I’ll never forget how easy it was, with just a few words, to shift my intense feelings of anxiety into excitement.
It was late September in 2018 and we had our Agency Mastermind event, Mavericks Club, fast approaching. About one week before the event, it really dawned on me that our Mavericks were flying halfway across the world to join us so we can help them grow their business and support them through the issues they were facing.
As the event date neared, I was getting pretty nervous to the point it was getting very difficult to work.
What if they don’t like it?
What if we’re not good enough? They have come all this way!
What if they think I don’t know what I’m talking about?
Is my level of success enough for them to listen to me?
Will our workshops be enough for them? Will they really give them the impact we want them to?
What do they think of me as a presenter? Am I good enough?
All these thoughts and many, many, many more. None of them particularly useful or helpful, but they were there nonetheless.
I decided I needed to feel calm before the event, that I needed to feel better so I could be my best and help our members get the most out of it.
So I decided to book in a call with my coach, Nath, to help (yep, coaches definitely need coaches too).
When I entered the conversation, I was very clear that I wanted to feel better. I wanted to be confident, I needed to be confident, and this would help me be my best and get the best results for our members.
Logically, this approach completely made sense to me. Focus on me to make sure I feel better, then I can be present and give value to our members. That approach makes sense, right?
Nath challenged me on this. And I’m so glad that he did.
After about 15 minutes of me going on about how much I needed to feel better, Nath noticed how much I was talking about myself. I need this, I need that, me, me, me, me, me, me.
Nath posed a question to me:
“How could you make this event absolutely amazing for those attending?”
This wasn’t about me any more. As I started to talk through what would make it amazing for our Mavericks, words were spilling out of me without conscious thought and I noticed something completely shifted.
I started getting shivers down my spine as I was speaking.
All the thoughts about me and my anxiety and what I needed had completely melted away. I was genuinely excited and immediately inspired.
It felt amazing! Well, to be honest, it just felt calm. Energised, but calm.
I had my mojo back.
With one shift in focus. With one shift in my intention, all my attention changed.
I was no longer focused on me and what I needed. Everything I thought about was how to achieve what I really wanted for our members, not for myself.
It was liberating, energising and so much more useful.
How we set our intention defines where we focus our attention.
Exercise
While this concept might make sense to you, this is something to experience to get the most out of it, so here’s a practical exercise you can do:
Think about a project you’re working on or an event coming up and ask yourself:
“What would make this absolutely amazing?”
List everything that would make it amazing. For you. For your client. For your team. For anyone involved. Let go of what you think is possible. Just allow yourself to get deep and connect with how amazing it could be and what that feels like.
Final Thoughts
This approach helps in so many situations, especially those involving other people, such as sales calls, public speaking, networking events and managing a team.
How you show up with your intention dictates how you think and how you act. Set your intention, show up the way you want to and trust yourself enough that you’ll take care of the rest.
I’d love to know, how do you go about setting your intention? Let me know in the comments.
Want to know if you'd be a good fit for the Mavericks Club? Then check out this case study to learn more.
