Let me know if this sounds familiar to you. Have you ever said:
- I’m not ready to hire an assistant.
- I’m not ready to pitch myself for an interview.
- I’m not ready to hire a coach.
- I’m not ready to invest in my brand, my photos, or my website.
- I’m not ready to do a Facebook Live.
- I’m not ready to charge that much or increase my prices.
- I’m not ready to launch that kind of program.
- I’m not ready for that level of publicity and visibility.
I know I’ve had every single one of those thoughts at one point or another in the decade of running my own business – and while some I was able to dismiss, others held me back for YEARS.
Today, I share how ‘I’m Not Ready’ has held me back in my own business…and how I’ve learned to take the leap anyway:
5:00 If the default response to taking a big step towards your goals is “I’m not ready yet”, you need to first recognize that this is a fear-based response. It’s just your brain trying to keep you playing it safe…and small.
8:00 My dreams of being able to work from home, be with my babies, raise my family the way I really wanted…all that meant I had to commit.
And it was so scary because I wasn’t ready. I did not feel ready, I did not feel like I was going to be okay yet. I felt very scared, but I did it anyway.
I decided even though I wasn’t ready, I was going to commit 100% and do whatever it took to get my business to work for me.
10:30 I was not ready to take my business online. The idea of running an online consulting business was a brand new concept – and I didn’t know ANYTHING about HOW I was going to do this.
14:00 Going All IN on my business, creating a 6 month 1×1 coaching program, charging $2500… I was not ready, but I knew it was the best next step, and it’s what my offering was worth.
17:20 The biggest, scariest thing I did that first year after the twins were born was join a $10K mastermind. I was coming off of maternity leave. I had basically neglected my business for a year while I figured out how to be a mom. But I knew that, to make it all work and to have the freedom to live my dream life with my young family, I needed to take my business online. I found support.
24:00 With two-year-old twins and a husband who worked full time, I only had about 20 hours a week available to work in my business. I had to ask for more help – at home and in the business – to allow myself more time on CEO-level tasks, so I could grow my business and gain more revenue and freedom.
26:30 The type of clients that were seeking me out showed me that I had outgrown The Yogipreneur… I had to rebrand my business to RachealCook. On the surface, it all made sense. But that was terrifying to me! It felt so vulnerable to have a personal brand and to be the true face of the business. It was terrifying, but it pushed me out of my comfort zone, and has brought me to the next level in my business.
Succeeding in entrepreneurship means regularly pushing out of your comfort zone so that you can make the impact you are here to make.
We are never going to be ready, and we’re gonna do it anyway.
We’re gonna do it scared. We all feel terrified when we first push the button to go live for our first Facebook Live or Webinar or Podcast.
We’re gonna have conversations where afterward your back is drenched in sweat because you’re telling a client that it’s a 5-figure investment to work with you
We are going to have those feelings – and we’re going to take the next step.
I have re-framed it for myself – if I don’t feel like I’m ready to take this step, that means to me that I’m on the right path.
This is the next thing I need to do, the next obstacle I need to get through in order to get where I want to go in my business.
So if you catch yourself saying ?Im not ready for this,’ I want you to ask yourself these 3 questions:
Is this next step challenging you to step out of your comfort zone?
Is this next step challenging you to be more visible?
Is this next step challenging you to make a bigger impact?
If the answer is yes – then I’m challenging you today to commit to going 100% ALL IN on your goals and doing it even if you don’t feel ready.
If you loved today’s episode – please take a screenshot of today’s episode and share on Instagram – tag me @racheal.cook – and let me know the next step you’re going to take out of your comfort zone!
Show Links
Brene Brown – Courage Over Comfort
Sarah Ancalmo Ashman’s Public Persona
Listener Shout-Out
Before we dive into today’s CEO Confession – I just wanted to take a moment to say THANKS to Angie who left this review last week on Apple Podcasts:
As my friend and coach Tara Newman says – reviews are like Podcast currency. That’s the best way to let us know that you appreciate the show and pay it forward so more people can find us. So thanks Angie for your awesome review!
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