Why I Shift… (Part 1)
A colleague wrote a recommendation for me recently. It was an awesome recommendation. But, there was one particular line which caught my eye. She wrote, “Robert is not afraid to pivot or shift even when everyone else doesn’t get it.”
My mind said, “huh?”
Taking a moment to think about it, I realized she was right. Except, I didn’t realize other people thought of it as ‘not afraid.’ In my mind, I’m just doing what needs to be done. There is a destination and the current method isn’t working effectively. In some cases, I’m in a place where I’m not able to give my best. There isn’t enough fire and I feel my energy dissipating with enough return. When I sense that, I shift.
I hired a coach several years ago because I wanted to grow my online learning development business. The business was growing but not at the pace I wanted. Growth wasn’t slow because of the market. It was slow because of me. I was doing too much. While I enjoyed what the learning process and the idea of CEO-ing, the project management of it all wore on me. I wasn’t operating in my power zone.
So, I shifted. I started to receive questions about business and how to start one. So, I began creating some courses on how to do this. I coached people. We worked one on one. We worked in groups. We got on the phone.
In life, as you go deeper, you begin to uncover more. As you begin to uncover more, you must sort them into several buckets…like, don’t like, and will decide later.
As I went deeper, I began to sort…
Helping people uncover something new — LIKE
Chasing clients-don’t like
Trying to convince people of their next step-don’t like
Empowering people to do more-LIKE
Finding new applications to run business-LIKE
Being distracted by new applications to run business-will decide later
Being asked to help with stuff you like but don’t have time for-don’t like
Not making enough money from the current business model-don’t like
As the don’t likes piled up, I sensed it was time for a shift.
A shift isn’t always turning from what you are doing to do something completely different. Sometimes, it means taking your current activity and focusing it in a more narrow direction.
I began to strip away the parts of my business I didn’t like as much.
I liked speaking. I liked teaching. I didn’t like being under pressure to develop a course for a client at 3 in the morning. That sucked. So, I began to shift…
I re-discovered my radio love by starting a podcast. I had some amazing guests like Jeff Goins, Chris Brogan, Tom Ziglar. I began to FEEL the fire. I wasn’t sure where it would lead but the buzz was starting. I learned about podcasting. I learned about audiobooks. I wrote my first and second books. I started an online personal development group with a friend. People said it helped them. I didn’t realize how much.
You don’t always realize the impact you have. But, you must be obedient to the idea. You will have many ideas. Write them down. Let them escape from the vortex of creativity. Some will die a quick death as soon as the ink dries on your paper. But there are a few which will slap you in the forehead until you act on them.
Sometimes, you won’t be sure why you’re doing it. But, it will become clear later. And it’s not always about growing you. It may just be about you being a momentary vehicle to help someone else change their life. It may feel empty for you but that moment wasn’t about you. It was about you being obedient to the idea so someone else could live.
After a few years, it became clear I was growing. The group with which I’d become associated was now a learning dot. It was a period at the end of one of my journey sentences. As long as I stayed on that dot, I couldn’t move to the next sentence. So, I shifted. I needed to find out what was next.
Here’s the great thing about intentionally shifting. When you do, you are equipped because of all the great things you learned in the last part of the story. So, I started a new group, a new program and ran it along side some online courses I was developing. I created an online academy. I sold some courses and helped people with their business and personal development. I learned how to set up and do webinars.
My teaching, online course development, radio, authoring and coaching experiences were all coming together.
Then, one day, I was talking to a business colleague on the phone. She asked me a question which caused me to ponder a shift.
We were talking about strengths in business when there was a pause in the conversation. Then she asked…
TAKE ACTION
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About The Author
My name is Robert Kennedy III. I’m a professional speaker and author. I speak and write mainly about leadership and communication. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or on my website, RobertKennedy3.com
