Last week I had the opportunity to attend an African dance workshop for women. What fun to be moving my hips and body in a way that it had almost forgotten! As it has been almost two years since I sold the home pole dancing business, I was definitely feeling out of shape as I joined the other women for the afternoon.

However, once the music started and we were under the awesome tutelage of the expert instructor, it all started to flow again. Yes, my body can still make those moves!

As an entrepreneur, we can feel like what we have to do to grow our business is out of our comfort zone. You may not want to take the risks or make the moves necessary to advance. It’s easy to stay waltzing instead of venturing into the tango!

How can you have the courage to do what it takes to move ahead in your business and life? One of the things that I heard from my mentor Bill Bartmann this week is that you have to stop worrying about what other people think about you. The only thing that matters is what you think of you. And have you noticed that you are your own worse critic? So if you focus on what is working for you, then all is well in your world.

I have a chapter in my book, Devil with a Briefcase, that is called, “Stop Caring So Much About What Other People Think of You.” It’s been one of the most talked about chapters! Why? I personally believe it’s because the unnecessary worry about other people stops entrepreneurs from doing what they know to be the path for them. They fret and worry about everybody else and miss out on the faster paced momentum of the tango as they stay safe dancing what they know so well.

Dancing in front of others is a step out of one’s comfort zone. The first time I was invited to a pole dancing party, I literally wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I was beyond embarrassed! Seven months later, I was dancing live on the largest breakfast television show in Canada with millions watching! What changed? I expanded my comfort zone, I practiced, and I got over my embarrassment that I looked funny or silly or stupid! I stopped caring about what everybody else thought. I was clear on my intent and purpose.

I remembered all those feeling last week as I was attempting to coordinate my feet with my arms with my hips. I felt like there was a distinct disconnect between the body parts and my brain! As entrepreneurs we can feel disconnected, fumbling and stumbling as we learn new technology, try a new sales technique, or raise our prices and find ourselves worrying about the repercussions.

I was working with an entrepreneur this week who was forcing herself to finish a project that didn’t feel right. She was dealing with all the guilt of not getting it done and the ridicule of friends and family that labeled her as a quitter. Out of my mouth came the words, “Sometimes you don’t finish something because you aren’t supposed to finish it. You’ll usually finish something that you are truly guided to finish.” She immediately started to laugh as if all the weight of the guilt was removed from her body. Sometimes you just aren’t meant to finish something and that’s o.k. too!

It was a tough one late last year when my business partner and I decided to not go ahead with the Ladders of Abundance project. After almost a year and countless hours, we decided to walk away from it. What happened and how did I not spend days, weeks, or months beating myself up over it?

We both realized that the time commitment was becoming more than either of us could manage in our spare time. Tom had just become a new father and discovered how much he wanted to be able to spend as much time with his son as possible. His own business is also growing exponentially and needs his full attention. I appreciated that I could support microfinancing through a much easier, less demanding method and felt very comfortable with the decision.

A portion of the proceeds from my book and the subsequent backend will support microfinancing. I will continue to educate people about the power of microfinancing through my upcoming Spiritual Entrepreneur website. I learned so much from putting together the Ladders of Abundance project that I am now benefiting from in my own business. I made an amazing friend in our Executive Director and some wonderful connections. It was all good.

Once you make the decision, the critical piece is to let go, learn from the experience and move forward. You just keep going. I feel like I barely missed a beat as I stepped more fully into my healing work and got my book written. I may never have done either of those two things if the Ladders of Abundance project had been as big as we had anticipated. This feels so perfect, I can only feel protected, guided and directed to the best thing for me. Can you too know that place of trust?

One thing I am absolutely convinced of is that forward momentum is critical to growing a business. Analysis paralysis, stagnation and hesitation are recipes for disaster. You need to move and that usually involves being out of your comfort zone. That’s not a dangerous place - it’s simply an uncomfortable place - until of course it starts to feel comfortable and eventually it will.

It’s been absolute fascinating learning the self-publishing world these past few months. Growing our business usually means doing something that we need to learn. Dealing with editors, formatters, illustrators, and the printing industry has all been new to me. But how fascinating! A new client just hired me this week to take her through the process for her book. So now I get to teach what I have just learned.

Are you stuck in your business? If so, is it possibly because you are afraid to move out of your comfort zone? Are you overly concerned about what other people think about you? Do you always need to know how everything turns out or are you willing to take it one step at a time? Do you dislike being embarrassed or not fully in control of a situation?

The life of an entrepreneur is one of movement and risks. Your success depends on how fast you’ll dance and how much you relax into your magnificence. Go for it. Put some music on right now and get your body moving. Then take that same energy into your business! It feels wonderful!

Have a fabulous month!

With love and light,
Jan

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