Follow the Leader

Remember playing tag when you were little?  You’d run like crazy trying to catch the other person, thereby making them “it” for the next round.  Or how about Follow the Leader?  You’d do whatever the person “in front” was doing until they tapped the next person to be the leader.  With a 4 year old in our house, we’re much more into Hide ‘n Seek only it’s more like “Hide, giggle and pretend Mommy can’t see me as I hide in pretty much plain sight” but whatever!  For the past week or so, I’ve been feeling a little like I have been playing more follow the leader than normal…and not with my kiddo.

I was sending an email to a client when I typed the following sentence:  “I’ve been a Coach for over a year now, and I’m committed to helping you achieve your health and wellness goals.”  It was the “over a year now” part that got me.  Has it really been over a year?  Have I really been in this business for more than 12 months?  Wow.

During that time, I’ve been fortunate to meet and interact with some really neat people.  There are people who’ve been Coaching longer than I have and there are people who joined after I did, so I got to wondering; Where, exactly, do I fit in?  I can’t keep relying on the “I’m the new kid here” response, right?  I mean, I have a lot to learn still, but I also have a lot to teach.  And that’s exciting.

If this is a game of follow the leader, I suppose I should turn around and see---are others following me?  If the answer is YES, guess what…I’m a leader!  And I better start acting more like one.  Embrace the role.  Own it.  Make it mine.  And that’s what’s so much fun; making it—this role, this business, this opportunity---mine means it’s whatever I want it to be.  So let’s get started…again!

I am committing to changing a few things around here—and by “here” I mean me.  I’m going to reconnect with daily personal development.  Whether it’s reading, listening to a call or watching a video, I’m carving out at least 30 minutes EVERY DAY to work on that. 

And I’m going to get back to regular communications with my Team.  That’s right, my Team.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I have a Team, too.  While I’m part of a very large Team, and my own Team is small, all the more reason to devote time and energy to developing them and helping them each create their own vision/version of success.

There’s a great story about a self-made success in this business.  She’s killing it; and when she started, she had no support.  No upline Coach to help her, no one to show her the ropes.  And she’s now breaking all kinds of records with this fantastic business.  And when I hear it, I start a monstrous debate in my mind as to whether or not I could do that—succeed only on my own, without help. 

Depending on the day (and even the moment), the answer differs.  And so does my reaction to the answer.  There are days I convince myself I’m a total failure because I can’t see myself doing what she did.  And then I feel bad that I’m not built like that.  News flash; I’m not her, and she’s not me!  So I’m going to be me and do what I can, how I can. 

Fortunately, I don’t have to find out what it’s like to be in this alone, because I have tons of support.  It’s about maximizing that help and being willing to understand that I need it and ask for it.  Support comes from all sorts of places, too.  So I’m vowing to be more open to the various sources of help and encouragement.  Embracing it all and remembering that everyone has something to teach me.  Be a sponge, right!?

Finally, I’m going to get back to setting goals, making time to work every single day and remember why I got started in the first place.  Sure there are a million other things I could be doing at any given moment.  But the real question is, are they helping me towards my goals.  If they’re not, maybe they need to be put on hold just for a bit.  I’m not suggesting that I get totally narrow-focused and forget to do anything but work, but I do know that I need to make my work and my goals priorities---or they’ll never happen. 

If that perky 4 year old wants to play Hide ‘n Seek, we’ll play; and I’ll work later.  But I will work.  Who knows, maybe I’ll get a great game of Follow the Leader going and have fun with that, too.

If you'd like to be part of this adventure, I welcome you to do so.  Reach out, connect, chat...together we will figure out the best next steps, set great goals and work our buns off to get where we want to be!