Melinda and Sandy both start their author journey the same way…
Melinda is excited when she discovers the world of self-publishing.
She realizes this will be a great way to earn some extra income while using her talent for writing.
Just one problem…
She’s plagued by self-doubt.
Her mind races…
“What if my book isn’t any good?”
“What is the right book to write?”
“How do I even get started?”
Her excitement turns to fear of screwing this up.
She spends a few weeks spinning her wheels in this state until she’s had enough.
Melinda knows in the information age, there are plenty of tips out there on self-publishing.
So she decides the best course of action is to go to various blogs, Facebook groups, and pick up a few books on the topic.
Now she has a new problem…
She’s overwhelmed with conflicting ideas.
She hears some people raving about free book promotions, then hears other people say they tried that and it didn’t work.
Should she follow her passion and write what she loves, or just write what’s popular?
She hears about advertising and some authors are saying it doesn’t work, but then gets confused because other authors are saying it’s made them thousands of dollars.
When it comes to tech stuff like a webpage and optin lead magnets, her head spins and she doesn’t even want to bother with it.
Melinda spends months in a state of overwhelm.
She fears, “What if I put all this time and energy into writing a book and no one buys it?”
She feels she has to get this right.
If you were coaching Melinda, what guidance would you give her and why?
Sandy’s journey starts off the same way.
She feels compelled to use her talents for writing to build a business.
Self-doubt creeps in as it seems to happen to so many.
She wonders if what she has to offer is any good.
Then she remembers a quote she heard from T. Harv Eker…
“Every master was once a disaster.”
It doesn’t make sense to worry about how great she is before getting started because she has to get started to become great.
Even though she doesn’t know how to get started, she makes the commitment and decision to get started assuming she’ll figure it out as she goes.
Sandy has one big secret that gives her immense confidence…
She knows she doesn’t have to have all the answers because someone else has figured out how to do what she wants to do.
So she quickly moves past that doubt and sets out to find a proven plan to guide her.
Sandy invests in a training course that lays out a step-by-step plan to lead her from idea to bestseller.
Sandy isn’t overwhelmed like Melinda as she only has one course of action to follow.
But she still has a problem…
She’s now doubting herself and is scared she’s going to screw up what she’s learning.
These feelings came in when a lot of the things she’s doing from the course don’t seem to work.
Her confidence is diminishing as she wonders, “Am I doing this right? Is it me or is it what I’m learning that’s not working?
She laments, “I must be missing something, or perhaps I’m just not any good at this.”
She’s feeling a different kind of confusion than Melinda.
Rather than being overwhelmed with conflicting ideas, Sandy can’t figure out how well she’s applying what she’s learned or if what she’s learned even works.
What would you coach Sandy to do and why?