The SPARK 156 ~ Not A Coincidence

Hi, Reader,

On Monday, my flight from Costa Rica put me in Los Angeles by about 3 PM.

I had ordered a car to pick me up (LAX requires you to take a shuttle to get a UBER – and this was actually cheaper), so once I grabbed my bag from the luggage carousel, I was on my way.

It was about an hour’s drive to my daughters, then we had dinner, then I decided I was up for driving home… Northern California.

It was a six-hour drive, and even though it had been a long day, I knew I wanted to get home and have Tuesday for myself.

I hit the road at 7 PM and was home by 1 AM. 🥱

I’m so glad I bit the bullet.

I took all of Tuesday for myself to get acclimated after being gone for three weeks and then ended up in the emergency for my Dad all of Wednesday.

Here’s the interesting part…

As I mentioned last week, my original flight home was supposed to be Saturday, November 11th.

I changed my flight a few times but finally decided on Monday, and it worked out perfectly.

The fact that I was home and could be here for him wasn’t missed on me.

We don’t always get validation like this, but when we do?

Massive gratitude.

If only our experiences in business could be this clear.

You can probably look back on different times in your business when you chose not to do something, didn’t have the money to invest the way you wanted, or had something “fail.”

Fast forward to today, and I would guess you could find a few reasons you’re glad those things didn’t work out. 😉

Had they worked out, you might not have…

Met a current business partner
Launched a successful product
Been given a better opportunity
Learned to trust yourself
Connected with people who have become dear friends

I never realized how much trust and faith play in business until recently.

It requires a LOT of blind faith.

Even when you know what you’re doing and have been at it a while.

Especially when we live in a time where we have instant access to all of the things we “could” be doing to hit the elusive “7-figures” (by the way, Jenny Blake did a GREAT episode on her “Free Time” podcast on revenue goals and the whole “7-figure” marker. Listen to “Why Revenue Goals Don’t Work (For Me)” here).

We often have to test and try things when we don’t know what we’re doing and keep showing up as we learn.

I recently ran an experiment for Email Insiders, and it didn’t work out (I’ll send a solo email for that story), but I wouldn’t have known had I not tried it.

I’ve since pivoted to one-to-one coaching for email marketing, and it’s been a no-brainer.

It required a much shorter engagement process, and I’m more excited about it (it’s also a no-brainer for clients).

Since hindsight is, as they say, 20/20, I can see why this approach didn’t work.

Everything I do under this brand is me.

Emailing to have people reach out to someone else was, for lack of a better term, “off-brand.” (And the “someone else” is a friend I trust and respect).

I had a handful of people reach out and ask if I was hacked or let me know they didn’t like the process (and FYI, I will respond to you; the last three weeks were packed).

Now I have a choice to make.

I can either let my feelings be hurt by the honest feedback OR… I can thank people for caring enough to tell me how they felt.

I’m choosing the latter (stating the obvious? 🤔).

There are so few things we have control over.

Owning that we control how we respond/react/feel about things is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

It’s empowering.

Choose to trust yourself as 2023 winds down.

The more pressure you put on yourself, the less you’ll enjoy these last two months.

AND… I’d bet it pays off in more ways than one.

SPARK Spotlight 🔥

This has absolutely nothing to do with business, but it is my latest obsession. I played this game with my mentor in Costa Rica for probably close to 7 hours in two days (4 in one night). She kicked my arse! 🤣

Not that it stopped me from playing. I now have it on my iPad, and the physical game should arrive today. I’m practicing for a rematch with my mentor (although she’ll still probably wipe the table with me).

I think I’m a glutton for punishment.

If you like games, do a quick search on Amazon, and you have multiple choices/variations of the game.

A Little Brainpower 🧠

I love Ryan Holiday’s work. This article, “27 Things I’ve Learned From 150 Million Podcast Downloads,” has lots of life and business wisdom.

Failing to rest and doing too much? This is for you. “Want To Upgrade Your Brain? Stop Doing These 7 Things Immediately.”

Some great insight into the infamous “1000 True Fans” article. Read “1,000 True Fans, 15 Years Later: What Still Works?”

Tool Time 🛠

It’s starting to feel like most tools I find are or will be AI-based… but I’m on the lookout for non-AI tools, too. So if you find any, send them my way!

AI Voice Generator: Voice over any text into audio with AI-powered voices. Try Speechki free here.
Digital selling: Sell digital downloads, courses, coaching, and more from one platform. Try PayHip free here.
Social Media: This just got some new updates. Generate carousels for IG, TikTok, or Linkedin with AI. Try aiCarousels free here.
Clean-up email: I want to try this just because I like the name. Easily unsubscribe from emails. Try Leave Me Alone free here.

HA! Seems about right to me! 🤣

Is it me, or does it feel like Black Friday Cyber Monday starts at the beginning of November? I get preparing for it earlier if you’re participating in marketing your own products and services, but the sales have already started.

I saw a Costa Rica billboard that said, “BLACK NOVEMBER!”

It was a Walmart billboard (color me surprised).

Maybe it’s because I’m still a little tired from my trip, but it kind of makes me want to hibernate. 😴

I don’t have any big plans for the last two months other than to enjoy spending time with the people I love and soak up the season.

I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to the holidays, so I’m going to enjoy the simple pleasures that come at this time of year.

Have a wonderful day,
Kim