“I know I need to get out there, Amanda. I’m almost ready – just a few more things to put into place.”
“I know you want to make sure that what you’re putting out there is world-class, but it’s time to jump in. If you are trying to get it right and perfect BEFORE you launch it, you’ll never launch it because it will never get to your definition of ‘right and perfect’.”
“I’m almost ready.”
“But there are people out there who need your message now. And, if you’re truly on your path, you will always be expanding and discovering more as you expand, which means that you will constantly be honing, shaping, reworking, getting results, tweaking, doing it better, streamlining it some more, etc. It’s time to jump.”
These are not easy conversations to have with my authors. I remember being there. I remember questioning everything and wondering if what I had was good enough to put out there. In fact, there are still some newer areas in my business where I still have these conversations with myself!
But I can also say, with 100% certainty, that I would still be right there if I hadn’t taken that first step.
—
Almost two years ago now, I had plans to start a pilot program, but I didn’t feel like I had time to do a whole lot of sales and marketing. You read the story, right? There were pennies in the bank account. No exaggeration.
I figured the quickest and easiest way to build the business was to ask the business coaches I had been working with (who were telling people to write books) to refer aspiring authors to me. One day, I decided to jump in a BIG WAY and called one of my coaches and offered to provide a book development program on the other side of her big author/speaker event. I’d served in those rooms a few times, watched people get all excited about writing and starting their speaking career, and then followed up months later to find out they hadn’t finished their books. They needed clarity, structure, and accountability, and I could provide all three of those.
“That’s a great idea! Let’s do it at this next event.”
Excited, I asked her when the event was and then tried to stay conscious when I heard her answer, “Three weeks. Send me a promotional flyer and all of the materials to review asap.”
“Okay, will do.” My legs were shaking and my hands were numb as I put down the phone. Did I mention that I didn’t have ANY of those materials ready when I made that call?
I didn’t have one bit of my curriculum on paper when I offered my expertise to her, but you know what? I had it all together and beautifully designed and bound three weeks later. Was it perfect? No, but it was a really impressive start. I also had a website put together. Was it perfect? Heck no! But it was close enough.
Putting myself out there, and saying YES to that type of deadline, forced a fast quantum leap in my business (as Ursula would call it). In fact, three weeks later, at that event, I made more in one day than I had the whole year prior.
(This is not meant to toot my own horn – I just want you to see what’s possible when you jump.)
And that was just the beginning because I had just started to scrape the surface of my purpose. I didn’t get it all at once. No one does. And the sooner we realize that, the easier it is to let go and jump. And the faster we jump, the more can be revealed…
—
You see, at that point, I believed that all of my skills (critical thinking, writing, organizing, teaching, facilitating, transformational coaching, etc) were honed so that I could help people write POWERFUL CONTENT that was true to their original intention. I branded myself as a Book Coach.
It was six months later when I realized that there were deeper reasons for my author’s writer’s block, and that I was also supposed to be helping the authors manage the emotions of the author’s journey. I rebranded myself as an Author Coach.
Six months after that, I realized the need to focus on a phase of transformation that almost no one talks about to help my authors achieve their goals. Knowing that I needed more time to support them through this phase, I followed the inspiration to do all of this “Retreat-Style” and become a Transformational Author Coach.
Again, six months later, the focus went deeper. I heard myself talking about the Expert Syndrome and the Messenger Mindset, and I began to call myself a Transformational Messenger Coach.
And now it’s gone a bit deeper. Now it’s not just about the Book Content and the Author/Messenger’s Transformation. Now it’s about Launching the Messenger, as we now provide the Monetize Your Message Retreats, Book Production Programs, and Book Signing Launches to help these amazing messengers launch their messages into the world.
And who knows what the next level will be. All I know is that there probably is one…