When I started out as a business coach, I had very little in the way of professional experience or entrepreneurial acumen. I was low on cash and terrified this wouldn’t work out.
But I also knew that $30,000 a year wasn’t going to feed my family, so I put my heart and soul into building something of value.
Maybe it’s the time of year, when Thanksgiving has me thinking about all the things I have to be grateful for, but I want to share with you the single most important shift I made in my mindset to get over the fear and self-doubt.
It’s something I think about a lot–especially when it comes to working with business coaches who are just starting out. But it’s also extremely relevant for business coaches who are feeling worn down and weary.
And that is this simple reminder:
To forge the future, we must first reframe the past.
Which “Loop” Are You Stuck In?
So often, we spend all our time reliving the failures of the past–which of course impacts the way we create the future. I call this the “doom loop” and it’s near-universal.
To break free, we need to reorient ourselves to the present–with an eye to what’s coming next. I call this the “success loop” and it’s an incredibly important paradigm shift to make.
But How?
It starts here: To forge the future, we must first reframe the past.
Let me give you an example from my early business coaching days. As a young man with no business experience, leaving my full-time job as a pastor, I had all sorts of anxieties:
- No professional sales background
- No personal business network
- No business ownership experience
- No P&L experience
- Young and inexperienced
- No money and a lousy car
- No business coaches anywhere in the community
I could have continued to tell myself a story about how what I was trying to achieve was impossible because I didn’t have the skillset or experience to succeed–but I was in a situation where failure wasn’t an option.
So I decided to find the benefits of my situation and focus there instead.
The result? It drove me out of the doom loop into the success loop with just a few simple reframes.
I could have continued to tell myself a story about how what I was trying to achieve was impossible because I didn't have the skillset or experience to succeed--but I was in a situation where failure wasn't an option. So I decided to find the benefits of my situation and focus there instead.
See for yourself.
- No sales background –> No bad sales skills to unlearn!
- No personal business network –> I can completely forge a new identity in the community.
- No business ownership experience –> I won’t be held back by bad experiences.
- No P&L experience –> I’ll be very conservative about money.
- Former pastor –> Good at working with people and sensitive situations.
- Young and inexperienced –> I’ll run circles around the older guys, and see possibilities they’re too jaded to imagine!
- No money and a lousy car –> I’m hungry and hard-working.
- No business coaches anywhere in the community –> I have the space to create a market-driven movement.
Now you try. No matter where you are in your business coaching journey–whether you’re just starting out or you have some hard-won experience under your belt–this Thanksgiving, take the time to reframe some of what’s been dragging you down so that you can move on into a brighter, more successful future.
And if you’re brand new to business coaching, might I suggest my FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach? It’ll walk you through the entire process of getting your practice off on the right foot. Enjoy!
