It was one of those days last Sunday that will be nearly impossible to forget. It’s an unpleasant anniversary of Friday the 13th, 2020. This was the day I saw my clients in person for the last time. The day that turned my life upside down and shortly after we all knew that it was not only my world that got messed up. All my face-to-face meetings were canceled, all seminars and coaching sessions were put on hold. Fear kicked in, just a human reaction.
Change and challenge are on an entrepreneur’s plate every day. An entrepreneur is constantly pivoting. Right? Yes, absolutely. But the first reaction is a human reaction. Anger, frustration, fear, you name it. What’s next? I saw myself picking strawberries or filling up supermarket shelves. This work needed to be done in the pandemic as well, didn’t it? That was fear speaking and the survival mode that kicked in.
And just like that, the solution was given. The entrance into the virtual world. I had worked virtually for many years prior to the pandemic. I loved the flexibility of supporting my clients the way they preferred. But now it came down to me, rather an extrovert, who spent every day on the road, and this moment on was supposed to spend all of her time in front of her laptop only working from home. An idea that was impossible to grasp.
My first live seminar was exhausting. I put myself under so much pressure with what-if scenarios and constant head chatter. Writing this makes me laugh now. It was nothing to laugh about then. I can tell you that much.
I had to remember the sentence that we all know or have heard of. What can you control in the state of uncertainty? What is it that I could take advantage of? I had all the time on my hands since I was not sitting behind the wheel for hours on end. Instead, I could just get up and start working immediately. A dream come true? Well, not at that time.
Being solution oriented is my default setting. So, what do I do? How do I take advantage of the time I didn’t have before? How am I supposed to prepare for something that is yet to be written? What will not be time wasted but gained even if the world spins in a different direction? That was the tricky part.
Investment in myself, my business and my clients at the same time was the answer. I wanted to have fresh ideas for webinars, so I did some webinar training. I have been coaching teams for years but always wanted to dig deeper into this field. A couple of days later, I was part of a program with coaches from around the world. I was in calls and meetings from very early in the morning with India, into the afternoon with the US, and into the evening with Australia. It was so much fun but also demanding. Lots of work, countless hours studying content, and integrating into a brand-new programs. You heard it right – I created a new coaching program at the same time.
I had the choice to watch the world spin the way I didn’t like it to spin. I had the choice to wait for whatever might come my way. That is NOT me.
I chose to empower myself with deeper knowledge. I added more qualifications to my resume, and I earned more credentials that will better support my clients and their development. I gained knowledge and insight that has opened doors to new opportunities. I love to change but not to be changed. I write my own chapters.
What is your brand-new chapter? What have you done or achieved because of the change you did not ask for?
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