There comes a point for almost every speaker and coach where the doubt becomes hard to ignore. You are doing the work, following good advice, showing up consistently — and nothing seems to be moving. The bookings are not coming. The calendar is open. Other people seem to be on calls constantly, and yours is, well, available.

Or maybe some things are trickling through, but not enough for it to feel real or sustainable. There is a ceiling somewhere above you that you cannot quite identify, let alone push against.

In this episode, John Ball addresses that place directly. Not with motivation. With a more useful question: what is actually going on?

What you will take away:

• Why slow results are almost never a reflection of you as a person, and what they are more likely to reflect
• The results lag principle: why the work you are doing now rarely pays off now, and why that is not failure
• Why expert advice that works for established speakers often does not translate for those still building foundations, and how to recognise the difference
• Why measuring vanity metrics instead of leading indicators distorts your read of the situation entirely
• How to go back to your why as a diagnostic tool rather than a motivational one
• What quitting actually means versus pausing a pursuit, and the difference between running out of resources and running out of reasons
• When it genuinely is time to explore other options, and how to recognise that honestly

John shares from direct experience: the periods of doing live streams for 60 days with no traction, building a coaching business alongside a job taken out of financial necessity, and repeatedly asking himself whether the podcast was worth continuing. The answer in each case came back to the same place: the why.

If you are at a point where the question is forming in the back of your mind, this episode is worth your time.

If you are not getting results and cannot see why, get in touch. John works with professional speakers to diagnose exactly what is and is not working, and where the effort needs to go. Reach out on LinkedIn or at [email protected] for a no-commitment conversation.

FAQ Section

Why are professional speakers not getting bookings even when they are doing everything right?

John Ball argues that a lack of bookings is almost never a reflection of a speaker's ability on stage, but a problem on the business side: specifically, positioning and visibility. Most speakers who are not getting results are following advice calibrated for people further ahead in their business, without the foundational elements in place to make that advice work. Ball describes this as a context mismatch rather than a failure of effort or talent. The fix, he contends, is almost always in the business mechanics rather than the performance.

What is the results lag and why does it matter for speakers building their business?

The results lag is the delay between the work a speaker puts in now and when that work converts into bookings, income or visibility. John Ball uses his own podcast as an example: a slow-burn asset that does not immediately generate leads but builds trust, relationships and positioning over time. Ball argues that this lag is long enough to feel like failure when it is not, and that speakers who quit during this window are often stopping just before the pipeline they have built begins to pay out.

How do you know if it is time to quit your speaking business or keep going?

John Ball contends that most speakers who are asking this question are asking it too early. He draws a distinction between running out of resources, which is a practical reality and not a verdict, and running out of reasons, which is a more meaningful signal. Ball suggests going back to the original why as a diagnostic tool: if the why is still solid, the question shifts from whether to continue to what needs to change. People who have genuinely reached the end, he argues, usually know it without needing external confirmation.

Why does expert advice on speaking and coaching sometimes not work?

According to John Ball, much of the advice circulating in the speaking and coaching industry is designed for people who already have an established platform, a warm audience or a different market context. Following that advice faithfully without those foundations in place will not produce the expected results, and that is a calibration problem rather than a personal failure. Ball gives the example of being advised to live stream on LinkedIn daily for 60 days with no meaningful traction, attributing the failure to unclear positioning rather than the format itself.

What is the difference between vanity metrics and leading indicators for speakers?

John Ball argues that many speakers track the wrong things: follower counts, post impressions and downloads rather than enquiries, fee conversations and genuine relationship signals. Measuring vanity metrics creates a distorted picture of progress, making things look worse than they are or masking the fact that real indicators are not being tracked at all. Ball notes that some speakers do not track any metrics at all, and that without this visibility, it is impossible to run a business effectively rather than simply deliver a product.

How does John Ball's Professional Speaking podcast approach the question of giving up?

In this episode of Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid., John Ball draws on personal experience across coaching, speaking and podcasting to address the question of whether to quit when results are not coming. He argues that the gap between invisible and known is often shorter than it appears from inside the fog of slow results, and that reconnecting with the original purpose behind the work is a more reliable guide than any external metric. Ball also shares that stopping for practical reasons, such as running out of financial runway, is not the end of the pursuit.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 When Effort Stalls

03:06 Motivation Or Visibility

03:33 Business Beats Performance

05:06 Results Lag Reality

08:17 Bad Fit Guru Advice

12:19 Track Real Metrics

15:07 Reconnect With Your Why

17:31 Runway And Pausing

20:12 Quit Or Honest Pivot

21:51 Adjust The Right Levers

23:53 Get Help And Next Steps

Visit https://strategic-speaker.scoreapp.com to take the 2-minute Strategic Speaking Business Audit and find out what's blocking you from getting more bookings, re-bookings, referrals and bigger fees. There's a special surprise gift for everyone who completes the quiz.

Want to get coached for free on the show? Fill in the form https://forms.gle/mo4xYkEiCjqtz9yP6, and if we think your challenge could help others, we'll invite you on.

For speaking enquiries or to connect with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on LinkedIn

You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PresentInfluence

Thanks for listening. Rating the show 5* on Spotify helps their algo recommend the show, so please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating.

You're doing all the work, you're following good advice,

2

and nothing seems to be moving.

3

You're not getting bookings,

the visibility or the

4

income that you expected.

5

Your calendar's wide open.

6

Other people seem to be on calls all

the time prospecting, and your calendar

7

is, well, let's just say available.

8

Or maybe you're getting some of

it through, but not enough to…

9

for it to feel real, for

it to feel sustainable.

10

There's maybe a ceiling somewhere

above you that you can't quite

11

identify, let alone break through it.

12

And somewhere in the back of your

mind, a question is starting to form.

13

Is this actually working

or am I kidding myself?

14

I've been in that place.

15

I know what it feels like to

follow the expert advice that

16

doesn't seem to translate into

your situation, to work so hard and

17

still wonder, "What am I missing?"

18

Today, I want to talk to you about

what's probably really going on and

19

how to reconnect with why you started

this and what it really means if

20

you do decide to stop Welcome to

Professional Speaking, the show for

21

people who are serious about speaking

and becoming known, booked, and paid.

22

My name's John Ball, professional

speaking coach, keynote speaker,

23

stand-up comedian, and sci-fi nerd.

24

I'm here as your guide on the journey

to a successful speaking career.

25

If you related to anything that I was

saying there in that introduction, then

26

there's a good chance that you've at

least had some doubts about whether or not

27

to continue with your business, whether

you're, you're ever gonna make it, if

28

there's something wrong with you that you

just haven't been able to identify, why

29

other people seem to be finding things so

easy, but for you, it feels really hard.

30

I can certainly relate to all of this.

31

I had these experiences.

32

I've been close to quitting on

different projects and things

33

so many times in my life.

34

I got into coaching, started to wonder

if I was ever gonna make it as a coach.

35

Got into speaking, start to

wonder those same things.

36

Those feelings, it can end up feeling like

you're in a race, and halfway through,

37

you find that you're still near the

starting line and nowhere near the finish.

38

And the more you try to put effort

in and find yourself not getting

39

any closer to what seems like the

finish line, not getting closer to

40

your goals, to the finish line, the

more frustrating it feels, the less

41

you want to carry on, the more, the

more disheartened you become, and the

42

more you start to question yourself.

43

The old imposter syndrome kicks in.

44

You're not seeing the results, and

maybe you start thinking, "Well, maybe,

45

maybe there's something wrong with

me, that that's why I'm not seeing it.

46

Maybe people are avoiding me."

47

You feel invisible despite all the

genuine effort, spending hours maybe

48

on social media, working on posts

and content and articles and videos.

49

Maybe you're getting some work,

but it's not enough for it to

50

feel real or sustainable for you.

51

You're sensing a ceiling that

you can't see clearly enough to

52

push against and break through.

53

The compounding effect of everything

else life is throwing at you at the

54

same time, because life doesn't pause

whilst you're building your business.

55

Now the thing here is we can start to

wonder if this is a motivation problem,

56

because you will start to lose motivation.

57

But really it's a visibility and

timing problem wearing a motivational

58

problem disguise, because it

more than likely is not that.

59

And so it becomes a thing of something

I've talked about a bunch on the show

60

recently, and will be going into more

detail on in the future, of positioning.

61

Positioning and relevance

being a large part of this.

62

There are people out there who will

tell you that all you need to do is to

63

improve your storytelling skills or you

need to increase your stage presence, and

64

that's gonna get you more speaking gigs.

65

You need to be more

interactive with the audience.

66

You need to sell the workshops more.

67

Like yeah, th- these are--

look, these are all good things.

68

Definitely you should do them.

69

Improve your talk, all of that good stuff.

70

And yet they are probably not

the thing that's going to make

71

the biggest difference for you.

72

And I don't think I could emphasize

this enough that where the fix needs to

73

happen if you're not getting the business

is in the business side of things,

74

far less than the performance side.

75

'Cause the chances are your

performance, the ability when you

76

actually show up, when you do your

job, you're probably pretty good at it.

77

I'm willing to bet that

you're good at what you do.

78

You probably somewhere deep down

inside know that you are, and

79

your clients probably like you.

80

Audiences probably enjoy your

talks and, and so all the

81

elements will seem to be right.

82

Yeah, okay, there are probably

things that could be improved upon

83

because there always will be, and

you're never going to be perfect.

84

But to think that the result is just

that you need to be more energized and

85

emotional about this, this idea that

you just need to live in the energy of

86

the goal achieved is like, it sounds

great, it sounds very self-help,

87

but it's hard to do, especially when

the results aren't coming through.

88

But rather than thinking that mindset is

going to be the thing that fixes it here,

89

it's gonna be much more practical elements

that will make the bigger difference.

90

Whatever you do, whatever you

do is gonna have a results lag.

91

So there's always gonna be a

lag in seeing the results from

92

your efforts nearly every time.

93

The work that you're doing now

rarely produces results now.

94

There's going to be some kind of delay,

and the delay is long enough to feel like

95

a failure when it isn't The pipeline that

you're building today will pay out later.

96

The relationships that you're developing

now will pay off later in the future.

97

That is not consolidation.

98

It's how the mechanics

of this actually work.

99

The one thing, one thing I can

say is I can probably use this

100

podcast as a great example of that.

101

Because there have been many times where

I sort of think, "Well, I'm not really

102

sure it's growing enough to be worthwhile.

103

I mean, what am I doing with this show?

104

What's it leading to?

105

Why do I keep doing it?

106

And am I gonna keep it going given

that it's not actually the…

107

it's not actually generating

the results that I'd hoped for?"

108

The reality is this, I know that

shows like this are a very slow burn.

109

I know that they serve

sp- specific audiences.

110

I know that those audiences tend to

be pretty loyal and come back, and

111

that it's hard work growing a show.

112

My take on it has really

become more of this.

113

When I thought about giving

up the show, that upset me.

114

I thought, "Could I, could I

actually stop if I wanted to?"

115

Yeah, I, I could, but I would miss it.

116

I would miss the people that I get to talk

to, the network that I've been building

117

up since I started doing this show.

118

I would miss the people who have been

helped as a result of some of the content

119

and effort we've been putting out there.

120

That's the stuff that I would miss.

121

The positioning that this

gives me is that a source of we

122

get to know each other a bit.

123

Okay, it's a bit of a one-way

street right now for the most part,

124

but you get to know more about me

and what I'm about and who I am.

125

There's few things like this for

trust-building or what my friend Taki

126

Moore calls brand width, to be able to get

and understand more of a person's content

127

and who they are, and whether they're

someone you'd want to work with So that

128

was ultimately what I ended up coming back

to is why am I doing this, and is it okay

129

to keep going and putting in the level of

energy and effort into this if it's not

130

developing the results that I really would

hope and maybe even need to see from this?

131

It did lead me to making some

decisions about how much time I would

132

spend on the podcast and on editing

and output and all those kinds of

133

things, and promotional side as well.

134

Which is unfortunate, because those

are important elements of the podcast.

135

But for the moment at least, these

are not things that are actively

136

bringing in money into my business,

and I'll be honest about that.

137

I re- I wish that…

138

I wouldn't say the podcast never have.

139

It certainly has at various times

through sponsorships, sometimes

140

through being a funnel for clients

to come through to me as well.

141

But if I was only gonna do this because

I, "Well, I want to be seeing at least

142

three, five leads coming through a

week from the show" b- for it to be

143

worthwhile for me for me to continue

doing it, I would actually have

144

stopped doing the show, because that

isn't where things are at right now.

145

And yet, here I am still doing

it because I think it's valuable.

146

It helps me, I think, and I hope

it helps you as well as a listener.

147

Now, look, the advice that you get

from, the advice that you get from

148

particular gurus may, may not be wrong.

149

It just may not be right

for where you are yet.

150

Here, here's an example from me.

151

One time I was told that, "Oh, you just

need to start live streaming on LinkedIn

152

every day and you will build audience."

153

I started doing that.

154

I did it for, I'd say 60 days, and I

saw nothing, like maybe a handful at

155

the most of people who were tuning in.

156

And whilst there were reasons, whilst

there were things going on that I was like

157

maybe it wasn't specific enough about…

158

You know, there's all sorts of

things I can look back on and say

159

why that didn't work out for me.

160

But ultimately, it wasn't the best advice

for where I was because my messaging,

161

my product if you like, wasn't clear

enough for anyone to be like, "All right.

162

I should be tuning into this guy

and what he's talking about."

163

I had to figure that stuff out.

164

Now, I got some really great

experience at doing live streams,

165

which has been very helpful to me.

166

With 60 days of doing them, I was

able to get a bit better at riffing

167

about things and consistency and

all those important elements.

168

But it didn't move the

needle for me professionally.

169

And so whilst it's nice to

learn and develop, it doesn't

170

put money into the bank.

171

It doesn't pay your rent or your mortgage.

172

So look, a lot of people are

following advice that would be

173

right for somebody who's already got

an established platform or a warm

174

audience or a different market that…

175

And it doesn't automatically transfer.

176

Or they're trying to do stuff that

they're seeing other people who are

177

really much further ahead than they

are in their business doing, and

178

it's, again, it's not right for them.

179

They don't have the foundational elements.

180

And certainly this is, this has been

very real for me in life and business

181

of trying to jump to those higher

levels of activity, of action, the

182

stuff that looks really fun and high

level, without any of the foundational

183

elements underneath it supporting it

that do actually need to be there.

184

We would love to think that we could get

to skip the foundations, but we don't.

185

There'll always be exceptions to the rule,

but for the most part, we actually need

186

to build a business foundationally as a

business and not just be out there doing

187

the high level social media marketing or

just getting up on the stage and speaking.

188

These are not the things that actually

will get you the longer term results.

189

They are the things that will

work better for the people

190

who are already established.

191

So the advice you may be getting

might be calibrated for somebody

192

further down the road or, or perhaps

on a different road entirely.

193

And if it's just not translating for

you, like one example would be For

194

me personally, I was, like, grow-

in growing my coaching business, was

195

given the advice of, and I'm going onto

Facebook and going to these groups and

196

direct messaging people on Facebook.

197

This is before it became

much more common practice.

198

But I felt uneasy about it.

199

I felt, I felt it was a

bit sleazy and cheesy.

200

I had some very negative responses to

that from people that I was reaching out

201

to who did start conversations, but they

weren't nice conversations to be having.

202

And I also had a lot of

people ignore me or block me.

203

And even when I did start to have some

good conversations coming from that,

204

it didn't feel like there was enough of

them to outweigh the sleaziness of it.

205

It just didn't feel right for me.

206

And so I stopped doing it because

I didn't like feeling like a sleazy

207

marketer, and that's what I felt like.

208

And I don't like it when other people…

209

I don't like it when people now

just connect with me on LinkedIn,

210

and the first message from them

is trying to sell me their shit.

211

Or that they don't even go that far,

they're just directly emailing my inbox

212

with, with their products or services.

213

I don't think any of us like that.

214

There's no relationship, there's

no, there's no trust there.

215

There's really just that feeling

of all you care about is getting

216

a sale and, and th- this is

probably not the best way to do it.

217

There's a, a frank reality that we may

also be measuring the wrong things.

218

Very, very often we look at vanity metrics

rather than the real leading indicators.

219

That's if we even look at metrics at

all, because I certainly know speakers,

220

coaches, workshop leaders who do

not look at the numbers, who do not

221

track their progress, who don't…

222

Some of them don't even have CRM, any

system of being able to follow up with

223

people or keeping on track with things.

224

How can you really expect a

business to work if you're

225

not doing the business itself?

226

You just wanna show up

and deliver the product.

227

That is not how this is

going to work out for you.

228

Very occasionally, very occasionally,

some people, either through, through the

229

positioning or through the relationships

that they already have, or through

230

money or status that they already have,

do get pulled into just delivering the

231

product and someone else or a company

takes care of all those other bits.

232

Don't expect that for yourself.

233

It's probably not gonna happen.

234

It's, again, the exception rather than

the rule So if you're aiming just to be

235

visible, if you're like one of the pick

me people or see, look at me, look at

236

me, here I am over here on social media

doing something weird or wacky or crazy

237

or pay attention to me or look, I've got

my, I've got my AI-generated carousel

238

over here or this post template that I've

copied from someone else's successful

239

post and I'm putting it all over social

media and I'm not seeing any responses

240

or I'm commenting on other people's

posts but they're not really commenting

241

back or putting up regular images and

posts but it's not really tracking.

242

Well, something's not connecting.

243

Because if I just-- if I was to just

look at downloads as my only podcast

244

metric, probably not gonna be super

excited about that anytime soon.

245

But that doesn't reflect whether

someone has listened to the episode and

246

got something really helpful from it.

247

It doesn't reflect relationships that

have been built up through, um, through

248

the conversations that we've been having.

249

It's only one metric, and it's not

really the truest generator of success.

250

So you may look and see no results,

but that might not actually be true.

251

And look, if, if you're on LinkedIn,

which a lot of professional coaches and

252

speakers are, if you're on LinkedIn,

there's a chance that a lot of people

253

are not directly responding to what

you do anyway because people tend to

254

be more passive observers on LinkedIn.

255

They often don't seem to

join in the chats that much.

256

Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't.

257

So it very much depends.

258

It's unlikely that the reason that you're

not as far ahead as you would like to be

259

is because of you personally as a person

'cause there are always gonna be things

260

that you could be better at, things that

you'll probably be able to improve on, and

261

you will continue to improve on over time.

262

But the problem is almost

certainly adjustable.

263

The question is whether you have given

it enough runway to know that yet.

264

So go back to your why.

265

Why are you doing this in the first place?

266

What got you into it?

267

And don't look for a polished answer here.

268

This isn't something that you're gonna

be saying to someone as a networker.

269

This is, this is time to

get real with yourself.

270

If you're having doubts, real doubts

about continuing with the business

271

that you've been putting time and

energy into, then it's time to have

272

a think about why you are doing this.

273

What really matters about this for you?

274

Because if it was just the money,

oh, there's a million other things

275

that you could do to make money

that might be a lot easier and may

276

even require far less of you putting

yourself in front of other people But

277

the why is gonna do two things here.

278

First, it's gonna tell you whether

the problem is worth solving.

279

Because if your why is still solid,

the conversation is gonna shift a bit

280

from, "Why should I continue with this?"

281

to, "What needs to change?"

282

Those are very different questions

with very different answers.

283

Secondly, it reconnects you with what

you are actually doing this for, which

284

is rarely just for bookings or income.

285

It's usually about impact or identity

or something you need to say, or

286

just a desire to make a difference.

287

When you're in the fog of slow

results, it's easy to lose sight

288

of that and measure everything

against the wrong standard.

289

Most of the people that I encounter in

the speaking and coaching world are in

290

it because they are compassionate people,

because they actually genuinely care.

291

They want to make a difference.

292

They want to help other people.

293

They didn't get into it just because

they thought, "Oh, wow, there's

294

a lot of money to be made here."

295

There are people who come into the

industry who are like that, completely

296

cynical, just want money, and those people

exist, but they are few and far between.

297

The vast majority of people in the

speaking and coaching world are much more

298

about purpose, much more about connection.

299

Pretty real people who would do

it for free if, if they could,

300

if they didn't need the money.

301

You know, they're still gonna do

it So it doesn't need to be long.

302

Your purpose for your business is really

whatever you decide you want it to be.

303

What gives you fulfillment in doing this?

304

What makes this worthwhile

for you in the long run?

305

That hopefully the income side of it

is more a perk, a bonus, a great bonus

306

to have rather than anything else.

307

If you're at that point where

you just think, "Look, this

308

has been long enough already.

309

This is…

310

Things aren't happening."

311

Maybe you feel like you've run

out of runway, and it might just

312

be a practical reality for you.

313

That's not a verdict on who you are.

314

I've had this situation whereas I had, I

had money from a redundancy, and that was

315

my money to start up a business, and after

12 months, wasn't where I needed to be,

316

and I had to go and get a job to be able

to pay my rent, to be able to keep going.

317

That was the reality of it for me.

318

It wasn't the end of the dream, even

though at the time I thought it was.

319

I thought everything was falling apart.

320

Stopping because the finances

demand it or because life has

321

changed is- isn't the same thing

as being wrong or having started.

322

In fact, what it, what it can end up

doing is being a fresh start for you.

323

There may be new opportunities

or connections to still be had.

324

It might even just mean that you need

to work a bit harder for a while.

325

I ended up building up my coaching

business around the job that I took.

326

It took a lot of extra work.

327

It took months of commitment

and dedication, and I was tired.

328

I was tired.

329

But it, it was a season of hustle.

330

It wasn't a forever hustle.

331

And it was worth it because

it got me off the ground.

332

It got me to a point where

I could quit that job and go

333

full time with my coaching.

334

And the whole series of events made me

more serious about what I was doing.

335

When I look back, I think maybe

it had to work out that way.

336

It's okay.

337

It wasn't the end of everything.

338

So there's a difference between quitting

the dream rather than pausing the pursuit.

339

I mean, if you run out of

resources, you can be very…

340

Look, some people make it in the

business because they don't need

341

to make money for themselves.

342

They've got maybe somebody else supporting

behind the scenes, or they've got

343

family money, or they just don't need

to be making money for whatever reason.

344

Maybe they've made their fortune,

and so they're not really worried

345

about making more fortune right now.

346

So they don't have that fear of,

"Well, I'm gonna run out of runway.

347

I'm gonna run out of resources at

some point," that, that you and I

348

and others may have, and that can

be very real reason for not being

349

take- not- for not taking action.

350

Don't be jealous of that.

351

It's like everyone has their own

positions, and we all have our own

352

privileges and lack thereof And sometimes

the problem can be that sometimes from

353

the outside, everyone kind of looks the

same in the same position, but we're not.

354

We all have different things going on.

355

Sometimes we're perhaps even not as

resourceful with the resources that we

356

have as we could be, or we don't actually

get so resourceful about, you know, things

357

that actually don't or aren't affected or

run by how much money we have in the bank.

358

Those are very different

ways of looking for it.

359

But for a s- for a very small number

of people where all the signals are

360

genuinely pointing in one direction,

like nothing is connecting, nothing

361

seems adjustable, the why has genuinely

gone or is just doesn't feels hollow,

362

it doesn't feel real, I don't think

exploring other options would be failure.

363

It would be honesty.

364

And that is the way to look at it

because most people who are asking the

365

question usually are asking it too early.

366

And if you are wondering whether

to quit, that wondering in

367

itself is worth examining.

368

People who have genuinely reached the end

usually know it without needing a podcast

369

episode like this to confirm it for them

If it's the case, make the cut, make the

370

decision, and move on to other things.

371

Here's what I'll say.

372

If you realize next week that you've

made the wrong decision, it's all

373

still there for you to come back to.

374

You know?

375

But if you end up finding yourself on

a much easier path with opportunities

376

that start opening up to you because

you've made that decision and opening

377

other doors, then that's a pretty

good sign that you're actually

378

moving in a better direction.

379

Nobody wants to be banging their head

against a brick wall for a long time

380

and not seeing results based on that.

381

But there is always the chance that

you may be closer than you think to

382

the outcomes that you really want.

383

Not because that's a comfortable or

motivational thing to say, but because

384

sometimes the gap between visible

and known is, is shorter than it

385

appears to be from inside the fog.

386

The problem is you can't

see it from where you are.

387

So what you can do to help you

get clear on why you're here,

388

adjust what is adjustable.

389

Take an honest look at whether you

really are working the business side

390

of your business effectively, because

that probably is where things most need

391

to be happening, and that you're not

just hoping, not just doing stuff that

392

you hope will get results, but you're

doing stuff that you actually know

393

if you do this, you will see results.

394

You will see things happening.

395

Business has levers that generally work,

and they shouldn't be levers that you

396

hope that when you push the button and

pull the lever, that things start to run.

397

Hope is an important thing to have with

you, but it is not in itself a strategy.

398

It's not going to get you results.

399

You need to be doing things that you

know will or should get you results,

400

and probably if you're looking to learn

that from someone else, looking for

401

things that you can get from them that

are pretty much like, "You do this, do

402

this with me, and you will get this.

403

Because if you don't, we'll

give you your money back."

404

And you should be then following

through and taking the action.

405

Sometimes I see this as well, that

some, some people are taking the action

406

but not getting the level of feedback

that they need to be on the kinds of

407

action they're taking to be able to know

whether, whether they should keep doing

408

more of this or do some of that, and

that's a really useful thing to have.

409

This is why coaches and guides can

be so helpful for you as you're

410

growing your business as well.

411

Most people could do with having

some sort of advisor, mentor, coach

412

who can help them see more clearly

what's really going on and to be

413

able to say, "All right, well," you

know, hopefully if, if you have…

414

For, for speaking particularly If the

stuff that you're doing to get results

415

isn't working and you don't know why,

it's gonna be an external view on what

416

you do that's going to be able to more

clearly see what's really going on,

417

where things are and aren't working or

connecting, and perhaps where you're

418

spending time that isn't being effective

for you, and where you should be

419

spending time that's going to get you

bigger results, more bang for your buck.

420

I hope it's been helpful if you are

genuinely thinking, "Ah, I just feel like

421

I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

422

I don't see what the

problem is," get in touch.

423

Let's take a look at things.

424

Let's go through it and see if we can

figure out what's really going on for you.

425

If you're close to quitting and

you just think, "You know what?

426

Maybe this is the last-ditch

attempt," let's have a chat.

427

You can get in touch with me

on LinkedIn or directly email

428

me, [email protected],

429

For now, wherever you're going,

whatever you're doing, have

430

an amazing rest of your day.

431

Go and do something worth talking about.

432

We'll see you next time.