I’m back at my desk in Seattle today after two weeks abroad — a week in London where I was still doing some writing and book promo, then down to the Canary Islands with a friend, where I was really able to disconnect and recharge.

The Canaries are a Spanish territory off the coast of Western Africa with a pretty stunning mix of beach, mountains, forest and desert all in one place.

It’s sometimes easy to forget the islands are Spanish given the diversity of tourists visiting from all over Europe and beyond. Any place you sit down to eat promptly offers you a menu in 5 different languages.

But, as with visiting any country, it does seem to make things a bit smoother when you at least try to speak the local tongue.

At various points in my life, I’ve considered myself ‘fluent’ in Spanish. My mother is Mexican and we spoke it in the home from a young age.

In recent years, I’ve largely lost it, mainly due to lack of practice. But placed in the right environment, or presented with necessity, it’s almost magical to find Spanish words and sentences and thoughts spill out of my mouth — however broken they may sound.

There were times on the trip, though, when I found myself overthinking it, looking for the right words.

For example, I didn’t have cash to tip the driver to my hotel.

The ride itself was prepaid, and he had a sign that said “Thanks for your tip” — in five different languages. 😂

For half the ride, I was thinking about how I should ask him in Spanish if I could tip by credit card.

I started thinking:

• Es posible dejarte la propina con tarjeta?
• Is it possible to leave a tip with a card?

That should do it, right?

But then I started thinking of another direction

• Disculpe, Señor - he realizado no tengo efectivo, es posible dar propina por tarjeta?
• Sorry, sir - I just realized I don’t have cash. Is it possible to tip by credit card?

Then another:

• Ah, ya lo vi su anuncio sobre propinas — olvide sacar efectivo, puedo dejarla con tarjeta?
• Ah, I see your sign about tips — I forgot to take out cash, could I pay you with card?

When we got close to the hotel, I ended up just blurting out some amalgamation of the three.

Turns out the answer was no, and he just told me not to worry about it, and we went our separate ways.

But it made me think about language — and how throughout Spanish classes as a student, you learn words, grammar, sentence construction, pronunciation, etc.

All the ingredients to technically “know” Spanish.

But at the end of the day, there’s no “right” sentence to speak in a given situation — in Spanish or in any language.

You have all the tools, and then you have to just get out there and converse and converse and converse until it becomes instinctual to say what you’re thinking.

This is an interesting way to think about running an independent business.

You can read posts, take courses, listen to podcasts, absorb frameworks, even apply toolkits or playbooks word-for-word.

But that’s not actually how you run a business.

That’s how you educate yourself about business.

That’s the vocabulary and grammar of business.

Where you really learn to speak the language of business is by doing.

By having the market conversations.

By experimenting with your business model.

By testing out positioning statements and marketing copy.

By feeling out partnerships.

By talking to prospects. And more prospects. And more prospects.

You do all that to build out your foundation and your business fluency, and gradually, you’re not piecing together business “sentences” to get by — you’re just operating as a natural speaker.

So, by all means, soak up everything you can from others (including me!).

Let published insights and frameworks provide structure and guidance to build confidence as you get on your feet.

But remember, they’re all just inputs to get you out there talking, testing, doing.

And eventually you realize, wow, I’m actually fluent at this.

💡

-Wes

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