Getting out of your own way

Do you find yourself holding back for fear of rejection and what other people might think?

If you are one who allows your ego to self-sabotage the achievement of your goals, remember this! There are people and businesses out there right now who need your products and services, so your job is to be sure that they know about you.

A solopreneur client of mine had a goal to increase her revenue by a certain amount. She actually needed this revenue as her business was very cash poor. And many people needed to know about the unique guidance she had to offer.

We put together a marketing plan for lead generation which involved her selecting 50 people who matched her ideal target market. Then she crafted a beautiful, friendly, very professional email to send to them …

… Weeks passed and she still hadn’t sent the email.

It turned out she didn’t like receiving emails from people she didn’t know. As a result, she couldn’t bring herself to send an email to people who didn’t know her. She worried about what they’d think of her. Even though she really needed more clients and they needed her. *

Maybe that resonates? ??

Years ago, when I started my business, I bought myself a database and learned cold calling. (This was in the days before the domination of social media, for those old enough to remember!)

Every day I would ring my list.

There were a lot of rejections. It was hard, it was draining, and I didn’t like it – though I did win my first customers this way, so it was worth it, I guess. And I got quite good at it eventually so there was stuff I could share.

But it was a hard slog. ??

Before too long I found myself finding other things to do - like making lots of cups of coffee, taking walks around the block, emptying the bin – c’mon! You know how it works!

It’s called procrastination.

Anything to delay the moment when I’d have to pick the phone up again – to be told she’s out, or a similar crushing blow to my ego.

Because, after seeing similar procrastination in some of my clients, I recognised that this was my ego at work.

My ego was trying to protect me from more rejection and blows to my self-esteem.

But I knew it was also holding me back from getting my story out there about how I could help people in business.

Since those days I’ve seen this phenomenon over and over in all aspects of business (and life) and we work together to overcome it. ?

Our ego wants validation, approval, and protection. Its purpose is to serve as our inner protector, safeguarding us from potential harm. Its intentions have always been to shield us from harm and to preserve our self-image but it’s NOT our true identity. It’s NOT who we are! ?

Now it’s time to acknowledge and thank our ego for its well-intentioned efforts but to ask it (kindly) to step aside. ??

Now it’s time for us to let our business and our true purpose shine – without our ego blocking our way.

If you are one who allows your ego to self-sabotage the achievement of your goals, remember this! There are people and businesses out there right now who need your products and services, so your job is to be bold and brave and be sure that they know about you.

Let me know if I can help!

* We got it sent in the end and it all ended happily and lucratively. (I thought you’d like to know.) ??