What's on Annie's mind this week? Growth! Strength! Guts!
I started my 2018 planning in October but I did not know that the cold/flu I caught was going to knock me out for two very important weeks. The last two weeks of the year...I had everything planned out, webinars and podcasts to record, newsletters to write, social media to post...you get the idea.
But instead of freaking out (I am not going to lie...I did freak out the first full day in bed, staring at my laptop trying to 'think' then with tears in my eyes gave up and let the cold medicine take over) I went with the flow. I started to reflect on conversations I had been having with my team, my fellow business friends and my husband. I started to meditate and ask the universe...now what? I wanted to create the perfect 2018...I wanted my personal life and business to look like I had financially accomplished some of my big huge goals when we ring in 2019. But my gut was telling me that something was not quite right...something was off.
One conversation I had before the sickness took over with a fellow business coach stuck with me like pavement gum on a 100 degree day...he looked over my plan and told me it was not simplified enough. If I really wanted to K.I.S.S. 2018 (keep it simple silly) I needed to rework my WHOLE plan. Laying there sweating in bed with a fever I realized that the plan I had created in October was not: simplified, growth focused nor ambitious enough. What the ???
"Creating problems is easy. We do it all the time. Finding solutions, ones that last and produce good results, requires guts and care." ~Henry Rollins
The problem was I was looking for the easy way out...I found a solution that would last and be fruitful but was it gutsy enough? Would my business grow into its potential? Would it be challenging enough for me? Would it fulfill my mission and vision for my business, for my personal life, and for my team?
The answer was no...I had to rewrite, rethink, and rework excel spreadsheets but before that I took out my handy-dandy Business Wheel Exercise, which I ask my clients fill out and reflect on before we start working together. And instead of the wheel being round and hauling ass down the road it became a weird triangle on one side and round on the other side. Poop!
This story does have a happy ending, and it started when I came across this quote from Henry Rollins..."finding solutions, ones that last, produce good results, guts, care". He was speaking my language...I need to go with my gut and my gut says I need to be more ambitious and bring more clarity to my plan by simplifying things even more. By doing these two simple things I know it will challenge me to be a better coach and consultant to my clients, a better mentor and leader in the coaching community. And now I can say I am ready to kick down the door in 2018!
I feel more empowered than I ever have in my life, I feel that tingle that makes me giggle like a schoolgirl from excitement...I feel that hunger for the hunt! I am so freaking ready to get out and empower my clients to strategically grow their business. (And as a little side note when I reflect back on 2017 I cringe a little but man, I learned so much! Isn't that what being an entrepreneur is all about?)
To help others with their 2018 journey I will be sharing short free webinars going over my Business Wheel Exercise during the entire month of January...I hope these webinars can help you as much as it has helped me and my clients over the past few years. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions!
Happy freaking New Year!
XOXO,
Annie