This story is one of several being published over the next 100 days to celebrate the $100 Change program and inspire you to take action.
When Natalie asked me to write a post about the shift in direction I had made in my business, I had to smile to myself. Because now I can smile and believe me, at the time I could only grimace.
You see, when you slog your guts out trying to get out there, doing ‘what you’re told’ by a gazillion marketing experts and it’s still not working, it’s pretty demoralizing stuff. You question your capabilities, your intelligence, and the self- talk I was doing was quite frankly disgusting, hell I would NEVER talk to anyone like that!
The one question I asked myself frequently was ‘am I doing the right thing?’ In fact it circled around my mind so often it drove me demented at times. And yet every time I squashed it. I couldn’t bear to think that I would have to change again (because this wasn’t the first time). I had invested in my website, I had the podcast, I had the videos, I had the list, hell why would I chuck that all in?
Well, I’ll tell you why. It’s quite simple.
It wasn’t working.
Sometimes you have to hold up your hands and listen to your truth
Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way. It wasn’t until I was absolutely burnt out and exhausted after running a high profile telesummit whilst juggling kids that I was forced to stop and breath.
It was a time that I should have been buzzing from the growth, the connections and the sales and yet I felt completely flat. In fact I got ill. What’s more, I had absolutely no inspiration as to what do with this new list.
So I pulled the plug.
I made the decision to follow my heart and go back to empowering women who were ready, particularly after having kids, to get back on in it and discover their next big thing in this world.
As soon as I made this decision the most extraordinary thing happened
Within ninety days I had written and self published a book. The content for I’m Back: How to Get Your Passion, Purpose and Identity Back When Your Kids Go to School
A few months previously I had been stuck at my desk, desperately trying to squeeze out a newsletter because I just wasn’t inspired. A new website, a book launch, a new programme, a webTV show, invitations to speak and requests for collaboration all followed in the space of a few months.
Why? Because I stopped trying to do something that I thought would ‘make money’ and did something I genuinely believed in and I had credibility in. It’s called being in flow.
So how do you know whether you are ‘stopping five feet from gold’ as Napolean Hill says in Think and Grow Rich, or flogging a dead horse?
My advice would be to stop long enough to listen to what you already know
Take a couple of weeks out and just be.
If you’re really honest with yourself you’ll know if you are just facing fear in what you are doing and have to move through it, or if you are simply doing the wrong thing.
About the author:
Jennie Harland-Khan helps women to step into a life that is filled with more excitement, energy and meaning; one that is built around what they love to do and what is important to them. She has recently published a book on the same.