Nearly 13 years ago, I decided to pursue one of my passions. I am a self-proclaimed, group exercise junkie – I mean, I am obsessed with group fitness! So I got certified in a kickboxing format, but it was already pre-choreographed. As the instructor, I just needed to memorize the choreography and deliver it to the members.
Now, early on, I was hyper-obsessed with delivering the choreography exactly how it was set for me. I was showing up to class, making sure that I had memorized every single move so perfectly that I never would miss a cue, I wouldn’t send people in the wrong direction, I wouldn’t even breathe wrong.
Funny and ironically enough, members weren’t having a real connection with me as an instructor. I wasn’t “that” instructor, that they had to go to “that” class – until I started totally messing up. Until I started letting go and saying, “Oh crap, I forgot, we’re supposed to go this way. Oh my gosh, that’s not the song we’re supposed to be on.”
It wasn’t when I was perfect, it wasn’t when everything felt so systematic, delivering exactly what they thought should be delivered; it was when I was simply a human being.
So if you are holding back, delivering something or taking the next step, or you’re already communicating in some form or fashion, whether that’s through leadership and corporate or speaking to groups – whatever it is, if you are holding onto things, trying to be perfect, I am telling you today to let that go! That perfection actually builds a wall; it creates a barrier between you and whoever you’re communicating with.
They can’t connect with you, they don’t see you as an actual human being until there’s some level of authenticity.
Something that shows them that, “Wow, you can mess up; things aren’t always going to be perfect for you.” Today, where are you trying to build that perfection, that you can say, “Hold on, let me take a step back and build some level of realness to this,” be a little bit more authentic, or stop holding back and just move forward, even though it’s not perfect yet. Put in the comments below, I want to know where you’re committing to not being perfect, starting today.
It’s that time of year where you’re probably having grand visions of the year ahead. But those visions alone will not lead to success. Last year I shared what you must have in place to fulfill those visions. In addition to what I share in this video, for 2021 I’m integrating the 12-Week Year. If you haven’t heard about it, or it’s been some time since you’ve read it, be sure to check out the New York Times Bestselling book of the same name.
Here in the United States, we’re getting ready to celebrate Independence Day. I had a lot of independence growing up! I’m an only child, so I was a latch-key kid in the 80’s – I was home all by myself during most of my vacation times! But I was also raised by a very strong role model, my mom Kathy. While she and my dad had a great relationship, she herself was really independent.
She was a full-time registered nurse, and she took care of a lot of the things in our house. I remember seeing my mom sitting at the kitchen table with paper bills spread out, all organized with her checkbook, writing out the checks, paying all of the bills on time. So I was flabbergasted – like extremely shocked – when I recently found out that women could not open their own bank accounts by themselves until the 1960s.
They couldn’t even have their own credit card until the 70’s. I was born in 1975, so thinking back to my mom using credit cards or writing those checks, that was because she was married; she had joint accounts with my dad.
I am so grateful that I am a woman of the 21st century, where I get the chance to have my own freedoms, my own independence, and choose where I want that to be.
That I can open my own bank account, that I can do things regardless of if I’m married or have a co-signer. I was really reflecting on what freedom means to me, and for me today, freedom means being able to choose what my career is; where I want to work. To be able to choose where I want to live, to choose how I’m going to wake up each morning and live my life.
What energy am I going to put forth? How am I going to support myself, my family, and other people? What mark am I going to make in the world today? Those are all choices that I have the freedom to make. So as Independence Day is coming closer, I would encourage you to take just a couple of minutes and reflect on first, what are you grateful for?
What freedoms do you have such gratitude that you get to experience? And then secondly, what does freedom mean to you, and how are you going to show up to really capitalize on that freedom? What choices are you going to make today to show that freedom is important to you, and you can make an impact in your own life and in others? I’d love to hear from you, share in the comments below!
WARNING: Must read below to understand WHY I’m sharing this week’s video!
Do you ever feel embarrassed by past work you’ve done? Maybe it’s a project you completed when you first began your career or were new to your current position. What if someone were to ask to see it – how would you feel?
Instead of looking at your past as an embarrassment, I invite you to look at it as development! Reviewing your early work is a great reminder of how far you’ve come, of the incredible progress you’ve made. Not to mention, it may provide a bit of levity during rough times. To demonstrate what I mean, I thought I’d share my first video with you.
Not necessarily for the content, though it’s still good ;-), but really because I used to view this as an embarrassment. In fact, I’ve always hoped that this video has been buried so deep in the archives, that you would never find it! But as I watch it today, I can see my growth and I’m proud of the development I’ve had over the past 5 years.
Today, I invite you to pull out an early piece of work and spend time reflecting on your development and how far you’ve come so far in your journey.
We just celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th, but all of March is Women’s History Month, so let’s keep this celebration moving forward! Already, I am feeling some serious high vibes. I have spent the last two weeks surrounded by amazing women – whether it’s through a keynote I delivered or trainings and workshops, but mostly from my Five-Star Society members. And I wanted to bring this energy, these high vibes to you.
If you’re wondering, how do you create that in your life, how do you get this energy and this positive momentum going, you’re going to do just that. I recommend that you join some sort of professional group. Now, I do hear from several women that they don’t feel like joining a traditional group, because they don’t need to network.
“That’s the only benefit Colleen, is for networking, and I’m not looking for a new job right now,” or, “I’m not in sales, I don’t need to meet new prospects to sell something to them.” And while certainly networking is an advantage of joining a professional group, when you find the right one, it should be offering you so much more. Here are a few benefits for you to consider and to think about when researching and looking to see what group would be right for you, because I’m telling you, when you find the right group, those vibrations are going to be really high.
So not just the networking, but finding people who are bringing a fresh perspective. We all know when we are kind of in it; when we have a challenge, a roadblock, and we’ve been looking at it through our own lens for a long period of time, we oftentimes can’t see those creative solutions. We don’t realize the other options that are out there, but when you have a chance to bring that problem to a group who understands where you’re coming from, they can bring that fresh perspective, offer those new ideas.
In addition, you should be able to have access to other resources, whether that’s articles, books, or recommended trainings. And speaking of trainings – when you’re in the right professional group, it should be offering you training. Whether that’s professional and or personal development, something that’s going to help really build you and escalate you on your journey, moving forward.
I’m also going to use the word connection, and this is very different than networking. I’m talking about true, deep connection.
The kind where, just recently, one of my Five Star Society members said, “I’ve only met one of you in this group; the rest of you I’ve never even met in person. Yet, I feel like I’ve known you forever.” And that’s the true connection; being with a group where you can all come together, even during times of challenges, but know that you have a support system. Not just to empathize with you and not really to sympathize, but when you’re in the right group, for all of you to see where’s the opportunity.
How we can come out of this challenge together and move forward.
Where you leave those calls and those events with high vibes, that’s where we want to get you to. I highly recommend that you take a look at joining a professional network; a professional group that’s really going to help you grow. I’ll also share the link to my Five-Star Society. If it’s the right fit for you, I offer for you to check it out! But no matter what, go find a group that’s really going to raise your energy, and bring you to those high vibes!
Are you ready to celebrate? I know I am! In just a couple of days, on March 8th, we get to celebrate International Women’s Day. In fact, it’s just one of the days in the entire month of March where we acknowledge Women’s History Month. So I thought I would offer you a few ideas of how you could really celebrate International Women’s Day this year, in 2021.
I want to begin by celebrating you. Yes, you! You have already accomplished so many amazing things in your lifetime. Let’s celebrate those – whether it’s something that you accomplished today or years ago, something big, something small, but you are worth acknowledging and celebrating. I recommend spending a little bit of time, ideally on International Women’s Day, to get in the spirit of it and spend that time reflecting on what you have accomplished.
Whether you like to journal or make lists, write it down; write it down, put it on paper, and say, “Yes, this is what I have accomplished. I want to celebrate me!”
Next, I offer for you to support a woman-owned business. There are so many woman-owned businesses, and whether that’s local to you or some business that is near and dear to you in some way. But for sure in the month of March, and even better on International Women’s Day, support those businesses. Then, finally, celebrate a woman who has made an impact in your life.
Whether that’s a mother, sister, aunt, co-worker, past boss, or friend. Whoever it is; I know there is at least one woman who has made a mark on your life, that you are grateful for. So let’s celebrate that, recognize them. Whether that’s through a post on social media or, you know, we love actually getting written notes in the mail, or a small gift; just some way to acknowledge them, thank them, and tell them specifically how they’ve made an impact in your life.
Let’s celebrate them. To help you come up with some ideas of how you can support a woman-owned business and give a gift, I am offering to you in this year 2021, a 21% discount on my best-selling book that I co-authored called “Women Who Ignite.” I’ve posted the link in the comments below, and you can go ahead and purchase a signed copy. I will happily send that to you for a discount, so that we can altogether celebrate this year International Women’s Day.
Post in the comments below as well, how are you going to celebrate this year? I can’t wait to find out!
