I got an email today from a marketing expert I love, respect and admire. As I read her message, I found myself feeling a little sick to my stomach. What she was saying rubbed me the wrong way. It didn’t feel right. But inside, part of me was saying, “Wait! This woman is great! She knows a lot! What she’s saying must be true!” But then I got wise.
Just because it’s true for her doesn’t make it true for me.
As a creative entrepreneur, you are going to come to know a lot of experts, teachers, gurus and well-meaning advice-givers who will passionately want to help you on your way to success. In fact, I’m one of those passionate experts! And while our intentions may be pure and good, you still need to be your own best authority. You need to weigh any advice in the crucible of your own heart and decide whether it’s appropriate for you.
Most experts have been there, done that, and figured out what works. But here’s the deal. Just because it worked for them doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. You are unique, cut from a different cloth! You have to find your own way.
Yes, we can offer you great advice, tools, techniques, widsom and support. But don’t swallow anything that smells a little stinky to you. You have to feel your way sometimes in order to discern what’s right for you.
It’s tricky. Because sometimes we can poo-poo or ignore teachings and opportunities simply because we don’t want to face the discomfort of change. Someone may offer you the perfect gift to move you forward and you can say, “No thank you,” because you know, at some level, if you said “Yes!” it would quickly move you out of your comfort zone and into a whole new level of doing business.
This is why you must be brutally honest with yourself. Does this expert’s advice not resonate because it’s just not right for you right now… or are you not ready to say Yes because you are clinging to the coziness of your own status quo?
We’ll talk more about that next week on Tough Love Tuesday.