Wouldn’t it be nice if you just set your course when you started your business, and knew exactly where you’d wind up? And imagine if you could just plug in the goals and directions and waaa la! You end up precisely where you thought you’d be.

Well, that may happen to a very lucky few, but for most clients I work with, there are certainly some major detours along the way. Usually it works like this …. Inspiration hits so you set the course and plan around that. But then something comes up. Maybe it’s an opportunity that takes you in a new direction. Or usually it’s the opposite. The thing you set your sites on didn’t pan out so you shifted gears. So instead of success being a straight line, it zig-zags with seemingly unrelated pieces. Trust me…at one time or another in your business, you will encounter some roadblocks.

That’s where I come in. In the last newsletter I spoke about the “Dig-Excavate-Renovate” process which you may want to read about. You see, as a coach/consultant, my job is like a big eraser. With clients I help them erase old beliefs. Fix crappy websites. Repair marketing that hasn’t worked. Mend broken mindsets, and finally birth the brilliance that’s living just under the surface of the blocks and barriers.

So let me tell you a story. And this story is about finding the gold living in the rubble of a business once we have started the excavation. Keep reading and you’ll find out not only what the process is, but why it’s so crucial that you go through it.

Let me introduce you to “Maria.” (Not her real name, although she did give me permission to use the essence of her story.)

She is quite talented, but didn’t have the belief in herself that she needed. This bright woman had tons and tons of potential, but she was letting her ‘stuff’ get in the way. During coaching, one call would be positive and she’d move forward, but then the next one she’d be lost and swimming around in a pool of doubt.

In fact, there was one session when she was ready to give up on even having a business. But I took a stand for her and would not let her quit. I reminded her that we had to do some digging and ‘clean up’ work, and that even though she was taking a few steps forward and two back sometimes….she was still making progress. Thankfully, even though she didn’t believe in herself, she believed in my belief in her. That was the thing that kept her going.

And how it often happens, the business she came to me to grow morphed into something she never would have imagined.

With Maria we dug, and excavated, and now are in the renovation process.

But it was in the excavation process that the most amazing discovery occurred.

After doing loads and loads of NLP, EFT, and other work to move away the big boulders of disbelief, doubt, and disempowering messages from her history, what emerged was a game changer.

See, Maria has always been very serious and driven. She was raised that there was no room for fun or play. Just work and being productive.

But in the rubble of what we uncovered was the part of her that as a child loved to play the flute, dance, and be playful and carefree. When we found this aspect in her, the shift came when I suggested that instead of making her work something she HAS to get done, she was to invite the younger, playful part to express and have fun with what she was attempting to move forward.

She took to this and loved the experience. The website that had been stalled got done. Her opt-in got put up. And the biggest delight? She finally OWNED her new business. She went from being tentative to really seeing that this next version of her business is something she’s been doing for years, and quite well. So now she and I are working to monetize it and help her share her gifts with the world.

Now how does this relate to you? This is a story about the process that business owners go through. My hope is to show you that if you sometimes wonder why you aren’t going faster, you just need to do the digging-excavating and renovating.

These are the stages of Maria’s story and the journey you can take for yourself as well.

1. Get to the Starting Line. Let me just be honest here and say that sometimes, we aren’t even at the starting line. Meaning, there is clean up or other work that has to happen just to get us in the game. So make an honest assessment of yourself. And not to turn you into a victim or bring blame here, but really realistic. When I just started my business I was going through a divorce and had two small kids. That meant my energies were VERY scattered and often business was not my top priority. That’s an example of not even being at the starting line. I had to clear up what I was going through to be able to fully focus. Step #1 then is to look at the ‘stuff’ that is on your plate or in your life that is interfering.
2. Do the work to dig out from what’s holding you back. Very often this is one of those things where you can’t see what you can’t see. So if you have experienced a stop/start pattern and are not seeing the results you want, there’s something in the way. Usually it’s all mindset related, so you need to start clearing away the blocks you may have. If you want to really learn how this is all related, sign up for my free training call on 12/6 where I share how the Inner Game and Outer Game are connected and what you need to do to integrate them.
3. Find the gold in the rubble. As we uncovered with Maria’s story, there is much ‘juiciness’ in your journey. As I have been sharing in my Blind Spot to Brilliance interviews, very often the things that we take for granted, devalue, or can’t appreciate show the seeds of our greatness. Once coaching exercise is to go back into your childhood when you were small and free of the roles and rules and responsibilities you later took on. What did you love to do? What were the themes of your play? What did you act out or dream about? That ‘child-part’ has wisdom from your soul and if you listen to it, can find you much more joy in how you do your business. (Mine strangely enough was playing ‘fairies’ with my friends where I’d wave my magic wand and make their dreams come true! Not too far off for where I am today, right?
4. Express differently. Maria had a whole list of ‘should do’s’ that were de-energizing. When I suggested that instead of making something happen to make money or get a task checked off her list, and that she just write for the sheer joy of it…it all clicked. So with this step you tap into the part of you that just wants to share what you have. For a moment take away your marketing brain, get out of your politically correct way of speaking, and dump your business owner self. Find the part that wants to share and let that part speak. It may or may not end up being marketing copy, but that will get you moving, add a fresh perspective, and bring loads more joy and fun to what you are doing.
5. Get support. Probably the most critical piece. I liken this process to “Midwifing Your Magnificence.” This entrepreneurial journey can be one of the most rewarding AND challenging things you’ll ever do. You need someone who will love you, take a stand for you, not let you quit when you get discouraged, and hold a bigger vision for you than you can for yourself. This process is quite deep and very relational, and from time to time requires some loving butt kicking even, but the process is best done with a trusted guide. If I can be that for you, I’d be honored.

So, as we head into fall and you see the leaves changing, the weather shifting, and things start looking different, I want you to imagine what you and your business could be like if you found the brilliance inside you and expressed it in a bigger and bolder way. I can’t wait to see you shine!

Peace and blessings!

The biggest boulder in the way of your success is you.

Not pretty to hear because it’s far easier to look outside ourselves for the answers. It’s far easier to add more social media or do better blogging to get the traffic and the visibility you need. And those are both necessary. But if you really want to grow, you have to follow this process….

Dig-Excavate-Renovate.

And this work isn’t for the faint of heart! No.

This work of being a successful entrepreneur will take you to your knees and have you discover all the ‘stories’ that are living in your head that hold you back. But on the other side, there is a sweet freedom, a sense of personal power, influence, and more life than you can imagine.

The first place we are digging in this article is the stories you are telling yourself that are keeping you stuck and unsatisfied with the results you are getting. We all have them. You know…those reasons why you can’t do what you want, or justifications for staying the same.

I’ll give you an example of one of the stories that I’d been carrying (and believing) for some time. Mine was about my list size. I had a nagging belief that in order to make substantially more $, I’d have to have a much bigger list of people who are following me. (Not unreasonable to believe, right?)

But I think the ‘story’ turned into an excuse. “Oh, that didn’t sell as much as I wanted to because of my list size” I’d say. Or, “Dang….I may not be able to fill that program because I don’t have those people on my list.” I spent a ton of time and energy here. Until I went to David Neagle’s event a few months ago and got ‘busted’ about this story. And in a second, I saw clearly that I was in some MAJOR self-limiting beliefs. Here’s how it went….

One day at lunch I was sitting next to a fellow attendee and probably launched into my story about needing to grow my list in order to get the results I desired.

The man I was chatting with pointed out that he had only 400 people more on his list and was making a 7 figure income! Basically he was telling me that my ‘story’ around the list was just that….a story. Something made up that held me back, kept me stuck, and truthfully was pretty de-energizing. Here I was only focusing on the lack, and not seeing the opportunity.

That’s what stories do. They limit our options. They blind us to possibility. But mostly, they keep us victims. Victims to things that are very likely not even true.

So let’s find the way out, shall we?

As an example, let’s start with money. If you are not earning the money you desire, there may be some stories underneath that that you may or may not be conscious about. Remember – first we DIG. We dig in and find what the story or faulty belief is that is in conflict with your desired goal.

These are some examples of beliefs/stories that may be at the core of why the $$ isn’t flowing. (Again, you may or may not be aware of this, so when I work with my clients, I teach them how to muscle test to determine if this is holding them back.)

I can’t make more money because:

I haven’t gotten the permission to succeed

I’d be in the spotlight and that would be uncomfortable

People would discover that I’m really an imposter or can’t deliver the value I say I can

Doing what it would take to make money would take me away from my kids

I’d have to sacrifice my family time (or self-care) to make much more money

It would be bad to make more money than my father did

The digging part comes because most of the stories we have are either seemingly believable (like my desire to have a bigger list) or lurk under the surface. It’s almost like having an Operating System that is loaded with bugs and viruses. It slows things down and is really frustrating because sometimes you don’t even know where to look for the solution!

After the digging comes the excavating.

Let’s say you have done the muscle testing and discovered that yep….you are carrying some funky old belief. Imagine this is the big boulder you need to move. Have you ever tried to move a 5 foot boulder? You likely couldn’t do it yourself! This is where having another set of eyes and some leverage helps.

This is where we dig out the dirt and free up the space to put some new and more supportive beliefs in place.

I think a simple way to look at the excavation process is the question “Is this true?” Once you have found the faulty belief, asking if it’s true will bring it from the shadows to the surface. Instead of it being a hidden driver, you now can begin to know what you are dealing with.

Another ‘spin’ I put on it is to find the reason or positive pay-off for it being around now.

Example – If you found the belief that if you earned more $$ it would take you away from your kids; the POSITIVE intent of this belief is to keep you closer to your children and to protect your family life.

And now we renovate.

I do major remodel/renovations with all aspects of business, but for this article we are staying focused on the old beliefs/mindset. So you have dug in and found the faulty belief, maybe where it came from, and how it’s trying to protect you. But we need something else here. This phase is tantamount redecorating. You bought the ‘fixer-upper’ home, gutted the old furniture and 1970’s shag carpet, and now it’s time to design it to your liking.

The question here is, “What would I have to believe to support the vision I have for myself?” I’d also have you look at “Who would I have to be to grow into a person that can create that vision?” This is where you take the time to decide and build in your more supportive beliefs. This looks like deciding to be something and then orchestrating life around. Example, if you discovered that you have the story that if you make more money, your children will suffer, you’ll want to find role models of women who have done a good job blending work and family life. You’ll want to keep working on boundaries and the stronger sense that you can have both.

Your coaching challenge this week is to look at the process of dig – excavate – renovate. Every client I have comes in and we have to do some work in one of these three areas. So ask yourself these questions –

If I dig into my ‘stories’ what will I find?

What do I need to excavate (move out) in my business? That could be old clients, old pricing, old programming, old website copy, or an old mindset that is holding you back.

Where can I renovate my business and how would I like it to look when it’s finished?

These three questions will keep you moving forward and your business staying fresh and visible. Try it out and let me know how it goes!