Have you ever had a really well laid out plan that you thought and dreamed about and then, as you began to execute, things just didn’t go according to plan?  Well, of course you have!  We all have!

I just went through this myself and it was uber challenging because I am one of those people that pretty much does what I say I’m going to do.  I’m the one who shows up in a snow storm when everyone else cancels.  I’m the one that drinks a latte to gear up for an evening yoga class I said I’d go to with you even though I’m tired.  I’m the one that still shows up for my colleagues even when my website is down and it completely sidetracked my day.  I’m a follow through kind of person, even to my detriment.   And I am being very intentional these days about honoring my integrity and honoring myself simultaneously because I know that I don’t have the same impact on people or the world when I show up because I said I would vs. because I really want to.  Sometimes that is about shifting my perspective, and sometimes it means saying “no” to something that I had already committed to  (even writing that makes me cringe!).

Most recently, I had planned for 6 months, to have a Virtual Speaker Series with 5 other speakers the last week of January.  I had the plan laid out and I felt pretty good about it.  And then the execution challenges started to appear.  First my beloved assistant had to quit to take over her daughter’s class when their teacher quit without notice.  Then some of the speakers I had lined up for the series had to back out.  And then I was spending a lot of time interviewing new assistants, talking to new possible speakers, training my new assistant and trying to sustain my energy so I could be 100% fully present for my clients, all with the Holiday compression of trying to see all my clients in 2 1/2 weeks instead of 4 weeks. It was probably the toughest 2 months of my business EVER.  Lots of things feel through the cracks, and I knew I had to put on the brakes or I was going to crash and burn.

I resisted, resisted, resisted and when I finally made the decision to postpone the Speaker Series, an amazing feeling of relief passed over me and my energy immediately shifted.  Why do we resist things that will make our lives better?  It is part of the unfolding of understanding of how we tick and how we hold ourselves back from our own success.

If I had pushed forward, I know I wouldn’t have gotten the results I was wanting because my energy was feeling constricted and it was effecting who I was being.  Since I postponed it a month, this huge expansiveness has set in, I’ve been having amazing conversations with the other women that are going to be speaking, and I feel they are more committed to this project than ever.  One of my speakers couldn’t do the new date and so I chose a beloved colleague and client to take her place and I feel she is far more aligned with my philosophy and the topic than the other speaker was.  I feel so grateful that I allowed myself to put on the brakes because the outcome is going to be far greater as a result.

So how does pushing forward on something that is not right effect our business?  I wish I had some statistics to back this up, but I have really been thinking about this and I realize I have a really strong belief about it (and what I know is that the world tends to show up in a way that supports my beliefs…and that isn’t unique to me!).  In my own business, when I have come from that push energy, I get less than average results.   So, as an example, on a sales page for a free call, you want approximately 40% or more of the people who viewed your page to sign up for the call (this is not a hard and fast rule – it does depend on your format, but generally this is true).  So, when I come from push energy, I don’t get those results.  I might get 20-25%.  Is it because my copy isn’t as inviting?  That I cut corners?  Or is it  that my push energy just left a residue on everything connected to the project?  Conversely, when I did my Courageous Entrepreneurial Leap Telesummit last year, I had well over 50% conversion even though I had never done a Telesummit before.  What was different about it?  1) I had a lot of spaciousness.  I gave myself a lot of time and I cut back on other work to make space for it 2) I had great support from my tech person, Lesa; my assistant, Angela; my mentor, Sage; and my peer coach, Laura (not to mention loving support from my husband, Eric and lots of friends).  3) I was having a blast and really enjoyed the process.  I really feel it made a huge impact on my results.  4) All but two speakers I asked said yes and I think it is because I believed in this project and that had some speakers say “yes” who normally don’t say yes to first time telesummit hosts.  Truly, I reflect on that experience as a blessed and magical time.  It felt like God was really smiling down upon me.

So, when I put on the brakes for my upcoming speaker series and moved it out a month, I took it as an opportunity to look at “how can I make this really juicy?”.  I changed up the format, added an extra bonus call, and have lined up multiple conversations with my speakers to make sure they feel really involved in its creation and outcome.  I hired a copywriter to work with me on the project (which I have only done once in 13 years).  And I’ve lined up lots of loving colleagues who’ve stepped up offering to promote the event to support me.  I am really having a blast now and I reflect often on my own quote of “life is perfect, you just don’t always know it at the time”.

So remember, having your own business gives you the opportunity to be a full expression of who you are.  I always hope to share my experiences with you so you can learn from the great, the good, the bad and the ugly so that you can have a more joyous experience with growing your business.  As always, please let me know what you think!

With appreciation,

Tara

P.S. – do join us at the end of the month for the Savvy Strategic Alliance Virtual Speaker Series!  It is going to be pretty darn amazing!!