A Constant State Of Evolution
My lack of consistency in sending these emails comes down to two things:
Writing is something I struggle with and in order to write ‘well’ (for me) I need a good chunk of free time, minimal distractions and no pressing to-do lists. The combo of those three is rare.
I feel SO much pressure to make it good and, likely due to it being outside of my comfort zone, turn into a massive perfectionist each time I go to write.
THAT BEING SAID you're receiving this email because it's a Friday afternoon so I've wrapped up the week and I’m trying to get over the second. Nobody cares about these emails as much as I do… and that’s a good thing.
SO now that internal dialogue which nobody asked for is over, let me get into what I wanted to unpack in today's email - the concept of evolution in our businesses.
A recent podcast episode answering the Q of “do you have a 5 year plan?” got me thinking about how I interact with change in my business. And after scrapping all the ‘you need a business plan’ crap that’s wrongly etched into my brain I came to the conclusion that for me, an openness to evolution is integral.
I’m stepping into year 5 of my business and the ONLY reason my business exists as it does today is because of evolution. A look at the past 4 years is the perfect example of that.
2017 - Coaching
2018 - Coaching, podcast, retreat
2019 - Coaching, podcast, retreat, six week thing
2020 - Coaching, podcast, retreat, six week thing, ON IT NOT IN IT, five day thing (coming soon hehe)
The business I have now is wildly different to the business I started out with (2016 is a story within itself!) but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sure, I love the idea of starting out back in 2016 with the business that I have now. It’s successful, impactful and sustainable. But it just wouldn’t have been possible.
The business I have today only exists because the last 4 years have featured a totally non-linear amount of evolving. Of bringing new offerings out in response to what people are asking of me. Of launching from a place of excitement and energy. Of constantly looking out for what certain seasons and circumstances are trying to teach me.
For me, action is an integral part of this. I often see people waiting for clarity in order to take action. But I see it as the opposite - action is what brings clarity.
There have been evolutions over the years that haven’t worked, like the online shop I launched in the middle of last year. But that action, and the subsequent ‘failure’ of it, led to the first Six Week Thing which now plays an integral role in my ability to increase both my income and my impact.
I don’t measure the success of action by the response it gets. I measure the success of action by what it teaches me. And a willingness to find the lessons and use them to to evolve sits at the centre of my approach to business.
Now I won’t sit here and pretend it’s comfortable. Running a business rarely is.
It takes trust. It takes patience. It takes a willingness to start small and make mistakes. But in my experience, my business being in a constant state of evolution is my business at its best. And I wonder if that might be the same for you?