If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you have a vision for your business.
You’ve made big bold goals.
But you’re a little stumped because you don’t quite know how you’ll make it all happen.
You might have heard the advice to focus on your “what” and that you shouldn’t get caught up in the “how” because that will just figure itself out.
Well, I think there is some truth to that advice, but I also believe that you can’t just meditate your way to achieving your goals.
And yes, sometimes it is possible to move your feet too much without the other side of the equation. That can be exhausting, too!
Being Too Focused On The “How”
I’ve noticed a pattern in driven creative women entrepreneurs who have a big mission in the world…
It’s the driving “gotta make shit happen” side, and it’s a very powerful force to be able to tap into. Some might call it more masculine, focused, and maybe more detail oriented too. It’s a necessary ingredient, but without the flip side it won’t get you far…
It’s like paddling in a canoe with just one oar on one side, you’ll end up going in circles instead of moving forward.
The other side is your more feminine “be open” and “surrender” to what’s coming your way side. It’s equally powerful. It’s equally necessary to a successful business, to moving forward, and to a happy life.
So how do you tap into both?
For me that’s dancing for the fun of it with great tunes in the middle of the day, dreaming and journaling, and laughing a lot. It’s also taking breaks… doing a launch or undertaking any big creative project is a ton of work, and your best inspiration usually hits you when you’re away from the computer.
Some of my BEST converting emails and ideas came from when I was about to take a nap, when I was walking the dog, taking a shower, or just shaking things up away from my computer. I have to admit that sex really helps get you in your feminine, too.
How I Break Down Goals and Surrender
I personally like to have a strong understanding of the numbers in my business, so I generally do set goals using a measurable number.
We use a dashboard to check our most important daily, weekly, and monthly stats to make sure we’re on track to reach our milestones.
You could say that this approach is very much the “business school” and more masculine view of my business.
I take a big milestone that we’re aiming for, and reverse-engineer that number to figure out what steps we need to take to make it happen.
To use a simple example, let’s say that I want to sell 10 new licenses for PopupAlly Pro. I can figure out that our conversion rate for the sales page is say 1%, so I need to have 1000 people visit the sales page to expect to make 10 sales.
Now obviously, not all visitors are going to be equally qualified to purchase, so I need to make sure it’s the “right” people visiting the page and there are ways to increase that conversion rate, too. But at least this gives me a realistic way to look at my numbers, and it also gives me something concrete to work toward reaching a milestone.
Then, I can start to think about specific ways that I can get people to visit the sales page. Whether it’s by sending emails, posting on social media, running an ad, asking affiliates to help promote, writing a guest post and linking to it… the possibilities are much more clear once I know my next step or “mini goal”.
What can happen when you have a concrete numbers goal though, is that you lose sight of the people aspect of your business.
You can start to see people as just numbers on a spreadsheet or numbers in an analytics program.
That’s no good, and it can really sabotage your ability to connect and even sell, from a place of love and service.
How To Make Your Goals Happen By Letting Go Of Your Attachment
This is where the other side of moving forward comes in.
Sometimes when you’re really focused on making a goal happen in the specific ways that you know how… it doesn’t happen exactly how you’ve planned.
I’ve had instances where random new connections, invitations, or plain old luck have shifted my plans entirely.
Let’s go back to our example of selling 10 PopupAlly Pro licenses for a second. Let’s say that I was super busy focusing on setting up a new ad to sell the program…
And that I was in “hard core focus” mode to the point where I might even be brushing off emails or any new idea that didn’t match with my plan. In this case, I might miss out on an email from a new affiliate who might want to interview me on their very popular podcast.
Or, I might accidentally ignore a request for a new feature that would make the software even better, and lead to many more sales organically.
These are the times where you need to lean back into your feminine receptive side more.
You might just end up reaching your goals without following the plans that you set out to implement, and being flexible enough to go with the flow here is a sign of an aligned entrepreneur.
Without making plans, you’re really just wishing and hoping that you’ll reach your goals. But if you’re too rigid with your plans, you might miss out on some divine interventions that could have gotten you there faster or in a more effortless way.
How Do You Move Forward?
So this is my experience rowing this online business “boat”, and I’d love to hear from you and your own experiences, now.
Do you seem to row with your “super focused” or “airy fairy” side more dominantly? How can we help you recalibrate so you can move forward confidently… leave a comment below and let us know!