Well….2018 you have been “interesting”!

After 3 years as a digital nomad – buying a house in Spain and creating a different life for myself kicked off some serious ‘I’m not good enough’ thoughts in my head.

This was all aimed at my personal life – around making friends and integrating into an offline community again.

It was like being handed the keys to my new house and at the same time they said – “here you go, here’s a box of emotions you’ll need for this transition.  Good luck you’re gonna need it!!”

Yep – turns out transitioning from full-time travelling the globe to a homeowner in Spain wasn’t going to be quite as straightforward (internally) as I had expected.

Thanks, mind.

I was faced with the biggest “I’m not good enough” stories in years.

Last time I had a home and did ‘normal’ it didn’t work out.

You won’t fit in.  People won’t ‘get’ you. You’re different.  You won’t find ‘your people’.

OMG achieving this goal of buying a home in Spain was triggering me in ALL the ways.

Hello, stuff.  I was 100% NOT expecting you.

Every time I got any support or advice it was along the lines of….

For your business to grow to the next level you have to first focus on the personal. Self-love is your focus next.

That message was loud and clear.

And then – the worst thing happened.

My “I’m not good enough” story starting oozing into my business!!

URGH.

This is so annoying to write about now, looking back, because it was so frustrating (and unnecessary).

When you want to take action – yet you know you are being ‘encouraged’ to slow down, to focus on the personal, to release some stuff – that’s a very frustrating place to be.

Whilst in that space I felt so disconnected from my business – and that has never happened. I didn’t like that.

I knew in some bizarre way that this was growing pains.  It was time to take a really good look at my business, move out of ‘business as usual’ mindset’ and see what was needed next.

I knew I had to trust…and be patient.

Not something I find easy.  I am not a patient person!

Yep, that’s how my 2018 has been.

This all started because I had achieved my biggest, boldest dream of all – to create a business that I could run from anywhere in the world.

Then – realising the next stage of that dream was to have a base, actually a home that I loved, to create a life for myself in one place (and yes still travel).

It was like wow I can achieve these big dreams….and here’s your flaws and ‘stuff’ that needs resolving!

Who knew to achieve your dreams was so confronting??!

The space of not taking action taught me a lot, especially trust and patience!

It has been so frustrating (and frustration can actually be a good thing sometimes – this was definitely highlighting stuff I needed to see).

I have cancelled launches and not sold offerings because here’s the thing, I HAVE to feel connected to what I’m creating or teaching, if I don’t I just can’t get behind it.

There was something I needed to see – and that clever Universe wasn’t letting me free until I got it!

Here’s what I did (and didn’t) achieve in 2018

What I DID achieve

• Brought a house and moved to Malaga, Spain!
• Completely re-decorated
• Led 2 LIVE BIG Masterminds with incredible women 
• Had my biggest launch yet
• Brought back my 1:1 Mentoring offering
• Hosted my first in-person LIVE BIG Intensive at my house in Spain
• Continued to grow the Wildly Successful Society
• Booked 2 speaking events for 2019 (one in Australia and one in Spain)
• Travelled to Canada for a business retreat and made some amazing friends in the process
• Created my first ‘physical product’ – my 90-day purposeful productivity daily planner (after being asked for years for it by my community).  
• Took way more time off from my business
• Hit the same financial figure as 2017 but worked less
• Got clarity around my business model for 2019

The Still to Do’s

• Write my book.  I just had no headspace so it never made it into any of my monthly plans.  2019 goals!
• Learn Spanish – no headspace people, no headspace.  2019 goals!
• Update WSS members vault. The ‘I’m not good enough’ stuff massively showed up here and having the alignment and passion back for this is making me very happy.  I also now realise that my business model needed a tweak which is the reason the changes didn’t happen
• Even though I have joined a gym I haven’t managed to get as fit and healthy as I had hoped – I know this will happen in 2019 now the ‘stuff’ has been sieved through!

My 3 Biggest Lessons from 2018 

It’s been a year of personal growth….

Lesson 1 – This IS the journey

No matter where you are on your journey there will always be more inner work to do. You don’t arrive having done the work – there will always be ups and downs, ebbs and flows, lessons and learnings. 

Growth spurts and stages of being in maintenance mode – That is the journey. The entrepreneurial roller coaster in full swing. The sooner we embrace that and stop trying to ‘get somewhere’ the easier it is to ride the waves as they come, knowing it’s all part of it!

I talk about being in the ‘experimentation phase’ in business a lot.  This is where you get to embrace IMPERFECT ACTION, and experiment to see what works. Turns out we are always in that phase!  

This is the journey.  It will always be throwing stuff at us so that we can keep learning and keep growing.  Growth and learning always lead to good things so hold tight and trust you will come out the other side a better version of yourself, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time!

My seatbelt is back ON and I’m roller coaster ready! Business, as usual, is over…

Lesson 2 – Trust (with everything you’ve got!)

Trust everything is happening for a reason.  Not being able to take the action I wanted to take, and instead slow down and re-align is important to get me to where I’m going.  I really had to trust that not taking the planned actions was, in fact, the right thing for me, even though it felt soooooo uncomfortable.

I know that the reason I wasn’t able to follow through on some of my plans is that they weren’t quite right. I am now going to be changing a few things – purely to give my customers a better experience, and that feels so good.  The alignment is back.

Trust Yourself. I did a lot of spiralling with ideas and I tried seeking external validation all over the place, but to really drop into that space of fully trusting myself feels so good again. You know what lights YOU up, you know enough about getting results for YOUR clients.  Trust Yourself.

Lesson 3 – Alignment is more important than strategy (for me)

I think I could write a whole blog post on this subject alone (and maybe I will).  

Feeling aligned with what you are promoting matters more than whether you are following the ‘right’ strategy or launching the ‘right’ offering.  If you are connected and excited you’ll more than likely succeed.

Yes, there are strategies we can follow but with the way the online world is (overcrowded and very noisy), real connected businesses are what matter.  If my energy is off then that comes across in my business.  No matter what others tell me, If I’m not aligned – it ain’t happening.

Taking back control of some of the things I had previously outsourced might not be a strategic move, but being aligned and connected means I get my mojo back, and that is a strategy I can get behind.

Without a doubt, my biggest lesson this year is that alignment is more important than strategy (for me and where I’m at).

Side note: I interviewed an amazing and ‘keep it real’ millionaire business owner, Denise Duffield-Thomas a few weeks ago (listen in here she dropped SO many brilliant messages) and my lightbulb moment from that was to keep things simple.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON 2018

I’m pleased to say that I did the work, I slowed down, I went inwards, I sat still, and now I am feeling so excited, passionate, and connected again to where we are heading next.

I am definitely not someone who can just sell something without really being aligned with it.

I care a lot – and that’s ok.

I can remove myself from my business more but it doesn’t feel good – it’s ok to take back tasks others are outsourcing.

I like being in the trenches with my ladies, celebrating their wins and holding them up in their times of doubt.

I am a people person.  I need that connection.  My focus now is to find the balance around having a freedom business that I still feel massively connected to.

I already have a tried and tested process and business.  

And yes I am good enough, just as I am (anyone else getting the Bridget Jones line??!). Haha.

Here’s to 2019 and rocking life.  My word for the next year is to SHINE BRIGHT.

Grab your sunnies people!

Big love, Jo xx