When Things Get Tough
First, my apologies for being out of touch, but I believe you deserve an explanation as to what’s going on over here at my offices.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for JulieAnne Jones’ blog about what to do when things get tough in your business. In it, I offer six tips for navigating tough times successfully. One of those is to be honest with your “tribe” when things aren’t perfect. So here goes…
You may or may not have already heard, but we did, in fact, cancel the live event that I had planned for this weekend.
The Renaissance Mom Experience was to be one of those “powerful, life changing events” – leaving a big impact on each of the attendees. At this point, I believe we have refunded everyone. If I missed you, please contact my team.
We’re still planning to do something in terms of a virtual event. That will begin on Sunday, August 29. If you are on the event notification list, you’ll learn more soon enough.
But in the meantime, I’m putting out all kinds of fires at headquarters. So many unexpected “emergencies” have developed (from cancelling the event and other things), that I’m doing all I can to keep my head on straight this week.
Like finding out that the IRS has fouled up every payroll tax filing for me for the past YEAR. So now we’re digging through the archives to clean up THEIR mess (Bonnie, if you’re reading this, don’t worry. Your payroll tax payments are fine, it’s the paper returns they’ve goofed up! No worries!)
And that’s just the tip of this week’s iceberg. Some of the issues directly impact me, others indirectly (like my bookkeeper’s family issues), but all of them are weighing heavy on me right now.
Which means all of my normal “routine” activities have gone by the wayside.
That’s the bad news.
Sorry, there’s no newsletter, no blog posts, and very little contact from me at the moment.
Add to that the fact that we’re closing the offices for the Labor Day Holiday and you can see I’m “up to my elbows in alligators” as an old friend used to say.
Our offices will be closed from September 2-7 (me and all the staff are taking time off. No promises on if we’ll be checking email much or voice mail at all). We’ll re-open on September 8.
There’s a reason my company’s logo is a phoenix.
Some awesome new products and services will be rolling out in September and later this fall. But between now and then, I’m going to be very hard to connect with as the dust settles from the fallout of this week.
Why am I telling you all of this?
Well, in all honesty, because I’ve been feeling like a fraud for NOT telling you sooner. I mean, I coach YOU to be completely transparent in your business and let your teams, your clients and your associates know what’s really going on. People know you’re not perfect, so to present that illusion to the world is tantamount to living a lie.
I would be a fraud to pretend that all is well in the land of Lisa this week. It’s not. Far from it.
But this, too, shall pass. And then, we’ll be back on track and right as rain.
Yes, you’ll be hearing from me in the interim, but not on any particular schedule. Those of you active in any of my coaching courses will see a delay in course delivery – BUT all content WILL be delivered. As always, you can email or call and we’ll do our best to help you with any questions you have, just realize it might take us longer than usual to reply – especially during the Labor Day holiday.
I’m doing everything in my power to keep all the promises I’ve made to everyone and not work myself to death in the process.
Lessons Learned
Every once in a while, you have to make time to take time to deal with life. I would be a fake and a phony if I didn’t practice what I preach.
I know there are at least a few people that would try to cover their tracks and put a marketing “spin” on something like this.
“We’ve decided to ‘go virtual’ to let more people experience the event.”
“Special pricing is open AGAIN – but only for twelve seconds.”
“Bring your friends, your dog, your cat, and a total stranger for FREE.”
“Get fifteen extra bonuses when you sign up before the sun sets today.”
Blah, blah, blech.
No can do. We priced this thing at an incredibly affordable rate (less than $1000 including your room and meals), so I’m not going to cheapen the value of the content by playing those games. The plain truth is that we didn’t sell enough tickets for me to justify keeping everyone’s money (including our awesome sponsors) to bring out these amazing speakers to share their story with a teensy weensy audience. I could have kept the money and played to an audience of twenty people, but it just felt inauthentic and unfair when we were touting this as a large scale event with about 300 people.
Other people may feel comfortable playing that game, but to me, it’s just dishonest and makes you look desperate.
If I were a speaker, I’d want a better return on my time investment. If I were a sponsor, I’d want all the eyeballs originally promised. As an attendee, I might be excited about a smaller, more intimate group, but I might be bummed that I wasn’t meeting enough people.
In business, you have to know when to cut your losses, and sometimes that means nixing a pet project. Cancelling this event was one of the top five heartbreaks of my life. Not because it meant losing income (it’s only money, after all), but because of the mission I still feel compelled to serve – to help mompreneurs bring balance to their life and their work without apologies.
Time and again, that was what I was hearing – apologies about how it was too far, too short notice, too many days, etc. Which tells me the idea was good, but the offer wasn’t good enough. But that’s another post for another day.
Simply put, I know there’s a demand for the material, so we’re working out a way to deliver a portion of the content from the live event in a virtual format starting August 29.
When you cancel an event like this, there are lots of egos to stroke and apologies to be made – and that’s just at my house! The stress my husband and I endured during the summer was epic. Cancelling the event led to all kinds of inquisitions, concerns, and arguments. Again, another post for another day.
Then there’s fees and contracts you have to honor. We’re still working on that.
And THEN the IRS rears their ugly head? Yeesh. Is it any wonder I need a break?
It’s created a lot of chaos, uproar, and difficulty that I simply can’t ignore. Nor would I want to, in truth. So I’m asking for your patience and a little understanding over the next couple of weeks. I’m not ignoring you. We’re just SWAMPED!
And to be clear, no one’s dying, and we’re not closing up shop any time soon. I just need a couple of weeks to get these fires put out and get business back on track.
The GOOD news, is that after the Labor Day holiday is over, we’ve got a TON of great things planned to help you make the last few months of the year your best ever. It pains me to have to wait to share it with you, but I’ve got to clear the path, first.
When the dust settles, there’s gonna be a major blog series about this, you can be sure.
Until then, there are a couple of things you might be interested in:
- If you’re in direct sales, we’ve got special pricing on the videos from Home Party Solution LIVE until August 31. This is the video from last year’s 3-day event. We go end-to-end through the book, with additional bonus content.
- Get registered for the virtual version of The Renaissance Mom Experience (free, even though the site’s not completely updated yet. It’s on the to-do list for the week)
- 30 Days to Renaissance (also free, you can register in the sidebar over there —>) is a 30-day e-course to help you get from Reluctance to Renaissance in your life and business. Just proves I try to practice what I preach.
LASTLY, if you have questions, concerns or comments, we ARE checking the email and the phone messages (and you can DM me on twitter). Just don’t expect an immediate response. Things are plain crazy here at the moment.
In more than a dozen years of business, I have never felt so much in a pressure cooker before. And if you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know how seriously I take my client relationships. For me to basically put business “on hold” to put out fires is a strong indicator of the level of chaos we’re feeling right now.
But sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Thanks for your understanding.
Read MoreLetting Go Takes Love
In the past 24 hours it feels as though I have awakened from a 35 year coma. I can’t begin to explain everything here, at least not yet.
But new realities have come into my field of vision, and I’m seeing the world through somewhat different eyes.
As moms, we often think that we are doing so much for everyone else, and we don’t have a voice of our own. Sometimes we feel squelched.
Today, I realized I’ve been squelching myself in ways I never recognized; ways I never comprehended.
And it changes starting now.
During this process of “awakening” if you will, I heard a quote on the radio. It moved me so, that I had to find the author and share it with you.
In the past few days, it hit me that as long as our hands are clenched, we cannot give, nor can we receive. Further, if all we do is take, eventually there’s nothing left to take. If all we do is give, eventually, there’s nothing left to give. Thus, we must give and take in order to keep balance and maintain a “karmic equilibrium” so to speak.
This passage from Dr. Margaret Rinck spoke to me. And so I offer it to those of you dealing with clenched fists – whether they’re yours or someone else’s:
To Let Go Takes Love by Dr. Margaret J. Rinck
To “let go” does not mean to stop caring. It means I can’t do it for someone else.
To “let go” is not to cut myself off. It’s the realization that I can’t control another.
To “let go” is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another. It’s to make the most of myself.
To “let go” is not to care for, but to care about.
To “let go” is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To “let go” is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To “let go” is not to be in the middle, arraging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To “let go” is not to be protective; it’s to permit another to face reality.
To “let go” is not deny, but to accept.
To “let go” is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To “let go” is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To “let go” is to fear less and to love more.
Read MoreYes, I believe in God. Is that so wrong?
I don’t see the big picture. I don’t have a clue. But I know God does. I’m going to declare that, even if I don’t feel it right now.
- Steven Curtis Chapman
My assistant emailed me that message today. Combine that with a string of signs I saw on our family road trip yesterday and I knew the time had come to finish and share this post.
A bit naive? Perhaps. But that's faith.
I’m not one to talk religion much. I don’t hide the fact that I go to church, but I don’t actively spout off about my faith much, either. It tends to open a can of worms far bigger than anyone should try to handle on a blog. A previous post about Ben Stein’s movie got someone’s dander up because I dared to say what other people were thinking. And since Faith is one of the 5 Key Areas we’re delving into this August at The Renaissance Mom Experience, I figure I need to be transparent on the issue of Faith.
So here it is: I believe in God. I believe there has to be something bigger in this world than me, myself and I. There’s too much going on for my own brain to comprehend, and I find it difficult to assert that it all just happened by random chance.
Now, some of you will scoff, laugh or simply stop reading. That’s entirely your choice. But before you do, let me also offer this viewpoint.
I’ve never been one to force-feed my spiritual beliefs on anyone, partly because I’ve struggled myself with what those beliefs are exactly. I’ve met people who could just look at me and tell me things about my life that have NEVER been public knowledge. That’s some kind of inexplicable thing. I’ve met people who you might call ‘intuitive’ or ‘psychic’ – a term which seems to hold more derogatory connotations than anything else these days. And yes, members of my family (myself included) have demonstrated some type of intuitive ability.
In the strictly Christian sense of things, I’m still trying to figure out what all that really means. If you look at my upbringing, you’ll find I was raised “Metho-Catho-Baptist” and (gasp!) did a lot of research in my early twenties in earth-based religions. I am Catholic now, and that’s mostly for one reason:
I feel at home in a Catholic church. I’ve sung in a lot of churches, and the first time I set foot in a Catholic church, I felt like I had finally come home”.
I can’t explain it. I don’t really try. Maybe it’s the ritual, maybe it’s the structure, maybe it’s just the pretty window glass. I don’t think it matters much – at least not right now. The fact of the matter is that I believe that God put me where I am, Catholic or not, and gave me the experiences I have endured and entertained – Catholic or not. And it doesn’t matter much if “God” is actually a universal consciousness, an alien being, pure energy, or the ultimate creator of the Universe, multiverse and everything in it.
It’s my faith. And faith determines everything you are and will do in your life. Faith is the nexus where your core values and your beliefs converge. Faith mandates a belief in something. I choose to believe in and look for the good, strive to help others, and spend each day doing my best to serve the purpose that I believe God put me on this earth to handle. Naive? Perhaps.
We humans created all these “boxes” – these “labels” that give us a sense of peace and comfort by which to categorize the people of the world. If we are truly “one body”, then the labels don’t matter: Jewish, Episcopal, Buddhist, Muslim, Metho-Catho-Baptist, etc.
I’ll probably get shot for that last statement. God forbid.
That’s my struggle right now. Because I believe deeply in my own set of beliefs and core values, and I have a hard time with the idea of labeling the beliefs of others.
I stumbled on a book, Lucid Living: A Book You Can Read in One Hour That Will Turn Your World Inside Out
Tim’s a bit controversial in nature, but one premise form the book struck me: We are all one. Harm to one is harm to all, and love to one is love to all.
That, to me, encapsulates God’s message. Putting one sect or religious group in a box only serves to disintegrate the wholeness of who we are as the people of God – wherever or however God actually “resides”.
And the upside is that there’s little to no real downside to this perspective. There’s nothing wrong with loving everyone. You still need to keep your wits about you. Your conscience will be clean, and if we treated everyone with love – regardless of their world view – how much better this rock hurtling through space would be.
I know I sound like Pollyanna. I know there are still many people in the world that don’t subscribe to that notion. And yes, I’ve had my share of not-so-good life experiences. I’m sure I’ll have umpty-gajillion more before my time is through.
Will I still be Catholic in 20 years? Who knows?
Will I still believe in God? You betcha.
Logically, faith makes no sense. That’s why it’s called faith.
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Am I crazy? Do you have your own faith you’d like to share? Post your comments below and let the maelstrom begin!
Read MoreMompreneur Success: Balancing Your Weakness
This morning I awoke from a vivid dream wherein I portrayed some kind of crime-fighting super hero. I nearly died because my fatal flaw – my “kryptonite” if you will, was flowers, of all things. And we were battling in a greenhouse.
Goofy, I know, but it got me to thinking about how moms are real-life superheros. And just like our make-believe counterparts, we all have a weakness – some fatal flaw that binds us up and holds us hostage in our lives.
If left unattended, it might even be the end of us.
Of course, I’m taking the idea to the extreme here, but one thing I’ve learned in my coaching over the years is that there’s always something – and it’s usually rooted in fear – that keeps us from putting on our golden arm bands, our lasso of truth, and being the superhero of our own lives.
For me, my business is my Achilles’ heel. I love what I do so much, it can become an addiction for me. I admit that I’m hard-pressed to shut down my computer and walk away from it at dinner time. I feel unproductive when I’m home and NOT working! And yes, I feel that way even when there’s plenty of housework to do that would otherwise keep me occupied.
If I’d let it, my business would be the death of me. There’s always something new, exciting and different going on there. I can connect with new people every day online and grow my business faster and faster every day. I’m an adrenaline junkie of sorts, because it becomes so much fun to watch everything unfold in my business.
It’s also the least important thing I could be focusing on.
In the grand scheme of things, my relationships with family and friends take priority. My spiritual development and my faith take precedence. Or at least they should. And when I’m living life in balance, they do. But when the adrenaline calls, sometimes it becomes incredibly painful to turn off the computer and walk away.
Every SuperMom has a weakness. Yours may be time with your children, or the need for adult conversation – or alone time with your significant other. Maybe you have a fear of success, or a mindset that says you need to sacrifice one area of your life in order to be successful in another. What’s holding you back from seeing the success you deserve in your life?
Until you can identify your weakness, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to defend against. The answer lies within you. Here are a few suggestions to help you tap your inner superhero:
- Think about the grand scheme of things. Superman had Lois Lane. Tarzan had Jane. Every superhero has at least one someone in their life that’s more important than the service they provide to humanity. When you come to the end of your life, it’s those people that will remember you. The legacy you leave behind to you loved ones is far more important than any job you could ever do.
- Keep the faith. You must believe in something greater than yourself. Whether it’s God, or “truth, justice and the American way”, there’s got to be a bigger mission for the roles you play. As a mom, you’re shaping lives of future generations. As a business owner, it’s got to be about more than just the income.
- Have some fun! How many times did Superman take Lois out for a flight? You’ve got these super powers, take some time to use them to enjoy yourself. If you’re not making time to celebrate your success, you’re missing out.
- Watch the pennies. If you’re growing a business, be mindful of the money you’re earning. Fun is important, but so is keeping a balanced budget and paying off debt.
- Stay healthy. It’s easy to say there’s no time to exercise when your business is booming. There’s always plenty of other things to do that don’t involve exercise. It’s true when people say “if you don’t have your health, you have nothing.” Keep your mind, body and spirit in tip-top-shape by exercising them regularly.
These are just a few suggestions to help you keep your life in balance. When you focus on what’s really important in your life and work, the rest becomes somewhat easier to manage.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
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About Me
Edutainer. Results-getter. Performer. I'm expressive, results-oriented, and a connoisseur of ideas. When creative people are ready to stop making excuses and make something happen, they call me. Sometimes I talk to God. Sometimes God talks back. Sometimes I talk back. I'm building an ark here. Wanna ride? Be sure to say hi, leave a comment and get involved. That's how I roll. Lisa’s Music
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