More ≠ Closer

Humans are programmed by biology— hello dopamine— and evolution— hey there status anxiety— to seek more. Even when we have more than enough, we're programmed to add to what we have. The rise of storage units to hold what doesn't fit in our homes, the obesity epidemic, and chasing attention on social media all point toward default programming to add. The same dynamic plagues otherwise thoughtful and talented coaches. In our desire to get closer to our goal of making a bigger difference and a better living, We add things to our marketing funnel. You saw some of the common culprits in the previous lesson. Don't get me wrong, some marketing activities are necessary to grow your business. However, most of the coaches I work with are independent contractors. Yet they try to market as though they possess the staff and marketing budget of a large and fully capitalized brand. This is a recipe for disaster. If you keep chasing more, you'll exhaust yourself, burn out, and be of no value to your clients or yourself. Audit how you spend your time in your business for a week. How much time do you actually spend doing the coaching you created your business for in the first place? How much time do you spend revising your logo, updating your site, writing blogs and emails, developing lead magnets, creating and posting content, shooting and editing videos, scripting workshops, hosting webinars, or writing a book? How about time, attention, money, and effort spent on professional development? How many books are on your shelf? How many coaching programs have you enrolled in? How many freebies have you downloaded? Can you map any return on investment from all the time, attention, money, and effort you invest in each activity? If so, does the return on investment justify the expenditure? Don't get me wrong, coaches need to invest in themselves. After all, I'm asking you to do so in this accelerator. I'm simply advocating a more thoughtful, disciplined, and focused approach. For the independent coach, keeping up with the latest marketing trends, tricks, and hacks is Absolute folly. The only people who benefit from this activity are the gurus, influencers, and charlatans who peddle them. Addition may be our natural instinct, but it's not our friend. Subtraction is a far better approach to catalyzing your forward progress. The effectiveness of any system is based on the efficiency of its component parts, and efficiency is encouraged by pruning, not unrestricted growth. After you audit all the time, attention, money, and effort spent in your business, prune, or at least place on the back burner, all the activities that don't deliver a justifiable return on investment. This exercise alone will free up time, attention, money, and effort that already gets you closer to your goal of making a bigger difference while making a better living as a coach. Remember, more does not equal closer.