Life’s been pretty good to me lately. I’ve got the whole WFH thing down pat, and when I’m not busy with my twin daughters, I like to hit up my favorite Buddhist monastery and work on my capoeira moves. Oh, and let’s not forget my weekly meetups with the boys – because who doesn’t love some good, quality male bonding time?
But it wasn’t always like this. Back in my younger days, I struggled with something called selective mutism – a severe form of social anxiety that made me too scared to open my mouth around other people. You know, like a normal human being.
But then, in my early 20s, things started to shift. After a rough breakup with the mother of my daughters, I turned to meditation and personal growth workshops to help me heal. And let me tell you, they did the trick. I gained some much-needed wisdom about the insecurities that caused my selective mutism and relationship problems, and I was so excited by the changes I was seeing in myself that I started teaching Nonviolent Communication courses and offering one-on-one coaching.
And things were going pretty well! I had a few successful courses and coaching clients under my belt, and I decided to go all-in and make this my full-time gig. So I joined a fancy program and started working with coaches to help me grow my business.
Now, this is where I’m supposed to tell you that I started making six figures and moved to the beach, but the truth is that I spent the next few years jumping from one coaching niche to the next. I’d make just enough money in a niche to prove to myself that I could do it, and then I’d start all over again in a new niche. Each time, I’d show up with a mindset of “I have to pretend to be someone special for anyone to take me seriously.” But there was always this little voice in the back of my head saying “You’re being fake and inauthentic. The real you must suck if you have to pretend to be someone you’re not.” Spoiler alert: neither of those voices were helpful.
But then I had a breakthrough. I decided to stop jumping from niche to niche and focus solely on business coaching. I told myself, “I’m in this for the long haul. I’m going to always be honest about my experience level and improve as I go. I’m not going to make unrealistic claims or try to be someone I’m not.” And you know what? It worked.
These days, new clients are signing up to work with me every month and I’m able to save for retirement and even donate to organizations I believe in. And the best part? My business continues to grow, which tells me that more and more coaches and holistic practitioners are committed to marketing with honesty and authenticity. And really, what could be more important than that?