It always kind of amazes me that people sometimes believe that just because I’m a coach that I love everything I have to do and that I have nothing more to learn. I’m a human being too! There are some things in my business that I don’t like doing either.
I had such an instance last Monday. There was a networking event on that night that I thought would be perfect for my best friend (who by the way is totally an extravert that loves meeting new people!) I gave her a call and then she said ‘So, you’re going too, right?’ Ahhhhhh…….
Now, I believe in doing what I teach and it also so happened that particular day I was doing an initial franchisee training for a bookkeeping franchise group. One of the main topics I teach them is how to network, because by very nature, bookkeepers are generally more introverted and not fans of networking, so I teach them how to do it successfully, even if they don’t want to do it! So, because I knew I had to keep my integrity, I told Kate that I too would go to the networking event.
Now, I’m OK at networking. Don’t get me wrong here and I kind of can’t believe I’m going to say this, but once I’m there and when I leave, I find that I have also actually enjoyed it and got to meet some interesting new people.
So what is it that I hate about it? The thought of doing it!
When I started in business 14 years ago, I had to go to a networking event. Well, I didn’t have to go, but it was a marketing strategy I knew would work for the business I had at the time. I’m actually not all that extraverted, in fact I’m an introvert (I know – many people don’t believe it, but I am) so the first time I had to go to a networking event, I actually cried in my car because I was so afraid!
Well, I’ve come a long way from that for sure! But it was a defining moment in business for me because I was willing to get out of my comfort zone (the car!!) and go do something for my business. I was and I did. And to be honest, I’ve done way scarier things since then and not cried so I am also much braver than I was in my first business!
Why have I told you this? Because even 14 years on, I still get that nervous feeling in my tummy and catch myself trying to avoid doing something that is good for my business – all because in the past (very long past!) I was once scared of it.
I share this because maybe you too are avoiding something because of a feeling or a belief that is now old and irrelevant to who you are today. Maybe you think you hate something because you have talked yourself into it, when that just isn’t the reality.
Business is an adventure of continually getting out of your own way, getting out of your comfort zone, not holding yourself back because of old beliefs. All of us do this – me included – because before being business owners, we are of course human beings.
So the next time you have the opportunity to do something you hate, do it because maybe you will discover that you don’t actually hate it at all.