It’s awkward before it’s graceful.
I remember my first acting class.
I was clumsy with my words and self-consciously muttered them on stage.
The first time I went skiing, they had to stop the lift and back it up because I didn’t know how to get off and almost went around the other side (true story). I made it off in a sort of jump-hop kinda way.
The first free coaching call I ever did...I had no idea what the f- I was doing. I nervously felt my way through it.
But...that awkward first acting class turned into booked acting work that took me around the world. That ski lift quickly took me to the first black diamond slope I skied down, and that uneasy first free coaching call turned into my life’s passion and a booked out multi-six-figure business that helps others make even more money.
Ditto for almost every other first. Awkward first kiss - check. Awkward first livestream - you betcha. Awkward first sales call - that would also be a yes.
As you build, grow, and scale in business, there’s a tendency to forget the ugly duckling stage and put it out of your mind only to berate yourself the next time you find yourself as a beginner learning the ropes.
We look to others who are already swans and scoff at ourselves. We tell ourselves we’re not good enough. We ask, “what’s the point?
We admire the effortless grace we see others forgetting it’s deliberate practice that creates such beauty. But, there’s usually nothing effortless about it.
Because, it’s awkward before it’s graceful, and every swan success story starts out as a baby “ugly duckling.”
Give yourself grace to move through the awkward stage. Be willing to be awkward. It’s awkwardness that leads you to ‘effortless’ grace. Everything you want, including a profitable, sustainable business you love, is on the other side of that grace.
Wishing you your version of success.
