What’s the Prize that's Just Beyond Your Comfort Zone?

You love what you do, and people value and appreciate the service you provide. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a business coach like me or a landscape architect or a Chinese medicine practitioner, you’ve found a square hole for the square peg that is your talents and skills.

Hallelujah.

Consider yourself lucky. Far too few people find themselves in this extremely enviable position of having found their “calling.”

So, why would you ever want to change things up? Why would you want to expand your reach and take on new challenges?

Because you want to stretch yourself.
You want to make fuller use of the talents you have.
You want to tap into the kind of fresh energy you only get from taking on something new and different … and somewhat challenging.
What you’ve been doing for so long isn’t working quite as well as it has in the past, and it’s time to shift your focus.

Might there be other reasons? Sure. But I’ve listed these because that’s what’s motivated me to shake things up a bit. And I thought talking through what I’ve been thinking and doing lately might help you bridge to a fresh approach should you find yourself wanting or needing to make changes.

In my case, I’ve been a life coach and business coach for over 20 years now. I love what I do and I couldn’t imagine ever giving it up.

And yet, I’m someone who likes to stretch myself, to go in new directions, and take on things that pull me out of my comfort zone … sometimes to my chagrin, I’ll admit.

So, what’s changed for me? I’ve always done some executive coaching and a fair amount of training, but I’ve recently ramped up that aspect of what I do, and I’m having a lot of fun with it and really feeling energized. Why? Because it’s a change of pace, I’m getting to exercise a different set of professional muscles, and the people I’ve been blessed to work with have been absolutely great.

Why have I shifted my focus somewhat? For two reasons.

I had a wonderful opportunity presented to me.

And what I’d been doing for years to build my business and keep my practice full was pretty fundamentally altered by the fact that the groups that I’d been speaking to were forced to go virtual.

As wonderful a technology as Zoom is, you just create the same kind of strong, deep personal connection electronically as you can in person. Why is that the case?

Well, there’s the obvious. You aren’t actually there in the flesh and people can’t get that up close and personal experience of you.

But beyond that, it’s hard to get people to turn their cameras on and really be present. Lots of folks kinda listen in as they’re multitasking.

The result? Fewer people are inspired enough to sign up for a complimentary session, which means somewhat fewer new clients coming from those speaking engagements.

Fortunately, I’m blessed to have about all the business I can handle as it is, but speaking on Zoom just isn’t as satisfying … or productive … as speaking live.

I was born to speak in person and get so much enjoyment and fulfillment from it. Zooming just isn’t the same.

And so, while I still speak virtually and enjoy it, I needed a complement to that aspect of what I do. And it’s working out beautifully.

Can it be intimidating to branch out? You bet.

But it can also be very rewarding.

So, what I would leave you with is this. Don’t be afraid to assess where you are in your business and make changes.

Don’t be afraid to stretch yourself.

Most of the time, the energy and fulfillment you get from stepping out … and stepping up to the plate … is more than worth the passing flashes of trepidation you might feel.

You’ll be stronger for it.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes,