What a $7,000 mistake taught me about making decisions

In 2022 I was in a complete flow with who I was and my purpose.

I had just left my head coach position at a CrossFit gym to take the final leap into Life and Leadership Coaching full time.

What was once a dream, became a reality. 10 decades as a strength coach and I was ready to impact lives in a different way, all while working for myself.

As I transitioned jobs I was also prepping that summer to travel in the UK and Europe indefinitely.

It was my Eat, Pray, Love moment 😅 - except I had a clear vision of what I was wanting to do with my life while traveling in a new country, experiencing a different culture and surfing big waves in Portugal.

Somewhere along the way in this transition I got stuck in scarcity trying to "figure out" my life and plan to grow my business long term. That's when I stumbled upon my "golden ticket" 🎫 ...

Okay you can probably assume by the title it didn't end up being a golden ticket (although had a price tag like one) but I thought for sure it was the answer I had been looking for.

I found this Podcast coaching program that taught you how to grow and monetize your own unique, 1 of 1 podcast. I thought THIS WAS IT!

I previously had a podcast with my best friend, and I thought - this is exactly what I need to get my message out, create a following and grow my business.

Fast forward a month or so and I had binged their own podcast episodes, hopped on a sales call and started scheming for how I could afford this coaching program.

Yeah that's right, it cost $7,000 😬

If you’re anything like me you can get stuck in these loops of not knowing what decision to make next in your life, business or relationships.

The truth is I get fixated on wanting to make sure I’m getting it right.

Which is rooted in a fear of making the wrong decision.

The dreadful “what if” game starts to spin. What if...

• I invest this money on a coach and it doesn’t work?
• This relationship doesn’t work out and I’m heart broken?
• I say no and miss out on this opportunity?

It can be a lot to hold. So much so that I get caught in one of two camps:

1. Obsessing over finding the right solution
2. Paralysis by analysis and doing nothing

But the good news is I’ve found a solution that I had to learn the hard way.

What has worked really well with me is choosing the best thing RIGHT NOW.

This is a combination of holding onto the big vision of your future and trusting your intuition.

If it's not a full HELL YES, then it's a not yet.
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​🎧 I ended up signing up for this podcast coaching program because I was afraid of missing out. I was too caught up in emotion that I wasn't able to listen to my gut.

And it didn't end well.

A few months later I had no results.

Exhausted and frustrated I kept showing up.

Recording podcasts from Europe and studying the course, but their framework didn't seem to fit.

Fortunately for me I was a grade A student and did everything they said - I asked the owner for a refund and to his credit he agreed because they couldn't get the results they promised.

To say I was relieved 😅 is an understatement.

I have a lot of respect for him to this day.

What I learend is that I put this unnecessary sense of urgency on making the choice to do this program.

When I could have followed the “what's best right now” framework which could have looked like...

• Continuing to consume all the free content, podcasts and info out there.
• Start my own podcast on my own
• Checked in after 1, 3 or 6 months to see if it still felt aligned to sign up for the program.

You see a NOT YET, doesn't mean you can't take any action.

But you've got to follow the bread crumbs instead of committing to the whole slice of cake.

Following what's best RIGHT NOW allows you to follow what’s alive and continue to hone in on what direction to go in life.

I've learned that I only follow the full on hell yes feeling in my body to make decisions, which sometimes looks like small steps.

Another way of putting this is asking the question: What do I know that I know?

I knew that I was curious about the coaching program, but I didn't know it was right for me.

If I had followed the curiosity it would have likely led me to the best choice for me - had I been patient enough to wait.

So the next time you find yourself with a big decision, trust your gut and follow your excitement no matter how big or small that knowing is.

Taylor

P.S. Did you enjoy this?

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Taylor Sleaford Life, Leadership & Men's Work Coach

↠ What do I do? I work 1:1 with Men & Women guiding them personally, spiritually and professionally to be their most authentic, loving and powerful self. I also lead group programs for men. Learn more HERE​

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