How to Become an Unstoppable Force in Business, Blogging, and Life

 

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I had the delightful experience this past weekend of dining with Liz Strauss and Jessica Duquette. In person meetings like this are so exciting to me as I get to really know the wonderful people I have met online. We chatted about everything - growth, business, blogging, and the blogosphere.

Liz whacked me upside the head with one statement. Here’s the story of how this queen of words coached the coach:

There used to be a time when I wanted to just ‘be rid’ of things that I didn’t like about myself. If I could just get rid of that part of me, I reasoned, I would be able to become an unstoppable force in my life.

Many people I know feel the same way - if they could just get rid of the ‘tornado‘ in their way, everything would be fine.

  • If I could just get rid of my procrastination, then I would feel motivated
  • If I could just overcome this feeling of not being enough, then I would be able to move my business forward
  • If I could just clear out this emotional baggage, then I would be able to be more consistent with my blogging

Get this Obstacle Out of My Way!The problem with this thinking is that though we hate to admit it, that tornado is really a part of who we are. And we cannot get rid of it any easier than we can suddenly decide to cut off a limb.

The key here is being willing to step back and even backtrack a little bit. An obstacle is only an obstacle if you 1-believe it is an obstacle and 2-allow it to stop you. Of course, if the tornado is in your face, it’s pretty darn easy to do just that.

There is also the illusion that the obstacle is even an obstacle in the first place. Usually, it’s an opportunity - an invitation to grow. But again, when the tornado is in your face, it’s easy to ask yourself, “Why can’t I go forward?”.

Here’s the kicker - I have NEVER overcome anything by making it ‘go away’. In fact, every problem, every dark shadow, every moment of writer’s block, and every day of terrible traffic and no comments are still here - they are all with me, and they aren’t going anywhere. It’s not that I have hung onto them - it’s that I have been able to preceive my obstacles differently.

I Will SQUASH You Like a BUG!By asking better questions, obstacles lose their grip on us. We move back. We perceive things differently. When we back up, we can see that the tornado was really only a swirl in a marble - one that can be easily rolled off to the side as we are freed to choose and perceive differently.

I have found a common thread among bloggers - that once they are finally somewhat established, it’s even harder to bring their blog to the next level than they had anticipated. Some almost gave up. Some have found a way (better than I have ;) ). Some, myself included, slowly grow, hoping that taking the Tortise approach to winning the race will indeed get us to the finish line. The perceived obstacles to blogging stardom do indeed seem large.

I was chatting with Liz about my mysterious dip in traffic since the holidays - that things haven’t recovered in January the way I had hoped, and I was a little stumped about the whole thing. In one fell swoop, Liz took my blogging growth “obstacle” and completely reframed it:

“The hidden assumption,” she said, “is that you have lost something of value. Perhaps you haven’t.”

Suddenly, I was able to look at everything differently. And silly me, only then was I able to think that, hhmmmmm… “Perhaps my traffic is down because my subscribers are at an all time high.”

Duh.

So how do we become an unstoppable force in business, blogging, and in life?

By simply continuing to move forward no matter what *seems* to get in our way. Including ourselves. ;)

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    Comments

    1.
    On January 23rd, 2007 at 8:02 pm, Liz Strauss said:

    Thank you so much for driving all the way into the city. I got see both of you and learned so much, and all I did was ask one little question. . . . :) Thanks for the link love and making me a hero. :)

    You’re a top coach and it shoes through every word of this post.

    2.
    On January 23rd, 2007 at 8:30 pm, Jessica Duquette said:

    you ARE a wordsmith, dear one! AND an amazing coach, to boot. Stay tuned for my wrap up of our time together (I got COACHED by Wendy Piersall…yes, I flew all the way to Chicago from LA to experience the gentle and powerful talents of this amazing woman and I would do it again in a heartbeat.)

    hugs,

    jessica

    3.
    On January 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 pm, Steve Olson said:

    Wendy,
    You’ve got a great business and you are unstoppable.

    Here are some words I love to use (they aren’t mine, that’s for sure)

    Together we can build a bright shining city on a hill.

    With Peace and Gratitude…

    Thanks for the link :-)

    4.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 1:10 am, Easton Ellsworth said:

    Man, what a post. Thanks for this, Wendy. I needed this more than you know! Thanks also to those who inspired you.

    Unstoppability is a choice.

    5.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 9:17 am, eMom said:

    Liz - you *ARE* my hero! :)

    Jessica - Thanks so much for your kind words - I’m waiting with baited breath for that wrap up!

    Steve - just by showing up you remind me to be more generous and grateful - that’s an amazing gift you have!

    Shucks, Easton - that kind of reaction absolutely makes my day - thanks!

    6.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 10:13 am, Kelly King Anderson said:

    Wendy, love the graphics here, I would add a different one, perhaps one where the figure is embracing the tornado in a hug, because I feel our tornados are put in place for a purpose for us to learn and grow from, so if we give thanks for them then we see that they are a gift to help us grow and confront the very things that make us turn our weaknesses into our strengths..not to ever be frustrated by, but humble us and give us the chance to ask the questions we need the answers for.

    Thanks for being so authentic and willing to share, what an inspiring post that I needed to hear.

    7.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 1:09 pm, Steve Olson said:

    Wendy,

    I forgot to say….

    HOW ‘BOUT THOSE BEARS!

    I love Chicago.

    8.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 1:10 pm, eMom said:

    YEAH BABY! I admit I am a total fair-weathered fan, but the Bears are on FIRE! ;) Woot!

    9.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 7:50 pm, Kathleen said:

    Wendy, this is exactly the post I needed today. Thank you so much. I started dwelling on some things in my past that I wish had never happened, but this had made me realise that’s no way to live.

    Ooh, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

    Kx

    10.
    On January 24th, 2007 at 11:02 pm, eMom said:

    Kelly - if I didn’t feel like dragging out the Adobe Illustrator again, I would absolutely create another illustration because I totally agree with you! Well put!!

    Kathleen - it’s always great to hear this kind of thing - and interesting which posts seem to hit the right people at the right time. Thanks for sharing!

    11.
    On February 7th, 2007 at 4:59 am, Martin said:

    I’m a little late on the scene - but very nice post.

    BTW, I’m the one you quoted as “almost giving up”. Thanks for the link love. :-)

    I took some time off (got to see the bigger picture) and now I am back at it - I think I needed the time to shake of my journalism background a little and get into real/raw blogging - which I am happy to say I am now doing - and loving it.

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    2. WOMEN WALKING IN WISDOM’S FOOTSTEPS™ » Blog Archive on January 27th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
    3. eMoms at Home » Blog Archive » 6 Quick and Easy Ways to Increase Traffic and Blog Revenue on January 31st, 2007 at 6:00 pm
    4. The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Mom (and a Dad) - eMoms at Home - Blogging and Internet Marketing for Home Based Entrepreneurs on June 22nd, 2007 at 2:06 pm

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