Sometimes, it feels like no matter what you do, how hard you market, how consistently you blog, how eloquently your journal, how bold you plan… the needle on your business simply won’t move. Everywhere you turn, it’s as if you’re met with resistance, set backs, painful realities. Now, I’m not talking about the occasional disappointment. They happen. They don’t mean anything.
Get over it.
I’m talking about the really painful SEASONS of business… those that feel like you’re spinning your wheels, banging your head against the wall, and you’re ready to RAGE against the machine, but you can’t really find the machine… those seasons that begin with huge excitement but seem to culminate in frustration, overwhelm and disappointment. If you’ve never felt this way in business, we’ve got plenty more to read ’round here. Start here. However, if you have felt this way… and most especially if you’re feeling this way right now, please keep reading.
Of course, I’m writing all of this from painful, first-hand experience. =) As an aside, if you don’t have a tribe of business people willing to be COURAGEOUSLY REAL with you… if you’re still networking with people who require a painted-on smile when you’re down… or you have no one to celebrate with when you win (and win big!), you need US. Find “us” over at WomenWhoWOW.com.
For the “seasons” described above, when I’m feeling like I’m met with CRAP everywhere I turn, I have learned to ask myself THIS powerful question to identify what MUST change:
Where might you be borrowing someone else’s armor?
Forgive my southern Baptist upbringing for a minute, but you know the story of David and Goliath, right? Small, untrained, teenager David takes down giant lifetime warrior Philistine with a slingshot and smooth rock. Well, before the big show down, King Saul does courageous little David a “favor.”
He outfits David in the best of the best of the King’s armor. A bronze helmet. Fancy sword. Tunic. The works. David “tries to walk in them,” but can’t. So David says, “I cannot go in these because I’m not used to them.” (1 Sam. 17:39) And he takes it all off.
Instead, he goes with what he knows… with what has worked uniquely for him in the past… with what he has mastered… with what he can walk in… And, of course, wins…and wins big.
Are you getting my point yet?
I want you to SEE yourself in these seasons as struggle and honestly assess whether or not you’re struggling to walk in someone else’s armor.
Have you “borrowed” someone else’s idea? Are you trying to walk out a vision that isn’t uniquely yours? Maybe you’re using a tool that is supposed to work brilliantly for everyone else, but is falling short for you? Perhaps you’ve simply borrowed a list of what YOUR PRODUCT, SERVICE, OFFER OR PRICING “should” look like, mirroring others in your niche?
WHERE might your business be wearing armor that isn’t a great fit? Is it in the delivery? The offer? The marketing? The voice? The pricing? The focus?
Are you carrying around some clunky “shoulds” in business? Something you think you need to do/offer/promise/say in order to create the success you want? Something you resent about what you’re doing or growing? Something that doesn’t feel “just right?”
I can tell you that — without exception — when I’ve battled these seasons of frustration, overwhelm, disappointment, etc… I’ve needed to follow David’s example, shed what didn’t fit — without apology — and go in MY OWN power.
If you’re willing, keep the conversation going. Or, meet me over at WomenWhoWOW.com and become a member of the FASTEST growing alliance of seriously driven women entrepreneurs in the world. We’ve been waiting for you.
