1000 Days to Fully Booked

It took me over 1000 days to get fully booked with 20 clients in my business.

Yup. A thousand.

I started my coaching business in February 2018, and I don't have a glamourous "I made 6 figures in my first 10 minutes" story.

My story is one of hustle, and grind, and screwing up, and figuring it out.

And never, ever, giving up.

Ever.

And you know what kept me going the whole time?

Knowing that when I get to tell the story of my success one day, it will be one actually people will want to hear.

One with twists, turns, mistakes, screw-ups, sleepless nights, a ton of hustling, discipline and making-do.

No one wants to hear the story of the person who sailed through life and got everything they wanted without any work at all.

Listen. I'm not someone who will tell you marketing your business is "super easy if you use this one secret trick".

Nope.

I'm here to tell you takes a RIDICULOUS amount of effort to build a business.

But it's always worth it.

Plus now I know that if it was all taken away from me today, I would be fully booked again in 60 days. Zero doubt about it.

It's BECAUSE it took me 1000 days to nail it, that I've been helping my clients do it 10x faster.

• Georgia launched a drama school in under 2 weeks – that now pays her a full-time income.

• Katrin got fully booked in her coaching business in 6 weeks.

• Cindy signed a new client TODAY.

• Nancy created enough freelancing clients to quit her corporate job.

Here's the ultimate truth:

You'll get fully booked in your business when you're willing to show up for it every day for the rest of your life until you die.

You probably won't have to.

But you've got to be willing to.

Because there's a wild marketing secret no one is talking about, because it doesn't "sell" – but I'm telling you, it changed the game for me:

Relentless. freaking. effort.

Creative Insomnia

The kind of rush of excitement of a brilliant idea that means you just can't sleep, no matter how hard you try?

Not just for like, 20 minutes, but for the whole night.

Like, proper "omg I'm a genius, this is going to change EVERYTHING" moments at 11:30pm that leave you creating plans to contact Microsoft Headquarters or branch out into the film industry or start a social movement all night?

Sometimes, I get an idea for a goal or dream that is so good, I plot and plan and scheme until 5am.

I know I'm going to be ridiculously tired in the morning.

But my brain will not switch off. Creativity takes me over.

And then usually, I wake up the next morning and think "That idea wasn't even THAT good. Bill Gates probably doesn't even like flashmobs."

Just me?

The Beauty of Building

Builders don’t become builders to finish projects. They become builders because they love to build.

Climbers don’t become climbers to get to the top. They become climbers because they love to climb.

Do the thing because you love to do it. Not because it’s going to get you somewhere.

Especially in business.

That's why it's called a Start-Up and not an End-Up.

It never was and it never will be about "being there."

The kind of people who create Start-Ups usually create more than one.

Because they love to start. They love to build. They love to create.

Being Fully Booked

For the first time since starting my business 2.5 years ago, I feel like I've had an entire week of working IN my business.

• I coached 19 clients.

• I sent notes to my clients.

• I kept them accountable.

• I posted on my blog.

• I did marketing things.

• I sent invoices.

• I stopped working by 6pm.

• I spent my evenings with my family.

I was actually living the life of a fully booked business owner, instead of the life of trying to become a fully booked business owner (where I’m running around like a crazy person to get things done).

And I've been fully booked for a wee while now – but this week finally felt like the first time where I just simply ran my business instead of trying to run one.

It feels so good.

But I also know that I am a goal-getter. You can't shake it out of me.

I will be going for the next level, like... *checks watch* …right now.

There is always another level. The fun is creating it, not achieving it.

But it does feel amazing to have achieved something I spent almost 1000 days creating.

Commercial Space Flight Is Now Available

Yesterday I posted about how to be an astronaut, and today, the first email that arrived in my inbox was about how SpaceX's Resilience aircraft has reached the International Space Station. It marks the first ever successful commercially certified space transport mission.

I often think about how the things that used to seem impossible are now just part of normal daily life and we don’t even stop to think how amazing they are.

• Computers

• Phones

• Electricity

• Airplanes

• Many medicines

• Almost everything else at one point

If going to the moon was impossible 100 years ago, and now we are looking at the first commercial space flights – what is to say that we can’t go on commercial space flights in our life? Who says we can’t all be astronauts?

It might happen.

Nothing is impossible.

How To Be An Astronaut (Position Available)

Here's the thing: Most goals are googleable.

We pretend we don't know how to achieve our goals.

But we do.

99% of the time, we know exactly what our next step is.

Even going to the moon isn't rocket science.

The path is clear:

• Get a Bachelor's degree in STEM

• Get a job at NASA

• Apply to be an astronaut

A quick google search even found me the actual job application to become an astronaut from an opening earlier this year (have a read, it's actually epic – it says "Travel Required: Extensive" )

If I just found that in a 10-second online search, can we really say we "don't know how"?

You DO know what to do to achieve your impossible goal.

You know you should be reaching out to the person, or writing the email, or doing the workout.

It's just the mind drama that holds us back.

Our thoughts stop us from taking action.

• It's so hard

• I'm not ready

• What will people think?

• Am I good enough?

• I'm too tired

• I'll do it after this

• I can't be bothered

These seemingly innocent thoughts are the reason we don't achieve our wildest dreams.

Listen. If you want to be an astronaut, be an astronaut.

The world isn't stopping you.

It's just your own thoughts.

Choose new ones.

Decide you can be an actual astronaut.

Decide you're ready now.

Decide you're not too young or too old.

Decide it doesn't matter what people will think.

Decide you're good enough.

Decide to do it now.

P.S. If anyone actually applies for that astronaut job, do let me know

How I'm Reseting Myself

I’ve been going at a million miles per hour, so I’ve declared today as a reset day.

Time to reset my mind, body, and soul.

Mind: Doing a meditation

Body: Going for a long walk in the sun

Soul: Journaling my thoughts, feelings, and desires for the coming months

What do you do to reset? Let me know in the comments by clicking the title of this post.

Amplify, Simplify, Multiply

Amplify your goals.

Simplify the plan to getting there.

Multiply the effort you put in.

Every single one of my ideas in goal setting fits into those three categories.

I live by it.

In 2017 I went on holiday to Bora Bora for a week – while I was a student.

Amplify the Goal ✅

My travel agent told me it would cost more than a trip to Europe (I'm on the other side of the world) and people only go there on their honeymoon, and there was no way I could afford it. Challenge accepted.

Simplify the Plan ✅

I created a list of 10 different ways to get there on a student budget.

Winning lotto was on the list 😂

And getting a job in Bora Bora was on the list.

And winning flights.

In the end, the simplest plan was to scour the internet for ridiculous deals.

I spent 3 weeks choosing the cheapest flights.

Multiply the Effort ✅

We had two pieces of carry-on luggage. One, we filled with clothes. The other, we filled with two-minute noodles. I'm 100% serious. We ate them for dinner every day to save money. (Hey – we were students, so we were used to it – and they taste a lot better when you’re lying on a beach in the south pacific).

We stalked google maps for local food options and found a corner shop that sold 30c baguettes.

We went in off-peak season.

We stayed in a normal hotel – on land, rather than over water. They don't advertise those, but if you're on a mission, you can find them. It was just as luxurious. And we saved $10,000.

So make your goal bigger.

Make it simpler.

Put in more effort.

So ridiculously worth it.

The Only Thing You Have To Do Is Breathe

The only thing you HAVE to do is breathe.

You don't have to go to work.

You don't have to change your clothes everyday.

You don't even have to cook for your kids.

The only thing you have to do is breathe.

Everything else is a choice.

So what do you want to do?

Active Contentment

I once spent 3 days straight soul-searching for my own definition of happiness.

Happiness doesn't mean the same thing for everyone. But what I ended up with is perfect for me:

Happiness is being content with the stage of growth I'm in.

And today I stumbled across a phrase that feels like the next piece in the existential jigsaw:

Active Contentment.

Passive contentment is like saying "Let it be".

Active Contentment is like saying "Let it grow."

Actively pushing forward. Today is good. Tomorrow can be better.