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Thriving through
uncertainty
When we’re in the middle of a season of crisis and uncertainty it can be hard to imagine WHEN or HOW it will end. But if there is one thing we know—that has proven true over and over again within our own lives and business—it’s that all seasons (even the most difficult ones) eventually transition into something NEW.
So while we’ve spent the majority of this guide talking about how to recover and thrive in the midst of a crisis, please don’t forget: Eventually this season of crisis and uncertainty will end and you’ll transition into the next season.
As Sheryl Sandberg shared in Option B,
“We plant seeds of resilience in the ways we process negative events. After spending decades studying how people deal with setbacks, psychologist Martin Seligman found that three P’s can stunt recovery: (1) personalization – the belief that we are at fault; (2) pervasiveness – the belief that an event will affect all areas of our life; and (3) permanence – the belief that the aftershocks of the event will last forever. Hundreds of studies have shown that children and adults recover more quickly when they realize that hardships aren’t entirely their fault, don’t affect every aspect of their lives, and won’t follow them everywhere forever.”
This is the GOOD news. This is the hopeful part. This is where we confidently remind you that …
Which is why, as the final step in your Crisis Protocol, we want to switch your “CEO brain” from focusing on your short-term needs to investing in your long-term success.
Now, just to be perfectly clear, we are NOT fortune tellers. We can’t predict when a crisis will end or what your next season will look like—especially since every business owner and business is unique. But having walked through many crises within our own business (and as consultants for other businesses), what we can tell you is this:
Right now, you’ve been given a rare moment in time to ask yourself ONE important question:
THIS is the question we’ve asked ourselves in the midst of every crisis we’ve walked through, from the hospital bed all those years ago, to the current crisis we’re all facing today.
Because every single hardship, every single loss, and every single crisis we’ve experienced gives us the opportunity to question what’s really working for us and what isn’t.
- Do we really like what we’re selling and how we’re selling it?
- Are we really excited about how we’re spending our time and who we’re spending our time with?
- Are we really pursuing what we want to be doing or are we ignoring (and bypassing) our true beliefs and desires?
Elle Luna describes this line of questioning as, The Crossroads of Should and Must.
Whenever you’re in the midst of a crisis—such as the one we’re all facing right now—questioning the status quo and your current trajectory is a part of the process. This doesn’t mean you have to change everything about your life and business on the other side of this crisis, but this current container—this pause in reality—is allowing you to question, readjust, and realign so you can choose and build the life and business you really want on the other side of this.
As Luna so perfectly writes,
“Finding our calling doesn’t mean we need to quit our jobs. And it also doesn’t mean we need to book a one-way ticket to a faraway magical land where there’s no cell service. […] The harder road, trickier, and more sustainable, is to make shifts every day within our existing reality. To integrate, not obliterate. […] Weaving our Must into our existing reality is about co-designing small opportunities with our teams. It’s about setting aside quiet time to be alone with our thoughts, and then actually following through. It’s about doing one small thing, anything, to honor our personal truth — today.”
Which means, despite the crisis we are all walking through right now, there’s a new reality that exists beyond this moment in time.
And as crazy as it sounds right now, you get to affect this new reality and choose which aspects of your life + business you want to create (or return to) on the other side of this.
Whether that sounds exciting or daunting, liberating or terrifying, hopeful or unobtainable, the GOOD news is, all you need to start this process is to answer these two questions:
- What do I really want from my business?
This is where you’ll tap into your intuition and explore your own desires, feelings, frustrations, and needs. Here are some prompts to help you explore this even deeper:
- What do I truly love doing?
- Who do I truly love investing in?
- What do I truly want to make/create/sell?
- How much of my “job” do I truly love?
- What is my business truly providing for me in return (financially, emotionally, etc.)?
- What do my people really want from me?
This is where you’ll tap into your real-time data to see what this data is already trying to tell you. Here are some prompts to help you explore this even deeper:
- Which offers are truly selling?
- Which offers are truly giving people results?
- Which channels are truly performing?
- What content is truly resonating?
- What needs/problems am I truly solving?
When you combine your intuition with your real-time data, you’ll discover the “gaps” in your current trajectory that are keeping you from truly THRIVING.
Giving yourself permission to question, readjust, and realign these gaps (so they can actually give you the life and business you really want) is the turning point that will transition you out of a season of crisis into a season of breakthrough.
As Michael Gerber so beautifully wrote: “So if your business is to change—as it must continuously to thrive—you must change first. If you are unwilling to change, your business will never be capable of giving you what you want.”
Which means YOU are the change-maker.
As the leader and visionary of your company, this comes down to you.
What about your life + business would look, feel, sound, and BE different if it was capable of giving you what you really want?
Picture it. All of it.
Because even if you feel like you can’t depend on something or someone else right now, you can depend on yourself to create this life and this business.
Now, let’s go and make it happen …
- What do I really want from my business?
- What do I truly love doing?
- Who do I truly love investing in?
- What do I truly want to make/create/sell?
- How much of my “job” do I truly love?
- What is my business truly providing for me in return (financially, emotionally, etc.)?
- What do my people really want from me?
- Which offers are truly selling?
- Which offers are truly giving people results?
- Which channels are truly performing?
- What content is truly resonating?
- What needs/problems am I truly solving?
Disclaimer: None of the information provided in this guide constitutes financial, legal, or medical advice. For complete disclaimer, please review our terms and conditions.