As a coach, one in every three* bits of marketing advice we get (and give) is “Educate your audience.”
(*numbers may be made up)
Today we're going to have a little history lesson.
What you’re about to learn may help you or your business but it may also come in use one day in a pub quiz. Or to dazzle your friends and prove you can give Boris Johnson a run for his money as an expert on ancient Greeks.
Here you go - did you know, ancient Greeks had two words for time?
Chronos – the word used for sequential, linear time. A word we see in common usage today. Chronological for instance, referencing something linear. Or chronometer, a type of a mechanical timepiece.
The second word was kairos and referred to the ripeness of time, of being in the perfect time to act, to take a leap of faith or the perfect storm.
We don’t really see any derivative of kairos in modern language, do we? I find that really interesting. Is it because we have been focusing more on practical than esoteric for generations now?
"Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting." Rabbit
I’m shocked that next week is the start of November already. I know, I know, we all say that don’t we?
But time has passed in a funny way the since March 2020 hasn’t it? And it does feel like yesterday that we were excited and counting down the days to getting our freedom back!
November knocking on my door has really made me think hard about how I can maximise the last two months of this year. Oh, you too?
I've spent the last week planning some new products, masterclasses and my first challenge.
The other way time has been playing on my mind is this- I’ve also been feeling like my business isn’t going fast enough. Again, something a lot of us feel don’t we?
I started my business this year and five months later I turned 55. I’ve been thinking a lot of what age I want to work to. I’ve been thinking about being in the corporate world for 30+ years and feeling like I’m starting all over again.
My thoughts have run a lot like this; how much money do I need before I retire? How much travel do I want to get in before I get too old to travel? How many people can I help before I retire? As my kids start talking about moving out in the next few years, how long do I wait until I downsize?
In other words, my head is pretty much full of thoughts about money and time.
I want it all and I want it now!!
I feel like time is running out and there’s a huge amount of self-generated pressure to get my business where I want it NOW!!!
I’m attending a VIP day next month with a coach I’m thinking about working with next year (yes coaches work with coaches – we know the value of coaching!) and part of the package is a session with a member of her team who just happens to be an intuition coach.
We spoke yesterday and I talked to her about this feeling of time flying by, of my progress not being fast enough. She said something to me that I found really beautiful and want to share with you today.
“What if you trusted that you’re not here for a set number of days but for a legacy?”
Mind. Blown.
I work with all of my clients on legacy, I think that it’s essential to be crystal clear on what you want from your life and how your business fits into that. I see legacy as a final destination but also a tool, something that we’re working towards and that influences decisions we make in every aspect of our life.
But maybe legacy isn’t something we need to be striving for. Maybe it’s something that we have to let flow through us.
So here’s what I think.
I think it’s time to stop living so much in the chronos part of time. Chronos to me is male energy – it’s driven, it’s always looking to move forward, it’s action, a need for perfection.
I’m going to start stepping into the kairos, the feminine side of energy. The side that is trusting, that affirms self-belief in a gentle way. It’s time to connect to creativity, to dig into the depths of my truth, to repair my very shattered relationship with my intuition.
To come at my life and my business with love and the belief that I am living through the ripening period of my business – I’m nurturing it and it’s growing consistently at the rate it needs to grow.
I'm always working on letting go of control and I guess this is just one more way I have to work on it. It's time to recognise my business has grown enough now it has a life of it's own. I'm taking a leap of faith now that momentum is gathering and it's my role to guide my business, not try and control it.
For all my fellow new business owners out there, how are you feeling about the speed your business is growing? Hit the button below and tell me!
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