In 2012 I reinvented myself and my business. I thought I was totally out of that transition. And I’m not.
You know they type of transition where you close the doors on what you don’t want and you trust that what you DO want will rush into your open arms with grace and ease?
I’m not out of the transition and I don’t know if I’ll ever be completely. The day that I am is the day I die because there is no more growth to be had.
I’m going to be totally transparent. There are still some things I’m rebuilding after I disassembled my business in 2012 when I rebuilt it to include all of my gifts, including my spirituality and intuition. I drank the guru kool-aid long enough and it was time to shake things up a bit.
I never do anything on a small scale…
The other reinvention I’m in final stages of is when I decided to not follow the industry standard of getting as many butts in seats for my annual event this year. My event sabbatical this year is commencing with my brand new 1-day $10k in 60 Days intensive. And I’m debuting my brand new 3-day event in June 2015, which will be everything I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m finally doing it.
What I’m about to share with you is not something I see a lot of other coaches sharing…
What do you do when you are in a cash flow crunch? When you are building your business and it’s wayyyy slower than you want it to go?
I’m used to a huge cash injection in my business every fall from my big live event and I’ve had to make up for that cash flow in other ways.
It’s not been easy. I’ve deepened my mastery in marketing mostly from seeing what doesn’t work for me.
I also made some hiring decisions this year that haven’t worked out. I had a great assistant and trained her into starting her own business. SO happy for her but created obvious setback for me. Hiring a new person who gets my vision and wants to contribute to it was hard to find, but I found her!
I hired some mismatched mentors and spent $65k learning what I need in a mentor and what doesn’t work for me. I’m working on being really grateful for the $65,000 lesson.
Why am I sharing all of this?
You’re not alone in your human life lessons.
Entrepreneurs, especially in this coaching industry, are a crazy bunch of people.
Idealistic. Optimistic. Sometimes unrealistic. Always a bit crazy.
This year, I chose a theme to set what I wanted to embody and contribute to the world.
My theme has been TRUTH TELLER.
Be careful what you ask for right?
Everything, and I mean everything, that does not support my deepest truth shows up in a huge way and very quickly so I can look at it and release it. Sometimes the release is easy and graceful. Other times it just plain sucks.
Ho’ oponopono has been a regular practice for me. (Don’t know what that is, Google it – you’ll thank me later for it.)
What do you do when you are in the middle of a transition? You have let go of the stuff you know doesn’t serve you and you can see glimpses of your next steps, but you aren’t there yet?
The transitions are tough. There is a saying that goes something like this, when one door closes, another opens. But those hallways sure can be a bee-atch.
Letting go can look like this: You fire a client who isn’t a fit. Or you raise your prices and you get a bunch of nos. You stop participating in broke conversations with family or friends.
There is often this void until what you want shows up. The clients and the new friends who are in alignment are coming, but they aren’t there yet.
So now what?
Been there? Maybe you are there now.
What do you do to keep moving forward? There is always the option of shrinking back and pretending that you don’t want more for your life, but really…what will that get you?
In my transitions this year, here is what I’ve learned and I’m not making this pretty – just keepin’ it real yo.
1. Have a mentor who gets you, who knows what you want and is going to coach you the way you need to be coached.
They won’t tell you what you want to hear, but they’ll be honest with you. I made the mistake of not having a mentor for a few months after making some mentor decision that weren’t fully in alignment.
I told myself that I need “time to implement” and it was “irresponsible to hire someone” while I was paying the previous contracts that weren’t working. (Again, being totally transparent and most people won’t talk about this.)
My business was stagnant during those months. Learned that mistake and I won’t repeat it. Always have a mentor.
2. Have a support system. I’ve got a few gals who are also power-house entrepreneurs building world-changing empires. They don’t play small and I know they’ve got my back. They’ll give it to me straight and they’ll listen to me cry when I need to.
My support team also includes my hubby, my healers, my woo chicks, my team and my spiritual team that I’m learning to call on more and more.
3. Have an action plan and take action on it. A plan just sitting there pretty in your notebook is not going to change the world, or your bank account.
What creates suffering during the transitions is when you don’t know what to do next. But you can always ask someone for help. Are you asking? Or are you isolating?
With my clients who create big success and the clients who don’t create big success, there is one correlation that is constant 100% of the time. The clients who are in consistent communication with me- utilizing their email access, texting me when they need a 911 call, showing up on their calls with their questions ready and goals to discuss and taking action, create success. They do the work. They ask for help. They show up even when they don’t want to.
The flip side: clients who get busy with being busy and they don’t engage. They pay thousands of dollars, but they don’t engage. It breaks my heart. Everyone does what they need to in their own divine time…but you know what I mean.
What kind of client are you?
Don’t have a coach? Get one.
A coach I know does these open Q & A forums on her Facebook wall. People say what they need and she tells them how to get it.
One person said she needs a coach but “can’t afford it yet…but someday I will.”
The response was spot on: “You can never afford a coach when you need one. You just make it happen.”
4. Have a why that makes you cry (the good tears).
I realize I had forgotten about my big vision. I used to talk about it at my Ignite Your Spark women’s conferences that I hosted from 2010-13.
My vision was to create to a holistic addiction recovery program so people could get real help with their sobriety.
It was a big vision. SO big it scared me to death because I didn’t know HOW it would work. So I got busy and I let worry dilute the dream. But not any more.
But last week that vision became a reality again and the BIGness of the why made me cry – good tears that ignited my soul.
Do I want to RUN a retreat center? No. But how much stuff can you really buy with millions of dollars?
It’s my give-back passion project. Even saying this in this format is scary, but it’s my way to show the universe that we’re doing this .
(We= me + universe+ any other volunteers who want to join the cause.)
I know this article was a truth bomb. I intended it to be so.
I’ve been in the ring more than once in the past two years…sometimes I wonder if my opponent (fear, shame, judgment) will knock me out. But I get back up. Every. Single. Time.
What choice do you have my friend? Sometimes letting go means to go in deeper until the only thing you see is your soul. And THAT is beautiful.
Keep going. The next door is open – you’ve got this.
