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| Thanks to Kevin Shorter |
Last year was a big year for me, my nearest and dearest moved in, I got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, was there for my in-laws and my husband as my mother in law fought her cancer battle, and also began dealing more seriously with my father's fight with Parkinson's. It was A LOT of stuff--needless to say my business got moved to the back burner. Partially because of all that stuff and partially because to move to the next level I had to face some fears and deal with some demons and quite frankly I just didn't have the energy for that. So I kept my business going status quo, saw clients, blogged here and there and while my business did fine there wasn't any real growth.
At the start of 2012, I decided a couple of things: one I wanted my business to get bigger, I wanted to reach more people, do more writing, speaking, counseling and just generally put myself out there in a bigger way and two I wanted this to be my year of honesty. Frankly, to do number one I believe you have to do number two. So in the past 18 days I have put myself out there more, I have worked on a new bigger business plan, I have written more, posted more, face booked' more, tweeted more, and in general each day I have just showed up and been engaged in my business more. And I have to say it has been hard, challenging exhilarating, energizing, anxiety producing, joyous, and exhausting.
But here are a few insights, lessons I am re-learning and ideas that I have had over the past few weeks:
1.You never feel more alive than when you are pushing your limits. Facing my fears, questioning myself, checking in and asking what I want to do next is nerve wracking and exhilarating. But it feels 1000 times better than living life one foot in one foot out--living in the status quo.
2. You have to have a vision. Each day I return to my overall vision for my business and my life: to help people see the possibility in their lives and to help them live genuine, authentic lives so they live and work happier. Yes, I have to do a lot of other stuff in order to do that--marketing, using social media, networking etc. But doing all the stuff that I don't like is a lot easier when I know why.
3. There isn't always a right way. Yep, I am a bit of a perfectionist--sometimes to the determent of my productivity and of my sanity. I get too caught up in doing it right--and usually there isn't one right way.
4. There is a time to push and a time to rest. I admit I can be a bit too driven--pushing myself too hard and in the process missing the forest for the trees. There are times when I have found myself during 'work hours' forcing myself to be productive and just not feeling it. More often then not when I step a way, take a breathe and concentrate on something else I can come back feeling more productive and committed.
5. Celebrate the little things. When it comes to facing the fear monger, and chartering new territories you can get so focused on the big picture you don't take the time to celebrate the little victories. Some days just coming up with a blog post is a HUGE day for my. Somedays I am a writing and marketing wiz--regardless I am learning to celebrate both days equally.
6. You have to walk before you can run, or more importantly you have to fall before you can walk. Mistakes happen, progress is slow but any time you are putting one foot in front of the other you are moving more towards your authentic life---and that is a win in my book.
What about you? Any lessons you have learned in facing your fears or going after your goals?
