Are You Kidding Me?!

As business owners we often try lots of things to build our business.  We go to networking events, meet new people, and try marketing different ways.  Some things work and some do not.  This is the same for health and fitness; in our quest to be healthy, lose weight and get off medications, we try lots of things.  Some stuff works and some stuff doesn’t.
To be successful in both business and health we need to do what will work for us… and what works for us does not necessarily work for others.  We get disappointed when we try something that someone else swears by and we don’t end up with the same results.  We usually find ourselves saying “Are you kidding me?!  I just spent all this time or all this money and it didn’t work!”
Well, in my book that’s actually a good thing!  Why?  Because now we know what doesn’t work so we can move on to something that will. 
Sure, occasionally it means giving stuff up.  A business client of mine joined a networking group that met weekly in the early morning.  She hadn’t wanted to join this group because she wasn’t a morning person (especially when having to be somewhere early), the meetings were a regular set-in-stone routine (which she didn’t do well with) and it was all for in-person work (she actually did lots of virtual and over the phone work). But because she was told by others that this was the way to build her business, she did it and went against what she knew to be true for her. 
She told me how miserable she was after “spending all this money” to join and how it was actually taking her away from growing her business and her clients.  I asked her what she wanted to do about it.  She said she couldn’t drop out because of the money she invested and the commitment she made.  So I pointed out that it was working against her and costing her time and money.  That in order for her to do what she wanted to do, and what would be more in line with what would work for her style, “dropping out” didn’t seem like such a bad idea. 
Her response to me was (you probably already guessed), “Are you kidding me?!  And waste it all?!”  No, I wasn’t.  She didn’t waste a single moment; she actually gained a whole lot.  She now knew that this type of activity was not for her and did not do her business any good – in fact, it held her back.  There is such value in that!
When you sell yourself out, you can pretty much count on stress, frustration and overwhelm to be at your door.  On the other hand, you will never disappoint yourself if you follow your heart and do what makes you happy.  It’s really quite simple: when you honor yourself and what you want, and do what you love with enthusiasm, and it will all be effortless. 
Are you still skeptical like my client was?  Here are several tips to help you:
1. Know what you are doing and why you want to do it.
2. Know your likes and dislikes because when you know yourself, you never have to second guess yourself.
3. Trust you are the best judge and no matter what anyone else has to say, you are the only person that knows you and what pleases you.
If you are still saying “Are you kidding me?!  I can’t do this or that because (you fill in the blank)”, I want to know why.  Let’s get you past this hurdle!