My DUH! Moment, the Reality of Accountability and a favorite new plugin WPCP: 023

Accountability

Have you ever noticed how the “obvious” things aren’t always as obvious as we think they should be?

That tends to happen to me more often than I realized I until I started thinking about today’s podcast and show notes. It’s really more of an awareness than a ‘DUH!’ moment I suppose, but it truly hit me like a ton of bricks so I thought I’d go with the DUH! moment. It’s kind of like what happens when you buy a new car… all of the sudden you see that car EVERYWHERE! Like everyone went out and bought the same car as soon as you did (if only we were all trend setters).

So let’s start with my ‘DUH!’ Moment.

And I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume I’m not the only one who has had this realization.

A friend of mine recommended a book to me (think I mentioned this previously) called ‘The Slight Edge.’ The Slight Edge is about doing the little things, day after day that add up and make a significant difference over time – in your personal life, career, whatever. The content doesn’t really matter, it applies across the board. Then I finally decided to read Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”, which I’d heard about on plenty of occasions but finally bit the bullet after seeing him interviewed on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday (this is part of my Sunday ritual… coffee, the newspaper and Super Soul Sunday). One of my favorite lines (and I’m paraphrasing here) was about getting our “hearts where are ass’s need to be.” In other words, get out of your head and get to work.

Novel idea, huh?

In my post “Do You Ever Wonder?” I asked people if they ever wondered what differentiates those who succeed from those who don’t, when both people appear to have the same knowledge and skills? Needless to say I got an answer (not from anyone specific, but simply from what showed up in my life). It’s actually REALLY REALLY simple. And obvious.

Ready?

Show up.

Do the work.

Every. Single. Day.

Then I started thinking about my business, the past 5 1/2 years and where I am today.

Could I be further along? Sure, but I don’t think I would have been ready for the things that are happening in my business today a few years ago. In fact, I know it. But what I DID realize is that I have done the work. I’ve shown up, I’ve stuck with it and now have a business and a brand that not only supports my family but is growing exponentially. And when I say exponentially I’m not only referring to income. I’m talking about connections, relationships, projects… all of it.

And I can see where I have plenty of “work” to do in terms of the work I’m doing and how I spend my time. Do I work everyday? Yes, unless I’m sick or really truly need a day to myself.

But, and here’s the rub, can I be more effective with how I work and what I’m working on?

Am I doing things strategically? (As well as organically, which I know sounds a bit confusing, but there is a certain level of ‘flow’ that I need to allow too.)

Does my day have definitive direction as opposed to just a to-do list?

You get the picture.

The “shiny object syndrome” keeps us from doing the work. People who get caught up in the latest, greatest training or “thing” that they think will be the “answer” to their business growth get stuck here because it’s easier to purchase something than it is to sit your ass in your chair and start writing. Creating. Whatever it is for you. What I’ve realized for me is that once I start writing and let myself just go with it everything flows.

Which brings me to my next point for today’s show.

The Reality of Accountability.

I could probably sum this up with one sentence.

Truly.

But that would be boring, plus, I’m SO friggin excited about my new accountability partner that this may get more wordy than I’ve anticipated.

The ONE thing that is without a doubt the main factor in whether or not accountability will work for you is the person you choose to be accountable with.

I’ve tried setting up accountability with a handful of different people and it hasn’t always worked. Often it was a combination of my accountability partner and me not being fully committed (ready?) to doing what needed to be done. Trying to be accountable to someone who is in the same boat as you really won’t work. It’s too easy to feel their pain and not expect more from them OR call them out (and I don’t mean by being a complete arse). Mainly because YOU don’t want to be called out, right? The same is true when it comes to having a ‘friend’ hold you accountable. Unless they’re someone who is always direct with you and can tell it like it is, this isn’t going to work either.

There have been two times in my life when accountability has worked for me (the second being my new accountability partner). The first time was with my therapist (my friends call me “What About Bob”… but I don’t care. She rocks). This started during the first couple years I was in business. I had a LOT of doubts about things and was constantly questioning myself. So she had me email her a weekly check-in with some things I agreed needed to be done and would do. Eventually it shifted to more of a “life” check-in, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding. My life has changed significantly and I am a completely different person than I was a few years ago. Nuff said about that.

Wes Ward Publish and Grow

Enter Wes Ward.

My new accountability partner (and someone I will be interviewing on the show soon).

Not only has Wes blown me away with his marketing brilliance, but he plays at a completely different level than most people I know. I’m part of a Mastermind group that has training on using Facebook ads (it’s much more in depth and eloquent than that, but I’m also going to be interviewing my good friend Adam Spiel who created this training and group, so more on that in November) to grow your business. While I was away in Scotland the Mastermind had the second in-person meeting (in Palm Beach Florida. The first one was in Las Vegas in Aug.) so I wasn’t able to attend. During the in-person meeting those who were there partnered up with someone else in the group for accountability. So on my first Mastermind call when I got home I asked if anyone still needed an accountability partner.

Wes sent me a chat saying he was looking for an accountability partner, we hopped on Skype later that day (he’s in Melbourne, Australia) and all I can say is WOW! 

What Wes is doing with his business and how he is teaching his clients has completely shifted EVERYTHING for me. I am looking at my business in a totally new light! Have you ever spoken to someone or been to an event and literally walked away wondering how you were going to sleep that night because your mind was racing with a zillion things? Yea. It was that kind of a call.

I hadn’t mentioned this to Wes on the call (but I guess he’ll read it here), but just the week before I was saying to a friend that I really wanted to find someone to connect with that would push me, teach me, show me something I hadn’t seen before. When you play it safe and stay in the same circles you’re not going to meet the people who will show you how to stretch your perceptions so you can take things to the next level. It’s just not going to happen.

Publish-And-Grow

I’m going to save Wes’ brilliance for the podcast interview so you can hear it for yourself, but let’s just say our conversation involved Harry Potter, Aston Martin and a little Carl Jung… all related to marketing and positioning.

Needless to say you’ll be seeing some BIG changes with my site and business (don’t worry, The WordPress Chick isn’t going anywhere) and I’ll be sharing the journey along the way. Keep your eye out for an interview with Wes SOON!

My Favorite New Plugin

Shortcodes-Ultimate

I’ll be doing a full post and video on this plugin soon but wanted to share it with you as soon as possible.

For those of us that aren’t coders or programmers, there is one thing with WordPress that will make your life MUCH easier, and that’s the shortcode! I’ve used and tried a handful of shortcode plugins (and will be getting rid of the premium shortcode plugin I have on this site because of how heavy it is on the site) but nothing has come close to the ease of use and clean interface as the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin that I found in the WordPress Plugin repository. Like I said, I’m going to get into more details and will do a video showing you how easy this is to use, but if you’re in a rush just click the button below to go directly to the download page (yes, the button was created with the plugin).

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6 Comments

  1. Kim, I can’t wait to hear more about your accountability partner! That’s very exciting!
    Also really interested in the shortcodes plugin, looking forward to that one too 🙂
    Welcome back!

    Marianne

    1. Helloooooo Marianne!
      Thanks girl- you’ll be able to hear my interview with Wes on this weeks podcast episode.
      I’m still catching up from being gone! Not work wise so much but just getting back into the swing of things (taking longer than I expected… guess that’s what happens when you set expectations for stuff like that, huh?).
      I’ll email you today too..
      🙂
      Kim

        1. Thanks Marianne,
          This kinda threw me for a loop! Didn’t expect to have it take so long.
          I’ll definitely email you this week. Let’s catch up on skype SOON!

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