Hey there, sister.
What if I told you that you could change the trajectory of success in your life in just 15 minutes a day?
(I know, I know…I sound like one of those late night infomercials but I promise I am not selling anything for $19.95.)
This 15-minute appointment is absolutely FREE!
But, it’s not easy. (That’s the trick.)
As a woman who studies successful women, (and leads a Tribe of women), I am often asked what is the one piece of advice I give to those I coach.
My answer is always the same.
Schedule 15 minutes on your calendar every day to practice being insanely brave.
Wait, what is that Angela? (Yes, I know you just asked me this.)
Insane bravery (in my humble definition) is executing simple small acts that scare the pants off you but help you make a large leap in the arena of confidence building. They get you to your goals in lightning speed time.
Let me give you a few examples.
- Sending an email to the woman leader of your division (who has no idea who you are) asking if you could buy her a cup of coffee to hear her success story.
- Signing up for a marathon when the farthest you have run is a 5K.
- Plunking down $1000 to take that 4-day motivational seminar you have always dreamed of taking.
- Sending in your application for a job that feels like a major stretch.
- Printing your side-hustle onto a business card with you identified as the owner and CEO.
Most of us, at one time or another, have acted insanely brave (we probably just called it insane at the time) and gone out on our ledge of comfortability. We have stepped out of the box and applied for the challenging job, or put in an application for the small business loan, or enrolled to further our education.
The difference, however, is that exceptionally successful women practice these risky executions consistently.
As in, all the time.
You and I, on the other hand, start a to-do list for “someday” and put off doing the things that are really uncomfortably scary for another day.
As in, maybe in the next five years.
So, I pondered this phenomenon, came up with my own theory and used myself as a guinea pig.
What if I challenged myself to do something insanely brave every day for a week.
What would happen to the trajectory of this Blog/Women’s Empowerment community that I have created?
What if, instead of pacing my brave moments for when I felt “ready” for them, I ponied-up and did one every single day?
I broke into a sweat just thinking about it.
Here is the list I made:
- Submit a pitch to have my blog and online-tribe featured in an online women’s group that has 6,000 members.
- Say yes to being a Podcast guest highlighting my writing and online-tribe.
- Pull the trigger and create a business name for my online entity to become incorporated.
- Record a Facebook Live tip in an online contest to potentially win free business coaching and exposure to 20K viewers.
- Hire a logo designer and social media expert to create a new logo for the submitted business name and optimize my social media exposure on Pinterest.
- Commit to a publisher for the book I have written and cement a launch date.
- Write about my experience in my blog. (Good, bad or indifferent outcome.)
Just looking at this list made me want to throw up.
Every single thing listed was VERY scary to me.
Each of the tasks made me vulnerable to failure (not to mention the potential to be personally embarrassed) but if I wasn’t willing to test the theory on myself, how could I advocate to my readers that this is the way to go?
So. I began.
I scheduled each of the items listed into my calendar into a 15-minute block (and looking back, other than this blog post, that’s about all the time it took to execute each one of them.)
The act of placing them on my calendar solidified my commitment.
When the first item reminder buzzed on my cell phone I tapped into my inner Mel Robbins and did the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown and then just did it…..phew. First one down. I felt slightly nauseous but a little excited too. And a little more confident. At least for that day.
When Day Two rolled around my inner critic flared up with a “who do you think you are kidding” diatribe and almost made me come up with an excuse to ditch the Podcast. After all, why would anyone want to hear my story? But the commitment I made (and the fact that I broadcasted into my online tribe of women that I was to be a featured guest) made me do it. Two days in a row, I was insanely brave.
It felt good.
Day Three, Four and Five seemed much easier, I will admit. As each calendar planner popped up for me to address, it seemed like just a natural thing for me to go ahead and execute it. Like just a normal to-do.
What I didn’t expect, was a quick return for bravery investment.
While I was mustering through Day 2, Day 3 and so on, I was getting positive feedback ( increased viewers, requests to join my tribe, coaching engagements, speaker requests, and increased page views) from just the first insanely brave action.
Whoa, Nelly.
Just from Day 1? Why in the heck did I wait to do these insanely brave things?
(Because I was scared, remember.)
I have to admit. Like all things scary (once they are faced) they didn’t seem so bad in the light of day.
Once done, they were actually a little thrilling.
Kind of fun.
Empowering.
In one week, this little Guinea pig proved that her theory had weight behind it. In less than 7 days I had moved my little side-hustle into a bonafide woman-owned business.
A place for women to learn, to grow, to support each other.
And most importantly, a place where Empowered Women can Empower Women.
Ladies, let me introduce you to Her One Tribe, LLC.
With this post, I can check off all seven days.
Guess what I am penciling in each day next week?
What’s on your calendar, sister?
Need a little more Empowerment? Check out my free Facebook Group Empowered Women, Empower Women. (No mean girls allowed.)
Need a little more Education? Check out my blog atLeadershipElevateHer.com.
Need a little more self-guidance? Download my free 21 Days to a More Empowered You Personal Blue Print for Change.
Need a little more accountability? Learn more about my Motivation, Mindset and Mentorship Coaching Bootcamp.
Wow! This was a very inspiring read! Thanks for sharing it. Every one of those things in your list would have scared the pants off me too! What a great tactic and a huge Congratulations!! To you on your accomplishments!