I’ve decided to put some energy into video lessons for the next several weeks with a new series called FearLESS Friday.
I have said before that there is no reason to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Fear is a natural part of the human experience.
Some of us are going to be afraid far more than others.
The key, I have learned, is to work with that fear and help it feel safe enough to take a back seat.
So this series is going to help you tend to your fear so you can have LESS of it holding you back.
When I help my clients design business offerings and sales systems that feel aligned for them and their values, fear is almost always a part of the discussion — such as how do I truly show up as myself when my industry wants me to be a certain way?
In business, we need to Fear LESS.
Here’s the first episode! I would love to hear a bit about your Fear Story.
If listening to audio is not for you — or if you just want to get straight into it — that is perfectly fine. Here’s the cliff’s notes version.
Blaze your own path
This is what I’m all about — doing your thing, being authentic, and really laying out what differentiates you what is your own leanness, and really letting that help you position your offers. When you get to a place in your business, where you are blazing your own path, people will flock to you you will be you will be doing everything that you need to be doing that makes it easy for people to work with you. But when you operate, like every other, whatever your industry is, it doesn’t set you apart, it doesn’t stand out. And so blaze your path is the first step in letting them see or you’re brave.
Rise to the Top
Rise to the top be top of mind for people all the time, not some of the time, not when you feel like it not when the mood strikes all the time.
When people think about you and that industry, or when they think about, you know what your offer is, they should think of you. Even if they don’t want to work with you, they should think of you, there’s something that needs to be something that is catching their attention, that is really calling to them or sticking in their brain. So when you can rise to the top and cultivate demand for your work. That is when you will start to really see clients flowing in money and revenue flowing in attention rolling in, and then your authority just naturally starts to grow. rising to the top, though, is a little bit of messaging. Well, a lot of messaging is a big part of messaging.
But it’s also capacity, and consistency. And they’re two shifts that need to dance together seamlessly. You must have the capacity in order to show up consistently. And the more you show up consistently, the more you’re going to rise to the top.
And so leaning in and investing in your capacity is essential having the business practices and the self care practices and the spiritual practices that you need to do to show up and take up space on a regular basis. That is what is required of us in this economy.
Act like the Expert
Yes, you might be new to business. I don’t know what how many years you’ve been doing this, but I can tell you that I was in business for eight years. Had a highly profitable business, by the way, six figures, you know, thriving community, I was living the life. And I still thought I was a beginner. I still looked for other people to tell me how to do things what to do what’s what should I do next? And it was only when I reclaimed my inner authority and my self worth and understood that nobody knows how to run my business better than me.
So this is why when I’m working with clients, we are we are focusing on what you know what you already know. And we’re pulling it out we are unearthing the gold that is within you that is within your business model that is within your expertise that is within your experiences.
Visualize best possible outcome
Now, I have to remind myself of this one all the time, because it is so easy to get caught up in all the details and the overwhelm of running a business of you know, launching a thing, you know, working on a project.
when you know that the outcome has gonna have a great ending, you’re willing to go for it, you’re willing to do it, you’re gonna put the time and you’re gonna put the work in. So whatever that thing is that you’re struggling with right now, whatever that problem is that you’re trying to overcome. Get your journal out and just write out best possible outcome for it. And just focus on that focus on that.
Embrace a Brave YES Mindset
So the brave guests mindset is something I created late, you know, kind of middle of last year. And I find more and more that it is the number one skill that entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs especially need to make it in this industry in this in this market and this economy. And you know, when we when we say brave, yes, not just sometimes, but all the time. We’re going to be doing the things that we need to do to move our businesses forward. And when you can embrace a previous mindset, you’re doing things like saying yes, before you’re ready, trying new things, not being afraid of failure.
That effort should feel good — and move the needle for you so you can thrive and feel joy in the work you do. This is how we align with The Entrepreneur’s Freedom Trifecta that I talked about recently …
The simple truth — the one thing I want you to know is … mindful progress and Brave YES impact are a lovely combo.
I focus my work and coaching around Brave YES Power Moves because that’s what has helped me grow by leaps and bounds — my first business and now this one.
Boring just doesn’t cut it in this market.
Listen to this latest episode of The Brave YES Business Show!
The truth is there’s a lot of hope hanging in the air.
I just liked a tweet that said hope is a drug — and a lot of online gurus and thought leaders are playing on that drug, encouraging you to do bigger things.
But wait, that’s what I do????
Except it’s not. I’m not promising anything that’s not possible — other than your own joy and happiness and growth.
I have grown a bit of a community on Twitter this year — which has been great — mostly talking about the ridiculous standards around toxic productivity that fills every day, every week, every month with STUFF TO DO to grow your audience, your following, your revenue, etc. etc.
But, while I do believe in — and practice and coach my clients around — slow growth and mindful progress, I also believe in taking your business seriously and going all in on impact.
Growing a business is hard work. It takes effort.
That effort should feel good — and move the needle for you so you can thrive and feel joy in the work you do. This is how we align with The Entrepreneur’s Freedom Trifecta that I talked about recently …
The simple truth — the one thing I want you to know is … mindful progress and Brave YES impact are a lovely combo.
I focus my work and coaching around Brave YES Power Moves because that’s what has helped me grow by leaps and bounds — my first business and now this one.
Boring just doesn’t cut it in this market.
Embracing a Brave YES Business Mindset is KEY. It’s essential. And this is all about opening up your perspective and seeing what is possible for YOU and your business and going for it.
When you embrace a Brave YES Business Mindset — and I’ll be teaching a masterclass on this in January — you are saying YES to so many beautiful practices that will help you grow your business with ease and joy — rather than toxic productivity and shoulds.
You need impact. You need the buzz. You need the attention because business IS a numbers game and it’s harder than ever to get the numbers in your favor.
This traveling through the dark valley without taking some risks is ensuring that many business owners are falling behind.
And you need to be intentional and strategic to avoid burnout and exhaustion and wanting to give up when things don’t work out.
Here’s what I know to be true and how I shape my client journey in Brave YES Business Coaching with me.
OPERATE IN YOUR ZONE OF GENIUS — What you think is your zone may be accurate but often times there is a lot of inner work and self-discovery to do to figure this out. Or, you may even know what this is but not actually operating in it most of the time.
INVEST IN YOUR CAPACITY — How many times do I have to say it? Your ability to keep up in this fast paced, challenging economy — and stand out in a noisy, saturated market — requires you to be at the top of your game in confidence and courage — and that means at the top of your game in mind, body and spirit.
CALL IN YOUR MOST ALIGNED CLIENTS — In my coaching, we work directly on creating client alchemy — this is matching your energy to those who need your services, products and offers. In this process, you are creating a pipeline of clients to YOU, rather than you going to them.
GO FOR THE IMPACT WITH BRAVE YES POWER MOVES — It may not surprise you that I don’t waste much time. I don’t like busy work. I don’t like fluff. I like impact. I try to fill my calendar with high-impact actions rather than fluff … and this is where my Brave YES methodology really stands apart from average business coaching. Every move you make should be strategic and attempt to move the needle in your business.
CULTIVATE CONSISTENCY — Impact isn’t a one-time magical moment that you manifest. It’s a set of actions that you take consistently over time for mindful progress that builds and creates momentum over time. The more consistency you practice — in sales, in marketing, in visibility, in connections, in offering, in doing the work — the more traction you SHOULD feel in your business (ie: sales, audience growth, discovery calls, speaking engagements, etc.)
As you build out your outcomes and goals for the year, consider what’s on your list that is impact or fluff and see what you can do to turn that fluff into Brave YES Power Moves.
Braving the business arena requires doing hard things and fear is often the cause of procrastinating on doing what will create momentum in your business.
What would happen if you were to start taking consistent, braver action?
In your business?
In your creativity?
In your marketing?
I’ll tell you because I see it happening with myself and my clients: You will see momentum and traction in areas your life and work where you weren’t seeing it before.
Every brave action you take is what I call a Brave YES.
Redefine Your Comfort Zone and Start Doing Harder Things
In fact, it was my own research and hard work of coping through the fear of doing uncomfortable things over the past decade that led me to start a coaching program to help female creators, thought leaders and creative entrepreneurs Brave UP and take more risks to become more visible and profitable.
My own tendency for the first couple years of my entrepreneurial journey was to stay very, very comfortable. And as long as business was flowing in, that was fine. Until it wasn’t …
Being in the business arena — especially when you need to grow your business — isn’t comfortable. It’s literally where you can get your ass kicked, as Brené Brown has famously said.
But, the truth is, when you are doing hard things that make you feel uncomfortable — ie: taking risks — you are most doing what it takes to grow your authority and your business.
But taking risks doesn’t mean going into panic zone.
In my coaching program, I support my clients as they begin to redefine and stretch their comfort zone.
What is Comfort Zone Theory?
As a culture, we have an obsession with being comfortable. We will spend great amounts of money to maintain our current level of comfort — or to move into an even comfier place of ease and pleasure.
But, comfort is a privilege that is not afforded to all.
I think about this when I see a single mom carrying groceries AND her kiddos off a bus and needing to walk a few blocks home in the rain as I drive by in my warm, clean car.
Comfort is political, as is everything in our lives.
The self-care industry is always, always luring us back into our comfort zones.
The bath commercials.
The cozy decor and blankets.
And, since the pandemic, we’ve even made business-friendly sweats a part of our fashion conversations.
Over and over, the lure of comfort is calling you back, calling you back into your safe place where you know you will not be challenged or experience any discomfort at all.
Feeling safe and secure is important — in fact it’s a basic need — but as female thought leaders, creators and entrepreneurs, we know that powerful progress doesn’t happen in our comfort zones.
The question is will you do the hard things or will you keep pushing them off to stay in your comfort zone?
Your comfort zone is an important place to stop and rest and recover while you are doing hard things but it should not be where you remain forever.
When you have been in your comfort zone too long, you look around and realize nothing much has changed in months or even years.
It’s there, in your comfort zone, you feel safest. You experience that peace you have longed for, where you don’t have have disruptions or conflict — a great idea in theory, but not possible for those of us who are out leading and helping others transform.
It’s easy to believe — because we’ve been conditioned to believe it — that our lives are bad if there is chaos, mess, fear or doubt mixed in, and if we do experience any of that there must be something wrong with us. If we struggle with fear or doubt, we have imposter complex.
And that is simply not true.
As creators, creatives, and leaders we are on a path that leads to chaos, to uncertainty, to doubt and to upheaval — and that is OK.
This is beautifully defined in Buddhism, where there are two defined paths to follow.
The Monk’s Path (or renunciate path): This is the path that leads to silence, stillness and withdrawing from the human experience. This is where you choose long periods of time in hard work and meditation but little else, including little socialization and being in the real world enjoying the human experience. On this path, you do not make waves, you do not weigh in on political conversations, or run a shiny, radiant personal brand. You are hiding. You are avoiding as much suffering as possible.
The Householder’s Path: This is the path that most of us lead, a life with responsibilities, a life with conflict and relationships and imperfect human experiences. On this path, we are taking adventures daily — even if it’s just a heated conversation with loved ones — and we are showing up in our full, authentic radiance. You are taking up space, you are visible, you are putting yourself out there. And, as a result, there will be interactions and conflict and suffering.
If you are a householder trying to live a monk’s path of silence and no disruptions, you are going to fail at both paths.
If you are an entrepreneur who is trying to simultaneously grow your authority, visibility and revenue AND also stay hidden and comfy, you are going to fail at both paths.
In all of this, it’s true that your brain wants you to stay safe and secure and not rock any boats and not disrupt any systems because that will catapult you into the arena of discomfort.
It’s wants you to remain super comfy as if you are a monk hiding on a mountainside, unbothered by the suffering of the world.
After all, there are advantages to staying in your comfort zone, but most of them are illusions.
3 Illusions of Staying in Your Comfort Zone
Illusion One — You are confident. When you are in your comfort zone, it’s safe. It’ familiar. You own it. This gives you a false sense of confidence that you don’t need to make any changes, that all is well. Until it’s not. Until you are facing an experience where you are being called to play bigger and now suddenly you are filled with fear and doubt because you haven’t been accustomed to feeling discomfort.
Illusion Two — You are safe. In the comfort zone you are taking minimal risks and that gives you a feeling of safety. After all, if you keep hiding and playing small, you can’t fail. Except — when you aren’t taking any risks in your business it also means you aren’t challenging yourself, you aren’t growing and THIS is great way to stay stagnant in the long run. Your lack of putting yourself out there will catch up to you eventually. No doubt.
Illusion Three — You are at peace. When you are in your comfort zone, it’s easy to get caught up in only wanting ease and peace because you are not experiencing the discomfort of failure or rejection — or putting yourself out there. This false sense of peace is common. But, often, it’s not really a true feeling of peace because, while you may value slow days and no conflict, you may be feeling a lack of inner peace around your own confidence or money fears. And if you don’t right now, you will.
These illusions make the comfort zone feel like the best place for you but I know from experience that the most joy and momentum in my life and business happens when I stretch out of my comfort zone and redefine it.
Doing Hard Things and Discomfort Avoidance
Author Glennon Doyle is famous for saying We Can Do Hard Things, also the name of her podcast.
And while it is true, it is easier said than done.
One of my favorite coaching conversations is supporting clients who are coping through doing hard things and helping them stay accountable to themselves and not giving up.
This has been a pillar of my work for 10 years.
Holding boundaries is not comfortable.
Asking for a sale is not comfortable.
Being rejected for our work is not comfortable.
Getting on stage to speak is not always comfortable.
Much of business and leadership is not comfortable, in fact.
Since we have been conditioned that our comfort is everything and something to maintain constantly, we develop discomfort avoidance, which prevents us from taking important, powerful risks in our life and business.
Discomfort avoidance negatively impacts women entrepreneurs the most by keeping you hiding and avoiding all kinds of actions that might actually move the needle in your business.
In order to be braver, bolder and create more momentum you must become accustomed to feeling small pangs of discomfort.
Discomfort is not your enemy.
Lack of action is.
When your life is at risk, that is something to fear and we would never want that for you.
But doing things that raise your profile or help you set bold business boundaries for more ease are hard — but not life or death decisions.
Taking up space is hard, but nothing to fear.
It’s your thoughts about the discomfort that impact you the most and why my Brave YES Mindset work is so important in the work I do.
When you become at ease with discomfort, you start entering your Expansion Zone.
What it means to Redefine Your Comfort Zone
Just beyond your comfort zone is a space, a space where growth mindset takes over and you realize you can be at ease while stretching, growing and doing new things.
It’s just enough to help you redefine your comfort zone.
It’s not enough to create panic or fear.
I call this the Expansion Zone.
My work as a business strategist and courage coach is about supporting you while you redefine your comfort zone and move into your Expansion Zone.
Not all discomfort is equal.
Some discomfort is unsafe and, as stated above, you should leave that situation immediately.
Other kinds of discomfort, though, will help you take up space, become a bolder leader and expand your visibility in your industry.
That’s the kind of discomfort I work with my clients on coping through and dealing with so that you can take the Brave YES Leaps you want to do in your lifetime and business.
As you set goals to help you play bigger more comfortably you will also be upleveling your power, purpose, and prosperity.
All courage work is connected — every small brave step leads to more confidence, more empowerment — and more revenue.
Steps to Move into YOUR Expansion Zone
Your Expansion Zone — which we will identify during the Bravest Business Year Yet Retreat — will help you stretch, grow, and lean into the grit you need to get to your next level so you can truly play bigger.
There’s some research that says that this is where “optimal anxiety” sets in which is good anxiety.
Robert Yerkes, a celebrated psychologist, began speaking of a behavioral theory whereby, in order to optimize performance, humans must reach a level of stress slightly higher than normal. He referred to this as “Optimal Anxiety” and it seems that this space exists just outside of our comfort zone.
“Anxiety improves performance until a certain optimum level of arousal has been reached. Beyond that point, performance deteriorates as higher levels of anxiety are attained.”
When you are beyond your expansion zone — and into an unsafe space for your mind, body and spirit and anxiety starts to take over– you may have jumped too far and entered the Panic Zone.
What is the Panic Zone?
You might be in the Panic Zone if your fear and anxiety lead to feelings of shutting down, hiding, overwhelm or quitting entirely. This is often when Fight, flight, freeze or fawn takes over in this zone. You may feel tense, fearful, rage, frustration, resentment or a sick feeling in your stomach.
You also may not have the energy to truly handle the enormous change or growth that is required in this zone. It’s best to walk yourself back and take a tiny step into your expansion zone — often called the stretch zone.
The key to moving into your Expansion Zone is to do so while avoiding the panic zone because it’s not where you are going to experience flow and feeling empowered.
6 Steps to Move into Your Expansion Zone
Clarity is essential — Choose “just right” Brave YES goals or intentions that align with you and your values — and your strengths and vision — is a powerful way to upgrade yourself. You should feel grounded and in flow with the stretch goals you set.
Surround yourself with next-level support — I serve as a rumble partner for my clients who are doing new, brave things and it’s an honor. When I am about to take a Brave YES Leap I make sure to have the right support by my side. That means people who care about my wellbeing and aren’t going to let me off the hook.
Uplevel your Resilience. Doing hard things, taking risks means you must be ready for the fallout. There will be discomfort. You must be ready. There are active practices to do daily to improve your resilience.
Boost Your Capacity. Support is one way to be more resilient, as is making sure you are practicing Radical Wellbeing because you won’t take bold action if you are tired, overwhelmed or burned out. You must stabilize yourself and your current life and business circumstances in order to take risks that count.
Develop coping skills for the hard moments. Doing hard things is … hard. There will be discomfort. Knowing what you can do to make those hard things more joyful is one thing — and making sure you know how to work with your emotions is essential. Find someone to talk to about your feelings.
Develop Emotional safety Practices. You don’t have to feel the fear and do it anyway. You can, instead, really work with redefining your comfort zone by making sure you are taking appropriate risks for you and your business.
Ready to Play Bigger?
I don’t see my role as a business strategist AND courage coach to keep you comfortable.
You’ll do that VERY well on your own.
I nearly let a comfort move slide today during a session but a little red flag was going off in my ear … ding, ding, ding.
Here’s a highly successful entrepreneur dealing with what most are dealing with right now — a downturn in traffic and, as a result, sales.
And yet … she’s kind of in a why bother, I can’t do more right now.
Yeah, I get that. We’re tired. No one can afford to hire help but help is what’s needed because your capacity is low. This is a horrible vicious cycle for female entrepreneurs.
Brave visions < low capacity
This is a real problem.
So, I did in the coaching session what I always do.
I caused trouble.
Big trouble.
“I’m going to plant a seed and suggest you think about something bigger, something that will excite you and actually get you feeling motivated.”
She paused. And breathed.
What if … and I went into a bit of Impossible Land for a minute. What if you think … what if you considered …
She was smiling.
She was feeling the call to action.
“That’s not a seed, that’s a bush,” she said.
We’re tired, ya’ll.
Tired of playing THEIR game.
Tired of not having power.
Tired of doing things conventionally.
Tired of traveling through the dark valley of irrelevance where only the dancing, shining and brighter objects glisten in the darkness.
It’s going to take UNCONVENTIONAL business strategies — and truly knowing how to position your passion work — to make money and feel in alignment.
I’m not afraid to push you to your edge. If you want soft, you’ll handle that fine on your own.
A Brave YES Business is creating a business for the future, companies where all people are thriving. We simply can’t keep doing business as usual.
Plant those seeds.
Aim higher.
Stretch yourself.
READY TO AIM BIGGER? Join me for my upcoming Design Your Bravest Business Year Yet goal-setting retreat for 2023. https://lnkd.in/e52YSCh2
Hey, Quietly Powerful & Creatively Passionate Biz Owners!
This is not your average “business as usual” annual planning retreat. Because YOUR business isn’t average. Or typical. And neither are YOU.
So why set boring business goals?
Join me on Nov. 18 — and we’re going to take things up a notch for your 2023!
You started your business for the freedom it would give you and then you quickly learned that to offset that salary you once had working for someone else’s company, you don’t have as much freedom as you’d like.
In fact, it’s a lot more work than you thought and there is a constant piling up on your to-do list.
This is the life of a creative solopreneur and personal brand.
We currently have a lot of personal brands, thought leaders and creators trying to make it as one-person businesses and, therefore, a lot of amazing people trying to make it big in this world.
Your success doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s …
The thing is, though, being a solopreneur means that for every YES, there must be a NO, and for every NO, you are making space for a YES.
Not all goals are created equal and all too often I see solopreneurs setting themselves up for failure by setting goals that are actually designed for a team — and not a one-person solo show that centers their thriving and prosperity.
I’ve been a solopreneur for 10 years full-time and I made these very goal-setting mistakes more than once — until I learned how to truly set goals that put a fire in my belly AND were doable.
6 Goal-Setting Mistakes One-Person Business Owners Make
You Set Goals That Are Too Big
Planning too audacious goals without the capacity — or the resources is a common goal-setting mistake, especially for solopreneurs and personal brands. After all, are we even good enough if we aren’t pushing ourselves to some ridiculous standard?
The thing is, though, when you’re truly going after really big goals, you need a sustainable strategy and unwavering and unconditional support — as well as compassionate accountability.
Your partner — who has their own life goals and challenges — does not count in most cases.
I’m a big fan of audacious goals — things that are going to move the needle in your business — but I never set a big goal without the support and resources in place. I’ve learned that when I do that, I am 3x more successful with achieving my goals.
TRY THIS: Set goals that are connected to successes you’ve already had. Build on the work you’ve already done and stretch yourself to take those even farther.
You Set Goals that Are too Small
If you set goals and cross them off the next week or two, that’s a sign that your goals are a bit too small. This is another common goal-setting pitfall I see with solopreneurs and small business owners.
When you are setting goals that are easily crossed off that is evidence that your goals are actually tasks — not goals.
TRY THIS: Put your goals to the test by asking if it will make a difference a year from now — or not? If in a year you will forget it even happened, it’s not quite big enough.
You Set Goals that are Shoulds
Possibly more derailing than all the goal-setting mistakes listed here, setting SHOULD Goals is the one that often causes burnout and resentment in a business.
Should goals are often based on what others are doing — or saying you should do. These goals are often created by watching online gurus or speakers talking about their own goals — or from reading articles or books.
An example of should goals that I see happening a lot right now is posting on social media even if you hate it or pitching podcasts even if you don’t feel comfortable doing so.
Setting goals based on where you “should be” is usually out of alignment with what you really need right now for yourself and your business and can cause a serious case of shiny object syndrome.
Should Goals are also distractions to doing the real work that your business needs — which is often a simple revenue sustainability plan.
TRY THIS: Do a deep assessment of what you truly need to take your business to the next level and set goals that will get you where you want to be — not where others are earning money on taking you where they want you to go.
READY TO DESIGN YOUR BRAVEST BUSINESS YEAR YET? Register now for the upcoming half-day retreat that will walk you through an assessment process to find brave, authentic and joy-based goals to grow your business. Sign up for the retreat here.
You Set Goals That Are Out of Your Control
This goal-setting mistake is the one I could share as a TedTalk right now.
This one is about choosing business goals that are out of YOUR control and, therefore, create a constant feeling of failure.
When a goal is out of your control, it means you are trying to reach a number goal that is based on other people’s actions such as hitting a certain sales goal or revenue goal.
For a solopreneur, revenue is your job but so are a million other things. So your goals need to be well within your control to make happen — rather than hoping things will work out by what other people do or do not do.
At the upcoming Design Your Bravest Business Year Yet you will learn going how to choose audacious goals that are well within your control. Not easy goals, but goals that will uplevel you and redefine YOUR comfort zone.
TRY THIS: Check in with every single goal that you set and make sure the outcome uses strategy and tactics that are 100 percent in your power — and if you aren’t sure if it is get the support you need to make sure you can make it happen.
You Set Goals that are Beyond Your Capacity
Sometimes we take on more than we can chew — in food, and in setting our business goals as one-person business operations.
I know I have done this — with both food AND business goals.
We have such good intentions!
When your goals require more time, energy and resources than you are able to give, you need to either scale back or level up and maybe a one-person business isn’t going to be enough capacity to do the work needed.
Ease is always important and so setting goals that will keep you motivated AND feel like ease is essential so that you feel momentum and traction at every turn.
TRY THIS: Rather than downgrade your goals, upgrade your capacity! There are many ways to do this including getting added support, creating sustainable systems, and taking care of yourself in mind, body and spirit.
START A MONTHLY WELLBEING CHECK-IN! Every single month, usually on the first of the month, I do a wellbeing inventory of myself to see where I need to shore up my mind, body and spirit. Learn how to do this for yourself here.
Stop Setting Goals that ZAP your Creative Energy
Forgetting yourself and your role in the business goals — if your goals are constantly about climbing, chasing, and striving to meet the next number or deadline you may put your own creative and life desires on hold until SOME DAY.
Some day when I finally hit 7 figures … someday, someday, someday.
These kinds of goals sound good on the face but often take away your joy and your ability to be present for your life and family right now. Building a business that is successful is a lofty goal — but if you have to sacrifice your joy now, it is worth it? To some, yes. To many, no.
TRY THIS: Joy comes from having more space rather than less, more freedom rather than less. Sometimes the best goals are going to free you up and give you more time for yourself and your passions. Consider if your goals are going to require more of your time — or create more space.
It’s time to channel your Inner Goldilocks & Find Your Brave YES Goals
The truth is that choosing goals should be intentional and joy-filled — not just strategic.
Sometimes it can feel like we’re Goldilocks trying to find the right goals.
Too big.
Too small.
Sometimes we hear the “jump off the cliff and do the hard things” voice that tells us to set big, hairy, audacious goals and suffer through to make them happen.
These goals wear a passport tied around their neck and work 4 hours a week out of a rental in Bali. Just thinking about these goals induces panic and anxiety.
And, then there are the slow and boring “business as usual” goals.
These goals wear a suit and tie and mingle at Chamber events. These goals are like sitting on the couch in your sweatpants and drinking tea. You know you should do more but … why bother?
Instead, I encourage my clients to set Brave YES business goals.
What’s a Brave YES Goal?
A Brave YES goal lands “just right” … and hits you square in your Expansion Zone, meaning it’s designed to help you grow into who you need to be and how you want to show up SO you can hit all of your goals.
This kind of YES goal feels good in your mind, body and spirit because it’s designed for you and who you want to be in your business and how you want to run your business — on your terms.
Every part of you says YES so it’s also a no-brainer to make happen.
The Expansion Zone is where you walk to the edge of your comfort zone, slowly expanding your resilience and courage muscles.
Expansion Zone goals wear bright orange and funky glasses and hang out in a cafe enjoying fiery conversations. These goals get you up in the morning and energize you.
During Your Bravest Business Year Yet Retreat, I will guide you through a 2023 goal-setting process that isn’t about numbers and shoulds — but about heart and soul — and all of it will be 100 percent within your control to make happen. I will inspire you to choose clear, courageous objectives that creatively stretch you AND create momentum for you and your business in 2023.
Are you the bottleneck in your one-person business?
Believe it or not, this is often the case for solopreneurs.
The problem with doing it all yourself is that you are responsible for doing it all — yourself.
And so, naturally, you are the one to blame yourself, your circumstances, or your strategy for not achieving your business goals.
But, here’s the thing: When you are a one-person business you are holding more than a business — and so treating yourself like a company when you are just one person is setting yourself up for failure.
If life keeps knocking you down, blaming yourself for your life circumstances isn’t fair to you. It’s also letting a whole of others off the hook.
This is where I come back to two sayings I’ve used with my clients whose life circumstances are a challenge over the years …
Start where you are.
Bloom where you are planted.
If your life circumstances are not in the way, it’s then either you or your strategy. My guess is before it’s you, it’s your strategy — or, more commonly, your lack of one.
Your goals and vision require a strategy. The more clear you are on what that strategy is the more clear it is on what actions to take. You must know where you want to go and how you want to get there. Actions then become no-brainers.
But, if you have all of that, and you are still not performing at your own personal peak level, then we likely need to get to the root of things. Like your fear. Like your capacity. Like your routines. Like your doubt.
I secretly love it when a business strategy client tells me she’s grappling with fear.
We’ll be in the middle of a conversation around lead magnets and messaging when she’ll say something like … but I’m afraid none of this will work.
That is the kind of self-sabotage I can work with!
Managing your life circumstances is a big part of the work I do with my clients because as a working mom of twins for 10 years,
I get that sometimes life is going to life. But that’s actually no excuse to not do the things you want to do. At all. We just have to get creative with it. Life is going to life. Period. I’ve talked about this a lot. I’ve heard of some major things disrupting business as usual lately — Covid, moving, major health issues, kid diagnosis and behavior, parent illnesses or diagnosis — or even deaths. Managing a business through this is about supporting you as you navigate the messy middle of chaos — and making sure you are doing the essentials.
Designing a strategy that works for you, your values, your strengths and your expertise is the next step.
This strategy needs to be simple, sustainable and repeatable. It also needs creative flexibility for you to thrive in any circumstances. Period. Your resilience will only get you so far. Your strategy needs to serve you.
Finally, we need to address your capacity container.
If fear or doubt is blocking you, it will cause procrastination. If you are burned out on client delivery, we’ll need to shore some things up so you have time for the other parts of your vision to be implemented. If you are exhausted before you get to your marketing, we’re going to need to find out why and get to the root of your exhaustion.
Hey, Quietly Powerful & Creatively Passionate Biz Owners!
This is not your average “business as usual” annual planning retreat. Because YOUR business isn’t average. Or typical. And neither are YOU.
So why set boring business goals?
Join me on Nov. 18 — and we’re going to take things up a notch for your 2023!
