You know, desperately,
frantically preserving “resources,” (i.e. money.)…
Never really making progress towards my goals because I felt so SURROUNDED by the “threats.”
My financial obligations surrounded me like an invading army.
Like a city under siege, all I could imagine was the inevitable moment when I literally couldn’t survive another day… when I couldn’t pull myself out of the overdraft fees… when any hope for even a financial BANDAID was gone…
A city under siege is a terrible thing.
An enemy comes and surrounds you and BASICALLY waits you out, until you FINALLY surrender, let them in, and bend the knee.
And I know that some business owners are reading this right now and thinking… “OMG… that’s EXACTLY how I’m feeling. Surrounded. Desperate. And EVERYTHING — including my hope, optimism, etc… — is being quickly DEPLETED.”
Like money is OXYGEN and you’re running out.
Like you’re drowning in debt and can’t see over the next wave..
The SHAME of not being “there” yet,
of not being able to figure it out.
The anxiety of not knowing how you’re going to pull the next month “out.”
The SELF-JUDGEMENT,
the smiles that are now rehearsed,
the well practiced “it’s okay… it’s okay.”
because let’s face facts…
you can BARELY handle your own fears and anxiety,
let alone anyone elses…
and so you keep hustling,
running so hard and so fast
it seems almost INCONCEIVABLE that you’re STILL in the same place.
I can nearly feel the familiar adrenaline start flooding my system, even as I WRITE about this even as I REMEMBER.
And I DO remember.
I’m going to tell you what I WOULD do if I led a city that was under siege and how I got my own business out of that recurring predicament.
First, if I were leading a city that was under siege,
I would IMMEDIATELY start digging a tunnel out and on the other side of the surrounding army. Why?
- Because when you are surrounded, your demise doesn’t come from arrows or bombs. It will come from looking in the same old places for more resources. When resources are drying up, you MUST dig new wells, build new roads. Period.
- Because I will need that tunnel for my ultimate escape plan.
Ultimately, should it look like I would NOT be able to wait out the opposing army hemming me in, I would escape through the tunnel I built, set fire to the city and start over. =) (The fire would divert the menacing opponent buying my people more time to escape. #duh)
I’m laughing at myself right now remembering that THESE are the types of “games” I’d play with my kids growing up. lol… By virtue of being born to me, they would KNOW how to hunt, how to go on the offense. This is what they were born into. But, I also needed them to know how to be on defense, how to BE hunted, how to think on their feet. I know, #crazy. Back to business…
How does my city under siege plan apply to business success? In EVERY way.
You see, when I was feeling hemmed in,
desperate with dwindling resources,
and feeling like a city under siege,
the ONLY thing I could think about was how to SAVE this desolate city, How I could “live to fight another day.” How I could get a BIT better or a BIT more visible or a BIT more compelling, to get SOMETHING… even a MORSEL of something to come in.
All of my thoughts were of surviving another day.
Maintaining my bare minimum.
Sound familiar?
Finally, I was willing to burn it down.
Finally, I had that moment where I was like, “I’m struggling ANYWAY, I’m going to go ALL IN on doing it my way and doin git BIG.”
I stopped protecting the structure of a business that was failing me. I stopped repairing the leaks and praying for it to “hold out” a bit longer.
I dug a tunnel……..
that was useful to me
EVEN when surrounded.
And I burned my “old way” to the ground.
I created the success I now enjoy by focusing on the following:
DIALING IN MY VISION. Because the daily threats to my financial survival had killed my vision for what I REALLY wanted. I’d lost sight of my target. I did this through DAILY journaling.
SHOWING UP AS IF. This does NOT mean I showed up and pretended and lied. This means I showed up as if I belonged, as if I BELIEVED in myself, as if I BACKED myself and my vision. This means I thought about HOW I would be showing up if I were already THERE and borrowed confidence, boldness and clarity from the future.
SELLING ONLY THAT WHICH I LOVED DELIVERING. I stopped selling things I didn’t love delivering. I made different offers, and allowed my passion to sell on my behalf.
SELLING ONLY HOW I WANTED TO SELL. No scripts. No phone conversations. ONLY email. Frankly, I suck at selling unless I’m selling MY way… and — also — so do you.
P.S. There’s still a seat for you at my Dallas 1-day intensive on SATURDAY. This day will show you EXACTLY how to go from ATTAGIRL to CHA-CHING faster — and with WAY more ease — than ever before. We will help you learn how to sell from the heart. Forget rehearsing phrases and copying jargon you hate but hope will make some money.
In ONE day, you will:
- identify your highest energy selling activity (different for everyone);
- build an authentic and effective sales sequence around THAT ↑
- identify what is (and what’s NOT) working in your selling style and sequence, and
- optimize your business for more interest, leads and income!
ALL without selling your soul. PLUS, PLUS, PLUS access to my own sales sequencing, behind the scenes changes I’ve made to dramatically multiply sales and so much more!–
