Don't be afraid of the "slash"

CopyHour 2022 drops next week ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Hey {NAME} -- During Christmas dinner I was talking to my brother-in-law about work. He's bounced around different jobs for the past decade but recently found his groove in the film and television industry as a camera operator. He was telling me that he finally came to terms with being a "slash" and it changed everything for him (both mentally and financially). When you have an unconventional career (like freelancing or entrepreneurship) it can be difficult and mentally draining. There's no clear "path" or corporate ladder to climb. It's hard to label and define yourself and that can be scary. But when you embrace the "slash" it suddenly opens up everything. You don't have to be only X. You can be X and Y. You can be a marketing assistant AND a surf board shaper. You can be a camera operator AND own a different small business. You can be a copywriter AND an offer owner. You can be X slash Y slash Z, etc. There are no rules. I have a friend who will not embrace the "slash". He's a restaurant manager but actually a really amazing photographer. He doesn't mentally allow himself to be successful as a photographer because work is all or nothing in his mind. The problem is he has plenty of time outside the managing job... but he doesn't use it to do freelance photography. He won't allow himself to do that bc it wouldn't be full-time. The slash is not acceptable in his world. (Of course at a certain point, your time can also stretch so far. It makes sense to hone in on what produces the most and try to spend the majority of your time there. But I'd argue that you need to be okay as a slash first, in order to start exploring what's going to make you the most. Imagine if my friend embraced the slash... he might suddenly find himself making just as much, and probably more, as a photographer.) I "accidentally" adopted this slash mentality a decade ago. The publishing company I co-founded fell apart and I found myself doing some consulting and also affiliate marketing. I wanted to get better at copywriting (to help with both of those endeavors) so I created a copywriting challenge that ultimately became CopyHour. I became a small business owner. For many years I struggled with this. "Am I a small business owner or a consultant?" Ultimately, it doesn't matter. This year I've made income as a small business owner, a consultant, in real estate, cars, and investing (stocks & crypto). I co-own a podcast production company (with nothing to show for it, yet) but I'm also starting to co-write a screenplay. None of these roles or the messiness of my "career" bother me. In the past, they certainly would have. Anyway, I'm sure there's plenty more to explore on this topic of the slash, but I'll leave it here. If you're struggling with exactly who you are / what you do in your career... it might be time to embrace the slash. Cheers! - Derek P.S. CopyHour 2022 will open next week, Monday January 3rd! It's the ultimate "slash" course. Learning to write sales copy will help you in just about every pursuit you might have.  Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( CopyHour.com, 340 S LEMON AVE, 5007, WALNUT, CA 91789