In this empowering episode of "Women in the Coaching Arena," Jo delves into the critical choice between different types of challenges in business and life, offering insightful reflections and practical advice for coaches navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship. Tune in to explore why embracing your chosen 'hard' can lead to immense personal growth and fulfillment.

[00:00:00] Introduction

• Jo Lott, a business mentor and ICF accredited coach, welcomes listeners.
• Discussion on the challenges faced by coaches, including fear, self-doubt, comparison, and anxiety.

[00:01:00] Choose Your Hard

• Jo shares a pivotal quote: "Choose your hard" and reflects on its meaning.
• Personal anecdotes about her business challenges and the anxiety of change and growth.

[00:02:00] The Reality of Entrepreneurship

• Jo discusses the constant challenges in running a business.
• Emphasises that entrepreneurship is hard but fulfilling.

[00:03:00] The Never-ending To-Do List

• Jo talks about the difficulty in switching off from business responsibilities.
• The constant planning and thinking about business, even during downtime.

[00:04:00] Success Myths on Social Media

• Debunking the myth that success is easy.
• Sharing insights from masterminds and personal experiences about the everyday challenges of entrepreneurship.

[00:05:00] Comparing Corporate Work and Entrepreneurship

• Reflections on the differences in workload and challenges between corporate roles and entrepreneurship.
• Discussing the politics and limitations in a corporate environment.

[00:06:00] Finding Fulfillment in Hard Work

• The unfulfilling nature of corporate work versus the rewarding aspect of entrepreneurship.
• Jo talks about the alignment with personal values and the freedom entrepreneurship offers.

[00:07:00] The Joys and Challenges of Building a Business

• The responsibilities and uncertainties of growing a business.
• The rewarding nature of entrepreneurship and personal growth.

[00:08:00] The Continuous Growth Journey

• Emphasizing the importance of continual personal and business growth.
• Facing and overcoming challenges as a crucial part of entrepreneurship.

[00:09:00] Making the Choice

• Encouraging listeners to reflect on their choices and the types of challenges they want to tackle.
• Discussing the importance of small actions leading to significant successes.

[00:10:00] Client Stories and Inspiration

• Sharing a story of a client, Yvonne, and her transition to full-time entrepreneurship.
• The growth and learning experienced through entrepreneurship.

[00:11:00] Embracing the Challenges

• Acknowledging that success is never easy and that challenges are common.
• Discussing the importance of accepting and facing challenges.

[00:12:00] Continuous Self-Improvement

• Insights from Gabby Bernstein's and Denise Duffield Thomas's experiences on continuous personal development.
• The ongoing work on mindset and self-improvement.

[00:13:00] Conclusion and Resources

• Jo invites listeners to share their choices and reflections.

Useful Links

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

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Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

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build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

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comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

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You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

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emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

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Dare greatly.

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You belong in this arena.

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Hello welcome to episode 44 of

women in the Coaching Arena.

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I am so glad you are here.

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I am recording this episode

on the 3rd of January and the

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January blues have truly set in.

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And it made me think

about choosing my hard.

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I once heard this quote.

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Choose your hard.

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Marriage is hard.

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Divorce is hard.

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Choose your hard.

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Obesity is hard.

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Being fit is hard.

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Choose your hard.

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Being in debt is hard.

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Being financially disciplined is hard.

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Choose your hard.

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Communicating is hard.

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Not communicating is hard.

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Choose your hard.

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Life will never be easy.

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It will always be hard,

but we can choose our hard.

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Pick wisely.

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And I really, really like that

because I think I'm in the stage

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of thinking the grass is greener.

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So I was talking to my husband last

night about the change that's going

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to happen in my business this year.

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And the slight anxiety about my

expenses rising and about the

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people I'm hiring to help me and

the financial implications of that.

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And he said, if you are thinking that if

you do something else, like get a job,

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which I wasn't thinking at all is easier.

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And it will make that

anxiety feeling go away.

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Then you're mistaken that feeding

is always going to be there.

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There is always going to be challenges.

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And it was a great reminder because

I think I'm at the point now where

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I'm starting to think, which within

if I have never thought, and I know

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people think this all the time.

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Is it easier to go and get a job?

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Because you work so hard when

you have your own business.

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And I love it because

it's an expression of you.

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And you really get to create

something that makes a difference.

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But there is no doubt about it.

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It is hard.

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Being always on.

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So this Christmas I was very good

and I really really switched off.

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Fortunately, we were waiting

nearly the entire two weeks.

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So I think being out of the

house really helps switch off.

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But even when you're switching

off, it is all consuming.

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You are literally thinking, right.

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I've got that offer to launch,

or I've got this to do.

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Or this would be a really good

social media post and your brain

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just never, ever switches off

when you have your own business.

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So that led me to wanting to record

this episode for you today, in case

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you are wondering which hard to choose,

because again, like the quote says.

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Both options are hard.

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It's about choosing our hard.

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I do think that there is this common

misconception that success should be easy.

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And we see that all over social media, you

know, how relaxed everyone looks despite

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running multi-million pound businesses.

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And it's just not true.

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And I think the more masterminds

and things I'm part of you realize

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everyone has challenges and I

voice noted someone the other day.

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Saying something along these lines.

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And he messaged me back saying

every single day, I have those

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thoughts and it was amazing because

you would see him on social media.

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And I just would never know because he's

so positive and he's so disciplined.

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So it was a real eye-opener

that it's not just me.

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So I wanted to share this with you

today in case you think it's just you,

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that sometimes has those feelings of.

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Is this just all too hard?

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So if I think back to the workplace,

now, comparing it to what I know now in

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entrepreneurship, I actually think it

was really easy work-wise anyway, so,

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you know, you go in at your set time.

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I used to go to the gym for an hour

every single lunchtime I used to

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leave on time every single day.

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And then just go out to

pubs and enjoy my evenings.

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So it's a huge difference

now, looking back.

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Of the workload level compared

to the workload that I have now

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in entrepreneurship, when you are

the marketeer, the accountant.

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The coach, all of the different hats that

you wear in comparison to when you work

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in the workplace and you have a team.

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You have people to bounce ideas off.

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You have other teams to actually

do some of the work for you.

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So it's easy to look back and

think that I'm comparing just that

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workload with my workload now.

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But actually it's not

really just the workload.

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It's the politics that came with

that role that did hang over me 24 7.

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And I forget that sometimes like

how draining that is when you're

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constantly trying to please people.

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When you can't get your ideas through.

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When you can't create what you want,

because there's always someone more

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senior to get the approval or there's

people, less senior to get on board.

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Nothing was easy, but often we can

forget that that was not always easy.

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It was just very different.

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And now reflecting on that experience

in the workplace even though

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maybe workload was easy but it was

that unfulfilling kind of hard.

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When, even though you're not run ragged,

there's nothing worse than sitting at

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your desk all day, waiting to go home.

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And knowing that you can't create

your freedom of expression.

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You can't just take action and

do something that you want to do.

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So it's good to reflect on the

fact that it left me feeling

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completely out of alignment.

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Every single day.

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And really out of alignment with my values

every single day, which felt really hard.

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Instead of ever energized

or fulfilled or proud.

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I don't think I ever

really had these feelings.

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So while it's in a weird of

way, it was kind of stable

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it was very out of alignment.

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So then obviously I pivoted, so I chose

the path of building my own business.

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And it's really hard as well.

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There's that uncertainty.

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The weight of finances.

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Now I'm growing my team and I've

got huge outgoings in comparison to

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when I first started my business.

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And that is a huge responsibility

that I haven't been used

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to before in my business.

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So, despite it feeling hard sometimes.

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It's also really rewarding.

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And it's true creative expression of

what I want to create in the world,

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which is something that most people

never really get to bring to fruition.

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It's also the freedom to do

work when I want to do it.

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To take holiday.

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When I want to do air.

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To put boundaries in that, I want to do.

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To know that there is no ceiling and I

can continue to create value, which can

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grow my impact and my income is something

that I would never have had in the

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workplace because there is always someone

saying you can or can't get promotion.

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And so that is something I

absolutely love in entrepreneurship.

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That you are on a continual

personal growth journey.

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There is no coasting in entrepreneurship.

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If you aren't creating value,

if you aren't pushing yourself

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to the limit, then your business

won't grow and you won't grow.

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And when it comes down to it,

isn't that the whole point.

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That we are here to continue to

evolve and grow and become the very

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best version of us that we can.

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To endure challenges.

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That you have to overcome, because

again, there is no coasting.

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If you can't overcome them, your

business will grind to a halt.

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So you have to step up and step into it.

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To be able to thrive in entrepreneurship.

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And therefore to be able

to grow as a human being.

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So I would love to invite you to

think about your hard and which

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one you are going to choose.

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Back to the quotes.

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For example, it's hard to be obese.

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It's hard to go to the gym.

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Like which one are you going to choose?

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I am this year for sure going to choose

more fitness, more health, even though

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I want more biscuits because that is

the easier option though the result

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of that is the harder thing to enjoy.

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So sometimes it's those small actions

that you can take every day to grow

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your life and your business that

will add up to that huge success.

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You can choose a path of true fulfillment.

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Knowing that both paths are hard.

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Yet one is perhaps for you going to

be more rewarding than the other.

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I have several clients who are

going through this at the moment.

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I have one client Yvonne.

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Hello Yvonne if you're listening,

who has had her first day of

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full-time entrepreneurship yesterday.

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She has been working with

me for the last nine months.

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And she's been balancing her full-time

job with her coaching business.

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She has done exceptionally well.

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She has overcome so many barriers.

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She has worked so hard considering

she's also working full time.

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So I'm so excited that despite the fact,

she now knows entrepreneurship is hard

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because she has learned that over the

last nine months of really stepping up,

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challenging herself, pushing herself.

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That she is prepared to go all in and

start this entrepreneurship journey

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full-time so I think that is truly

inspiring because to be honest, I

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think if I had any idea while I was

working, I would probably coasted

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for a little bit longer, but I'm

obviously truly grateful in all

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honesty that I did go for this path.

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As I have grown more in the last

four years than I genuinely feel

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like I have grown in the last 40.

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So in summary of this

episode, Choose your hard.

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Every single option is hard.

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This myth, that success is easy is

probably just that a myth and do,

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let me know if you know different.

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And I know we choose our thoughts

and our thoughts form our reality.

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So I don't always go down this route, but

I think at certain times, and certainly

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early January when things do feel

harder, cause it's dark and it's cold.

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It's good to accept that this

is the norm for most of us.

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And, we are all facing challenges.

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I'm actually doing Gabby Bernstein's 21

day manifestation challenge at the moment.

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And I remember reading one of her books.

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And despite the fact, she always says,

choose again, choose another thought.

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And you know, all the things that

we know as coaches that we should

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do, and I practice all the time, but

she actually said she often feels

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really down and wonders what it's

all about and all of those things

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so even if you are at the highest

frequency and practicing all the stuff.

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I think it's good to know

that it's always hard.

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Denise Duffield Thomas is another example.

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She is now a multimillionaire and she

says she works every single day on

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her money mindset and receiving more.

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There is never a point that it stops,

like working on yourself is the biggest

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thing you can do to generate huge results.

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So do let me know about the choices

you intend to make as we begin this

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new year and if this episode resonated

for you, I would love to hear from you.

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You can contact me on LinkedIn as Joanna

Lott or Instagram as @joannalottcoaching.

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And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe

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in yourself and be the wise Gardner

who keeps on watering the seed.

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Thank you so much for listening to this

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

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That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

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joannalottcoaching.com.

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And I'll also put links in the show notes.

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Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

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Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

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personally thank you for that.

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Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

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who keeps on watering the seed.

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Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.