When you have a grand vision of your book hitting best seller status or the new product launch making thousands upon its release, self imposed pressure to ‘knock it out of the ballpark’ can be hazardous to your success. It can also be hazardous to your health. I’ve even seen how the stress can negatively impact the overall success of an entire business.
But wait! Don’t give up those ideal outcomes for your pet project. Just be smart about how you go into it and never ever play by someone else’s rules for success.
I’ll make this simple with a list of my do’s and don’ts. I am not an expert in book sales (although Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction is printed in four languages and has been bought by thousands). I’m also not an expert on specific how-to’s that bring in millions on a launch or grand opening (I’ve done thousands in a launch but not six or seven figures, yet!).
However, I’m an expert at setting people up to win with their specific model and I’ve seen them nail their expectations on their first time out of the gate.
Don’t:
Set a deadline or launch date that is too close for comfort. It’s smart to coordinate your timing with other promotions or holidays but if it’s going to make you sweat and hurry through the process, it’s not worth it. Stress kills creativity like a snail in a cup of beer.
Do:
Give yourself more time than you think you need to plan, create and implement. Things will pop up that you hadn’t thought about and you’ll need time to fill in the blanks without being frantic. Your team needs time to handle marketing and technical issues that need trouble shooting. And everyone needs the freedom to work on the project when they’re inspired not because the clock is ticking. Feeling spacious with time let’s you do the job in excellence. Excellence is attractive.
Don’t:
Get wrapped up in studies, articles, classes and gurus who tell that it has to be done a certain way or you’ll fail. Experts are going to tell you the way that they’ve achieved success or what they have witnessed. Their results and findings come from the experience and reality they choose to experience, believe and create. Studies don’t mean squat unless you believe they do.
Could you duplicate their process? YES! But it has to totally feel right in your gut and you have to be 100% behind their strategy or it’s going to be a bust.
Do:
Follow your inspiration when someone’s advice feels exciting and true to your values. Take the strategies and systems that feel good to you and ditch the rest. You may have a potluck of expert advice that you mold together and come up with your own perfect recipe.
Don’t:
Wing it. Push it. Get serious. Hunker down. Make it hard work. Crack the whip on yourself. These are sure-fire ways to kill the mojo on any project. You’ll make mistakes and have a hard time calling forth the talents from your team or yourself.
Do:
Be light. Make it fun. Prepare mentally, emotionally and physically. Set your intentions for how you want to feel before, during and after the project is complete. Plan for success and you will source winning strategies. You don’t need to figure the whole thing out before you begin. Begin and you’ll attract your ideal steps as you go.
Sleep well knowing you’re going to knock it out of the ballpark because you are clear on what you’re doing, the impact it will make and what you want as a result of doing this project.
Don’t:
Get attached to the end result. If all you focus on is what and how you need to write to be a bestselling author, your writing will suffer. You don’t want to stress out about being perfect. You want to know it’s perfect because what you’re creating feels good.
Do:
Be clear on what you want as result of your bestselling book or a million dollar launch. Ask yourself why you want the end result. What will it give you? Whatever the answer, you don’t have to be a bestseller or generate a million dollars to get the essence of that desire. Throughout your creation focus on the joy of what you’re doing and the essence of what it will give you.
And for goodness sake, don’t be chintzy with this project. Do it to the best of your ability considering your time and budget constraints. Go bigger and better than your little ‘Gremlins’ may advise. Make yourself proud.
The more fun and joy you have in the process, the better your results.