I’m grateful that for years now Heart of Business has supported me and my family to take vacations, especially since we live so far from our boys’ grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.
However, there was a first with this vacation: that I came back and everything was already taken care of. I was not buried in “catch-up” mode. I had maybe 30 emails to deal with, and a dozen or so tasks needing my attention, nothing terribly urgently. Plus, our team was able to move forward on some new projects – like a new format for our newsletter and Foundations1: Clients & Money.
Building a business up to having an amazing team takes time, but it can be done. (If you’re needing support to do this in your business, talk to me or Lincoln).
However, many people are stuck way before this, struggling with a crisis of confidence. Our practitioner Yollana recently spoke about the Negative Client Spiral and from the comments, it was clearly a big topic for many folks.
So painful! You need confidence, because without it, clients can’t lean into you, and if they can’t lean into you, they won’t hire you. But, you can’t just fake confidence, it has to be real.
Without confidence, clients can’t lean into you & they won’t hire you. You can’t fake it. It has to be real. (Click to re-tweet)
Lisa Young, our marketing director, and myself got together for a conversation about the interplay between confidence, spiritual connection, and practical business knowledge.
One of the ways we address this is through our Foundations1: Client and Money program. The first group of about 50 people finished up recently, and we had some amazing stories of how it helped them.
The doors are opening up again, with a special twist: This program is now “evergreen,” which means that it’s available on your time table, not ours.
It is NOT a home study. There are live calls (almost) every week, plus live coaching where you can get your questions answered.
Each month we will have a start date. If you are wanting to join for our September start date, then just jump in this month.
And, this Friday, I’m facilitating one of our 24 hour Virtual Retreats as well, for those in our Community. Community membership is included as part of the Foundations1 program.
If your business needs clients, needs to have a healthy, profitable relationship with money, and if you need to have confidence in what you’re doing, please join us.
Take a look at Foundations1: Clients and Money
And then, ask any questions you have. We’re happy to answer by email, or get on the phone with you.
With love and appreciation,
Mark
20 Responses
Thank you Mark for an exquisite explanation of the essence of humility, which is important not just in operating a business, but in living one’s life to the fullest with the gifts given by the Divine.
Kathy- Thanks! So glad it resonated for you.
Hey Mark and Lisa–thanks so much for this, it was really powerful for me. Mark, I’m so glad you took the time to talk about the relationship between humility and confidence–it’s always been a tough space for me to navigate.
I’ve always put so much pressure on myself to have a big business and to be successful and for a while I relied on those externals for confidence but of course the tide goes in and out and when it’s out you find there’s nothing there to pump you up. I finally came to the realization that having a big business and really being confident in the gift that you offer your clients are two totally different things. You can absolutely have one without the other.
And I love the piece about curiosity–such a good word to use to talk about the situation. I worked with a healer at one point who used to say “ allow The Divine to enter through the doorway of ‘I don’t know’.”
Once again, just the right thing at just the right moment.
big love-
cathy
Cathy- yay- so happy when Divine timing works like that. I think something a teacher of mine said put it in perspective. In Sufism we do a full prostration down to the ground, and a teacher pointed out that it was the most stable position you could imagine- you can’t be knocked over or rocked when you’re in sajda/prostration. In a moment the humility/confidence thing crystalized for me.
Isn’t it nice to be able to take the pressure off? There’s no pressure around curiosity, just openness to possibility.
Thank you for spotting the hole in our confidence, Lisa.
It might be due to not HoB, but the other “tips and tricks” we subscribe to or are advertised.
This message is long because it’s an affirmation, a related problem, and an affirmation that I already learn from HoB’s example on outgoing email… and would love tips for how to cope with incoming email I find unhelpful while staying connected to the person who sent it.
I really value growing my business with the confidence that my clients are creative, resourceful, and whole… and are not hiring me because they need me, but because they choose to collaborate over going it alone, and choose me over less ideal matches.
In the video, you really speak to this, Mark, and Lisa relects it back so well before asking us what else we struggle with. What I struggle with pertains to humility/insecurity/inflated confidence, and how sensitive I am to the messaging of those whom I look to for help. Since I’m also in a helping profession, and HoB community members are, I’ll share more of the receiving-end experience:
To be concrete, I feel insecure/false humility/false grandiosity/fear/resentment, etc. whenever I see messages that sound like this:
“Are you missing this important business strategy?”
“Is your business suffering from this easy-to-solve problem?”
or the most ironic one:
“Read these 5 Tips to Overcome Procrastination”
…because I want to click on them.
But what I really need to do is keep focusing on the task at hand.
and unsubscribe from something I’d hoped would be helpful, but hurts at a more fundamental level.
A bit more on my experience before I bring the positive to the fore:
I struggle with a feeling of allergy to my inbox or to Facebook/online gathering places — even/especially among entrepreneurs who are working on this humility piece, as am I… behind it lies anger/boudary-drawing, behind that lies exasperation and despair as to whether calm, kind messages like the ones I’d like to send will work or sell… and behind that is my sense of trust that every act of business can be an act of love, wrapped in a feeling of a bit of a rush to get to that place and lead by example, almost to defy others.
I really appreciate how Heart of Business titles its posts. Part of why I subscribe (even though it’s a too-high a rate of great advice for me to implement, being the small channel that I am, lol) is because the affirmative way you title your articles – it’s soothing. It makes me feel confident I have resources and solutions. I also get a sense of patience from them: if the message isn’t for me right now, it’s probably perfect for many others, and I feel a sense of joy and comfort — community — knowing others are reading it and getting a lot out of it, and I don’t have to.
What I’m contrasting may seem abstract, but it is visceral to me:
When I see marketing emails/tweets/ads/blog post headings, I feel my insecurity become exacerbated, along with the exact sense of dependence I’m trying to transcend by subscribing to help from people I hope to hire one day. I feel sad when I ignore (messages from) these people whom I thought would help, when I click emails they clearly want me to open, away, when I try to glean wisdom while filtering their message with compassion for what might just be their insecurity, or when I unsubscribe. None of these actions give me the sense of connection I was looking for, unless I try to say honestly why I unsubscribe. Then, I find out it is this big ball of wax you are touching so gently on here, Mark, in this video, and in your whole entire business’ purpose. Perhaps it’s impossible to be succinct about. Perhaps I’m afraid to hurt feelings. But mine are hurt, and my inbox isn’t helping. I love the feelings I get from HoB, but activism and other important places just …
Thank you for spotting the hole in our confidence, Lisa.
and for the salve on it, yet again, Mark.
I long for a sweet way to spread the love to specific offenders who mean well.
Any tips on how to promote HoB (exactly which part/course) to people whose businesses I love and respect, but whose messaging helps keep me stuck, is welcome. Especially if it fits int he 200 character boxes you sometimes get that say “Care to tell us why you’re unsubscribing?”
That would be awesome.
Briana- what an amazingly eloquent speaking to all I, too, have witnessed out in the world of business training and elsewhere. What rises up for me in what you are asking is the simple reminder for myself that if someone isn’t asking for feedback, they can’t receive feedback. I’m so touched that you want to promote/share our teachings and programs with others. I think a simple heart-message is what resonates, whether it’s effective or not. “Your messaging seems sincere, but leaves me feeling disempowered and disconnected. I’ve found help here:____ and you might resonate, also.”
Our Foundations1: Clients and Money course is the starting place, although we have additional messaging, especially around website and strategy, in Foundations2: Expand Your Reach. To repeat: a simple heartfelt message that you want to help and here’s what you think might is a sincere offering.
Thanks so much for encouraging input, Mark and Lisa! It was only by writing – through feeling I had your permission to express here – that I realized what I was really wanting, and your reflection really helped.
I needed support finding a simple way to express my experience, offer resources that I find helpful, myself, and move on without feeling like I’m abandoning/disconnecting from the person at the other end. The words you offer are great examples perfect for me, Mark. Thanks for the relevant links as well, and, of course, for taking the time to flesh out the real and worthwhile process of remembering our oneness, and lack of need for pressure.
♥
Briana- yay! You are so welcome, and so glad to find you in this world with us.
Briana,
It’s so good to hear you articulating what’s going on for you – as I’m sure you’re not the only person in our audience that feels that way. Heck, I feel that way myself when I open my inbox some days. 🙂
Remember too, that marketing your offerings comes with the guarantee that not everyone will resonate with every message you send. And sometimes – without even trying to – you’ll say something that causes people to feel some of what you’re feeling. If you invest your energies worrying about that, though, you’ll miss out on all the help you can offer to the people that ARE listening, resonating, and wanting a deeper relationship with you.
We’re not perfect at Heart of Business… but we strive to be impeccable as much as possible. When we fall short (and we do), we do our best to pick the ball back up and do the right thing.
Again, thank you for sharing your heart today!
Hi Mark (and hi Lisa),
Just wanted to pop by and say how much I enjoyed watching this video. It’s lovely to watch you two interact!
My heart enjoyed being reimmersed in Heart of Business wisdom, and to see again the humility that you, Mark, bring to your teaching: “We teach what we need to learn most”.
Thanks again 🙂
Erin- so wonderful to see you here, beloved! Thank you for your kind words. I trust all is well with you.
As usual, a post worth reading.
Loved to read it till end and came to learn alot from this.
Thanks for sharing such a great info.
Keep sharing.
Thank you, Sushain.
Thank you so much, Lisa and Mark, for this video. Beautiful, beautiful content, and a topic that is so vital to really thriving personally and professionally for me. I will be referring to this one again and again until it sinks in!
Thank you, Stephanie!
Yay! I’m so glad it resonates for you, Stephanie.
Hi. I was out of town supporting a friend who was dying, so just now watched this video.
Thank you, Mark and Lisa! As always, your work nourishes me, brings me back to Center. I feel in my gut the truth of what you bring out in the video. Lisa, you are a wonderful spotter (thanks for noticing the needs of the community), and a wonderful interviewer. Mark, I don’t have words right now – only gratitude.
The issue that came up for me came through the discussion of “being big.”. Many years ago, a therapist told me that I would someday have to choose between serving many people on a shallower level or serving fewer people on a deeper level. I have been to other marketing teachers and events. Some people tell me that I have a big presence and they could see me on the stage. And, yes, there is that in me. On the other hand, I love digging deep with individuals. So, I feel stuck. It doesn’t feel like something I can figure out in a single session of Remembrance. My sense is that the answer is to be lived, moment by moment, doing my best in each moment to be in touch with Divine presence and guidance. Maybe the discussion about humility is part of that. 🙂
Again, thank you both!
Siddheshwari- so interesting, and such a useful point of inquiry for the heart. One note- it doesn’t have to be entirely either/or. You can have a business model that depends mostly on going deep with a few, but still have outreach/offerings that reach many people. In fact, I might suggest that as something to explore.
Thank you for your thoughts, Mark. I had an inkling of that as I wrote. It certainly is similar to what you do. Meanwhile, I am still on sabbatical, listening for Divine hints as to what comes next – “next” meaning after the sabbatical, as well as “next” meaning the next 5 minutes! Love to you!