This summer, I worked with a long-time friend on her website, refocusing the message. It occurred to me when reviewing her existing website that she wasn’t “all in.” What do I mean by this?
Well, my friend wants to be a guru in a specific field, but she was still hedging her bets by including other services in her offerings. These services had been her bread and butter for many years, but now she wants to try something different – to be something different. Yet she was reluctant to let go of those old services in case the new ones didn’t pan out.
Taking the leap of faith to move away from what has always paid your bills to something new that isn’t a sure thing is scary. It’s particularly difficult if you’ve been very successful at the old work, as my friend has. She’s still in demand and would have no lack of work if she wanted to keep doing the same old/same old.
When I pointed out to my friend that she wasn’t all in, she thought it over for a few days and then agreed. Then she took a deep breath and committed to revising her website so that it focuses solely on the new field she wants to conquer.
Now, there are probably some of you who are thinking,” Why take that chance?” Well, because it is my firm belief that if you don’t fully commit yourself to your vision of what you want to be, you won’t achieve that vision. You’ll always have a foot stuck in the past and, when things get tough, it will be too tempting to fall back on what always got you through before.
You don’t want to send mixed messages to people by, in effect, saying, “I want to do this new thing, but I’m still willing to do that other thing, too.” But the message you’re sending to yourself when you do that is even more potentially damaging. You’re telling yourself that you’re not sure you can be what you really want to be. You’re not sure you can succeed at your new dream. And that message will inevitably hold you back.
The difference in my friend since she has committed to being all in is palpable. After a number of years of trying to make things happen in her new field, she seems more confident. And as we’ve all experienced, when you’re feeling more confident, things flow your way. That’s just how life is. So she’s had some interesting new opportunities come her way that might not have happened if she weren’t fully committed to her new business direction. Things are looking up!
So, the question is, are you all in? And if you aren’t, why aren’t you? What are you waiting for?
