to work hard at somethin...'