2021 is almost over so I wanted to do a little year-end recap for you guys.
I had some truly amazing clients this year and we did a lot of great work together, but I heard some really shocking things from most of them.
#1. The number one most shocking thing I heard over and over is that they had “no options.”
They came to work with me because they felt they had absolutely…. no…. options.
Now that's shocking to me because I know they have all the options in the world! I know they are just overwhelmed. They feel stuck. They feel hopeless and they need help.
Every time I work with someone I warn them that they're going to become saturated with options. They're going to be engulfed in options. They are going to have options coming out of their ears!
Because of the way they feel in the moment they come to me - they never believe me. Sure enough though, in a few weeks our session starts with “I am totally buried under options and I'm freaking out!”
This is when I get to say: “You got it babe! You are slathered in a wealth of options. You got yourself an embarrassment of riches of options!”
As giddy as I am in that moment, I know that feeling. I know the feeling of being up against the wall. Of being unhappy and feeling like you have nowhere to go, but trust me when I tell you - you have everywhere to go!
It sounds a little like Dr. Seuss: “Oh the Everywhere You'll Go!” - and we do laugh about it at a certain point, but it still surprises me each time that each new client feels the same.
I love watching my clients go through this work. I've seen them freak out due to the fact that they realize they can do almost anything and then figuring out what their “thing” is. That light bulb moment. That big A-HA. The joy on their faces is my favorite part.
Sometimes it comes from something small, like helping one of their kids with their homework. Sometimes it comes from something big and unfortunate like a cancer scare. Sometimes there's really no reason at all other than they're ready for it. That's one of my most favorite things about my job: seeing someone come into their own, find their thing, and be so excited about their future that they can’t stop grinning.
#2 The other shocking thing that I've heard repeatedly this past year is “I don't know how to do anything but what I'm already doing.”
I understand what they mean by that, but I find it shocking that these amazing people don't realize how many skills and talents they possess other than what they do on a day-to-day at the jobs that make them miserable.
There are so many things that are second nature to them that they don't even consider them talents! But that's exactly where your talents lie... in the things that are easy for you. In the things that are second nature.
As for those job skills, for that new exciting career, that you don't possess … you just don't possess them yet. All of those things can be learned. Skills can be picked up, and nowadays learning new skills to embark on your career is easier than ever before in history, so I am constantly shocked by clients who tell me that there's nothing else that they can do because they only know how to do one thing.
I think what they really mean is the thought of learning something new is daunting. The idea that they're going to have to start “from the beginning” is scary, but you're never really starting from the beginning if you've ever done anything any work ever before. You're not starting from scratch. You bring all that with you. Once they find their thing though… and the excitement takes over... the fear of the time it will take to learn the skills they need evaporates. Every time.
I'm constantly shocked, in the good way, by just how much my clients are able to accomplish in the short time we work together. It has nothing to do with me. They do all the work. They pull from deep resources they never knew they had. They find that place of excitement and joy that they'd forgotten about.
We close our work by looking back at what they said they wanted when they first came to me. 9 times out of 10 they've exceeded that goal so far (like completely blown out of the water) that they laugh at themselves! They laugh at how much they limited themselves, at how small their goals were, and how little they thought they could accomplish.
They look back and see that everything they thought was impossible, has not only become possible, but very real. Taking control of their careers, their salaries and their days, they've decided to be in charge of their own lives to stop letting other people dictate how they do what they do and for how much money.
That journey is why I do what I do. I love my clients and I can't wait to be shocked and awed by them in 2022!
Have a happy New Year! Here's to 2021 and everything to come in 2022!
EBS
P.S. If you want to make your 2022 a freakin' shocking & powerful year, head here for more info.
