No matter where you are in your life or career, it’s important to continue the learning process. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from my clients each and every day. In my last blog post, I shared the first five of the ten lessons I learned from my clients in 2014.
A reader asked if they were in any particular order of importance. I did not prioritize when I wrote them, however, I do believe it would be beneficial for you to choose 2 or 3 of these teachings and put some attention on them to create a delicious 2015.
If what we put our attention on expands, I encourage you to decide what it is you really want for the year, and put some thought to it regularly. Use a few of these lessons to help you honor your intentions for the year.
- Without a connection to what gives you meaning, effort feels fruitless – When J.S.’s kids told him he was not a fun dad anymore, he knew he needed to change how we was approaching life both personally and professionally. Knowing your Big Why (becoming happier so he would have more fun with his kids) helped him focus on making the changes he wanted to achieve, even when it felt really hard.
- A small change makes for huge impact – When I began working with D., she was mired down with doubt and lack of confidence in her ability to be seen as an expert. By making a few minor adjustments in how she saw herself, it shifted her approach to networking. In a very short time, she has become a relationship building machine and her confidence increased ten-fold.
- Delegation is essential – Almost every client I work with has a bit of ‘control freakiness’ to them. As they realize this mindset is keeping them stuck, witnessing them “letting go” of doing the things they are not good at has inspired me to continue to do the same. Something as simple as hiring a bookkeeper opens up time and space for J.S. to have more fun with his kids.
- Finally moving forward on something they have been procrastinating on – Watching A. come into integrity with himself by creating the steps to launch his organization here in the U.S. has shown me that it’s easy to become mired down in what we are not doing. As soon as a clear plan is put into place, everything else lines up and action becomes easier.
- Confidence grows from practicing what you’re fearful about – When we are learning a new skill, whether it is knitting, interviewing or having successful sales conversations, practice strengthens the belief that we know what we are doing. D. practiced her sales conversations with friends, colleagues and potential clients. She went from being terrified to terrific from applying the skills she learned to real life situations. Instead of making up that she was not good at these conversations, she used her experience to change that internal conversation to a confident one.
Now it is your turn to go out there and encounter the lessons from playing the game of life all out. The only way to expand both personally and professionally is to learn from your experiences. If you are not learning, you are not growing. If you are not growing, you are missing out on an amazing journey. Ready, set, here you go… learn and grow!
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