I know that sometimes I start things and fall flat on my
face.
What I am so glad about is I have learned to start projects
that I feel totally not ready for. I am so glad that I have
learned to take on things that scare me to pieces. I am
excited by the challenge of something totally unknown.
I like to start fast and fail even faster so that I can
learn from my mistakes. If you were on the inside of my
business, you would know how fast we change course when we
don’t get results. You would know how quickly seemingly
risky decisions are made daily. And you would know how
uncomfortable that sometimes feels, but it’s what makes my
life and my business such an amazing vehicle for personal
growth.
So here’s what I know:
Begin before you feel like you’re sufficiently prepared.
Take the first step despite the size or the difficulty of
the project. Get going even if you feel like you currently
don’t have enough this or that – or perhaps even if you
feel that you’re not enough.
Our minds are no use to us in the matter of starting that
which our hearts know is our path. It will come up with
excuses, doubts and countless reason why you can’t and
shouldn’t do something.
Begin because it is the only way. And know that our
resistance to doing our soul’s work is our signal that we
are on the right path.
If there’s no resistance to the work, you’re often skirting
around the periphery of your work. Resistance is the friend
that arrives when we’ve hit bulls-eye. Procrastination,
avoidance and excuse-making are simply part of the
territory.
Resistance, Procrastination & Avoidance have been with me
for years, but now they are increasingly becoming my
friends. They signal to me that I am on my hero’s journey
and that I am getting closer to whatever my next level
is. They are not the dragons that will stop me from getting
there, but simply signal that tell me that I’m close… and my
job is to continue to inch closer.
So what are you waiting for?
Begin. Be uncomfortable. And rejoice that you are alive and
living your best life TODAY.
Your turn:
Tell me in the comments below – what is one thing that you’re going to start even though you’re not ready?
Bill….this article hit the nail on the head with…”if there’s no resistance, we’d just be skirting on the periphery…resistance comes in when we’ve hit the bull’s-eye” That’s BRILLIANT! I’m going to use it in my enrollment calls. :)) I was at Big Shift and am so thrilled to be part of Big Shift Coaching.
I have a coaching program called, “Mindset and Miracles”…I’m creating an online program called “Everyday Miracles”, which will feed into a movement called, “Miracle Warriors”. :)) I reached out to Dr. Bernie Siegal on the plane ride home from Big Shift to ask if I could interview him about miracles…and we have an interview set up for this Thurs!! As soon as he said “yes” I got scared…and wanted to hide…lol But I’m standing in a different space now…because I AM a Miracle Warrior in this world…holding a vibration that invites others to heal. Thank you for being you!! <3
HI Bill, Thanks…for me it’s launching my Success Attitude Serminars into the USA. I can do New Zealand and Australia because it’s familiar….but USA…daunting, but on my list for 2016. Thanks Janice from New Zealand
We confirmed what we need to do at The Big Shift Experience. That was a week ago, March18-20, and now we have planned our first project, a seminar that will help create soulful children, scheduled for May 21 without a finished syllabus or a single customer. It’s scary. We wouldn’t be joyfully jumping on our soul’s work without your encouragement– Thank you Bill Baren and Patrick Dominguez.
Awesome! I know those guys! Procrastination, doubt, avoidance. Unfortunately they won the last project – my first short speaking engagement, but it’s kind of refreshing to know that you and others go through this. I am working on a specific project and the speaking engagement geared towards parents is still being realized.
I’m going to give my first speaking event next Friday!!! I feel like I’m not really ready, but after the Big Shift last weekend anything’s possible!! Thank you Bill for all the love and support you give us.
I’m so excited to be part of your community and cannot wait for the Big Shift Coaching to commence!
In the meantime, I’m starting a new YouTube show called M.A.D. LOVE for Mothers And Daughters… changing the way a girl thinks about herself & the world.
It will feed into my movement: The MAD LOVE Revolution and even though I don’t have the exact wording down yet, I’m moving forward and taking imperfect action.
I’ve hired a film & video professional to create an intro and once I start enrolling clients more consistently I’ll have her edit all the videos as well.
I’m also creating a more compelling free offering for mothers of teen girls that will be the strong call to action at the end of each episode.
When I got home from the Big Shift weekend my husband said, “You are a completely different person” and I feel that way. I broke through some MAJOR blocks and I am ready to step full on into all God has called me to be.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Bill!!
Mad Love!
Kathleen
Signing up for the Big Shift Coaching program felt like such a clear choice last week. Which forced action – paying for the course! Created http://www.NoPTSD.com this past week – already making phone calls – Imperfect action! Without Big Shift, I would have done a lot more prepping before acting. Thanks. Looking forward to a year of huge shifts!
Hi Bill,
I’m not usually a procrastinator but I have really been dragging my feet on starting my Wellness practice.I’v procrastinated so long that I’ve lost my confidence in moving forward which isn’t my usual M.O. I so look forward to working with you and your team to help me get moving and grooving into something I KNOW is already amazing!!!!!
Christina Cummings
My “website” is not much of a website at this point but I’ll list it anyway.
This article reinforces my thinking. Last year I published my first book ‘Wake-Up Calls’. I didn’t wanted to hang around too long to worry about if it’s going to b e success or not, would the language I used understandable or my thought patterns be followed. But I did it. It did cost a bit. I was going to wait and see if the sales picks-up. But after reading your article I’ve decided I’m not going to wait, to finish my 2nd book ‘Bombay to Birmingham’. I’m ready to take risk again and as you said ‘fall flat on my face’, again.
Hello Bill!
One thing I know I am going to do soon, that I am uncomfortable about, is speaking in public more! Whether in front of new group classes I’m currently building, or in events I’m already invited to speak and teach at 🙂 meeting you today at the big impact event with Mark & Shannon was so powerful.. Am still thinking of where do we know each other from? Much graditude to you, and I’ll see you at your San Jose event next month 🙂 oh.. And if you have a second free.. Check out my music.. I’m so in love with singing, and want to continue serving others through my experiences and knowledge and amazing fire and passion. Best!
Great to see you here, Keren. That’s twice in one week – virtually and live! Looking forward to hearing your music.
Hi!!I wasn’t ready to write a comment!!! But here I am. Thanks for the tip about how to know you are getting close to your soul’s work!!!
Glad you wrote here… Yeah!!!
Thanks Bill. The one thing I am going to start that Im not ready for is my business plan. I have been dragging my feet for way too long waiting for the ‘right time’ (because everyone else is saying that it is not the right time) and my soul burns to do it….
Regards,
Steven
Go for it, Steven!
Thanks Bill! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I have recently taken on a project that I planned to take on about a year from now. I am so incredibly excited, and also so nervous. That being said, each step has been falling into place as I work my way through it, and the more I talk about it, the more support I receive and more projects are presented to me!
Lots of love, and thank you so much for what you are doing.
Love and Gratitude.
So awesome!
What a beautiful photo! My grgad-erantmother passed when I was little, so I don’t really remember her. What a blessing to have yours around! I bet she has so much wisdom to share. Love this photo.
Hey Bill, I would be lying if I said I love to get uncomfortable but in my experience, getting uncomfortable is exactly what help us make progress faster.
Doing walking videos (as when you’re holding your phone while walking on the street) has been a pet peeve for really long time and yesterday I just went for it.
I still felt like an idiot while shooting the video but it actually made me more confident about me and doing these kind of videos and some friends on Facebook even told me they really liked the video.
So that’s what I’m going to be focusing on for the next days, shooting videos in public until it becomes natural for me.
Sergio
So glad you took the plunge! And remember, the less you judge yourself, the less judged you will feel by others.
Thank you for the inspiration. Though I am working, my job pays peanuts, and it is a daily struggle to meet my children’s needs, pay my bills, and keep a roof over my head. I recently took a major leap of faith and moved half way across the country to care for my aging parents. Its been hard, and I have spent plenty of time in tears when no one is watching. With 30 plus years of work experience under my belt, including running my own businesses, I figured I could get a job that paid more than minimum wage – I was wrong. So I have decided to start my own Marketing, Media, and Motivation consulting business. The local chamber of commerce has even asked me out of the blue to sit on their Board of Directors, which would be a great networking tool – but also time I really cannot afford. I am highly empathetic and intuitive, and can use that to help businesses redirect their focus to things that will simplify their work experience, while bringing increased gains and more satisfaction from what is a large part of their lives. Thanks for your thoughts here today – it helps me to see where I am stuck, and where I need to get moving. My fear of not being able to pull it off, even though the universe is pointing me in that direction, is my greatest challenge.
Thanks for your support!
Rebecca Twiss
You are going for it! Bravo…
Bill
I think this is one of your most powerful post ever written. I love the part that says “I like to start fast and fail even faster so that I can learn from my mistakes” …this is the part of life and business some of us try to avoid. A great article we can use and take action on. Thanks ~ Nikki Curry
Thanks, Nikki! This means a lot to me…
Bill:
Thanks for the sound advice and now I’m eager to “keep it moving” when those “friends” of procrastinatiion and advoidance rear their heads. I’m closer than I thought! I’m ready to keep moving toward my goal of launching my coaching business and doing the tasks that are before me.
Thanks again,
Melodie Boone
So very true, especially “Our minds are no use to us in the matter of starting that
which our hearts know is our path” and that if we don’t encounter resistance we are skirting the “real thing”. I have faced a LOT of resistance from my logical mind last year as I completely changed the direction of my business. It was scary, and it required that I just TRUST, SHOW UP to whatever shows up to me (not showing up to what I choose to “show up” to) and do what’s in front of me. I can’t describe it, except it’s a GUTS thing that I know it is the right path.
You might want to ask your logical mind what it needs to get out of your way. You may be surprised by the answer.
Being risk averse can be enervating. But, I do think there can be circumstances that make one more or less risk averse.
For me, it is to begin my first copywriting jig. Ok…those first few customer are possibly going to throw me into the dust bin of mediocrity. But, so what? If I don’t get thrown, I wont know how to get out and dust off. I can see its a universal thing, its a definite..this DISMISS! Can’t dodge. So, here I go, and thanx for the boost Mate!
Magical the way you say it like it is, Here I have been kicking myself still for my unplanned 2 year old stuggling business. Thank you BB, just what I needed!
Thank you.
As a much older person who has just recently become a Certified Life Coach I was finding it difficult to attract those wonderous things called “paying clients” and thought I might have to re-think my coaching in which I specialise in Grief. However this has taught me to be a bit more persistent and the book I’m in the middle of researching and writing to keep going no matter what.
I am writing on the totally overwhelming and all pervading fear that keeps women (and sometimes men) in a situation of domestic violence and at the moment I’m trying to locate other women to tell me their story so I can blend it with mine and show the world the grief we carry about this horrendous situation. I was starting to think twice but now it’s onward and upward, thank you.
Your words remind me of one of my favorite and most trusted books: “The War of Art,” by S. Pressfield. Such a great reminder! I am leaving my “day job” to sink my teeth deeper into my coaching and writing entrepreneurial efforts. As my last day approaches, my Resistance is HUGE. Glad to have this affirmative reminder. Thank you!
Resistance simply tells you are getting closer to the TRUTH!
I feel so embraced by this article. Yes, I’m stepping out to start before I’m ready on a new venture. It feels exhilarating and scary. Thanks Bill for a motivating article!
WOW! Wow! Wow! This hit straight home into the heart of where I am right this moment! My first book was publsihed in October…I had a huge successful launch and THEN….the quiet came, the oh, ^%&*&*** came and then I went into total resistance because frankly I don’t know what the hell I am doing…..and I have been mightily uncomfortable where I feel that I am pushing through super thick MUD and thinking where am I? What have I done wrong? How did I get here? Should I be here? I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m sure everyone else does. You get the picture! Reading this makes me feel that perhaps I’m more on track than I imagined…..thank you for this….it still doesn’t solve the problem but it somehow comforted me greatly….maybe enough to settle down and find some solutions! Thanks so much! Ellen
I just started the Nurses Online Academy and I know my head kept saying….are you sure you are ready?? But my heart kept saying…just do it! You’ll figure it out! I’m one of those people who can procrastinate trying to be perfect. But I started it and now I’m so excited to be open and able to help other nurses. There were times I was scared stiff. There were times I had doubts. But I just kept thinking about the nurses that I would be letting down if I couldn’t or wouldn’t keep going…so i did.
But Bill, you have been a genuine inspiration to me while growing my business. You have been an amazing coach and you may never know unless I tell you, that your gift is just being who you are, your information is presented in a way that touches the soul and gets the brain on board:)
Thank You!!
Sandra
This is just what I needed to hear this morning, after waking up at 3am and lying in bed asking myself these same questions. And thinking that at my age I should have things figured out by now! I was actually wondering if my intense doubt and resistance meant I was on the wrong track. It’s good to know that I am not alone in feeling this way, when it seems like I’m driving down a winding mountain road in a snowstorm with my headlights off.
Thank you Bill~ and Ellen!
Question: What is your version of turning the headlights on now?
Great piece! I’m also making friends with avoidance, procrastination and resistance.
A year ago I was afraid to do this big project that I knew I had to do. It’s a summit for parents who have young kids in creating freedom and success, Secrets of Game-Changing Parents. It kept calling me but I resisted for almost the whole year. A few months ago, I started anyway not knowing how it would unfold. If I’d be successful. But I’m happy I did because now I’m 10 days its being born. And while there’s still lots to do, one key thing is also celebrating just how far I’ve come and what I’ve done.
The 3 amigos of resistance, avoidance and procrastination still show up but I see them sooner and bless em away. just like with fears and doubts too… I they show up around what’s next. Will it have the impact I want to see? Was it a bad idea? So next for me is launching the core program for game changing parents. And while I know I’m not 100% ready I guess it’s time to start!
Love the three amigos concept!!!!
Thanks Bill. I’ve just given notice to retire from a 28 1/2 year career; where I really “should have” worked another 1 1/2 years to receive a “full” pension. But my heart was telling me NOW was the time to move into my holistic life coaching career; so I took the plunge and gave my notice. I alternate between excitement and fear as my final work day approaches (March 10th); and your article has definitely helped to address the fear, and sense of not really being ready – thanks so much!
Lori Friesen
Your heart always points you in the right direction, if not always the easiest one.
I needed this article! I am going to begin marketing my first online course!
I’d love to know how it goes! May the force be with you…