I recently heard a wonderful quote from John Asseraf: “If you’re interested, you’ll do what is convenient-if you’re committed you’ll do whatever it takes.” This quote really spoke to me. Many years ago, I struggled a long time as to whether I should have my own coaching business, but I always had a lot of excuses as to why I couldn’t or shouldn’t. It was fear talking. Then when I finally started my business seven years ago, looking back, it was clearly from an “interested” place. “Oh,” I’d say, “if this doesn’t work out, I can always go back to a corporate job”. Or I’d leave the backdoor open by always perusing the help wanted ads, or when someone called me with a potential position, I’d be so excited about the possibility and rush to send in my resume.
It was clear I wasn’t really committed. I hadn’t shut the back door and said to myself, “this is it, you need to do whatever it takes to make this thing work”. And it wasn’t until I got that mindset, and it took several years-that it finally did start working. I started getting referrals, more speaking engagements; my marketing became more in alignment with my niche.
Where are you in your business? So here are some things to think about:
What’s stopping you from doing whatever it takes? What is preventing you from “shutting” your back door and having a “do or die” approach to whatever it is you want to achieve? Whether it’s a promotion, starting your own business, changing jobs, careers-what is stopping you from totally committing to that vision? I found it was really important to answer this question. Identify the things that were blocking me. For me, it was fear of failing, and a need for approval from others close to me of what I was doing and creating. Once I realized, unless I was fully committed to my coaching and consulting business, I would indeed fail and that by not becoming fully committed, I would cause disapproval from loved ones around me. Only then was I able to start doing whatever it takes. Really take some time to answer this question for yourself, it’s so important.
How do you stay strong to what you believe in? This question reminds me of the Mary Oliver poem, The Journey:
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do.
You already know what you need to do to stay committed to your vision, but do you love yourself enough to allow it to happen?
Get the support you need. One of the best pieces of advice I received when I was struggling to decide should I keep working on building my business, or go “get a job”, was “don’t go it alone”. Find the support you need to stay true to your course. It is not always easy to follow our vision, or destiny, and it’s certainly not always supported by some of those closest to us. So it’s important to find someone – a friend, a mentor or coach to help hold that vision for us, through bleak days, long days and even the darkest of days.
Remember, when you find the destiny you were born for, all you need to bring is your honor, your courage and your commitment.
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