When we are talking with people about the thought leaders journey, and particularly Business School, we often say 'you are on the wrong side of a whole lot of good work'. Recently for me, that has seemed particularly relevant, whilst I have shifted my business model (a) moving into the corporate market which I have previously untapped and (b) elevating my one on one coaching model from a three month partnership to a deeper, way more impacting six month partnership.
It has been frustrating doing it hard, and not getting the results!
From time to time I get feedback that I share too much of the vulnerable stuff, but personally, I think there is true value in being open and not obsessed with 'looking good'. My May and (up until this week) June have been pretty paltry. It has been frustrating for me as I work harder than ever, but am not getting in the short term financially rewarded. At a logical level, I know why; I have taken the ball off sharing the value of the offering that I am known for, and people often take longer to decide to commit to a higher value program.
So I did what we should all do in this instance, and called my coach, Sal. As always, she got right to the crux of it and said 'you are doing it all on your own babe! You are doing it hard. You support everyone else around you but you don't ask for support itself'.
I was very surprised at how much that confronted me, and felt way out of my comfort zone. Who am I to ask for support? Talk about the irony of expertise, I teach my clients to value their worth and own it, but at some level, I am still playing 'good girl' and not wanting to put people out.
When I made the choice to ask for support, and started doing it, some crazy stuff happened!
It was actually pretty freaky. I spent Monday creating a one day program; something I have been meaning to do forever, and it's simply about getting financially rewarded for doing what you love as an employee, expert or entrepreneur (and finding out what that is if you don't know) which is the work that I truly truly love. I then shared with my coaching community (I love that tribe!) that I would really like their support in filling it, and had a few conversations with other people and actually downright asking for support from them.
The response from them was extraordinary, and there are some really exciting things that have come out of those actions. But it's actually what else happened on Tuesday that astounded me.
A whole bunch of business I have been waiting to 'land' suddenly was confirmed!
I mean like it was kind of like a record sales day for me - EVER. And this was around the higher value offerings, not what I am known for. I have to confess it felt SOO good. What was going on?
I don't delve into the metaphysical stuff too much, but I think that when I ask for support, I am at some level declaring to the universe that I am 'worth it' so the universe quite literally delivers results to reflect that. It really did feel like there were higher forces at play for me.
So where are you asking for support? Are you doing it on your own, doing it hard? Do you feel a bit icky asking for help? If that is the case, simply share the concern up front;
'Hey I am not very good at asking for support, but I think it's something we could all get better at...can you please help me by.....".
And of course, the flip side is by asking yourself how you can serve others on a daily basis. You might even want to do what I do, and carve out some time daily (even 20 minutes), where you do just that. Who can you introduce someone to? What event can you share on Facebook. Is there anyone who needs a 'thinking of you' text or phone call?
And yes, I am asking for your support too!
Here is the link to my one day workshops. I am holding one on Thursday 20 August and one on Friday 16 October. They will be from 9am to 5:30pm and at Spencer on Byron at Takapuna Beach. I am SOO excited because it is going to be an amazing day, supporting people to get some real clarity on not only what they love/are good at, but how they can make a decent living, sharing that with the world somehow. If you or someone who you is tolerating a role that doesn't light them up, then I know that this day will provide some much needed clarity around what to do about it. I think it is amazing value for $495 plus GST.
Please know, that I do not normally view my weekly blogs as an avenue to promote my events (above the sign off line anyway :-)) - but this week, I am making an exception. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that. But in the meantime, go and ask someone for support!!! And of course, thanks again Sal for your amazing support and value you add to my life.
Cheers
Laurel
PS my wonderful business manager Christine has found a way to convert my webinars to Youtube. If you are interested in watching the webinar last week, around illuminating your legacy, then just click on the image to the right.
Upcoming webinars
Webinar 1 - How to find untapped revenue in your databases for the insurance industry Wednesday July 1st 5pm NZ time click here to register.
Webinar 2 – What to do with the work you don't like. Thursday July 23rd, 5pm NZ time, click here to register.
