I’ve been blessed to be gifted with some major clarity on my brand lately. Wait, we talk about “brands” a lot. Maybe I should clarify: I don’t mean brand, I mean my life’s work. I’ve spent a lot of time observing and researching, and educating myself on, the concepts of internet marketing this past year. I’ve wondered if I should be like these people that promise you can make more money and live a better life if you subscribe to my systems, processes, and newsletter.
I have absolutely, whole-heartedly decided that I do NOT.
I don’t want to ask creepy weird questions about, “Have you ever felt like you’re working too hard? Have you ever wondered if there is another way? Have you ever wondered how my business went from four figures to six figures in two months?”
G.R.O.S.S.
The weird creepy questions imply that I have answers. That I have a solution. That the formula I’ve discovered must be the secret key.
Oh my gosh, ya’ll. I think I’m throwing up a little bit just typing that.
I have no answers. I have no solutions. I have no secret formula.
I only have a heart and a voice.
I have a heart that doesn’t mind listening. I have experience that can help me see just a little bit around the bend in other people’s stories. I have a voice, that for some reason, has a small audience of people that listen.
That’s what my brand is about: listening. And speaking life. Not in a miraculous way, but in a quiet, steady, way. Not in a phony way, but in a sincere, genuine, authentic, way.
If there is any secret formula in this, it is this: I can only travel with you, and I can only go as far as you want to go. I can’t make the journey for you, and I can’t push you past the roadblocks when they pop up. I can gently prod, and hold your hand, and sincerely encourage, but I can’t make you take the leap. The leap is the hard work. I, unfortunately, can’t do the hard work for you.
I’m going to launch pre-orders for a new product this afternoon. After I take kids to school, and clean up the messes from the weekend, and email clients, and have a workout. So, more realistically, it might be late this evening.
It started as a gift I was working on for the Authenticate14 attendees, but it’s ended up being much more than that. I hope it is a tool that you could use to see around the bend in your journey, a resource that gives you a quiet bit of encouragement when you need it. It’s a doozy, and I can tell you that it’s going to require a lot of hard work, and if there is any promise I can make it’s this:
YOU’RE WORTH IT.
Excited to see what it is!
so grateful for your encouraging heart & spirit! Cannot wait to learn more.
Love your honesty and your real-ness. It’s what drew me to you in the first place. You challenge me to grow deeper and strive for a rich business that would truly help others- not just myself. As a writer friend has told me many times, “Keep making a difference.” You really are making a difference in lives Whitney.
Love reading your wisdom and your tribulations. Can not wait to hear what you have in store!
I read this once before, but this time it spoke to me in a very different way. You studied internet marketing? That seems Greek to me. Your entire brand and work seems effortless to me. I know you put a lot of work into making your business beautiful and thriving, but to hear you say you’ve learned internet marketing makes what you say that more real to me. You can teach by experience.
One of the things I’m suffering with is staying focused. My problem is the lack of money. I have soooo many ideas and I will start them, but I don’t finish them. I find myself starting something then stopping because I think something else will make me the money I need quicker. And now I’m a nervous wreck because I’m stagnate {and now I’m sick so nothing is getting done}.
God has blessed me to have someone in my life who knows my financial situation so they have chosen to invest in me to help me, and to get a portion of what I will make once my business starts making money. The reason I’m so honest with you about this is because I would like an honest and authentic answer. Is there a book I can read or something that can help me. I want to give up sometimes, but I’ve invested way too much in myself and my children are watching. They see the hard work and late hours that I’ve given to teaching myself and now trying to implement my plans, so I have to do it. I do not want them to see me give up. Sometimes I’ve had to tweak things, but give up… I just can’t.
I would really like some words of encouragement or something that I can grab on to to stay focused, because right now I’m empty.
Thank you again.
Angela
This post struck me. You put into words what I have been thinking about a lot lately. I too get weird vibes from these types of internet marketers that seem to prey on the scarcity mentality. So much so that I am actively avoiding anything like that in my own business and the people I am surrounded by virtually. The way you put this was perfect. I admire your candidness – it’s so much more inspiring than claiming to know the “secret”.
Oh – and I love your work!