I spent most of my life hiding in the shadows, skulking on the sidelines and playing it small.
In the last 11 months since joining TCI, I have overhauled my vocabulary, my thinking and my doing.
In May alone, I've experienced things I'd never have given myself permission to try if I were still living my old life.
I attended How To Run A Successful Workshop, the most intensive training I've been in, where one of my biggest fears - public speaking - was the star of the show. And I survived.
I graciously accepted rides from fellow coaches who are more confident drivers than I...and made a mental note to stretch this particular boundary condition. So I signed up for the June meeting of our coaching group in the Northwest, with the intention of driving myself there and back.
I've experienced what it's like to run workshops where the attendance ranged from 0 (yep, no one showed) to 1 (which became like a 1-on-1 coaching session).
And I'm proud of how I managed my state and reframed a negative into a positive. Someday, this will make a really good story.
I've initiated coffee chats with business contacts that I met at my local networking group.
Just because that's what my mentors said to do.
This week, one of those contacts told me how much she admires me, what a great story I have (leaving a comfortable job and lifestyle to migrate here without a job and while pregnant with #2, starting over etc), how inspiring my work and vision are, and how she wants to help me as much as she can before she leaves her current job.
We would never have met if I had not taken up her challenge at the networking dinner ("Come and talk to me, or I'll hunt you down anyway!"). Now I have a new friend and soul sister.
I've been driving myself to and from the monthly business networking dinner (which usually finishes around 9 pm). My night blindness is seriously bad, but I refuse to be a slave to it.
On Sunday, I made a decision to challenge my map around sharing my space with people outside my family...and (after discussing with hubby) opened my home to a fellow coach I met at Advanced Skills Weekend who lives on the Sunshine Coast and will be needing accommodation when she returns in July for training.
It'll be interesting to notice what comes up as I confront all my old bugbears about the cleanliness and tidiness of my house and yard, food issues, money issues, space and privacy issues...
I'm learning to chase up leads in my database instead of waiting for them to take action.
It is said the average person needs 7 contact points before they buy, so I am experimenting with different strategies to see what works.
So far, the best strategy has been a free downloadable report on my website that has attracted over 100 leads from all over the world.
On Friday, I will be Skype coaching one of these leads. He took up my offer of a complimentary coaching session. My first ever client from Quebec, Canada. How cool is technology?
On Friday, I am also Skype coaching a former client, and I'll be using NLP. Specifically, TCI DSR.
This afternoon, I walked into the admin office at my children's school and requested to speak with the person in charge of mentoring programs. I'd sent two emails with no response, so I thought it was time to take it up a notch. Previously, I would have just told myself that they were busy or not interested...and left the matter at that.
That was how I finally got to meet the Middle School Coordinator and to find out the school's direction and intentions for its Middle School girls. Have just emailed her with info on a program that I'd like to run for the school. She leaves her post in five weeks, which may mean having to start all over again with the new MSC. But that's just speculation. The transition may very well be seamless and fuss-free.
I may even offer the program as a community outreach service through my church when we move into our new building in Q4.
Everywhere I look, I see opportunities to shine, to serve, to connect, to inspire and to uplift. I see it as my vision and mission in life to be that rare person that bothers to make a difference. The person who takes a moment out of the busyness of the day to send a card, make a call, start a conversation, that is intentionally positive and encouraging.
To point people towards the Light.
