I am a student of humanity… and nature. I am totally ambivalent about where those lessons come from. I can watch and learn from someone I love and agree with… and I can watch and learn from someone who is — frankly — detestable to me.
But, watch and learn I DO.
And I have.
For a long time.
I study people…
people with the success I want.
I study people — in particular — who succeed across industries.
This is a habit, and this morning my “human study” took me into a deep dive on Gary Vaynerchuk, Beth Moore, and Ree Drummond.
Yesterday, I wrote about 13 ways women entrepreneurs sabotage their own success, which you can read about here.
Today I want to cover 13 things I do that allow me to continue to succeed in an arena that sees MANY pack up their bags and head home…. in an arena that is EASY to enter, but FEW are able to remain in — profitably — for the long haul. I found that these 13 things ALSO showed up in the story of Ree, Gary, and Beth.
1) I keep going.
No.
Matter.
What.
I have been knocked down,
ripped off,
lied to and deceived.
I have been stabbed in the back ,
rejected,
and disappointed.
I have set goals I missed.
I have lost money.
I have been majorly let down.
and, also… not to be overlooked:
I have let myself — and others — down.
But I have grit.
An internal defiance and determination.
And so I keep going no matter what.
Every single day,
for as far back as I can remember, I have put one foot in front of the other in this business.
I’ve always done what I had defined as my “bare minimum” EVEN if I felt embarrassed, or afraid, or flat, or frustrated, or discouraged.
I get the opportunities I have now– in part — because I stayed when others closed up shop. I am where I am now because I didn’t bounce around from brand to brand… from niche to niche… from guru to guru. I stayed my own course and kept going when others quit.
2) I freed myself from the TYRANNY of public opinion.
Plain and simple, I do not take a public opinion poll before I decide how I feel or what I’ll do. I am absolutely liberated from the prison of worrying what others think of me.
I did this by FIRST reminding myself how LITTLE others actually DID think of me. Eventually, I found that sometimes they WERE thinking of me… and maybe even talking BADLY about me. Didn’t matter. I was already free. To do me. Day in and day out.
3) I stand alone… in a self-created “category of one.”
I prefer NOT to show up and battle to the death for my next client. =) So I have CAREFULLY curated a “category of one” through AUTHENTIC and CONSISTENT messaging.
4) I trust myself and am willing to follow my OWN inner success system.
I do not follow the system touted in B-school. I do not orchestrate my funnels according to what some guru suggest. I have never been successful trying to dot all of my i’s and cross all of my t’s and trying to be the PERFECT marketer. Instead, I follow my own INNER navigation system…. trusting myself to make the right decisions, always.
5) I say and do what others won’t.
I’ll leave that right there. I’m willing to SAY
and DO
what others won’t.
In so doing…
I’ve cemented my brand in the marketplace.
6) I sell as if it’s my job.
Because, you know, it is.
And selling is an INCREDIBLY honorable profession.
7) I sell as if it’d be sting-y NOT to sell.
Because, it WOULD be.
I sell because selling gives me PERMISSION to help people.
8) I listen to people…. what they say… and what they leave Unsaid.
You’ve got to listen to your market in order to know what they NEED, what they WANT, and what DRIVES them. She who knows her market BEST, wins.
9) I do the inner work… working on ME. =)
I know that my business will NEVER outgrow its owner… and so I DELIBERATELY grow myself, hone my habits, challenge my thinking, go ever DEEPER into what my SOUL knows to be true. I read, journal, workout, pray.
10) I invest — often and always — in personal and business development. Same reason as #9.
11) I refuse to lose.
I simply refuse to quit when I’m down… ever. It’s just not in me to withdraw. Some call it a dogged determination. Others call it stubborn. Either way, it works.
12) I show up every day, multiple times a day.
I don’t just “show up.”
I show up often.
In multiple formats.
Video.
Writing.
Audio.
Print.
ALWAYS authentically.
Business success…
like ideal health…
is a DAILY commitment.
13) I stopped waiting…
I never looked for a white knight on a horse to come and sweep me out of the land of mediocrity and whisk me into the land of the extraordinary. BUT.. I HAVE waited on “better timing” or “more favorable conditions” or a “big break,” and other such FAIRY TALES.
Finally, I was reminded,
“No one is coming…
It’s up to you.”
And I gave up waiting.
I just plunged forward.
Sometimes clumsily.
Sometimes needing to step back and regroup…
But I STOPPED waiting… and when I did….
my business grew immediately.
If you want to PLUNGE forward with the support of a savvy community… with the expertise of a coach… with the ENERGY of a live event…
Message me, about joining Women Who Wow.
