I worked really hard to set up my Healing Connection program. I spent all kinds of time figuring out how the whole program was going to work, including subscription payments, the “on-boarding” process, the technology and communications, and the tools and course content for the first few months. I updated my website. I created marketing materials. I posted the details on Facebook.
But then the official “launch day” came around, and my entire being put the brakes on. I should have broadcasted far and wide to let people know that the program was live. I should have sent out my newsletter sharing the exciting news. I should have been welcoming people to the program with open arms. Instead, I was under a blanket on my couch, watching a movie.
Something was amiss.
Of course there were signs along the way indicating that running a membership-based program wasn’t quite the right fit for my personality. I felt all kinds of resistance, like having a distinct sense that writing the course content felt like pulling teeth. I figured it was just run of the mill fear about putting a new offer into the world, not that the offer itself was off.
Resistance is a messenger that tells us when something needs adjusting.
Now I can see that the resistance had a deeper message: something about my offer wasn’t working (for me, let alone for the intended audience). And this resistance proved pretty insightful, as the offer was met with little interest.
I could have blamed “them”–the people out there–for not showing up. But I knew better. I knew my own energy and enthusiasm for the program had run dry, and if I wasn’t excited about it, why should anyone else be?
I could have interpreted the lack of interest as a statement about me and my competence (or lack thereof) as a business person. I chose not to go there.
I also could have called it an epic failure and decided to go back to the corporate world in order to make the money I want to earn this year (ok, this interpretation was very tempting, but I still didn’t give in to it).
When something doesn’t work the way we want, it’s not a failure, it’s just information.
And the cool thing is that information wants to be discovered.
So I started by breaking down the program into components and evaluating each piece to see where the resistance was. When I did this, I found a few sticky spots. I learned that I didn’t want to commit to an ongoing program that had no end date–it just felt like too much. And I learned that I had been structuring the whole program around providing knowledge and skills on a subject that I didn’t particularly want to talk about, at least for its own sake: business.
After some soul searching, I finally got to the bottom of it.
For an offer to land well, it must be based on an inspiring vision of the future.
What I love talking about isn’t business, per se, but about how to do what you love, share your gifts with the world and get paid for it. I had been focusing on what I thought I should provide (and how well I could provide it) instead of what I really wanted to provide and how it could serve my potential clients. When I got back in touch with my vision to help healers express their authentic gifts with the world, an outline for a whole new program literally flowed through me onto the page, without an ounce of resistance.
When you meet resistance and end up offering something that doesn’t work, remember that it’s just information. Use it as a reminder to check in with your priorities and get back in touch with what matters most to you and the people you are meant to serve.
