Silence Your Inner Critic and You Too Can Make World-Class Gin
Or how most of us are capable of doing so much more than we realize
In a misguided attempt to drum up business soon after I opened my wine store, I attended one of these awful networking dinners that are hallmarks of local business in provincial British towns.
The evening was predictably a waste of time but a dude there said something to me that has stuck with me for the last 10 years:
Most people don’t do things like open wine stores because they focus on everything they think will stand in their way. What they don’t realize is that you had barriers too. You just didn’t let them stop you.
I was reminded of this today as I wound my way down through the impossibly gorgeous Snowdonia National Park in Wales to visit an old friend of mine, Danny.
Danny used to sell me Portuguese wine for my store and bar but one day, he and his brother decided they wanted to make gin. And not just any gin but the best gin. Filled with locally foraged botanicals. In the middle of Wales.
Danny had a family, a job, no experience in gin making and lived hundreds of miles away.
These were not small barriers.
And yet, he still quit his job and opened his distillery. 7 years later, the gin has won an obscene number of awards, and in my professional opinion, is one of the best gins being made anywhere today.
All because he did exactly what that guy said to me all those years ago. He didn’t let barriers stop him.
My awe for people who can ignore their internal critical voice knows no bounds. Because when it comes to barriers, that voice is one of the loudest.
If there’s something you want to do in life, your inner critic is the bastard that tells you you’re not experienced enough. Not creative enough. Not savvy enough. It will tell you that you’ve already got more important commitments. It’ll tell you you’ll never make enough money to make it work.
This is especially true for women who statistically do indeed have more commitments than men because it’s us that still bear the brunt of household duties and childcare. Our barriers to entry are far higher.
And yet, some women still manage it.
Moreover, there are people from all economic backgrounds, all races, all genders, and all social strata who have managed to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve. Whatever your own barriers are, I guarantee there’ll be someone out there who has struggled with the same - and smashed it.
I will make the point that I’m not so tone-deaf as to scream anything is possible if you put your mind to it like some (let’s face it, male, white, and middle-class) 1980s motivational speaker.
But I do think that most people are capable of so much more than they realize.
I’m going to segue here into what S+S is all about and say - you’ve got a far better chance of overcoming barriers if you live a simple life rather than a complicated one.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Many people think that living simply limits what you can do in life. Many people are wrong.
In reality, simple living gives you options.
Whilst I don’t know the ins and outs of Danny’s financial situation, I know he doesn’t drive a big car or live in a McMansion. I know he’s not afraid of sleeping on a couch or two because he has previously slept on mine. He’s not bothered about fancy clothing because frankly, you can’t forage for gin botanicals every morning in a $1000 suit.
His life, although busy, is both simple and focused. The majority of his working time is split between the distillery and coaching Olympic-level archery, of all things.
He can do this not because he’s rich or especially privileged but because he’s pursued a simpler life. And that has given him options.
I’d go so far as to say that many of the barriers we’re guilty of putting between us and our goals become less problematic with a simpler life.
Partly that’s because living simpler means more time, more money, and fewer commitments. But partly it’s because those of you who live simply have already proved you are capable of sticking two fingers up to the norm.
When it comes to achieving goals, being able to do this is an incredibly important - if not the most important - quality you can possess. It’s no coincidence that every person I know who has done something cool with their lives also lives some iteration of a simple life.
If you live simply you’ve already shown you can deal with criticism and living differently. When it comes to achieving whatever life goal you have, that’s half the battle.
I love hanging out with people like Danny. As cheesy as it sounds, enthusiasm and positivity is infectious and I left the distillery feeling so much better about myself. I left feeling that I too can silence my inner critic and push through the barriers I put up every single day between me and my writing.
He’s also part of my “old” life, the one where I owned a successful wine business. If I can do that, I can sure as hell make a living writing to you lovely lot every week.
And the biggest weapon in my arsenal right now is my simple life.
As is yours.
It’s that simple life that gives you options you can exploit and lean upon in order to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.
Like making world-class gin whilst teaching Olympic level archery.
Like opening wine stores or traveling or making a living writing online.
Like doing whatever you have in mind.
You’re almost certainly more than capable of doing it. Whatever barriers your internal critic insists on making for you.
Speaking of making a life for yourself…
You may remember that last Friday I wrote a piece inspired by a comment from fellow Substackian
:Patricia wrote her own article on the same theme which just dropped yesterday. You can read hers here.
Patricia and I are from different generations - she’s a Gen X, I’m a Millennial - and yet it was interesting that our parents both wanted the same thing from us. A good job, kids, and marriage.
I loved Patricia’s message to her own children that:
I want them to be free to be themselves, to live life with passion, and to find jobs that reward them with more than just a pay cheque.
I do not want them to associate me with the word obligation, nor do I want them to think that anything about their life choices would result in a disappointment for me.
Nice one, Patricia.
Reading for the weekend
My recent Medium articles (paywall free)
I Combined My Finances with My Partner Aged 24. Here’s Why I Wouldn’t Recommend It to 99% of People
If You Want to Know If Someone Is Worth Your Time, Use the Ted Lasso Curiosity Rule
Suburbia Is the Enemy of Simple Living. If You Want a Quieter Life, Get the Heck out of There
THANKS FOR READING!
🌿 I WANT YOUR SIMPLE LIVING QUESTIONS! Every first Tuesday of the month I’ll answer reader questions on simple living, minimalism, and living sustainably. If you have a question for me, send it in here.
🌿🌿 GIVE ME A FOLLOW ELSEWHERE ON THE INTERNET - I’m on LinkedIn and I also write 2-3 extra essays a week at Medium (if you don’t have a Medium membership you can get one here).
Whelp, this is my new favorite thing.
Loved this and your Suburbia post on medium - so well written and articulated. Lots to think about. ✨🌻