The imperfect reps count

#38 power of consistency, making ourselves visible, and celebrating our wins!

Hey 4,000+ friends, it’s Hannah from Quoted Visually 🤍

Welcome if you are new here! It's been a heavy couple of weeks my side, but gosh, I'm loving using Substack again. Bring it on ⤵︎

“Consistency is key”

We’ve all heard it too many times 😳

But I think it’s only after experiencing the positive compounding impact of being consistent at something, that the weight of the message sinks in!

Like the pulling back of a curtain, the experience of building my brand and skillset has given me a newfound feeling of optimism.

It's the feeling that “I've done it once, so in theory, I could do it again”.

Because success is more predictable than we think. Much of what we want to achieve, is doable. Whether it’s developing a new skill, or hitting a career target, it comes down to repeated, imperfect actions over time.

Consistency isn’t rigid, it’s as we define it and what we decide we can stick to.

For example, when it came to growing my Instagram, posting three times a week was enough. This was my capacity. I haven't posted daily, and it hasn’t mattered.

Last week, someone messaged me:

In January 2022, I started Quoted Visually. That means I’m 3 years in 🤯

I felt I had a shot at this “visualising ideas game”. Why?

After gaining some traction, it dawned on me that to make an impact in the field, all I needed to do was stay in the game. To my surprise, it isn't about talent, this can be gained, it's about our ability to keep going when it would be easy to quit.

It's this grit that allows us to “win” 🏆

But in a world obsessed with instant success, we all want to be good now, not in a couple of years. It can feel increasingly difficult to commit to our goals over time.

If the outcome isn't guaranteed, we think why bother?

But the bar is much lower than we realise and the years are shorter than we think. Don’t let failing to think long-term hold you back.

As the saying goes:

P.S. To answer the question: I made myself visible.

🗞️ Updates behind the scenes

With client projects finished, I’m taking stock of what has been a huge year!

Don’t know about you but I'm guilty of jumping into the next thing, working on back-to-back projects, without a pause or celebration, which to my credit is often, by design, a freelancer’s life. The buses do tend to come all at once 🚌😅

But wouldn't it be sad to look back on our life and think, “boy, I did some pretty cool things, but what a shame that I didn't realise it at the time”.

If we don't achieve distance from our work, if we don't take enough time to rest, we don't get this magical perspective. Because without gratitude, it's as if we don't have the gifts in front of us. We're all blessed in more always than we realise.

These last two weeks, I have enjoyed:

• Getting my hands on Main Street Millionaire, by Codie Sanchez, and seeing my illustrations in it for the first time. Buzzing with how they look 🤭

• Attending an Entrepreneu Christmas Dinner in London with Michael Boorman

• Hanging out with awesome people at Alice Benham’s Small Bizmas party

• This podcast about body language by Vanessa Van Edwards

• Seeing Chris Williamson live - a raw and human show

• And watching my students, Beth and Nafi, thrive!

Against the backdrop of an amazing highlight reel, it's been a painful two weeks 😭

I got ill and thought for a minute that my dog was dying. One operation later, and he should be okay. He's only 9! A friend of mine reminded me of this quote:

Substack, it's been a pleasure. Sending a warm hug your way. Like this post online or drop me a comment if it resonates. I'd love to your 2024 wins 💬

Big love,

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