This should only take about 7 mins to read.

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Humans want to control every situation or outcome.

This issue is focused on the importance of letting go of control, how it affects us, and the things you actually have control over. Don't let the desire to control everything cripple you.

You only have control over one thing.

The only aspect of life you have control over is yourself. That control is from within: your actions, reactions, and energy. Even then, we also lose control over those aspects when things get rough.

When I started my business, I was under the impression that I had to control everything that happened; I had my hand in every project, task, email, etc. It wore me down and burned me out; I had to learn to let go.

When you start feeling that you need to control something, it will trigger:

• Anxiety
• Frustration
• Negative thoughts
• Loss of confidence

Letting go of control gives me space to establish trust with my team, clients, and anyone I collaborate with. I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's not easy, but it's reality:

• You can't control the outcome of your business or job.
• You can't control who purchases from you and who doesn't.
• You can't control how people do their work.

You can always put your best foot forward, have great intentions, and be flexible with whatever the outcome is.

Build a product, ship it, and release control.

The vast majority of folks who start a business have a mindset of "I am going to do this, and everyone is going to flock to me" -- reality check: that's not how it works.

You don't have a magic wand. The best you can do is create, share, and improve.

Focus on:

• Solving a problem for 10 people.
• Building solid relationships with your peers, customers, and clients.
• Being open to receiving constructive feedback.

Go out there, build, have fun, and don't lose sight of what's important.

Top of mind topic: pressure.

We all feel different types of pressure through out our lives. Every day it's something different or something that's lingering from past.

• Pressure to make more money.
• Pressure to build a big business.
• Pressure to be better than the next person.

It all compounds over time and we finally burst. It doesn't have to be this way, find a balance instead. Be ok with being imperfect and not constantly competing with others. There is always someone doing better and worse than you, stop putting too much pressure on yourself.

3 of the tweets from the week.

Tweet 1: This one is from Rob Lennon on building a personal brand, it's a must read - dive in.

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Tweet 2: This one is from Brian O'Connor and how Tesla's biggest marketing vehicle is Elon Musk. It's an amazing read.

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Tweet 3: Here is my thread that I posted about NOT using sales scripts and how to land more clients.

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Podcast stuff:

In this week’s episode of What is my Brain? podcast, I had a chat with Salla Västilä. She is the founder & CEO of ainoa.agency, a full-service digital agency with a focus on empathy and emotional intelligence. Salla is also a project manager and brand designer behind What Is My Brain podcast.

• Salla founded her first business when she was 19. It was an advertisement agency. Even though she eventually got burnt out and decided to sell what was left of the company, she mentioned that running a business allowed her to learn some valuable lessons and gain experience that has helped her to get to where she is now.
• After selling her company, Salla tried working at a 9 to 5 job. Where she realized that it was not for her, so she gave freelancing a go as a graphic designer. As she started getting more work, she decided to combine her previous experience of running a company, being a freelancer, and knowledge of psychology. So she created an agency that’s focused on empathy.
• Salla is very hopeful about the future of the ainoa.agency. They are constantly growing and try to provide a bigger variety of services to their clients. Salla is currently working on her MBA, which she hopes will benefit the company as well.

It was fun and interesting to talk to Salla. We also talked about what failing actually means, what it’s like to run a business, etc. Listen to the episode if you want to hear the whole conversation.

Check out the Podcast Episode

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One tool I like or use:

Tool of the week: Typefully​

URL: Affiliate Link for Typefully​

Why Typefully is so awesome:

It's the Twitter thread tool that should be part of Twitter itself. It's easy, it's clean, and it helps you format things a lot faster. Tremendous tool with awesome analytics to see your growth.

Highly recommend it,

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That's a wrap for issue #17.

Email me at z@zlatkobijelic.com if you are building something. I'd love to know what you're working on and if there is anything I can do to help you.

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Random question:​
What is one thing you do to get rid of stress?

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Checkout some of my products here.

If you are interested in 1:1 business coaching, go here and see how I can help you.

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Follow me on Twitter​

Follow me on LinkedIn.

Listen to my podcast.