New Year’s Resolutions… In One Year and Out The Next

That’s about the level of confidence that most people have when it comes to setting resolutions.  At the beginning of each year people get serious and vow to do whatever it takes to loose the weight, to work less hours, to make more money.  They even go so far as setting S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-specific) to convenience themselves that this time this resolution will be different. And all they are really doing is setting themselves up for failure.  That is the essence of a resolution – an empty promise disguised with goals and accountability.

Yes it is important to set clear intentions and desires.  Yes it is important to break them down into SMART goals. Yes it is imperative to have accountability.  All of this is true. So what is it that makes resolutions empty?  The inner commitment; the spark.  When you haven’t located that inner commitment, it won’t matter how good your goals are or how solid your plan is, the promise is still empty.

So how do you add in the spark, the deep, inner commitment?

1. Get clear on what you want. (That is the resolution part)
2. Get clear on why it is important to you.
3. Ask yourself, “what will my life be like when I obtain this?”

These first three steps are often the process a person goes through when stating New Year’s resolutions. It’s the rest of this equation that locates the spark.

1. Ask yourself, “What is it costing me to continue in default mode as my life/business is right now?”
2. “How is my current default mode working for me so far?”

Your answer to step #4 is where you locate the inner commitment to determine how serious you will be about your resolution.   It is in your answer to step #5 that you will then determine if you are falling into Law of Ambivalence.  It is also where you will gain clarity as to what you are truly committed to.  The Law of Ambivalence is the state in which something is not really good in our lives, but it is not yet bad enough for us to do anything about it.  Typically if we find ourselves in the state of ambivalence it is because we are more committed to something else then our stated resolution.

For example a client of mine was starting her coaching business and having a difficult time getting the results she wanted.  When we looked at her current results they indicated she was more committed to things being easy then things being successful.  When the daily business activities would present themselves to her and she had a choice, she would choose ease over success; this is the danger zone of ambivalence.  You learn how to tolerate the default status quo of your life and don’t tap into your inner commitment to really get the results that you want.  So what are the resolutions you have set for your coaching business?  Are you falling into the trap of ambivalence?  Have you located your Spark?

Either with yourself, a peer-coaching buddy or with your own coach, go through the 5 steps above to locate your spark inside your New Year’s Resolutions and stop them from going in one year and out the next.

Leave a Comment

Procrastination, A Tool for Life!

Most ALL of us use procrastination at some time in our lives, do we not?  It seems to me if a tool is so widely used, there must be something to it. As a personal and corporate coach, procrastination is almost always the first thing my clients want to eliminate from their lives.

As you will read, I advise them to not eliminate the very tool that is there to help them navigate the rough spots in life and business. I prefer to think of procrastination in the same category as a detour in the road. The purpose of a detour is to give us a warning; to help us avoid something non-navigable or dangerous, and to provide a safer route.

Detours usually take a little longer; they circumvent the problem, but in the end we arrive at our destination unscathed. In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand.

In her book, Coach Yourself to Success, Talane Meidaner poses this question:  “What if procrastination was a good thing, and we stopped beating ourselves up about it and learned why we do it?” She describes several circumstances in which people find themselves procrastinating and offers solutions to the problem.

The Put Off:

We Put off something we do not like doing.  Sometimes if we procrastinate long enough, it causes another person to do it for us; sometimes it becomes too late to do it and we end up not having to do it at all.  What if, instead, we looked at what it was we were putting off, determined it was something distasteful to us and immediately found a way to delegate it to another person?  There may even be times when it makes sense to decline to do the task. In this instance, it would be important to inform any people that may be depending upon us for the result or task, but in the end they are better served if we decide and inform them as soon as we know, so they can get the job completed by someone that will probably do a more complete job anyway. And our reward is: the uncomfortable or distasteful task is off our plate and the energy drain caused by its presence is eliminated.

The Fear Factor:

Sometimes we find ourselves procrastinating because we are frightened. We may believe we are not capable of completing the task. We may believe we do not have the knowledge or the expertise to complete the project.  We may believe we do not have anything of value to contribute. We may be frightened of rejection. The project may feel too big to us, and we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with its scope and not able to move ahead with the process. Fear is a real emotion and one to be heeded.  But the possibility exists to examine the fears and discover the energy behind them.

If lack of knowledge or expertise is the fear, we can find ways to gather the knowledge we need or find experts in the particular field to support our work.  We may need to request more time for research, but we can move ahead and complete the project.

If the fear is that of not adding value, or of being rejected, we can review our strengths, research, brainstorm, and discover a method of adding value that may also eliminate the potential for rejection.

Once we can name the fear, we can often find a solution to its source and eliminate it.

There are many reasons why we procrastinate. The above examples are just a few. Think about the times when you get stuck or are overwhelmed and procrastinate.  What are some of your reasons?

In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand. You can shorten the detour or speed up the process, if you treat your procrastination as a tool that can help you through life rather than beating yourself up and wasting time in self-chastisement.

You can learn to use the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.

First: Recognize when you are in procrastination mode.  Speak out loud and call it by name! 

Second: Congratulate yourself for using so valuable a life tool! 

Third: Take the time to stop, think and look at why you are procrastinating.

Fourth: take each why and discover solutions to those issues. Once you discover the why, and there may be multiple whys, it is much easier to break the problem into smaller parts and approach each issue.

Fifth: Create a strategy and timetable to carry it out.

My coach’s challenge to you this week is to begin to look at procrastination in this more positive light.  You will discover that it immediately becomes a friend, not a foe, and the energy around it relaxes. Go a step further and begin to employ the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.

Leave a Comment

The Newsletter Mindset: Chocolates & Flowers

by Linda Claire Puig, President, Claire Communications

What do you do when you want to impress a sweetheart or thank a dear friend?

Give them flowers! Or chocolate! Or BOTH!

And think now how it feels on the receiving end when you receive flowers or chocolate or both. You feel delighted, appreciated, enlivened.

So what does all this have to do with newsletters?

It’s about the newsletter mindset.

Sometimes when I talk to coaches, mental health professionals and others of you in the “helping” professions, I hear a kind of anxiety that goes like this: “I’m not sure I should send a newsletter. People are already so overloaded with information coming at them. I don’t want to add to their burden.”

I say: think of your newsletter as the business equivalent of flowers and chocolate!

Let’s back up for a moment. It’s important to remember that a newsletter’s primary function is to build relationship with your readers. (Key word: relationship.)

When someone new signs up to receive your newsletter, they are wondering things like:

• Do you understand me?
• Can you inspire me?
• How will I grow from this relationship?

Sending your newsletter (your version of flowers & chocolate) is a great way to follow up this “first meeting.” It’s like putting your best foot forward. And every issue you send shows your readers that you care, that you understand their needs.

Sending your newsletter says, “I’ve been thinking of you.” It says you want their life to be sweet and alive. It lets your readers know that you’d like to get to know them better, to keep the conversation going and the relationship growing.

And you want that relationship to stay fresh and exciting, so you keep up the flowers & chocolate.

Do you see what a difference this mindset makes? “I send chocolates & flowers to my list!” versus “I don’t want to burden people.”

About the Author:

Linda Claire Puig is the Founder and President of Ready2GoArticles.com and Ready2GoEzines.com, which provides coaches and personal development professionals who don’t have time to write – or don’t like to – with high-quality done-for-you newsletters and articles that help them more easily connect with their audience and grow their businesses.

She also teaches service-based solo-business owners how to attract buckets of ideal prospects, nurture those relationships through high-value newsletters and strategically use these newsletters to get more clients, fill more programs and make more money.

An award-winning writer since 1983, Linda’s articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and newsletters throughout the world. She has produced newsletters for small businesses and professionals since 1990 and has trained thousands of individuals in “the way of the newsletter.” Linda is also an actor, she loves to travel, and all manner of dogs catch her eye.

Leave a Comment

We Have A Choice

We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same. Carlos Casteneda, author and philosopher.

As the rain continues to fall and the days to be chilly, I sometimes begin to feel the weight of it all.  The dampness, the dreariness, the mud, and the chore of rubbing down my wet smelly dogs so they are presentable enough to be in the house. As I allowed myself to get more down about it all, feeling “put upon” by the weather, I realized I was choosing to be miserable.  I began to think about last summer and the frightening thoughts, the reality for some, of actually running out of water, our lifeblood.  I took hold of my thoughts and began to dwell more on the positives of the rain: flowers popping up everywhere, our grass is more beautiful than it has been in years, my husband and I have begun to take care of some indoor projects we have been putting off, even the puppy rub down has become a sort of game that makes us laugh. I have discovered the feeling of accomplishment is the same, rain or shine, the connectedness to family and friends is still great, and, actually, my ability to concentrate on detailed projects is greater as I am not distracted by the thoughts of being outdoors in the sun and the breeze.   The words of Mr. Casteneda seem to be true; I could be miserable or I could be upbeat and strong, in this case it was a matter of how I chose to think about the weather.

Now, of course, the weather is not an earth-shattering issue, but there are scant few of us who can say they are not affected by it in some manner. I offer it as a common ground place to begin a discussion on how we can take charge of the thoughts and energy we expend and for what results.

In this time of economic uncertainty, when many people we know are out of work, downsized or otherwise, and more high school and college graduates are ready to take their places in the workforce, it becomes challenging to choose to think and to expend our energy to make ourselves strong.  The job search that once was a matter of checking the want ads and speaking with a few confidants, has now become more of a position itself, albeit a non-profit one, for many seekers.  The tendency to dwell on how difficult the search can be and how unfair it is becomes enticing.  As more rejection is required to attain the prize, it becomes easier to allow our thoughts to wander in the mode of negativity and hopelessness: “I am not good enough.” “I am too old.” “I am over or under qualified.”

As a personal and corporate coach, I work with many individuals that are changing careers; whether by choice or by circumstance.  What I have discovered is that there is a great difference between the successful career changers and the not so successful, and it has little to do with the time it takes to make the change.  These days, the game is very different.  The pool of excellent candidates is much greater, and the corresponding pool of jobs is dwindling.  The difference I have discovered is how the successful people think about themselves and the process. They employ a positive, enthusiastic and hard work approach. They are willing to accept change and to look at themselves and the world from different perspectives.  They are open to support. They create, maintain and share insights and networks. They stay productive and active at home and in the world of work, often on a volunteer basis. Many of these successful folks read voraciously of the many books that are available on career change, salary negotiation, resume writing and interview techniques.  They work hard at the job of career change or job search.  When the right position is eventually discovered, their house is in order, they have learned a great deal about themselves and the process, and they are ready to put their best foot forward for the new position.  Often, friends and colleagues have no idea of how much effort went into the process, they only see the successful result. In the words of Michelangelo: “If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.”

Coaches Challenge: Our choice is in how we choose to think.  Begin with some simple tasks that you may have allowed yourself to get down about, like the weather.  You begin to build your positive thinking muscle. Then gradually tackle the greater issues as your strength increases.

Leave a Comment

Turning Your Passions Into Profits… The Optimal Coaching Experience

Are you ready?

I mean really ready?

Because what I’m about to share with you is not for the hobbyist who simply wants to dabble in coaching. Or flirt with the idea of making money doing what they love. If that is you, don’t waste another minute of your time.  Go talk to your friends about the struggles you are having not making any money.

If you are serious about turning your passions into profits, keep reading.

Imagine yourself sitting at your desk and you take a piece of paper and wad it up. Now close your eyes and throw it.  Did you hit your target? Um… how do you know since you didn’t set a target to begin with?  That is often the approach most coaches take in turning their passions into profits. They believe that if they show up and have excellent coaching sessions with their clients that their business will grow…magically. Or at least they hope so. And to a certain degree this can be true.  Often a result of this type of business building is significant peaks and valleys in revenue. One month you might have significant income only to realize the next you don’t.  That is exhausting as a business owner.

As Stephen Covey says, “Let’s begin with the end in mind.”  So you want more clients? You desire to make money doing what you love.  You must know the end result you desire to reach AND you’re client must know the desired result as well. At The Coaches Console, this is what we call the Optimal Coaching Experience.  Most likely your clients do not know the experience of working with a coach. It is new for them or it’s a new experience for them to work with you as their coach. To outline HOW they will experience coaching with you will strengthen their coaching sessions, deepen the know-like-trust factor they have with you and as a result will lead to extended client agreements and more referrals.

Now I’m not talking about how they experience the individual coaching session with you. You are a great coach and you’ve got that area covered. I’m talking about the entire process of working with you as a coach, from the moment they say “Yes, I want you to be my coach” until they have completed their coaching agreement with you and everything in between.

So often we hear new coaches that get a new client have the response of “Oh crap, now what do I do?” The Optimal Coaching Experience answers all of the “Now what?!” questions so you can provide exquisite client support and extend the ripple effect of your skills; turning your passions into profits.

The Optimal Coaching Experience is broken down into 5 segments:

1. Expectations
2. The Model of Time
3. Exquisite Client Support
4. The System of Money
5. The Guarantee

Outlining expectations that the coach has of the client AND that the client has of the coach allows each person involved to operate in full transparency.  By setting the expectations in the very beginning of the coaching agreement and operating from truth and authenticity, a space is created for graceful conversations in the event that expectations are not being met by either party; often leading to deeper relationships that turn into longer client agreements.

The model of time conveys the details around appointment scheduling, the logistics of rescheduling, contact in between sessions and what to do in case of emergencies. The model of time creates a model scenario in which the coach is able to fully be present and engaged in the moment. The thing to remember about how we model time for our clients is that it must not only be pleasurable, convenient and easy for our clients but it must also be the same for us as well. If we make a schedule that is super easy for our clients but only creates more work for us behind the scenes, this has gained us no ground. In fact it has put more burdens on us as the business owner managing our business and requires us to spend more of our time managing administrative activities instead of focusing on the clients.

Exquisite client support is about more than just having a powerful coaching session with a client and helping them to create magnificent AHA moments.  Exquisite client support is about how we support our clients before, during, after and even in between the coaching session. This level of service impacts the number of referrals to our business and is a key area that we can begin to have the greatest impact on adding clients to our active client list.

The system of money takes an often difficult and uncomfortable conversation for a coach and turns it into an easy, matter of fact conversation. The system of money outlines how you will ask for the money the client has agreed to pay you as well as the ideal way in which you will receive the money, process it and track it easily in your business. The more we can do to make the money conversation and experience easier in our business and easier for our clients, the easier it is for them to keep saying YES to sign up as our client as well as to say YES to continuing on longer as an existing client.

The Guarantee.  This is often where coaches that we talk to choke up a bit.  When a client is thinking about their pain point(s) in their life and they are listening to why and how you can help them get from point A to point B and resolve their pain, one question that is always running through the back of their mind is “What is my risk?”  Alleviate their risk and you make it super easy (and quick) for them to say YES to hire you.

The most effective tool a coach can use to outline and deliver the Optimal Coaching Experience to their clients is through the Coaching Agreement.  Using the tool of The Coaching Agreement addresses the critical information right up front, even before a prospect becomes a client.  Giving a potential client a glimpse at the experience they are about to have with you when they say YES, will help them to resolve the unanswered questions and obstacles that keep them from moving forward.

Using the Coaching Agreement to convey the Optimal Coaching Experience creates a successful experience for your clients on a consistent basis. Clarity and consistency is what allows us to do what we do best with and for our clients in a precise manner that makes sure we (and our clients) know what target we are going to hit. When we know the target, we simply do the same thing again and again and continue to get the same results… turning your passions into profits!

Like I said in the beginning, are you ready?  Are you really serious about getting down to the business of turning your passions into the profits? I’ve given you the “what’s.”  Do you want the “how-to’s” of applying and integrating the Optimal Coaching Experience? Click here. Members of our Business Success Inner Circle are dedicated to their success in coaching more clients and earning more money. Through this community we walk you through the specific how-to’s of applying specific business strategies to generate more clients and earn more money.



Leave a Comment

CONFIDENCE: The Secret Weapon To Making More Money

I was talking with a new coach the other day who was setting up the fees for her coaching business.  Based on input she had received from instructors, colleagues and other mentors, she was about to price her coaching services at $150/month for 4 sessions.

STOP RIGHT THERE!

We have seen this so many times in the industry. A coach, just starting out, falls into the myth that you have to have a lot of “experience” (time, practice and knowledge) in the field of coaching in order to justify charging higher prices.  In fact, even established coaches still fall prey to this type of thinking.  A new coach starting out would have to acquire 55 clients in order to match their desire of making 6 figures, doing something they love! Heck, even if you just wanted to make $30,000 at coaching, you’d have to have 16 clients a month at this rate.  No wonder coaches struggle. They are living as an Underearner (to use Barbara Stanny’s word).  As Barbara Stanny describes in her book, “Overcoming Underearning”, an Underearner is someone who is living in a gap of where they actually are versus where they want to be, financially.  As long as they fall prey to the belief that “I have to have a lot of experience in this field to justify charging higher prices”, they will continue to live as Underearners.  And it won’t matter if they implement the most effective marketing strategies or attend the right social media classes; they will continue to be Underearners and frustrated with turning their passions into profits.

Let’s go back to my story with the new coach charging $150/month.  When I reminded this coach that she was already a successful business owner (she’s had a successful business for several years in a large metropolitan area in a different industry offering services of a different type), she began to take on a different persona. Instead of feeling guilty for charging her clients for coaching and being uncertain about the value she brings, she remembered what was true and stepped into her confidence.  When I reminded her that she has actually been living as an unofficial coach to her clients through her other business and now she has simply polished her coaching skills, her confidence grew again.  And when I reflected back to her the value she is already bringing to her clients, her confidence became even stronger.

It is the confidence in yourself and in the value you bring to your clients that allow you to charge what you deserve and what you are worth.

As a coach, a business owner, if you focus on the logistics of the time it takes to work with each client, the administrative activity required to offer exquisite client support and the specifics of what you are giving to the client, you remain limited in your thinking, and the cost will never justify the product/service.  However, as soon as you think about the end result that your coaching has on your clients and how that impact has changed your client’s life… your services become priceless.

When the new coach I was talking to stepped deeper into her own confidence, she knew she was going to be making significant impacts on people’s lives.  She set up her business to charge $500/month for 3 sessions each month.  Now she only needs 16 clients to reach a six-figure income (if she doesn’t do anything else but 1-1 coaching).  In less than a week, she acquired a new client at her new rate and was receiving referrals for prospects.  The confidence she owned made the conversation with the potential client easy and fun.

It is not the amount of training that you have, it is not how long you’ve been in the industry and it’s not even the area in which you are coaching that dictates how much you charge for your services.  Each of those things simply contributes to the level of confidence you have within yourself.  It is your confidence that allows you to charge what you are worth.

A hobbyist will continue to focus on the time involved with their clients as a way to justify, and to often limit, their fees.  As a hobbyist, there is always a gap between where you are and where you desire to be financially. And confidence is something you are always striving for, it seems to just be out of reach.  As a hobbyist, the guilt of charging too much continues to limit the degree of impact in the world.

A business owner will focus on the end result they provide to their clients, and therefore will charge what they are worth. Like a hobbyist, a business owner will also often live in the gap between where they are now and where they want to be financially.  The difference is that confidence is something the business owner owns and steps into with courage (having fear and taking the step anyway).  As a business owner, nothing will get in the way of ensuring a significant impact on your clients and the world.

So confidence is the secret weapon. To the degree that you have confidence is the degree that you will be successful.  The more you can step into and own your confidence as a person, a coach, and a leader, the more successful you will be; the easier marketing is, the easier you will attract clients and the more money you will make.

Are you charging what you are worth?

If you answered with a solid, simple, confident “Yes”, I applaud you and commend the successful business owner that you are!

If anything other than a simple “Yes” came to your mind, there is a gap between where you are right now and where you want to be.  I’d like to invite you to join our Business Success Inner Circle of coaches where we coach coaches into owning their confidence, to growing their business, and to making money doing what they love!  We so believe in this program that we are offering the first two months FREE! Try it out, and own your confidence as the thriving coach and business owner you know you can be.

1 Comment

The Art Of Blurting

What is a “blurt”, you may ask and how can it possibly be valuable? For our purposes  “blurting” is the act of speaking out your thoughts before you have completely thought them through.

Your first reaction may be fear or even, Kate, you are a bit crazy. Fears of being misunderstood are most common or perhaps concern that people will think less of your abilities as a thought leader. Blurting, at the right time for the right purpose brings exponential value to you and your team…

Blurting Artfully can be a fabulous brainstorming method. Think of times when you are working with a team and you are trying to create a new process or concept.  It is almost impossible at first to speak or even think in full sentences, especially when the concept is in its germination stages. Many team members’ fear sounding foolish and or saying the “wrong” thing. Blurting in this instance can get ideas and thoughts on the table for yourself and others to mull over, and perhaps the team will then be able to refine these blurts from germination to genius. Blurting in this instance becomes a starting point for brilliant brainstorming, a fun way to get unstuck and create momentum.

So what is the “art” around blurting? Very simple, BEFORE you blurt, let your audience know that that is what you are doing. This warning will eliminate possible misunderstandings and get their expectations in line with what you are sharing. This also gives the team permission to refine and work with your blurtings.

“Artful Blurting” is a learned habit that can be cultivated by leaders and managers of teams including your own team of one if you are a solopreneur.

Leave a Comment

What Do You Think?

“One of the reasons people don’t achieve their dreams is that they desire to change their results without changing their thinking.”  John C. Maxwell Thinking For A Change

When an individual begins the coaching partnership it is often because they are frustrated with their current progress, it is not moving along fast enough, they are experiencing many roadblocks and they can’t seem to keep focus or stay on track towards their goal.  Our first step is usually to discover: “What are their thoughts in connection with the goal?”

Most often they are able to rattle off their strategy to reach the goal they wish to attain; they have broken it down into manageable steps and have begun the process to reach the goal.  The missing piece that causes the roadblock to success is not their ability or knowledge or even their organization, but the thoughts they harbor around the goal.

As a new college graduate I was given the opportunity to become a supervisor of a department I had been a member of for the last 3 years.  I was promoted due to my knowledge, experience and potential.  It was a great honor and one I felt ready to accept.  After about a month on the job, the productivity of my department had plummeted. I was frustrated, and went to my manager to try to discover what I was doing wrong. My manager gave me these words to ponder: “Think like a supervisor.”  After mulling this over, I discovered I was still thinking like an hourly employee.  I had made the leap to supervisor, but my thought processes had not changed along with me.  This time I went to my supervisor with a list of new thoughts: how I think about myself in relation to the supervisory position.  I was on my way to changing the way I thought about my job and my person in that job.  With each discovery, I became a more valuable supervisor and my department began to excel.  Success in this situation was about changing the way I was thinking to mirror the new position.

Coaches Challenge:  Examine your thinking around your business goals and who you are with this goal. Ask yourself some questions to trigger understanding of your current thought processes and what changes you may have to make. If your goal is to build a thriving Coaching Practice… do you believe it is possible?  Do you think you deserve to have a thriving business? How does a successful businessperson think, act, look? Are you thinking like a business person or a hobbyist? How do you have to think differently to make the change from a surviving business to a thriving business? What thoughts do you have that will inhibit and or forward this goal? Begin to change the way you think to enhance your goals.

Leave a Comment

Living in Delicious Fear

Can you remember the first time you did something that was scary to you? Was it learning to ride a bike, or perhaps to swim, or a first day at a new job or at a new school? The amazing part of these moments is that as soon as we push past our fears and give it a try, succeed or fail, we learn something about our abilities and ourselves. We also gain valuable knowledge and understanding of the challenge that faces us, and the tools required to succeed in the face of that challenge. Our brain, our spirit and our bodies are incredible tools.  Each grows proportionately with the risks and trials we encounter. Like exercising a muscle, as we practice and increase our repetitions the muscle grows in strength and facility.

That is what I call “living in delicious fear”.  It is that place when you are out of your comfort zone and teetering on the verge of stepping backwards, but you just gently lean forward and move ahead. This is the discovery and learning zone: “Wow! I can do that, it wasn’t as scary as I thought.” Perhaps: ” I survived, I will do this part differently next time, or “I did OK, if I practice, I will become great at this!” The first step out of comfort and into “delicious fear” is the hardest and also the most exhilarating. Your senses are at their peak and your brain is working its hardest to master the skills required and still maintain control, your emotions are working overtime and you are a mass of nerves and then you’ve done it! Everything lets go all at once and your whole body goes into “I did it!” mode! Then the learning and understanding sets in and our wonderful minds take over. We get better and better at it as we practice and build our muscles of trying new things. Our spirit grows as we discover new talents or polish unused ones and we become more empowered to try again and possibly attempt even more difficult challenges.

I remember learning to ride my first two-wheeled bike.  My sister was the one to teach me, Mom was too worried and Dad didn’t have the patience.  So Barb helped me learn.  She held the back of the bike seat to stabilize me as I struggled to gain the necessary balance to master the task. I was sweating so hard from fear and struggle, my eyes stung from the salt. I kept yelling, “don’t let go, I’m not ready!” Then I realized I was moving way too fast for her to keep up I was doing it!  Then Barb screamed and I fell off!  I yelled what’s the matter? As she ran up to see if I was all right, she looked worried and thrilled all together, as I bled from both knees.  What’s wrong, I cried? “You did it, you did it, you rode all by yourself!” You see, there were two of us living in delicious fear that day.  Barb was terrified that she would not be up to the task of teaching me and that I would fail, she stepped way out of her comfort zone for me.  I must say I was most proud of those scrapes and became a daredevil bike rider! Barb discovered she was a great teacher!

Of course there are set backs, embarrassment, scraped knees, a lost possibility but more often than not they are endurable set backs.  Delicious fear is a wake up call to use your brain, focus and approach the challenge with all of your capabilities and full consciousness. We are not speaking of ignoring your fears, but consciously and thoughtfully moving past them.  Using your skills and knowledge in a way that allows you to “Just do it”.    It is what makes many of us successful business owners or managers or CEOs.  Have you stepped out lately?  We often get too comfortable and settled in our worlds to remind ourselves to step out, take a new responsibility, or a challenge.

Whatever the step is for you, remember the discovery and learning zone is where we as human beings grow best.  Once the challenge has been met and we are delivered to the other side is when our real work begins.  We then can take the time to celebrate our successes and evaluate and learn from mistakes, strategize on how to better meet the task in the future, gather more knowledge or skills we discovered were lacking, get help from others if required. Each challenge is an opportunity to grow.  Each success empowers us to try again. Each mistake or failure is packed with learning to do it better the next time.

You say the fear is too big!  The fear is not worth it! Then try taking smaller steps. That is why training wheels were invented.  My challenge to you is to step out into delicious fear this week, go create a new product for your business, invite your most dissatisfied customer to lunch, speak to someone about a raise or a promotion, learn to ride the bike of your dreams!

Leave a Comment