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Am I a good investment?

When was the last time you asked yourself “Am I a good investment?”

Or stated the fact that you are a GREAT investment?

So many entrepreneurs look to angel investors, seek funding and grants to grow their businesses, but how many of the SME’s and female business owners actually invest in themselves?

When was the last time you increased the investment in yourself?

How much did you invest in yourself last year?

Is the amount you are investing in yourself larger than last year?

If not, why not?

Have you not grown?

Did you not take action and create bigger and better results than last year?

And again, if not, why not?

You see, investing in ourselves is the best way to tell ourselves we are worth investing in, and it sure as hell is a great way to tell others that we are worth investing in!

And I don’t mean investing in a bottle of wine, or a night out on the town, I mean REAL investment!

Your professional growth, your self belief, your skills, knowledge, all the things which will see you grow in all areas of life; which also means you have more cash in the bank to keep reinvesting in the biggest and best asset you have.

YOURSELF.

When was the last time you put yourself first?

Not your team, not your family, not the home improvements or the new systems upgrade, but your own personal systems?

Your inner workings.

You see if you cannot stand in front of a mirror and say you are a great investment, and willing to invest in yourself, then quite frankly my darling (to use the words of the powerhouse Anel Bester, founder of the Thrive Freedom Movement) you have got a serious amount of work to do.

How can you expect others to invest in you if you are not investing in yourself?

When was the last time you updated your whole wardrobe to match the amount of personal growth you have had?

And if you haven’t invested in yourself over the last year, what on earth have you been doing!?

When was the last training course you went on THAT YOU INVESTED HARD CASH INTO?

Not the freebies or the courses which cost the equivalent of a night out, but REALLY TRULY invested in yourself?

Each year I make a point of investing in myself more and more, as well as paying off loans and the expenses from the whole #ScotlandSaga which is detailed in my book Crossing The Line

Without investing in myself and my own business, I have no right to ask others to invest in me.

When was the last time you ladies out there gave yourself a pay rise?

When was the last time you chose to put money aside? To start a savings account just for you, no one else, not the business, not the house and not the family holiday?

Hmmmm… I thought so.

So, I encourage you to start increasing the amount you are investing in yourself and be proud of the fact that you are investing in the very best asset you have.

Your beautiful self.

And if you are looking for a leadership or author coach, then let me know.  I have a couple of spots left for 1:1 clients.

Or there’s my up and coming Leadership and Author Course for the Feminine Alphas out there.  To take part in this powerful Professional and personal development programme, click on this link and let’s see if we are a fit to work together!

In the meantime, get clear on your finances, step away from those not interested in increasing their self worth, raising their game and income levels.

Surround yourself with the most successful powerhouse women you can find – which of course are aligned with your message and purpose, and live your absolute best life possible!

Ciao for now! x

 

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Why inspiring people isn’t enough.

Inspiring people inspire others.

Inspiring people stimulate ideas.

But inspiraton itself is not enough.

People need to take action on the inspiration, because like any tool in the toolbox, if it is not used, it has no real value.

Now I know my writing and my way of life inspire people around the world. My ideas and opinoins create positive impact in the way people think; but is it enough?

No.  It isn’t.

Because I can write as much inspiring content and post it out there in the world, but unless it is making me money somewhere down the line, then what’s the point for me? Even though it benefits others?

Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to receive messages of gratitude and acknowledgement from all those who have read my posts and taken action.

It is lovely to see these individuals creating results and living a life they love.

It is nice to see people takng my lead and creating joint ventures, using my courses as templates for their own, and some may say it is the highest form of flattery; but I am not in business to be flattered, nor can I live on ‘lovely and nice to see’.

I am in business to make money and provide for myself and my family, as is every business owner and entrepreneur out there.

Today I saw a post from a lady who is writing a book with other women.  Something which you would think as an author coach for female leaders I would be jumping for joy about, but for a split second I was ever so slightly annoyed about it.

You see I had spent time connecting with this woman and building a relationship with her.  We had disccussed how the work she did, and the work I did would be a great fit.

I then go off to sea to study and work on gaining much needed experience, ocean miles and research for my captaincy and up and coming books in The Mermaid’s Guides, only to come back ready to reconnect and see her new venture.

Now I could have remained annoyed, but I chose not to.

I chose to celebrate the progress this lady has made whilst I have been at sea.

I chose to send her and the other ladies involved in the collaboration the very best of luck with the project, and chose to offer support if and when they need it.

I may not have sold one of the 7 places on my Leading Ladies 7 Week Author Course, but what I have done is use this as a learning point and will be evolving even further.

Those of us in the online space of knowledge based businesses have a very fine line in which we have to walk.

We have to share our knowledge to a certain extent to build that ‘know, like, trust’ factor without giving too much away that people simply take, take, take.

We are in business as I’ve said before to make money, just like the product and service based businesses are; and just like those who go to work everyday to get paid.

Yes, we want to enable others to create amazing results in their lives.

Yes, we want to create positive and powerful impact in the world, but we are not here to simply serve others and struggle to pay our own bills whist living on fresh air alone.

We live in a world where very few people invest in themselves.

We live in a world where to invest in yourself is seen as self indulgent, and where some people think investing in coaching is a waste of time.

I have heard many times “it’s alright for those with the money to invest in coaching, but it isn’t for me”.

Coaching is for everyone who truly values themselves, their personal and professional growth, as well as the return on their investment.

We think nothing of investing in a new laptop, smartphone, new clothing because we get to use them everyday; but the skill in selling a coaching course is enabling people to see that the coaching they invest in will help them in all areas of life for each and every day for the rest of their lives.

It doesn’t matter whether we as coaches believe this, it is what the potential client believes.

If the potential client believes they are not worthy of investing in, if they believe coaching doesn’t work, and if they believe coaching is only ever about one area of life, then that is what they will believe until we as coaches (and sales people) can alter their beliefs.

I mean let’s be honest here, the key ingredient in coaching is enabling others to change their limiting beliefs about themselves and their current situation.

And if we can’t do that, then we’re not very good coaches.

We can inspire change, we can inspire ideas, we can inspire possibility, but unless the receiver of that inspiration actually does something with it, and we as the inspirers actually gain from it ourselves, then really why do we do it?

Why should we?

Would those who take the inspiration go to work and be happy with their employers just taking their energy, skills and knowledge without renumeration?

Would your local supermarket be happy with you simply walking in and helping yourself to their goods without payment?

No, of course not.

So why do people think that knowledge based businesses, such as coaching, are a free for all?

Because many coaches do not know how to ask for the business.  I know, I have been one of them.  I knew how to ask for the sale, but because coaching is so vast in the lives of those who invest in themselves, I used to struggle when it came to sharing the possible results, the tangible outcomes people receive.

I know the content I share freely over all my social media platforms, in webinars and on podcasts inspire people to take action. I have had the messages of gratitude and thanks from those who have taken action.

The results the ladies in my 21 Day Vision Creation Challenge have created for themselves speaks volumes on the power of my coaching.

But imagine if those who have only used my free content to create changes in their lives had actually invested in themselves and received the stuff I don’t give away freely?

Imagine the exponential growth and expansion they would receive then.

Well worth considering, even if I do say so myself.

So the next time you read something inspiring, and it stimulates action, just remember these few simple pointers:

  • Get excited about how much more powerful the paid for stuff is for you and your future
  • Don’t be afraid to ask what the investment is, and if there are payment plans available
  • Believe in yourself and the endless possibilities you can create
  • Don’t be a user and an abuser, no one likes to be around those kind of people
  • Remember your environment is everything, fill your life with the positive people!
  • Invest in yourself with your hard earned cash, it will be a great motivator
  • Ask the coach how many coaches they have, and what coaching circles they are in

And for all those who have wanted to work with me, but have been delaying for whatever reason, ask yourself why you’ve delayed, reach out to me and let’s have a conversation.