clarity and purpose during the global pandemic
Just as the world was hit with a global pandemic I was launching my new coaching business. At first, I felt paralysed and struggled to see how I would ever get clients. I also felt helpless. What could I do to help people with so much fear and uncertainty around?
Then one Monday evening, I decided I would offer 2 x 30-minute coaching sessions, for free, to 100 people over a period of 100 days. Two days later I wrote a couple of tweets and put an announcement on my personal Facebook page. Two weeks later and all 200 slots were filled and I began.
It was EPIC and immense and…life changing: I learnt so much about me as a coach, about people and what they were experiencing. I learnt that collapsing into giggles is okay especially when seagulls, traffic and a street band all conspire to stop you from hearing your client! Laughter is good and can make for an energising session.
I was reminded that it's okay to mess up. Let’s say I didn't show up (it was only once...I'm sorry again, you know who you are!) The important thing is that we face up to it, forgive ourselves and learn from it. People are kind and understanding. And coaches are human and fallible.
I wish I could tell you about every one of the incredibly inspiring bunch of people who saw this opportunity and had the courage to take it. For my lovely 100-ers, there were many aha-lightbulb moments that emerged through the half-formed thoughts, thinking out loud and journaling exercises. “It seems so obvious now I say it” and it often made me smile - that’s the beauty of coaching. Through deep listening, intuitive questions and space to think, the hidden becomes unhidden and floats in front of you to pick up or let go. My job was to get grounded, listen and hold the space so that all that incredible magic could happen.
What my 100-ers didn’t know, perhaps, is that they were holding the space for me too.
I have changed.
I am changed.
Here are five big things that happened to me:
I totally fell in love with my business and the concept of being an entrepreneur.
Years ago, I said that I could NEVER be freelance. Too much uncertainty. Too much work getting the work. But my goodness, I love it and I LOVE being a social entrepreneur and working with others who are making a difference.
I had a total money mindset overhaul and realised that good, kind people are allowed to make money.
I have spent my life not believing I would ever earn very much – I worked in the arts, I was part-time, I wasn’t good enough, I should have just been grateful to get paid at all… But something over that 100 days shifted. This was partly because I have been one of the three million people excluded from any financial support despite working as an employee for 20 years. Bad timing, yes, but it also made me realise that I don’t want to have to rely on that support. I want to make my own money, have financial independence and know that if anything like this happens again, I (we: my family) will be okay.
I had an epiphany: I would never really be able to make the massive impact I wanted to make if I wasn’t financially secure.
And as much as I wish money wasn’t an issue, it is. So, if I can create wealth for me and my family, I can invest in others and really help to make the change I want to see.
A friend of mine sent me Dame Stephanie Shirley’s autobiography Let it Go. If you haven’t read it, you must, it is an incredible story on so many levels. I decided right there and then: When I grow up, I want to be a philanthropist and give my money away to the people who I believe are making a difference and building a stronger, more equitable world.
I invested in a business mentor, coach and supervisor.
I have loved working on the business as much as in the business this last few months. It is hugely daunting because I’m literally ploughing money I earn straight back in to the business but I’m in it for the long game. Working on mindset and wellbeing is ongoing and I am willing to invest in getting that extra support because of the incredible difference it will make to the business, to the people I can help, to myself, and to the people that I love most in the world.
I love coaching and mentoring even more than I did before.
And I absolutely believe that it should be something we invest in on a regular basis, like going to the gym or taking a holiday. Reflection and developing our mental fitness is CRITICAL if we want to move through this world with intention and drive. When we look back on our lives, we will know that we were focussed on the things that mattered to us. We weren’t sleepwalking. We made a difference. We were brave. We gave more than we took and we did it with love, joy and gratitude. We had a good life.
I am creating an ambitious vision and mission for my business.
My vision is a world where people are able to do good and do well.
Through powerful 1 to 1 and group programmes, my mission is to help people whose core purpose is to make a positive social change do so with the greatest impact, and without compromising their own health and wellbeing – without losing themselves in the process.
Alongside this, I am creating a social impact fund* to provide people free mentoring and support to those who have been financially affected by Covid and who are trying to rebuild stronger and more equitable communities. This is only the start; my long-term vision is to create a foundation that provides financial and long-term organisation and people-development support to new social entrepreneurs and changemakers.
Thank you to each and every person who supported me in this challenge. It means so much.
Update 10/11/2020: I have just opened up a limited number of 1:1 1 our slots for £42 (normally £99). To book, click here and use the code RESET42 to get the discount.
To learn more about working with me on a group or 1:1 programme, click HERE.
The incredible animation above was created by wonderful artist Megan Metcalf (@MeganMetcalfStudio)
* 5% of every sale will be put into this fund but you can always top that up if you wish to donate more. And if you book a RESET session with me, you have the option to pay for someone else to benefit from the experience too.