It’s been a quick minute since I wrote my last blog for you…
… and it pains me to admit that, because writing these personal letters to you is one of the absolute favorite parts of my life.
Yet there’s a reason (like there always is in our distorted mind’s) as to why I have been so distracted from the very thing I love the most (which is sharing with you in this intimate way)…
Because in the last 30 days, we have:
- Experienced our first six-figure internet launch, generating over $110,500 in 8 days (wow…even I’m a little amazed by that one).
- Come home from our month long adventure in Maui to re-integrate into the chaos that is Los Angeles.
- Hire two new members into our amazing team (and begin to train them) while shifting around everyone else’s role to ensure each person is playing at their highest.
- Been BOMBARDED by speaking requests, partnership proposals, and coaching inquires to play with other high-level leaders (more to come on this later).
- Created ALL of the content for the Sold-Out Seminar Secrets coaching program as well as the $5,000 live event happening June 3-5 in San Diego (this is going to be mind-blowing!!).
- Led our own private Mastermind retreat for the powerful and amazing members of our Enlightened Entrepreneurs Club.
- And a whole lot more…
Geez…I get a little overwhelmed just writing all of this (haha).
So, what does this mean to you?
Well, there’s a SUPER IMPORTANT lesson in this experience that we can both learn from…and if it’s OK with you, I’m going to be totally transparent with you right now to unveil it.
Ok…..ready?
THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH STUFF TO HANDLE IN ONE MONTH!!!!
Like seriously….what was I thinking?
Every good opportunity that came up, we said YES to. Every time we were making a big decision, we went for gold. Every choice we made, we decided to play full out. You could say that we have been kicking a$$ and taking names (oh ya!).
Now I can hear you saying to yourself: “But wait a minute, that all sounds good. What’s the problem Max?”
On one hand, you’re right…this is all really good stuff. Yet I have a philosophy that I picked up from my very first coach (James Malinchak) that goes like this: “Design your business around your life, not your life around your business.”
And let me just tell you my friend that over the last month, my life has been 100% designed around my business (yuck!)….which means that I haven’t had time to do any of the things I love.
My meditation practice has been cut short. My yoga practice has suffered. I haven’t seen my friends. Heck, I barely had enough time to talk with my mom (sorry mom).
And truth be told….I’m exhausted (which is just strange for me to say because I haven’t allowed myself to get into this place….well…..ever).
You see, you can always experience more success. There will always be more opportunities. You can always take your business to the next level.
Yet you can NEVER get back your time. Ever.
So while I am EXTREMELY PROUD about what we accomplished over the last little period, I never want to let my business take over my life again….because it’s just not worth it.
And there’s such a fine line between playing full out and sacrificing yourself. And now that I’m just about on the other end of this bumpy road, here’s what I’ve learned about how to better manage situations like this in the future:
1) Before making decisions about new opportunities, step back and ask yourself the question: “Do I really have space to do this well without compromising the other parts of my life that are important?” Understand that pretty much everything you do (especially if it’s the first time) will take up to 50% longer than you expected.
2) Do you have the support and infrastructure in place to properly handle this NEW opportunity without making everyone crazy? If you don’t have enough help right up front, bring new people on-board before you begin instead of in the middle of the project. It’s a whole lot harder to get help once your train has already left the station.
3) Say NO. Being available to everyone else without taking care of yourself is a BAD move, because you can’t serve anyone if you don’t have the energy, space, or attention to do it with 100% presence and focus.
4) Discern between your fear of doing something new and your clarity that it’s too much. It’s OK to say no if you simply can’t handle the extra work, and it’s OK to say YES if you’re just afraid about stepping up.
So….after all this, I finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our SOLD-OUT event is next weekend, the content is about 90% complete, and our new team members have really hit the ground running (yay team awesome).
And once we’re officially on the other side of this crazy ride, I’m really excited to dive back into creating a plethora of great content and videos for you. I have learned SO MUCH about what it really takes to make BIG money by helping other people in the last few months…so I’m eager to share it with you.
Cool?
Cool…
Now it’s your turn to share.
If you’ve ever experienced a time in your life where you really had to stretch, and came out of it with some great stories, please share them below. I would love to hear your crazy tales…
Much love,
Max
Looking forward to walking across the finish line with you!!
I second that! Kicking a$$, learning lessons and moving forward with juicy stuff. I love team awesome and I’m happy to share the crazies with you. love.
Wow Max. Love this blog. I too have said yes to way too many things lately and I have been totally enthralled with all I have done.
The truth is, I too have put things on the back burner, things that I love. My pattern is to get so immersed in something to the point that I let the self care piece go. Lately my relationships have not been as rich as I know they can be. What is missing, time spent in self reflection, time spent in meditation, time spent with my guides and time spent with family. What I love about this place in my life is that I am so aware of my pattern and catch myself midstream so I can put the corrections in place. I preach awareness, action and practice to live a life with less stress and more peace. Isn’t it amazing how we are continually in a place of learning and growing as we bring our gifts out to the world. My clients are my mirrors.
I am going to your sold out event and am so excited to be part of the bigger circle that you have created. I am aware of my patterns, so need to bring all of my enthusiasm and energy to the event but make sure I take the time to do my self care here, then and always. Looking forward to it.
all the best,
Gerrianne
Max,
Greetings. Bravo on the blog. It has been a conscious goal of mine in 2010 to “learn and practice the art of saying NO”. I still struggle with that. This week was a bad one. Said a bunch of “YES”, overextended my time at one job, add in some other uncommon appointments, and my music practice time got slashed (i.e., I have no new material ready to go and I perform tonight). Your blog could not have come at a better time…because that is what I was pondering over today! So, the awareness is back in the forefront and the action plan is too keep my time slots always clear for practice (like I did last week) and I am making the executive decision to turn the spare bedroom into a permanent music room (i.e., no more set-up and tear-down). Thanks for sharing. Any thoughts Captain Yes?
Cordially,
Tony C.
I went from one extreme to another, saying yes to everything, then I spent a few years saying no to everything and I really value the lessons learned during both times. I think you can only have that clarity when you’ve experienced both extremes. Don’t devalue the amazing lessons learned by diving into your passions 100%. They’re a valuable part of your life, too. I am sure your mom appreciates that
BTW- I’ve learned so much from your videos, blogs and emails. I’m a work-at-home mom and I have 6 kids (age 2-16) and the San Diego event is so completely out of my time and financial budget. But I do appreciate what I’ve learned just from your marketing materials and I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned about balancing a freelance lifestyle with other moms and dads via my own speaking engagements. Max, you rock.
You so rock, Max!! Such a well-written post, and happy to be on this crazy team awesome ride with you!!! Thanks for the reminder to design our business around our lives and not the other way around…Love ya, you’re awesome. =)
Great post Max. Love that picture!!
I have a hard time just saying no to people who ask for my help. I also know that sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed can be from not staying present in the moment which I have experienced. I sort of felt that way with starting the modules of SOSS. Like you have said just take one step at a time and stay present. That will get things done rather than getting lost in everything we have to do. I’ve also found that the pressure I feel is self imposed which causes me to feel drained. Then I have to remind myself that I’m the one causing the pressure. Just let go and allow the universe to support you.
Really looking forward to this journey with you. Thanks Max. Much love, Leah
I Loved this!! I am such a yes, yes, yes person. And when I say yes to everything, I find my self frustrated, burnt out, missing meditation, Yoga, and my connections suffer. I really appreciate how simply you put this. Thank You for showing up, and sharing your ooooo’s and aaaha’s! along the way. I really enjoy all of your kind advise. ~Namaste, Darlin’
Yes Max! I am a Yes person too, I think it’s part of the perfection gene that all of us heart- minded people share…or something. You are not alone! I am proud of you because atleast you realized it in one month versus living decades of your life in his down spiraling way. And atleast you have the “tools” to turn to in order to regain your balance. I have spent much time saying yes to the world around me, to a job that did not nourish my soul BUT wasn’t I supposed to have a job?? I actually had 3, I watched my mom create this same pattern keeping busy as a human DOing rather a human BEing. For as long as I can remember I over extended myself to assist others because I have the capacity to DO a lot and help a lot , but like you it left me feeling, well pretty yucky.Finally my beautiful body would give me the message
everytime I stepped into work by causing tension in my neck and spasms in my
back. It was now or never, my body was telling me. So following my heart thanks to my yoga& meditation training I Quit the job job to focus more on myself, my husband, my friends & family, my animals, BEing my self in my life rather than living a life I thought I was “supposed” to live. and guess what… Not long after I found out I was pregnant!! Yay! And I have really had to slow down to listen, not only for myself but for my growing baby. It still Is not always clear about what I shall say YES or NO to because I still experiece conflict sometimes, but I use a certain question in order to help me I received on the first meeting from MY life coach,
“does this add value to my life?” because this is something that I do have clarity on
. As always thank you for shAring Max, and much love and light for your awesome weekend in SanDiego, how I would like to be there, I know one day I will attend an event as it’s a desire of mine, for now I am resting,eating, meditating, yoga-ing, being a vessel for the new life developing within me. Ciao!
Max,
Thank you. Thank you for being so honest and clear about both the challenge and the joy of what you are doing with your SOSS and other great stuff! I recently put on my first long workshop. It was fast, it was furious, I thought I was gonna collapse and then after I was done, it was WOW.
I had waited until my daughter was off to college and more than a few times I thought maybe, just maybe I was coping out, using her as a buffer. In reading your blog I was re-invigorated with my choice to wait. For me, raising and living and having fun with her was the IT. She is bright, independent and very helpful as she sees me working in a different way towards a different kind of aspiration.
She shares her college studies and time challenges, I share my work day and time challenges. We are both on this fantastic learning curve together. Your blog was also a reminder of a question I ask myself often, in 5, 10, 30 years what am I going to remember with a soft heart and full soul? Is it the extra time I put into developing the (eh hem…) perfect ad or the embrace my lover gives me at the door on his arrival as I stop (that ad work) and step out of my business and back into my life.
Loving the finish line. It does feel good.
Sharon
As a matter of fact, I’m going through a pretty insane spell too. I’ve noticed a pattern over the years: I’m a sprinter. Most of the time I work and live at an easy pace, choosing my clients and my hours, and setting aside a LOT of time for walks and books and the other things that nourish me.
And then everything happens at once. Opportunities hit me from every direction, and I know it’s time to act. And sometimes I take on too much, but it’s all good.
Right now I’m moving for the first time in ten years (I found my dream home and knew I had to make an offer immediately). I signed up for a new mastermind last week because I’ve felt an inner pressure to make some changes in my business model. I was already radically redesigning my websites and products, I have the usual ton of speaking gigs and interviews coming up, article deadlines, and in the middle of all that I’m taking off for San Diego this week to study with some crazy cat named Max Simon.
Some things may need to slow down (website decisions, newsletters mailings, taking on new clients, hanging art in my new place), or be adjusted later on. The biggest challenge is sleep, and educating my staff what to expect from me and what I need from them.
See ya Thursday, Max!
Yes I know what it is like to say YES YES YES to everything and everyone I love. It is hard for me to say NO. However, now that I have my Life’s Purpose Defined making these decisions will be so much easier. My Life’s Purpose Defined= “My purpose is for ALL those who desire to co create Fun, Entertainment, Inspiration, Health and Wealthin the world. I commit to do my very best in Every moment of my life. I do this with Joy Grace and Harmony in my Heart and AS my Divine Intention. Everything I do, be or have FLOWS from this purpose and intention. I KNOW as I SHINE my light I lead by example for others to shine theirs. I Flow, FLower and FLY. Perfect Peace Reigns Supreme. It is already done. Gratefully, I let it be. And So it is. I Am the change I wish to see in the World. Amen”
I go to Maui for clarity too. Have a Sassy Wahine cocktail at the Aloha mixed grill next to the Luau place. It is marvelous and will make you ten times smarter about pleasure.
Thanks for your insights Max.
Travel safely and have a great time.
Danice
Well Max, it won’t be long before your back, dumping material stuff is mind stuff. If where I live disturbs me, then i know who has the power.
Was the paradigm shift just a tall tale, so we could go from existing analytical process to an updated analytical process, or was there really a shift into a new energy realm, and if that is the case, then did i even make the slightest change within myself in-order to be compatible with all that is, or did i shift and stay inside my head.
Good luck!
I really had to ’stretch’ when I went from ‘yoga girl’ to leukemia woman. I found out I had leukemia and was told I had a 5% chance of survival. I found out I was strong! I wasn’t going to take “sh-t”. I researched everything, decided on a mini transplant instead of a total stem cell transplant, manifested an amazingly brilliant female doctor from India who meditated with me, asked me to sing to her, and listened to my poetry during my first nine months of chemo. I reached deep into my soul and pulled out so much joy and humor, that I felt like a stand up comedian in a body that was being borrowed for some kind of humanoid experiment so that my spirit could really know how strong I am! I felt more love for myself and others during that stretch. There was no place to hide! It was two and a half years before I recognized myself (in the body), but every day I recognized my self (spirit) more and more. After two hip surgeries from meds, kidney failure, from meds, and heart attacks, (from meds), I landed on this planet once again, deciding to take less and less Western medicine, teaching the doctors what and how much I needed to take for graph vs host disease, etc. I did yoga and Qui Gong, wrote music, sang, crocheted hats, did pottery, and wrote poetry to heal. I continue to learn to balance passion for creativity and giving with quiet time and patience. I am learning to recieve all the love that is coming my way each moment, taking it in, and giving it back in a flow. It really doesn’t matter where we are in the world as long as we are self centered. We visualize what we want, not what we need. Rona
That was wonderful information. You have done a terrific job communicating your message. Keep up the great job.
It is unbelievable that France lost. Could that have been quicker. I guess I just expected that they had a good shot to do well in this years world cup. I guess I will have to wait. Maybe its time to jump on the Argentina bandwagon. Looks like Demichelis has already scored. Go Argentina. To turn around my day that was ruined by France, I have been watching some funny jokes.. This one made me laugh really hard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3j7uSbccSc