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

This is an article I initially published in February of 2007, and I want to republish it now because it’s so timely.

“Karaoke Lessons”

Life imitates art, so they say.  I think business imitates life as well.  How you show up in your life is how you are also showing up in your business.  My friend and mentor Melanie Strick always says, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

So what’s karaoke got to do with being a successful small business owner you might ask?  Well….let me share with you the lessons I’ve been learning lately as I’ve just begun doing the singing scene…

I have started hanging out with my friend Andrea Beaulieu, who is an awesome singer.  She’s sung at weddings, churchs, travelled with singing groups, and has taken lessons for at least 15 years.  In my mind she’s a pro at it!  Because Andrea is so ‘overly trained’ she had been having the experience of not enjoying singing.  She used to get up there and was so focused on being technically perfect, that she didn’t have fun.  Now she’s desiring just to express.

Amongst the Elvis impersonators, the drunk lounge lizards, is my fabulous friend, just showing up and singing her heart out.  It’s like she’s finally able to claim her gift by giving herself permission just to do it, and not do it perfectly.

Business lesson – How many times have you thought that you couldn’t roll out your product or service until you were MORE.  More talented, more ready, more coached, more prepared.  The list goes on and on….

Here’s the deal - you are fully cooked!  Just get started. You can always tweak what you have once you roll it out, but don’t let that crazy perfectionistic part hold you back.  One of my marketing coaches used to say, “Done is Good!”  I love that.  Instead of worrying about the perfect offering, just enjoy your business and express fully from that place.  Show up, have fun, and watch the clients come your way.  People resonate with ‘real’ and not your version of ‘it has to be perfect before anyone sees it.’

My story is different than Andrea’s.  While she’s been singing for years, I’m a newbie. Okay I sing my heart out in the car, thinking I’m Melissa Etheridge, but I’m not stage bound just yet.  Singing on stage is BRAND NEW for me!  When Andrea suggested that I meet her at the little karaoke club, I decided, ‘what the heck.’  I don’t even remember the song I sung, but I remember it was after the Elvis impersonator, so I thought I’d be fine.  What I didn’t bank on was that darn sound system.  It seemed that every off key note I hit (or thought I hit) kept bouncing back, reminding me that I was certainly not likely to be the next American Idol.

After my song I came back to the table, feeling dejected, and a bit humiliated, because I focused on what I had perceived that I did wrong .  Being my good gal-pal, Andrea said, “You did great….at least you got up there and had fun!”  Yeah.  I did.  I took a risk and chose to go WWWWAAAAAYYYYYY outside my comfort zone.  So all of us that night…me, the lounge lizards, fake Elvis, Andrea, and the crazy young rockers who sang, “You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party” had fun and fully expressed who we were.

Business lesson-  How many times do you compare your business with someone else and think you aren’t as talented, prepared, or skilled to get clients?  How does this hold you back?  When I finally shifted my focus to what I did right as opposed to looking at the few notes I missed, I had fun.  And, the next time I did my rendition of “Mama He’s Crazy” I felt like a much better singer.  Why?  Cuz I kept singing!

Where can you just keep showing up, even if you aren’t getting the results you want?  The world needs what you have.  The more you show up and express what you have and who you are, the bigger your game gets.

If you want to play a bigger game in business…play a bigger game in life!  Take risks, push into the places where you are uncomfortable, and watch the amazing results that you will see.

So, how big is your game?