Coach Overwhelm Part 2 - How to Cure It

The faster you run, the farther you fall behind. The harder you work, the more you have to do

I know. I was in Coach Overwhelm until just a short time ago. The only way I stopped my incessant spinning was to put my foot down hard and come back to earth with a giant big bump.

I promised to share this week what putting my foot down looked like for me. If the truth be told (and that’s what this post is all about – the truth), I’m still putting my foot down. It turns out this foot putting is more a process than an event. I suspect it might be related to that peeling of the layers of the onion thing – hopefully with fewer tears.

Quiet!
The first thing I had to do was yell “Quiet!” at the top of my lungs to all the voices. The voices were well meaning, but there were too many of them. They were all telling me what to do to create a successful coaching business. But the problem was they weren’t all telling me the same thing.

Rather than implement one or two of their suggestions, I was trying to implement all of them, all at once. That doesn’t work. At least not until I figure out how to clone myself 10 times over, and I’m not sure the world is ready for that. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

So here’s what I did instead.

No More Miracles
I stopped taking any more teleclasses, workshops, programs – no matter how many miracles they promised to deliver. (P.S. I’ve yet to experience a miracle, but you’ll be the first to know when I do.)

Sometime Never Came
I unsubscribed from most of the mailing lists and blogs to which I belonged. I was afraid I’d miss some incredibly important piece of information, but I did it anyway.

If the truth be told (again with the truth?), I was deleting unread most of what arrived from the blogs and the lists anyway. What I didn’t delete ended up in a computer file folder to read sometime. I don’t have to tell you that sometime never came, do I?

Losing 5 Pounds
Yesterday I finally screwed up the courage to delete all those sometime folders without looking inside them. I’m particularly proud of that without. Yes, it was difficult and even scary.

But guess what? Today I don’t miss those files, not even one little bit. I swear I’ve lost at least five pounds since yesterday!

Just Say No
I also swore off e-books for the duration. No more e-books no matter how great they sound, what they promise, or how cheap or even free they are. I ran out of paper, ink, and filing space months ago to feed my addiction to printing out e-books. Now I need to just say no to the download.

It pained me like you wouldn’t believe to take this step. After all, I encourage my clients to write e-books because it’s positively magical what an e-book can do for a coaching business.

I’m even doing a virtual e-book writing retreat in January. Everyone is going to write their e-book in one day. (Yes, it is possible to write an e-book, and a darned good one at that, in a day.)

But e-book retreat or no e-book retreat, a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do. And I did. No more e-books, except the ones I write myself. And of course the ones my clients write. But that’s it!

Black Metal Security Blankets
After taking the e-book pledge, it was time to go through my filing cabinets – my black metal security blankets. (Not terribly comfy to wrap up in.) I threw out everything in them that wasn’t absolutely essential to keep.

No, I didn’t cheat and file it all away in a cardboard storage box in case I needed it sometime. Although, if the truth be told (again?!), the unassembled boxes are still perched precariously on the stool next to my desk. I promise to put them back in the closet by the close of business today. Honest.

Now that I had dealt with what was inside my security blankets, I needed to turn my attention to what was on top of them. Namely piles and piles and piles of paper. (I apologize, trees.) All sorts of terrific info I had stumbled upon in my search for the answer to my coaching business woes. (P.S. As soon as I find the answer, you’ll be the first to know.)

Between My Ears
Now it was time to pause, notice, and celebrate what I had accomplished. I had created space – glorious, full of potential, quiet, spacious space. Space in my physical office. Space in my computer office. And, most important of all, space in the space between my ears.

Then I started to think – in a good way. Not in a frantic, fearful, rat caught in a maze and can’t find its way out kind of way.

And I remembered some answers I had forgotten I knew. Notice I said some answers – not the answer. If the truth be told (not again!!), these are answers I’ve learned from people far wiser than I. On my best days, I actually apply them.

1. I started my coaching business so I could create something that reflected me – my likes, my lifestyle, my values, my priorities, my dreams, my passions. To mine own self be true.

2. No one has some cookie cutter system that is the one and only answer for me and my coaching business. They have suggestions. I get to take what I need and leave the rest.

3. My coaching business won’t be built in a day, despite all the promises out there to the contrary. First I need to lay a solid foundation for my business, one brick at a time. Then I need to build steps to the next level, one brick at a time. Then the next level, and the next, and the next, all one brick at a time. It’s not about flash or speed. It’s about doing the next right thing, one brick at a time.

4. There is only one me in the world. The world wants and needs me to be me in all my glory. I need to stop procrastinating because I’m afraid I’m not enough. I am enough. It’s time to let my light shine.

I apologize. This is a really, really long post. I know many of you are wishing I would just cut to the chase and give you the list. So here it is.

Dr. Carol’s Cure for Coach Overwhelm
1. Take two aspirin and make space – in your physical office, in your computer office and, most importantly, in your head. Be fearless! Then celebrate your courage.

2. Build a coaching business that is your business, not someone else’s business.

3. You know enough. You are enough. Take only the information you really, really need and leave the rest.

4. Be patient and keep the faith. Build your business one brick at a time.

5. There is only one you. You are unique. Your clients need you. The world needs you. If you hide in the dark, we can’t find you. Step up. Step out. Let your light shine.

6. Take another two aspirin and don’t call me in the morning

(Update: Just after I finished writing this post about how I put my foot down, I walked down my icy front steps, and my feet went right out from under me. I’d LOL, but my foot – the one I put down when I’m spinning – hurts too much!)