Entrepreneurship and Emotional Maturity

Being a coach is so powerful on so many levels.  I find the most important and underrated way coaching supports us as coaches is that often the insights we support our clients with are the very insights we need for ourselves.  As our clients have their a-ha moments, we have our own!  The very thing your client reveals is the thing we needed to see - they mirror back to us what is happening within us also. 

Insights

Another insight I had was that to coach a client well, I need to have coached myself through the very thing they are bringing to the session.  It's not always the case but it can really help to bring insights to a situation when you've been through it first as a coach.

So when I asked my coach for some coaching last week, I knew it was essential for me to receive this coaching for myself as I knew it would help me coach my clients.  And I got coached hard.  Just what I was craving.  I revealed some old patterns I’d been holding onto with dear life for 20 years.  I had a bright light shined on my growing edges and this time, I felt ready to stretch into them.

The problem I presented to the coach was that every couple of years I had a pattern of wanting to start something new when it came to my work or business.  In my 20's this looked like finding a new job after 2 years, working up the corporate ladder.  As an entrepreneur over the past 15 years, this looked like starting a whole new business every few years, handing off the business to team members so I could get to starting the new venture.

I had a way of always looking for a new thing to keep me interested, to change my focus on the new thing.  This had always served me well.  It meant new job opportunities, usually with more responsibility and money.  Gaining lots of experience and growing my network was wonderful and I loved the buzz of it.  I loved the challenge of a new environment, the new people. So exciting to change and start over.

When I moved to entrepreneurship and building my businesses, soon as one business became “too easy” I’d want to start another.  This allowed me to open a number of businesses and let them run with teams leading them, while I moved on to the next project.

So if something works, why fix it. Right?

Well, this is what I learned - it’s different this time.  In the past, the work and the businesses were a challenge and it was the challenge that kept them interesting.  When the challenge wore off, it was time to move - to hand it over and start something new.

However, now as a coach building a business coaching practice, even though I’m starting to feel that 2 year itch, I don't feel like handing anything over.  I don’t want to change or do something else.  It's different this time and I can feel me wanting to fight my old patterns that have served me well for 25 years.  It's not time to move on to something else, it's time to feel the itch and actually scratch it.

Why is it different?

I believe it's because I know coaching is a way to fulfill my dharma, to serve women so we can impact generational change together.  Coaching helps me serve my mission to put more wealth in the hands of women.

This is one business that needs to keep growing with my passion poured into it.  I want to make it work and I want to be part of it. 

But what about my usual 2-yr itch? The itch is also in my human design  - as a manifestor, I initiate things and then let them be executed by others.

Here’s the thing, if I’m honest, I'm nowhere near ready to move on or hand this over.  There’s soooo much to be done still within the business that I can’t think to hand it over.

Staying on track

So how do I scratch this itch so it goes away and I stay on track with my purposeful business?

Well here’s what I learned:

1. When I name the feeling that's truly coming up for me, it's boredom.  This is uncomfortable to acknowledge and boredom is not a feeling I like to entertain for too long.  It's an emotion that feels unhelpful and does not truly serve a purpose for me.  Although I believe all emotions are welcome, it doesn't mean they need to drive the bus.  They can be present and you still get the job done.  I always look at it like this - Who wins, the current unhelpful Emotion or your future dream?

2. The feeling I have labeled boredom is possibly more a cover story for the truth - that I'm running away from the hard parts of my business.  In the past, it's been easier for me to hand the real mastery work that happens after the first couple of years to others and for me to go back to the fun easy zone of creation. 

The power lies in awareness

These are not comfortable insights.  But the power lies in awareness so there is a chance to understand the situation at a deeper level.  Once we are able to have full awareness of the situation, it's possible to come up with strategies to work through to the desired end result.  In this case, the desired end result is to focus on the business I have created and take it to the next level.

Here’s my current solution:

1. Rename boredom. Call it Ease or Mastery or something that feels more motivating.

2. Name how I'm feeling, truly feel it then shift it.  Here I am not ignoring the feeling (as this is sure fire way to burn out) but allowing myself the space to process it.

3. I can spice up the business in other ways - thinking about how I can make it more interesting within the business.  This is exciting to me (a great emotion to feel as an entrepreneur!) as I know it will lead to new ideas and a better business overall.

4. Keep remembering my mission - that I’m called to support women to have more wealth.  I know that the more focus I have on my current business success, the more likely I’ll achieve what I’m here to do.

Summary

In summary, emotional maturity - really understanding and processing our feelings - is something we need to master as CEOs.  This isn't talked about enough but the more I coach CEO's, the more I see emotional stuck points can lead to making the entrepreneurial journey so difficult.

So I offer that if you find yourself with a business itch - maybe wanting to create a new offer, target a new niche, learn a new modality, change the sales page - take time to work through the itch. 

Once it's scratched, the real fun starts - it's already happening for me!

Working with me

If you're a coach ready to trust yourself as the CEO of your coaching business so you can make money and impact lives, then reach out.  I work with clients in a 4-month mastermind where you will learn everything you need to make 6-figures in your business within 3 years.  We focus on the 3 key pillars I have developed in my mastermind, with massive success in taking coaches from "how do I make coaching a business so I don't need a day job" to "I know exactly how to grow my business and I'm doing it!".  Is this for you? 

Send me an email and let me know your current situation so we can decide if working together is a great fit ( if you've read this far, I'm guessing we are a great match).