A few months ago in working with a client on the edge of giving up her consultancy, she said to me, "But I don't see you making a million dollars. How do I know I'll be successful?"
I laughed - she thought my game was "make a million dollars" because that's what all the marketing books and "How to's" assume: that you're in it solely or mostly for the money.
My game is "Spend time with my son." As a result, my work is structured so that I can often work at home, work remotely, work part-time and be flexible while still making enough money to sustain us. My son is my priority - he is what I value. So I work to make sure I can be with him as often as possible.
Once she really got that, her attitude changed - she actually went into a bit of shock. She had been assuming that "success" meant huge sums of cash. In that moment she realized that she could define her success conditions any way that suited her. Within 2 weeks her income doubled and her hours going way down and she decided to take a two week vacation to see her family - which is what she values.
Exercise:
How do you define success?
What assumptions are you making that no longer suit you?
If you knew you could not fail, how would you define success?
Labels: coaching, inspiration, success, values
