It's Not The Right Time
This last year has been a recalibration of my work and identity.
I watched my revenue plummet as things that used to work no longer did.
At the same time, I became a father.
Holding these simultaneously led to a mental and emotional rollercoaster.
It took a huge toll on my confidence and self-worth.
I needed someone to help me through.
I wanted to find a coach I respected who was 10+ years ahead, had built a bigger business, and was also a father.
I wanted someone who could support me through the emotional waves of business and parenthood, be a mentor and strategic partner, and take the right actions to hit my goals.
I knew someone who fit this perfectly.
While on his website in December, I felt a pull to apply to work with him, but I thought,
"It's not the right time."
I knew he charged a good amount of money, more than I ever paid for coaching.
If I'm losing money, how can I pay for a coach?
Also, I was about to have a baby and planned to take 6 weeks off. So I waited.
My son was born, and I spent a month in a cocoon. I deleted socials and didn't check email. I spent time with my new baby, learning what that entailed. I read novels. It was bliss.
But no one was paying me to be in a bliss bubble.
In January, my only income was $2,117 from Insight Timer and $207 from Aura.
I came back in February needing to get things going. I thought I'd get back to a plethora of opportunities and new clients waiting for me. Nada.
The next few months were some of the hardest I've been through.
I put my heart into designing the next iteration of my Month of Momentum Insight Timer offer. I spent days writing and rewriting the page, and wrote email after email promoting it.
After all that energy, I didn't have enough sign-ups. Failure.
With all that time spent and no income to show for it, I was sweating.
There would be days sitting in my office, crying, defeated.
At the same time, my wife went back to work two days a week, and I was now learning how to be a solo dad, which, as I wrote in This Is the Hard, was hard.
I needed support, badly.
While the coach was a fit, it was hard to consider investing $10,000.
Again, I said,
"It's not the right time."
I need to get the business back up and running, and then I can get support.
A couple more months went by, along with more breakdowns in my office.
You would think my wife would be the most resistant to me spending $10k on a coach.
However, it was her who championed me the whole time.
She wanted me to get the right support, maybe more than me.
Actually, definitely more than me.
She encouraged me to apply and see what happens. She trusted that we'd figure out the money.
So I did. And we are.
The shift has been profound.
A few lessons:
– It's important to have people close to us who champion us and our vision. We'll need that when we lose our footing. I'm so grateful for her support. In so many ways, I would not be here without her.
– The second is "right time" doesn't exist. We make it the right time by deciding it is.
While I take lessons in suffering, I didn't need to suffer as I did. A few weeks in, I was like, Lou, WTF took you so long!
Of course we have to come to it in our own time. I'm glad I did.
Where are you waiting?
Is there some part of your life you've been putting off to the "right time?"
A dream project? A relationship? Going all in?
Whatever story you have made in your head about timing is just a story.
One of my favorite mantras is Now, Not How
Go inwards, get honest about whether you can make this happen now, and then decide it's the right time.
It's like working out. A part of you may not want to do it, but 99% of the time you're happy you did.
In my case, the energy shift has been life-changing. I'm integrating these last couple of years and unfolding in this next iteration of my life and work.
Thanks for being a part of it.
If this message spoke to you in some way, send me an email. I love hearing from you.