In the first two parts of this “Breakthrough on a Water Slide” series- we talked about the fear, and getting through it, but  let me tell you what happens in business.

After a few years, you reach a certain level of mastery. But then you hit another wall. You have to deal with these three questions -

How do you take yourself from where you are, and really get expert status?.

How do you get to be well known?

How can you have a leveraged business, and have a solid client base.

Those are the questions and the challenges of this stage. At this point having mastery isn’t enough. You ability to attract your ideal clients means you need to have ‘the hook’ of what makes you different, special, unique, etc. For example, it’s not enough just to be a chiropractor. Your success depends on you being able to articulate very clearly why you are better and there has to be enough to differentiate you from the crowd. And this journey is not easy.

When I was trapped in that black tube, with no control and NO WAY OUT BUT THROUGH, it hit me that so many business owners get stuck right here. At times there literally is nothing you can do but surrender to the process. You can’t force, push, control or manipulate your next phase of growth. And here’s the thing – everyone goes through this. If they aren’t talking about it, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t’ been in the dark, not sure how to get out, not sure where the next client is coming from. But being in that tube, and having the experience of just surrendering to the flow, taught me huge lessons. Part of it is in our control, but the rest isn’t. Sure…you can market a bit more, but you will go through some dark times when you are ready to make the leap.

Let me wrap up with my process for how to get on the other side if you are feeling like you are in the dark or aren’t sure how to get over your business blocks.

1. Make a decision. It always starts with the decision. For me it took noticing that my kids were off having fun and I was all alone standing there in the heat, missing out. I decided that my fear would turn into an opportunity for growth. What do you need to decide in your life and business?

2. Ask for help from someone who has been there before you. Thankfully, the lads had been on all the slides so knew which one to start me on. You will be well served by enlisting support from people who are committed to your success, but can show you the way themselves.

3. Use all the tools you have. Truthfully, doing EFT on top of the slide was probably quite funny to some people around me and I’m sure my boys were horrified (cuz aren’t all kids embarrassed by what their parents do) but it worked. I’d make a list right now of the tools that you need to get you through to the other side. Maybe that’s doing some meditation or journaling, or creating a vision board. Just pull ‘em out and start using them.

4.  Put yourself in an environment that will challenge you. I hear from almost every creative entrepreneur that their big breakthroughs don’t happen while sitting in front of their computers!  Get outside. Do something physical.  Change your scenery, and you will open up to new possibilities you had not seen before.

5. Have some fans. Part of the cool thing for me was that my kids saw me conquer a huge fear. In fact my son said, “Mom, does it kind of bug you that you have missed out on water slides and all this fun for fifty years.” Yeah John, it really bugged me, but now I now get to make the next 50 years full of more fun! My kids were super excited and proud. Who is in your life that is cheering you on? When you are going through one of these ‘dark nights’ in your business, there is nothing more important than cheerleaders who can show you how far you have come and what’s possible.

That’s my story!  Now I want you to share yours.  Where did your big breakthrough occur?  And what has changed because of that?  Put a comment on the blog and share please.

Blessings!

Therese

Okay, he didn’t really have me at ‘hello,’ but that just sounded like a great way to start a blog post! 

Right now I’m in Santa Fe, NM taking a training with Gary de Rodriguez on how to deliver Charismatic Presentations using Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Programming.  I met Gary at the Speak Your Way to Wealth event in Los Angeles about six weeks ago and was blown away by his authenticity, talent, and heart. The conference I was at was my 2nd one in three weeks, and I was scheduled to fly back out to LA two weeks after that for the Bridging Heart and Marketing conference.  (Can you tell I’m in a re-launch “massive action” kind of mode?)

As much as I resonated with Gary and knew that taking his program would get me back to my NLP roots and sky rocket my speaking career, I talked myself out of purchasing his program, because it would have meant ANOTHER trip two weeks after I returned from LA for the second time.  My lads certainly aren’t toddlers, but even though they are 9 and 13, I don’t like to be gone so much.  Plus, I don’t think I had even unpacked from two trips before!!!  I decided that now wasn’t the time and that since I’m currently in three different coaching programs, I could, should, and would wait.

Here’s where the Universe and that crazy concept of synchronicity comes in……..

At the event, there was a VIP luncheon where you could eat with the speakers for an additional charge.  I hadn’t bought a ticket, but while there I got to hang out with my client, Sheri Long.  She and a friend had the VIP tickets, and when her friend cancelled, Sheri grabbed me and gave me the extra lunch ticket.  We immediately put our stuff down at Gary’s table because we both knew we wanted to get to know him.

As most lunch kinds of conversations go, we ventured in the area of relationship status.  The whole table went around sharing and someone asked Gary if he was divorced.  He said, “We almost got divorced for one hour, but then I remembered my commitment to always return us to love, so I turned around and we are still together today.”

In that moment, I was sold. While Gary gave the most amazing presentation earlier in the morning, I still was able to let my life and all the distractions say no to what my soul knew it needed.  But when I got the gift of being with Gary at lunch and as he shared who he was, all my ’sales’ resistance dropped and I immediately looked at him and said, “I’m coming to Santa Fe!”

Now, what does this have to do with you, my beautiful business owners?  Everything!  It’s a perfect example of how much your target market wants you to be genuine and authentic.  They desire to know you!  So many of us are afraid to let our personalities shine through, that we become blends in the crazy world of marketing.  Again, Gary didn’t sell me when he ’sold’ his program from the stage.  He ’sold’ me when he shared his values with me.  Since I highly value connection and relationships, I suddenly could think of no compelling reason why I should NOT work with this man.

So my challenge to you is to FULLY put yourself in your business.  Show up!  Be quirky, outrageous, colorful, analytical, daring, creative, or whatever it is that gives you joy and juice.  Trust me on this one.  I know I used to be afraid that if I showed some of my ‘playfulness’ or my spiritual side that I’d be judged to not be professional, but the opposite has been true.  Now, every time I send out a newsletter where I share from my heart, I get feedback from people how they connected to the story and usually were inspired.   Remember, the world needs what you have.  Now more than ever.  So stop hiding and be YOU in a big way!

And I’d love if you’d leave a comment about what is the thing that you have been afraid to get out there in the world.  I’d love to support you!