My post today is all about risk-taking. It’s a scary journey this entrepreneur stuff.
Here’s the thing. Every single time I have ventured outside of my comfort zone I have achieved things I never expected.
In my book (and here on LinkedIn) I have spoken about Imposter Syndrome. I have used what I know to advise clients based on my own life and work experience.
I think we all do, but in my search to validate why my advice has worked so well, I have taken a risk. Applying for an Executive MBA at a top university.
And just this week I received news that I have passed my eMBA exams and have been cleared to enter the final Mastery Stage of the curriculum.
Was I scared? Yes I was scared! Has it been worth it? Of course!
I encourage my clients to step outside their comfort zones. It’s downright frightening some of the time and terrifying for the rest of the time. (Also exhilarating, but I’ll talk about that another time).
It’s human nature to want to stick to what’s familiar, but if you want to see growth – both personally and professionally – you have to be willing to scare yourself sometimes.
Every entrepreneur and business leader I’ve worked with over the years is where they are because they weren’t afraid to try new things.
One client of mine, an entrepreneur, expanded her business into a whole new industry which she knew nothing about. I am not mentioning names here, but I am proud to have her endorsement on my website.
Did she feel uncomfortable? Of course she did. But she did her research, brought on experts to guide her through the process, and planned properly.
The point of this post is yes, for sure take risks. But only after you have carefully considered them and planned properly for what you might come up against.
I am holding a business planning retreat in Barcelona in January. Without issuing any spoiler alerts, one of the first things on the agenda is an exhilarating exercise in risk-taking. Only after that will delegates work through their planning for 2024.
And part of this will be running simulations, designed to remove unknowns from their breathtakingly big goal-setting, which hopefully will be filled with beautifully thought through, and planned for, risk. Because if your goals don’t scare you, they probably aren’t big enough, right?
If you do pop over to my website, you’ll see this type of story again and again from my clients who are not afraid to occasionally colour outside the lines.
I’ll be working together with my retreat delegates on developing their action plans for 2024. Full of big, achievable milestones, designed to make them more revenue in less time than they thought possible.
Yes, they’ll have to be willing to take that first step into the scary place where the real magic happens.
Are you brave enough to come to Barcelona with us? There are just seven spots left.
