I wrote Ask Others, Trust Yourself a few years ago out of my desire to help clients who had been stuck for many years, or who were afraid of pursuing their business for whatever reason, or who specifically became stuck due to negative feedback, or who thought they had to do it all and never asked for help.
The points I made were to ask for help (and I showed how); and to then go back within and check in with oneself, trust one’s intuition, and then make a conscious decision of the steps to take. Only to recently realize that I had to learn this same lesson again myself.
I have invested a lot of time and money on my own personal and business growth. And yes, I have taken classes on how to build a business as well. In one of the trainings I was taking, they gave us a formula and a step by step program to follow, to attract clients. I decided I was going to do it, even though I was extra uncomfortable to actually pursue that action. When I didn’t get any results from it, the teacher and the facilitator said that maybe the text I wrote wasn’t good (they reviewed it and said it was actually pretty good), or that maybe I reached out to the wrong people. It could be, but I don’t think so. I had after all followed my intuition to decide who I was going to contact, how and why. So what was it?
I forgot to follow the lesson I have learned over and over and over again. I forgot to truly trust myself and see if that action resonated with me or not. When I pursued their practice and what they called a bullet-proof strategy, I had a weird feeling about it, and that’s probably why it generated no results. Does it mean that the strategy was wrong? Probably not. Does it mean that the strategy was wrong for me? Very likely. I recently tweaked the strategy slightly, to something that felt more authentic to me, and got completely different and more positive results.
If you are currently attending a program, attended one, or are considering signing up for a program, make the decision beforehand to be true to yourself, to be authentic, and to check in with yourself before taking action. Yes, you may and will be asked to step out of your comfort zone, but before you act on it, make sure you are at peace with it. Make sure that the steps and strategy resonate with you. If it doesn't, how can you modify or adapt it, so that you feel more comfortable with it?
Are there formulas to success? Absolutely! Are they the same for everyone? Absolutely not.
Here are my suggestions to you:
- Stop comparing your results with anyone else’s. You have your own timing, your own pace, and know that if something isn’t showing yet on the outside, it might be because you are building a better foundation.
- If you feel too uncomfortable, investigate. Are you uncomfortable because of fear of being exposed, of failure, of success? Or are you uncomfortable because it does not seem authentic or aligned with who you are? This is a key reflection that can help you make a wise decision.
- Take the good and leave the bad, while learning all the lessons. The other day a friend was talking about a course she is attending, and what she likes and doesn’t like about it. I suggested that she focus on what was good about it, and on learning all the lessons, even what not to do, when applying it to her business.
- If you come up with the conclusion that you are uncomfortable because the strategy really does not resonate with you, then do not pursue it. Or at least, do not pursue it as is, modify and adjust it, until you feel more comfortable to act on it.
The only bullet-proof strategy that works for me is to always trust myself and my own intuition, before taking action. Although at times, I still need to remind myself of it. How has your experience been when learning and executing “bullet-proof” strategies?
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