The Warrior Side Of Business Success
By: Sandi Krakowski
"I'm just so tired of hearing about the small things, the things that make people just sit and never take action. Is something wrong with me or is this just a part of the journey?" I asked.
"Tell me more…" answered my friend.
"I get emails every single day with amazing stories, thank you's, changed lives, businesses finally making money. After 4 days of unplugging I received two gifts by regular mail and even a card with a thank you inside. And then….. well, these notes come in from people who should just go get some crackers and cheese to go with their whine. You know, the ones who make an occupation out of energy zapping and self loathing." I replied.
"I think it's a normal part of business and the bigger you grow, as the CEO, you'll want to protect yourself from things that are going to rob you of necessary energy." she advised.
She went on to ask, "So… tell me about the four days of disconnected life. Did you miss the internet, did you stay off your phone?"
"I did! But you know, it's funny… I've been homeschooling for 19 years and have run my businesses from home for 14. There was one stint in there for 5 months that I rented an office building and it was the biggest nightmare of my life. I'm used to doing three things at one time, I enjoy doing a hugely profitable consult with a client one minute and switching gears to help with Grammar or Algebra."
I continued, "My life has always flowed in the 'full' category and for me the more I have to do… the better I am. Major drama Momma rises up when there is too much time on my hands. So the disconnected time was great but I also realized something…..life for me is connected. I don't need someone to tell me to get off my phone or turn off the computer at night. I lived that obsessive life before and it nearly killed me. But connected to me is the only way I can live fully… connected with my kids, connected to my clients, chatting on Facebook, researching three things at one time, writing newsletters and sales copy on two monitors simultaneously."
Big pause…. and I concluded, "I guess you could say…. the fun at the sand dunes was great, the fire works were amazing, we even dreamed about buying a lakehouse soon…. but too much disconnect for me and I can't stand the damn 243 emails waiting when I come back. I prefer to LIVE rather than chunk my life…. some people can live in chunks, I've had coaches attempt to 'fix' what they thought was chaos by teaching me to chunk my life and the reality is….. fully on, in all areas, life, work, family, dreams, chores all blending together… that is real living to me. 24/7," I answered.
"Oh! I can so relate!", she said "And I really mean it when I say that it's just as fun for me at Disney with family as it is in mentoring my team. When we were at ETR I enjoyed our sessions in the boardroom as much as I love my time at the baseball games with my kids. Living life as YOU see designed for you is the key, " she replied.
We went onto talk about my projects, the things we'd accomplished together in the last 90 days and then the conversation grew tense.
ME (short for MaryEllen) began to ask some pressing questions.
"Hey, I'm curious….. in all the time we've shared together I'm curious why I don't see you at events… why are you not speaking & networking with more people?"
The conversation went into several directions and many were rooted in fear. My own fears, fears people had wrongfully planted into my heart. Fears of actually realizing my dreams. Fear of actually impacting millions of people…. fear of actually reaching for and taking action on what I was designed for.
My comfort zone is in making millions in profits behind a screen. Teaching classes has caused me to realize some of my purpose. But speaking publicly, which I've done several times, is my real task. Impacting people face to face, bringing the experience, good bad and ugly of all that I've learned along the way to a live audience…. now that, is my designed goal.
But it's also the one I've avoided for a long time. I've also brought into my life many authority figures to create in me a protective layer so that I could uphold this avoidance. Coaches who helped me to be successful but threatened me when it came to how big I could get. Companies I tripled their profits for but who were very disenchanted with the notion that I could go do that for others.
Pretty sick isn't it?
So… is this my dirty laundry session? No it's called being honest…. because through that honesty I believe, you might catch something that is vital to your own personal purpose. ME went onto encourage me to network more, to connect in bigger ways… to really bring what I was designed for out to the world. She also assigned a book for me to read…. "The War Of Art."
Steven Pressfield in his book, "The War Of Art" says it better than anyone I've ever heard before :
"The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professionals knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist."
My fears are actually telling me of my purpose.
What are your fears telling you?
Pressfield goes onto say, "If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends) "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death."
What is it you are scared to death of? For me it's that I would speak before 1,000 people and they would be so hugely impacted that they'd ask me back. Then there would be 5,000 people and their business future, their lives and their purposes would all be affected…. and there would be more. I've actually seen the more in my dreams, my visions and my future. But that fear… that nasty sick and disgusting fear always said it would be too hard, too much, you're just not ready.
I sat in church on Sunday pondering this as my pastor talked about letting go of all the things that hold us back, cause us to shrink back and not fulfill the plan for our lives. For me, that means just make a nice comfy 7-figure income from home, never get out much, support some people, live comfortably, inspire from a distance but just don't go out 'there.' And God forbid…
…..don't go international.
So….. I did a radical thing Sunday morning. I made a commitment to step out. Wrote out all the things that I fear and all the dreams and visions of my future I keep having. Walked through forgiving those who have threatened me…. again. But this time……
…. I began to think of the first message I'd give. The key points to making money online, inside of WordPress, building extraordinary wealth with some very ordinary tools…. and I realized again…. my purpose.
Where are you today? Is your comfort zone getting very uncomfortable?
Is there an ember in your heart that you keep trying to shut down? Do you still believe that one day all of your fears will be gone and THEN you'll be successful?
It doesn't work that way. To really overcome and break through you have to tell the fears to shut up. Your belief in your future has to be bigger and stronger than your belief in holding back…..
…. and like an athlete, you have to stretch yourself. Do the things you thought you couldn't do. Reach for things you were told just don't happen… and see your future actually becoming all that you thought would be totally impossible.
We're in this journey together you know…. what do you say?
I'd love to support you in any way that I can! It's my passion and desire to see YOU succeed and go past your fears!
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
