2020 Cancelled?

2020 Cancelled?

One of the toughest years could be your best year 

It started out as a great year. The economy was rolling, the stock market was breaking records daily, unemployment was at its lowest. People, the economy, business — everything was thriving. We were riding the wave, spending money, having fun, and living our best (or so we thought) life! 

Then it all stopped — as if in slow motion, everything we knew, loved, and enjoyed came to a screeching halt. We were in lock down. What started out as a few weeks, turned into months — and for some, quarantine isn’t over yet. People lost their jobs, businesses have closed, the economy sank… and more. All right before our eyes. 

Then, things started to get cancelled. I could list all the cancellations, but that would take up way too much space in this column and, you’d get bored reading it — not to mention, you’ve lived the cancellations! Weddings, graduations, once-in-a-lifetime trips, business expansions, conferences, sports, the Olympics… 

The bottom line is, it feels like the world got cancelled and the collective attitude is that we should cancel 2020 along with it. Good riddance, right? Way too much for us to deal with, especially all at one time, and the hits keep coming! The hashtag #Cancel2020 started trending quickly for this very reason, and most people cannot wait to close the chapter on this year. 

But, what if 2020 could become the most important year of your life? What if amazing things were still possible? What if 2020 is the year you’ve been waiting on? 

It’s a great question and something for all of us to think about. What if, despite all the craziness and the unpredictability, this is your year? Your moment to step into your best self. Your year to make it, to rally and surge to new heights when the world reopens. What would you need to do? 

The answer to this question can be found by asking yourself three key questions to give you the direction you need to move forward. Think of these questions like a venn diagram. As you answer the questions, the location where all three of your answers overlap is your sweet spot — it’s your direction, the place you need to go (not what you need to do, that comes later). 

The first question is about PEOPLE. Who are the people you love working with, love to serve, and why? Answering this question will give you a lot of insight on who you like working with — and nothing makes life more fun and enjoyable than working with “your people.” 

For me, the answer was really clear: Business Owners, Sales Leaders and Salespeople. I’ve been in all of these positions in my career. I understand each position, the challenges, what it takes to be successful, and other insights gained only through experience. And I’ve been in sales my entire career, so it makes sense that I would navigate to work with this group of sales-oriented people. Besides, sales is just a fun industry to be in, and salespeople have one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs. 

Where do you find your people? Who are they, what are they doing, and what value do you bring to them? Find them! 

The second question is about PASSION. What are you the most passionate about and why? Another question that provides a lot of insight. If you’re a designer, but your passion is helping children grow and develop — you’re in the wrong career. Do you see what I mean? This can be the most challenging question to answer, since it requires you look deep inside and be honest with yourself about what you are passionate about. This can be a risky question to answer, because for some — answering this question honestly might open a conversation about a career change. 

For me, the answer was coaching. Coaching is my passion. I love coaching people and helping them move forward, move past blocks in their career and in their lives, and discover the success they want and need. When I finally sat back in my 20-something-year career in Contract Interiors Sales and thought about WHY I was resisting the passion I had for coaching, I was pushing away my passion, gritting my teeth to stay where I was “safe” in my career — and that was all about my ego and money. 

See, I had a limiting belief that I could not generate the revenue I wanted by focusing just on coaching in my business — and once I stepped into that passion and took the leap, any fears I had about not generating enough business were very quickly put to rest by new, repeat, and long-term business deals. What are you falsely believing about yourself that's damping out your passion? Discover your passion and where that overlaps with the people you serve. 

The third question is about REVENUE. What can you do to generate the revenue and income you need to live your best life? Now, let’s be honest, answering this question can be daunting. We all want guarantees of the dollar signs in our bank account at the end of the year, and that’s a scary thing to put on paper and truly desire for yourself. But what if you remove all the barriers of what you think “might” be possible and stop worrying about what failure might look like if you don’t reach your goal? Discovering your answers to where you want to be monetarily can be motivating and empowering! You might even be surprised at what you will find you want in your business and for yourself. 

For me, this was a hard discovery, choosing business pivots that led me to where I wanted to be in terms of revenue. What I came up with through answering this question was offering a new coaching service, called Business Advisory. This is a combination of coaching and consulting that’s focused solely on business owners and helping them solve complicated problems in their business, move forward, and grow. And it has worked — this service has taken off, the decision to move more towards my passion for coaching was a good decision, and I love every minute of it! 

If you do the work, answer the hard questions, and find the courage to move forward with what you want next — anything is possible! 2020 can be your best year ever — even though right now, it may not seem possible. It all starts with discovery, then listening, learning, implementing, and growing — and it doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, what you do, or any other demographic the world uses to categorize us. Do something today that makes 2020 one step closer to being your full-circle, best-year-yet comeback! 

You’ve got this! Get started today! One step forward — because you and only you can make your dreams come true and make 2020 your best year yet!