Will you be brave enough to join me and take the challenge?

Yesterday I was set a challenge by my coach and business mentor. The context of which, was set around ‘sales’. Good timing - as one of the most challenging aspects for me running my business is closing a sale. Sound familiar? Mmm thought so.

Anyway, our challenge was to face our fear and not take no for an answer. I pondered this on the way home and decided to widen the remit, after all if I am going to face up to something that challenges me , then what other fears do I need to break through? What other areas of my life and/or my business could I apply the ‘I’m not taking no for an answer’ mantra to? I realised there were quite a few.

So just for fun I’ve decided to make ‘I’m not taking No for an answer’ my focus for the next 30 days. I’ll be diarising my thoughts, fears, challenges and successes in my blog and I’d like to invite you to join me.

Why? Because when you become aware, truly aware of your patterns of behaviour you can change them. If you are letting those patterns of behaviour hold you back and allowing them to run your life instead of you running it, then you aint gonna get very far. They say it takes 30 days to create a new habit or pattern and I believe that life changes when you change.

So if you want more clients, more me time, more fun, more sales, more productivity, more leisure time, more anything then let’s face the fears head on and do it together. Let’s make it happen.

Day 1

1. Why can’t I upload this photograph to my laptop?

So here’s my first challenge. I’ve done it before so in my book that means I can do it again. There’s a positive! But I feel myself getting increasingly frustrated as time ticks away. “I should be working, this isn’t being very productive” I keep telling myself. So why do I persist? Because I know that by shouting out my plan to the world (uploading the photograph relevant to this post) I’m more likely to take the necessary actions to achieve it. Just by telling people alone will motivate me into taking action. So I persist. “Give up this is too hard” I hear again, but then I hit the right button and hey presto! Persistence paid off. Photo uploaded. I didn’t take no for an answer.

2. My childcare arrangements for Friday have just fallen through.

For those of you who don’t yet know, my hubby is away and the consistent, trustworthy support I’d previously relied upon is no more. I’m supposed to be spending the day thrashing out ideas with my coach and business mentor. This opportunity only comes up once in every two months and I really want to go. But who wants to look after three extra children on a Friday afternoon? Perhaps I won’t go. It would be much easier to stay at home. I can’t do the full day as it is, because I’d need to drop the girls at school first before driving 3 hours, I’d only be able to stay for a maximum two hours before jumping in the car again and driving the 3 hours home again. But it is worth it. I get so much out of these meetings.

There has got to be a way. Don’t take no for an answer, who can I ask to have the girls for a couple of hours? Who? Ah I know. I have a couple of ideas, will make a call and see if they would mind. I’m not taking no for an answer.

Will keep you posted on the outcome of this one!

So are you brave enough to accept the challenge? Or are you going to look back regretfuly when you see your friends and colleagues around you leaping forward, taking big strides as they break through the fears and challenges that once held them back?