11. Stop Learning, Start Doing: A Mom’s Guide on Taking Action
As high-achieving moms, we have a tendency to gravitate towards chasing the next degree or certification, telling ourselves that once we have it, then we'll be ready to launch our dream business. This may sound like the right thing to do, but more often than not, it's just a way to avoid getting out of your comfort zone.
Learning masquerades as productive action but in truth, overly focusing on learning is really just a fancy form of procrastination. So, it's time to ask yourself: is the pursuit of research and learning actually getting you closer to starting your own business, or is it keeping you safely within the bounds of what you already know how to do?
Tune in this week to discover how to escape the comfort zone trap and instead channel your education addiction into real, tangible progress for your business. I discuss the expensive mistakes I made myself in trying to stay in my comfort zone, and I share a ton of tips for escaping the comfort zone trap and getting started on something that will change your life forever.
Are you a mom who is ready to quit their job and get serious about starting their own business? I have just the thing for you! My free webinar From Corporate to Creator: A Roadmap for Moms Ready to Build a Business takes place on Thursday, August 1st, 2024, and will give you a 5 step process to help you take action. It’s my last live event before maternity leave, so don’t miss it! Click here to grab your spot now.
If you're looking for the right environment to start your networking journey, look no further than my group, the Mom Entrepreneurs Circle. Sign up below for mutual support, advice sharing, and the tools you need for both you and your business to thrive. We meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month and participation is totally free!
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
What the comfort zone trap looks like and why you need to avoid it.
The expensive mistakes I made before I stopped procrastinating and actually started my business.
Why you will never feel 100% ready to start your business, no matter how many certifications you get.
How your identity as a high-achieving mom makes it incredibly difficult to escape the comfort zone trap.
Why you already know everything you need to know to provide value in the world through your business.
How to recognize where you're in the comfort zone trap, and how to escape it.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
Click here for step-by-step instructions to leave a rating and review to let me know what you think, and don’t forget to share the podcast with others who you think would benefit!
Check out this interview with Rose, a mom who went through my Mom's Reenergized program earlier this year. And if you want to learn more about the program, click here!
Full Episode Transcript:
Learning often masquerades as productive action when it’s really just a fancy form of procrastination. But I want you to ask yourself, is that moving your business forward or is it keeping you safely within the bounds of what you already know how to do?
Welcome to How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. It’s a podcast that helps working moms just like you, optimize your time, manage your mind, and start a business that helps you create more freedom, flexibility, and, yes, fun. I’m business and mindset coach Jenna Rykiel. And I offer practical tips to help you ditch the nine-to-five. I have been exactly where you are, and I know what it takes to make the transition without trading one form of burnout for another. So, let’s get started.
Hey there, mom friends, this is episode 11 and I’m loving the notes and feedback I’ve been getting from folks. I want to actually share an email I received a couple of weeks ago from a listener because I know her experience is so common, and it made my heart so full to receive the email. It’s a listener who joined the mom entrepreneur circle, after listening to the podcast. And we are so, so excited to have her in that group.
So, the email said, “Hi, Jenna. On Monday I was so frustrated and tired, thinking for the thousandth time, when shall I quit my job and be free? And as usual I started typing on different platforms, ‘quit your job’ and I found your podcast speaking directly to me and laying all the steps to take. I finished all nine episodes in three days. And I knew that your coaching group would be the support I needed to finally quit my job and launch my business.
I worked as a biomedical engineer for 10 years, then moved to a business analytics role. I discovered the world of coaching in 2019 and became a results certified coach and a tiny habit coach. I invested thousands in courses to learn how to launch an online business, but took little steps only to be easily distracted by life events and go back to my comfort zone, my eight to five job. I am really eager to be an active participant in this group, to add value and to get the support I need to have my dreams realized. I am really grateful for the podcast. It brought me the much needed calmness and hope that I desperately was looking for.”
That was from Mona. And I am not only so grateful that she found us, but I’m grateful that she found us in the nick of time. Because in the span of just a few days she was able to listen to the podcast and then join the mom entrepreneur circle to get support from other moms in the monthly support circle that I run. And more information on joining that is in the show notes, so definitely check it out. And I admire Mona so much because she truly took action. It takes time to listen and then to actually do the things like joining the group and showing up to get support and accountability.
She now has her departure date set and everyone in the group is tasked with holding her accountable. So, what a powerful shift in just a few days. I’m also so glad I received her email because it came at such a perfect time because I received it as I was in the midst of preparing for this episode. And there were a few things she mentioned that this episode is all about addressing, especially the piece about being in our comfort zone.
Today we’re tackling a topic that hits close to home for so many of us high achieving moms. It’s the tendency to gravitate towards chasing the next degree, the next certification, telling yourself that once you have it, you’ll be ready to launch your dream business. And whether you know it or not, this is often just another way to avoid taking meaningful action, the kind that makes us feel sick to our stomach, but gets us closer to that terrifying leap into entrepreneurship, and I get it. I’ve been there.
And so today we’re going to unpack this educational addiction and learn how to channel that energy into real, tangible progress for your business. Like I said, this one hits home for me. And I’ll share all about the expensive mistakes I made in order to ‘prove’ I was ready to start a business, only to find that we never really feel ready.
Okay, so the first thing I want to talk about is the comfort zone trap. The hard truth is that the only way we’re going to transition out of corporate, build a business and really evolve and grow in any meaningful way as a human is by stepping outside of our comfort zone. Growth always happens at the edge of discomfort. That’s a universal truth. So, getting comfortable with discomfort is of utmost importance on this venture. And in that process we also need to get really keen on recognizing where we’re seeking comfort because comfort doesn’t always feel comfortable per se.
I have talked about it before on this podcast that staying at our jobs feels crappy on a day-to-day basis. We’re stressed or overwhelmed, underappreciated, and exhausted, but it’s comfortable. Similar to what Mona shared about falling back into what was comfortable, which was her eight to five.
Which leads me to the comfort trap that this episode is really about, which is that learning is comfortable for most of us high achievers. We’ve built our identities around being the smart one, the one with all the answers. We have collected degrees and certifications like badges of honor, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Being a lifelong learner is admirable, but here’s where it gets a little tricky. Learning often masquerades as productive action when it’s really just a fancy form of procrastination.
I’m sure we can all relate to the feeling of sitting at our desks, surrounded by textbooks and online course materials. We’re feeling accomplished, ticking off items on the to-do list. We like knowing exactly what we need to read and complete. And although dissertations and projects aren’t easy, we like having direction, clarity, and direct feedback at the end to know we’ve done a good job or where we need to improve. Because someone will grade our assignment and tell us exactly what we did right and wrong for the most part.
But I want you to ask yourself, is that moving your business forward or is it keeping you safely within the bounds of what you already know how to do? I’ll share a personal story here. Back in 2017, I got certified as a coach. I was pumped, ready to start my business, but then paralysis hit. I convinced myself I needed to know how to build a website before I could possibly start. And when faced with the uncomfortable task of actually putting myself out there, what did I do? I told myself I need an MBA to start my own business.
Spoiler alert, anyone who tells you that you need an MBA to start your own business is absolutely wrong. In my experience, MBAs are the antithesis of entrepreneurship, but that’s a digression I’ll leave for now. Don’t get me wrong, an MBA can teach you valuable business acumen, but you know what it doesn’t teach you? It doesn’t teach you how to overcome the fear of failure. It doesn’t teach you how to put yourself out there when you’re not sure if anyone will listen. It doesn’t teach you how to keep going when you feel like giving up.
The harsh reality is this, adding a few more letters at the end of your name does not create clients. So how do we break free from this comfort zone trap? Start by recognizing when you’re using education as a shield. Ask yourself, is this course or degree or certification absolutely necessary for me to start serving clients right now? If the answer is no, it’s time to put down the books and take some real uncomfortable action. If the answer is yes, I want you to ask a friend or email me and we can have a fruitful discussion about the industry, your current knowledge gaps, and whether investing in a certification or degree actually is necessary.
I talk about it a lot in episode six, and we’ll continue talking about it a little later on in this episode, but you likely are more ready to provide value to others than you think. One mantra that I love instilling in clients is I know enough, period. What if we just believed that right now, in this moment, we know enough. That doesn’t mean we stop learning in general, but we know enough to put ourselves out there and start making offers to people so that we can help them and provide value in the world. The reality is that the more we know, the more we don’t know. There’s always more to learn, but that can’t stop you from moving your business forward.
So, recognize the comfort zone trap and know that even though degrees are hard and require uncomfortable late nights, early mornings, anxiety provoking assessments and projects. They are likely more comfortable to you than hosting a gathering of friends and families to tell them about your business. They are probably more comfortable than sending an email to a local conference and pitching an idea on a presentation topic. And it’s probably more comfortable than setting your price and asking clients for money.
Okay, the next point I want to bring up has to do with the swimology parable. And I can’t remember when I heard about this and I don’t know who to credit it to, but it has stuck with me for many, many years after it came into my life and so I want to share it. And it’s a powerful parable that goes like this.
A scholar spent years studying the art of swimming. She read every book, watched every video, and could recite swimming techniques in her sleep. One day she was on a boat that capsized. As she flailed in the water, a fellow passenger who had never studied swimming a day in her life but who never missed a chance to take a swim in the lake, effortlessly swam to shore. The moral here is that you can read everything there is to know about swimming, but when you’re thrown in the deep end, it’s not the person who read more that will survive, it’s the person who got in the water and practiced.
We learn so much more from actually swimming than from reading about swimming. This parable perfectly encapsulates the entrepreneurial journey. You can study business strategies until you’re blue in the face, but at some point you have to get your head out of a book so you can dive in and start swimming, or in our case start building your business. You can get that expensive six figure MBA and get all A’s and you will still learn more about marketing from creating your own messaging and seeing what lands with your ideal clients. You’ll learn more about creating your own sales funnel or creating ads on your own.
You can learn all the coaching skills and get praised by all the instructors and you will still learn more about what questions to ask and how best to interact with clients from sitting across from them and seeing how they respond. Again, I’m not discouraging you from learning, but rather encouraging you to diversify how you learn and to put more emphasis on experiential learning rather than telling yourself that you need a certain degree or a credential to succeed. So how do we apply all of this? As always, I want to share some actionable steps.
Number one, identify one small action you can take today that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s reaching out to a potential client or posting about your business idea on social media. Whatever makes you feel a little sick to your stomach, whatever makes you feel tense in your body and hot in the face, those are good signs that you are stepping out of your comfort zone.
Next, I want you to schedule time on your calendar, set a timer for 15 minutes when that time comes and just do the thing. Don’t overthink it. Don’t plan too much, just do it. I know we’re all over-thinkers in this group, so avoid allowing yourself to think about much of anything. Stop thinking about what people will think when they read the post, everyone’s busy and no one is really reading or listening all that closely so just do it.
The third thing I want you to do is really reflect on how it felt. Was it as scary as you thought? What did you learn? Everything feels uncomfortable at first, and then it gets comfortable. If you’ve ever rode a bike as an adult after a long hiatus of non-biking, you know how this sort of thing feels. After the first day, lord, that’s uncomfortable in the sits area. You’re walking funny. It takes days to sort itself out. You swear off riding. And this was my experience when I first got a peloton bike. But as you continue to ride your bike, slowly it becomes more comfortable.
When I first started posting on social media and sending emails, it took me hours, literally hours and even days to click submit or send on anything that other humans would be reading. Now it’s just part of my process. I need to let people know about all this awesome free value I’m putting out in the world, so I’m doing them a disservice if I don’t click send. Remember, every successful entrepreneur started with one small, scary action that likely made them want to throw up. Your business grows not from what you know, but from what you do.
I’ve mentioned this briefly before, but it’s worth us digging into a little deeper. So many moms I work with and connect with say, “But I need to learn more to truly bring value to my clients.” And to that I say, “You’re wrong. You have value right now. Think about it, you’ve got years of experience in your nine to five. You’ve navigated the corporate world. You’ve balanced career and motherhood. That’s a wealth of real world experience that no degree can match.”
In all my years of running my business, not a single client has ever asked about my certifications or degrees. What they care about is whether I can help them solve their problems. So instead of focusing on adding more credentials to your name, focus on honing your ability to articulate your value. If you are truly able to see your value the way others see your value, and by others, I mean those who know you best, you’ll approach these scary conversations with potential clients and putting your work out in the world with more confidence.
So, here’s what I want you to think about and do. I want you to list out all of your experiences, professional and personal, that have taught you valuable lessons. For each experience, identify skills or insights you’ve gained and then practice explaining how these skills and insights can benefit your potential clients. It may be something that you never share with clients or anyone else, but just the practice of you understanding your value more and better will help you to show up for your potential clients. And it will help you take action and to see yourself as worthy and valuable right now.
Remember, your life experiences are an asset. Your unique blend of experiences is what will set you apart in the market. Embrace it, understand it, articulate it, and most importantly, start using it to serve your clients. And remember, there is a transcript that is written for every single episode. Just go to jenna.coach/ whatever the episode number is, so 11. And you’ll be able to pull up the transcript and find all of these great action items that I’m suggesting.
Okay, so another obstacle that I often see people up against is the belief that if they haven’t yet achieved X results, they can’t help others do it. I was just in a conversation the other day with someone who’s thinking about starting a weight loss coaching business. But she herself would like to lose 10 pounds and is having trouble doing it. Just because we have the knowledge and tools to do something and have difficulty figuring it out for ourselves, does not mean that we can’t share our knowledge with others and support them to get results.
The interesting thing about this example is that I think this woman has even more credibility to support women to lose weight because she intimately knows that it’s not just about knowing what to do, but actually having accountability and support for others. She intimately knows how difficult it is and what obstacles are involved, because she is literally experiencing them right now.
And lord knows, I also hear this a lot with coaches, myself included. Somebody who wants to bring value to others as a life coach, but they feel like they can’t possibly do that, since they feel like their own life is a mess. It’s the plumber with a leaky pipe analogy. Just because these are areas in your life that you’re working on, does not detract from the value you can bring others. And what’s really cool is that as these folks, the weight loss coach and life coach figure new tools out that work for them, they can apply that to their clients. We don’t need to have it all figured out before we start helping others.
Again, it’s in the doing that allows us to figure out these things. So, we’ve got to jump in the water and start swimming.
Okay, now let’s talk about discomfort a little bit more. I know we touched on it earlier, but it’s so important. It is the difference maker here. The truth is, building a business is uncomfortable, it’s messy, it’s uncertain. And that’s precisely why so many of us retreat to the comfort of another course or certification when things get tough. But here’s the thing, discomfort is where growth happens. It’s where you discover what you’re truly capable of.
So, what does uncomfortable action look like in entrepreneurship? It looks like going to a networking event and introducing yourself and your business idea before it’s fully fledged. It looks like offering your services for free to get testimonials and proof of concept knowing it’s a shitty first draft and that you might look like a newbie. It’s sending an email to all of your friends and family, telling them about your new venture and how they can help promote it. It’s picking a transition date and writing it on your calendar and on a post it note that you’ve put on your bathroom mirror.
These actions are going to make your stomach churn, but they’re the ones that will propel your business forward and more importantly, help you to grow in your entrepreneurial identity.
I have another exercise that I want you to try. I want you to write down the most uncomfortable business related action you can think of right now. Then I want you to break it down into smaller, less intimidating steps. And then I want you to commit to taking one of those steps this week. So, if it’s going to a networking event and introducing yourself and your business idea before it’s fully fledged, I want you to write that down. And then I want you to break it into smaller, less intimidating steps.
So maybe it’s researching networking events. Maybe it’s registering for that event, creating an introduction, picking out an outfit, showing up. Break it down into smaller, less intimidating steps. And then commit to taking one of those steps this week. So maybe you just research networking events this week. Maybe you just write down a quick introduction for yourself. Commit to taking at least one of those steps. Remember, every successful entrepreneur you admire has felt this discomfort, the difference is they pushed through it.
The last piece I want to reiterate is that I’m not saying all education is bad, far from it. Being a lifelong learner is crucial for entrepreneurial success. But we need to redefine what valuable education looks like for entrepreneurs and recognize when something is necessary versus a method of our avoiding something hard or scary. Instead of another degree or certification, it might be more beneficial for you to invest in accountability or a specific business skill that will require you to take uncomfortable action.
So, what I mean by that are things like maybe investing in a marketing course that teaches you how to actually reach your ideal clients. Maybe there’s a marketing course that will help you create Facebook or LinkedIn ads. The idea being that the course should push you to actually run an ad by the end of it. So, you aren’t just getting that skill, you’re forced to take action within the course.
One of the most impactful courses I took was a mini course where the topic was, create your work in the world and I think it was a five week course. And at the end of those five weeks, you were going to launch whatever the thing was that you were working on. And at the time, I had an idea for a group program that would help moms create more time and energy. The thought being that if they had more time and energy, they could start spending time on building a life and business they love.
And by going through the mini course, I was able to create the Moms ReEnergized curriculum, which is a group I launched and ran earlier this year. I also recently did an interview with a mom who went through that program. So, if you want to learn more, I’ll link that interview and more information on that program in the show notes. But what’s important to note here is that the marketing course itself had an outcome that moved my business forward. At the end of that course, I had the content and exactly how to market it, which led me to being able to truly launch it and try something new and yes, terrifying in my business.
So, think about investing in marketing courses that allow you to move your business forward, all while you gain specific skills that will continue to be valuable for you in reaching your customers. And next, consider investing in a business coach who will hold you accountable and push you out of your comfort zone. This can be someone who helps you come up with a more concrete plan of meaningful action you can take. I know in my program we create specific 30, 60 and 90 day plans that align with where the business is at and what the client needs at any given moment.
And I’ll be honest, I’ve worked with many business coaches for my own business and have learned way more from those folks than I ever did in my MBA. Many of the tools and ideologies I share in this podcast and in my own coaching program are a mix of what I’ve learned from my own coaches.
The third thing that I would recommend is a sales training that helps you overcome your fear of ‘being salesy.’ I can’t express enough how important sales is to your life as an entrepreneur. And I know that you hate me for saying that, but listen, we are always selling, whether it’s to sell ourselves in an interview or for a promotion, or trying to persuade our kids to eat healthy foods. Sales is everywhere in our lives, and it’s so important to you and your business. It’s a skill that you can definitely improve on. So, taking a course on something like this will absolutely help not only your business, but your life.
These investments directly contribute to your ability to create and grow a successful business. All that being said, I want to share a quote by Patrice Washington that I heard recently, and if you don’t know her work, I recommend looking her up. She has an amazing story and the pillars that she coaches on are top notch. She said, “Sometimes you don’t need another marketing course. You need to understand why you keep trying to hide.” This quote hits at the heart of what we’re discussing today.
Often our pursuit of more education is really just a way of hiding from the scary parts of entrepreneurship. So, while, I suggest ways to invest your money in different courses that will move your business forward, investing in something or someone who will help you understand why you keep trying to hide and help you rewire your brain so you see yourself as worthy and valuable may be more impactful than anything. And this could be a coach or a therapist or a group program that offers a safe space to be vulnerable. Or maybe it’s just a ton of self-coaching, which is a tool I teach all my clients so they can coach themselves even when I’m not around.
I really wanted to share that quote though, because it aligns so much with my mission in this episode, which is to really encourage you to go for it right now with what you know and all the credentials you already have. And if you’re going for it and it feels like it’s not working, try something scary before you lean on another degree or credential. So, I challenge you to dig deep and ask yourself what am I really avoiding by pursuing more education? What action am I afraid to take?
So today we covered a lot, we talked about recognizing when learning is becoming a form of procrastination rather than productive action and moving your business forward and remember the swimology parable. So, at some point, you have to get in the water and start swimming. We talked about acknowledging the value you already bring with your unique experiences and skills, just as you are, no more degrees or letters after your name.
We talked about embracing discomfort and seeing it as a sign of growth and pushing yourself to take uncomfortable actions. I tell all my clients, if you feel like you want to throw up, it means you’re doing something right. And we also talked about redefining valuable education for entrepreneurs. So how to focus on skills that directly contribute to creating clients and growing yourself and your business.
As we wrap up this episode, I want you to remember you are capable of so much more than you realize. You have the power to create the business and life you dream of, but it requires action, scary, uncomfortable, exhilarating action. So, here’s what I want you to do.
This week, I challenge you to take one action that scares you. Maybe it’s reaching out to a potential client or posting about your business on social media, whatever it is, do it. Then reach out and let me know how it went. You can email me or better yet like Mona, join the free mom entrepreneur circle where there’s a community of moms ready to cheer you on. And remember this podcast is here to guide you step by step towards creating a life you love. We’re in this together, so until next time, keep taking those brave and courageous steps forward and I’ll see you next Wednesday.
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. If you want to learn more about how I can help you stop making excuses and start making moves, head on over to www.jenna.coach. I’ll see you next week.
Welcome to How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. It’s a podcast that helps working moms just like you, optimize your time, manage your mind, and start a business that helps you create more freedom, flexibility, and, yes, fun. I’m business and mindset coach Jenna Rykiel. And I offer practical tips to help you ditch the nine-to-five. I have been exactly where you are, and I know what it takes to make the transition without trading one form of burnout for another. So, let’s get started.
Hey there, mom friends, this is episode 11 and I’m loving the notes and feedback I’ve been getting from folks. I want to actually share an email I received a couple of weeks ago from a listener because I know her experience is so common, and it made my heart so full to receive the email. It’s a listener who joined the mom entrepreneur circle, after listening to the podcast. And we are so, so excited to have her in that group.
So, the email said, “Hi, Jenna. On Monday I was so frustrated and tired, thinking for the thousandth time, when shall I quit my job and be free? And as usual I started typing on different platforms, ‘quit your job’ and I found your podcast speaking directly to me and laying all the steps to take. I finished all nine episodes in three days. And I knew that your coaching group would be the support I needed to finally quit my job and launch my business.
I worked as a biomedical engineer for 10 years, then moved to a business analytics role. I discovered the world of coaching in 2019 and became a results certified coach and a tiny habit coach. I invested thousands in courses to learn how to launch an online business, but took little steps only to be easily distracted by life events and go back to my comfort zone, my eight to five job. I am really eager to be an active participant in this group, to add value and to get the support I need to have my dreams realized. I am really grateful for the podcast. It brought me the much needed calmness and hope that I desperately was looking for.”
That was from Mona. And I am not only so grateful that she found us, but I’m grateful that she found us in the nick of time. Because in the span of just a few days she was able to listen to the podcast and then join the mom entrepreneur circle to get support from other moms in the monthly support circle that I run. And more information on joining that is in the show notes, so definitely check it out. And I admire Mona so much because she truly took action. It takes time to listen and then to actually do the things like joining the group and showing up to get support and accountability.
She now has her departure date set and everyone in the group is tasked with holding her accountable. So, what a powerful shift in just a few days. I’m also so glad I received her email because it came at such a perfect time because I received it as I was in the midst of preparing for this episode. And there were a few things she mentioned that this episode is all about addressing, especially the piece about being in our comfort zone.
Today we’re tackling a topic that hits close to home for so many of us high achieving moms. It’s the tendency to gravitate towards chasing the next degree, the next certification, telling yourself that once you have it, you’ll be ready to launch your dream business. And whether you know it or not, this is often just another way to avoid taking meaningful action, the kind that makes us feel sick to our stomach, but gets us closer to that terrifying leap into entrepreneurship, and I get it. I’ve been there.
And so today we’re going to unpack this educational addiction and learn how to channel that energy into real, tangible progress for your business. Like I said, this one hits home for me. And I’ll share all about the expensive mistakes I made in order to ‘prove’ I was ready to start a business, only to find that we never really feel ready.
Okay, so the first thing I want to talk about is the comfort zone trap. The hard truth is that the only way we’re going to transition out of corporate, build a business and really evolve and grow in any meaningful way as a human is by stepping outside of our comfort zone. Growth always happens at the edge of discomfort. That’s a universal truth. So, getting comfortable with discomfort is of utmost importance on this venture. And in that process we also need to get really keen on recognizing where we’re seeking comfort because comfort doesn’t always feel comfortable per se.
I have talked about it before on this podcast that staying at our jobs feels crappy on a day-to-day basis. We’re stressed or overwhelmed, underappreciated, and exhausted, but it’s comfortable. Similar to what Mona shared about falling back into what was comfortable, which was her eight to five.
Which leads me to the comfort trap that this episode is really about, which is that learning is comfortable for most of us high achievers. We’ve built our identities around being the smart one, the one with all the answers. We have collected degrees and certifications like badges of honor, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Being a lifelong learner is admirable, but here’s where it gets a little tricky. Learning often masquerades as productive action when it’s really just a fancy form of procrastination.
I’m sure we can all relate to the feeling of sitting at our desks, surrounded by textbooks and online course materials. We’re feeling accomplished, ticking off items on the to-do list. We like knowing exactly what we need to read and complete. And although dissertations and projects aren’t easy, we like having direction, clarity, and direct feedback at the end to know we’ve done a good job or where we need to improve. Because someone will grade our assignment and tell us exactly what we did right and wrong for the most part.
But I want you to ask yourself, is that moving your business forward or is it keeping you safely within the bounds of what you already know how to do? I’ll share a personal story here. Back in 2017, I got certified as a coach. I was pumped, ready to start my business, but then paralysis hit. I convinced myself I needed to know how to build a website before I could possibly start. And when faced with the uncomfortable task of actually putting myself out there, what did I do? I told myself I need an MBA to start my own business.
Spoiler alert, anyone who tells you that you need an MBA to start your own business is absolutely wrong. In my experience, MBAs are the antithesis of entrepreneurship, but that’s a digression I’ll leave for now. Don’t get me wrong, an MBA can teach you valuable business acumen, but you know what it doesn’t teach you? It doesn’t teach you how to overcome the fear of failure. It doesn’t teach you how to put yourself out there when you’re not sure if anyone will listen. It doesn’t teach you how to keep going when you feel like giving up.
The harsh reality is this, adding a few more letters at the end of your name does not create clients. So how do we break free from this comfort zone trap? Start by recognizing when you’re using education as a shield. Ask yourself, is this course or degree or certification absolutely necessary for me to start serving clients right now? If the answer is no, it’s time to put down the books and take some real uncomfortable action. If the answer is yes, I want you to ask a friend or email me and we can have a fruitful discussion about the industry, your current knowledge gaps, and whether investing in a certification or degree actually is necessary.
I talk about it a lot in episode six, and we’ll continue talking about it a little later on in this episode, but you likely are more ready to provide value to others than you think. One mantra that I love instilling in clients is I know enough, period. What if we just believed that right now, in this moment, we know enough. That doesn’t mean we stop learning in general, but we know enough to put ourselves out there and start making offers to people so that we can help them and provide value in the world. The reality is that the more we know, the more we don’t know. There’s always more to learn, but that can’t stop you from moving your business forward.
So, recognize the comfort zone trap and know that even though degrees are hard and require uncomfortable late nights, early mornings, anxiety provoking assessments and projects. They are likely more comfortable to you than hosting a gathering of friends and families to tell them about your business. They are probably more comfortable than sending an email to a local conference and pitching an idea on a presentation topic. And it’s probably more comfortable than setting your price and asking clients for money.
Okay, the next point I want to bring up has to do with the swimology parable. And I can’t remember when I heard about this and I don’t know who to credit it to, but it has stuck with me for many, many years after it came into my life and so I want to share it. And it’s a powerful parable that goes like this.
A scholar spent years studying the art of swimming. She read every book, watched every video, and could recite swimming techniques in her sleep. One day she was on a boat that capsized. As she flailed in the water, a fellow passenger who had never studied swimming a day in her life but who never missed a chance to take a swim in the lake, effortlessly swam to shore. The moral here is that you can read everything there is to know about swimming, but when you’re thrown in the deep end, it’s not the person who read more that will survive, it’s the person who got in the water and practiced.
We learn so much more from actually swimming than from reading about swimming. This parable perfectly encapsulates the entrepreneurial journey. You can study business strategies until you’re blue in the face, but at some point you have to get your head out of a book so you can dive in and start swimming, or in our case start building your business. You can get that expensive six figure MBA and get all A’s and you will still learn more about marketing from creating your own messaging and seeing what lands with your ideal clients. You’ll learn more about creating your own sales funnel or creating ads on your own.
You can learn all the coaching skills and get praised by all the instructors and you will still learn more about what questions to ask and how best to interact with clients from sitting across from them and seeing how they respond. Again, I’m not discouraging you from learning, but rather encouraging you to diversify how you learn and to put more emphasis on experiential learning rather than telling yourself that you need a certain degree or a credential to succeed. So how do we apply all of this? As always, I want to share some actionable steps.
Number one, identify one small action you can take today that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s reaching out to a potential client or posting about your business idea on social media. Whatever makes you feel a little sick to your stomach, whatever makes you feel tense in your body and hot in the face, those are good signs that you are stepping out of your comfort zone.
Next, I want you to schedule time on your calendar, set a timer for 15 minutes when that time comes and just do the thing. Don’t overthink it. Don’t plan too much, just do it. I know we’re all over-thinkers in this group, so avoid allowing yourself to think about much of anything. Stop thinking about what people will think when they read the post, everyone’s busy and no one is really reading or listening all that closely so just do it.
The third thing I want you to do is really reflect on how it felt. Was it as scary as you thought? What did you learn? Everything feels uncomfortable at first, and then it gets comfortable. If you’ve ever rode a bike as an adult after a long hiatus of non-biking, you know how this sort of thing feels. After the first day, lord, that’s uncomfortable in the sits area. You’re walking funny. It takes days to sort itself out. You swear off riding. And this was my experience when I first got a peloton bike. But as you continue to ride your bike, slowly it becomes more comfortable.
When I first started posting on social media and sending emails, it took me hours, literally hours and even days to click submit or send on anything that other humans would be reading. Now it’s just part of my process. I need to let people know about all this awesome free value I’m putting out in the world, so I’m doing them a disservice if I don’t click send. Remember, every successful entrepreneur started with one small, scary action that likely made them want to throw up. Your business grows not from what you know, but from what you do.
I’ve mentioned this briefly before, but it’s worth us digging into a little deeper. So many moms I work with and connect with say, “But I need to learn more to truly bring value to my clients.” And to that I say, “You’re wrong. You have value right now. Think about it, you’ve got years of experience in your nine to five. You’ve navigated the corporate world. You’ve balanced career and motherhood. That’s a wealth of real world experience that no degree can match.”
In all my years of running my business, not a single client has ever asked about my certifications or degrees. What they care about is whether I can help them solve their problems. So instead of focusing on adding more credentials to your name, focus on honing your ability to articulate your value. If you are truly able to see your value the way others see your value, and by others, I mean those who know you best, you’ll approach these scary conversations with potential clients and putting your work out in the world with more confidence.
So, here’s what I want you to think about and do. I want you to list out all of your experiences, professional and personal, that have taught you valuable lessons. For each experience, identify skills or insights you’ve gained and then practice explaining how these skills and insights can benefit your potential clients. It may be something that you never share with clients or anyone else, but just the practice of you understanding your value more and better will help you to show up for your potential clients. And it will help you take action and to see yourself as worthy and valuable right now.
Remember, your life experiences are an asset. Your unique blend of experiences is what will set you apart in the market. Embrace it, understand it, articulate it, and most importantly, start using it to serve your clients. And remember, there is a transcript that is written for every single episode. Just go to jenna.coach/ whatever the episode number is, so 11. And you’ll be able to pull up the transcript and find all of these great action items that I’m suggesting.
Okay, so another obstacle that I often see people up against is the belief that if they haven’t yet achieved X results, they can’t help others do it. I was just in a conversation the other day with someone who’s thinking about starting a weight loss coaching business. But she herself would like to lose 10 pounds and is having trouble doing it. Just because we have the knowledge and tools to do something and have difficulty figuring it out for ourselves, does not mean that we can’t share our knowledge with others and support them to get results.
The interesting thing about this example is that I think this woman has even more credibility to support women to lose weight because she intimately knows that it’s not just about knowing what to do, but actually having accountability and support for others. She intimately knows how difficult it is and what obstacles are involved, because she is literally experiencing them right now.
And lord knows, I also hear this a lot with coaches, myself included. Somebody who wants to bring value to others as a life coach, but they feel like they can’t possibly do that, since they feel like their own life is a mess. It’s the plumber with a leaky pipe analogy. Just because these are areas in your life that you’re working on, does not detract from the value you can bring others. And what’s really cool is that as these folks, the weight loss coach and life coach figure new tools out that work for them, they can apply that to their clients. We don’t need to have it all figured out before we start helping others.
Again, it’s in the doing that allows us to figure out these things. So, we’ve got to jump in the water and start swimming.
Okay, now let’s talk about discomfort a little bit more. I know we touched on it earlier, but it’s so important. It is the difference maker here. The truth is, building a business is uncomfortable, it’s messy, it’s uncertain. And that’s precisely why so many of us retreat to the comfort of another course or certification when things get tough. But here’s the thing, discomfort is where growth happens. It’s where you discover what you’re truly capable of.
So, what does uncomfortable action look like in entrepreneurship? It looks like going to a networking event and introducing yourself and your business idea before it’s fully fledged. It looks like offering your services for free to get testimonials and proof of concept knowing it’s a shitty first draft and that you might look like a newbie. It’s sending an email to all of your friends and family, telling them about your new venture and how they can help promote it. It’s picking a transition date and writing it on your calendar and on a post it note that you’ve put on your bathroom mirror.
These actions are going to make your stomach churn, but they’re the ones that will propel your business forward and more importantly, help you to grow in your entrepreneurial identity.
I have another exercise that I want you to try. I want you to write down the most uncomfortable business related action you can think of right now. Then I want you to break it down into smaller, less intimidating steps. And then I want you to commit to taking one of those steps this week. So, if it’s going to a networking event and introducing yourself and your business idea before it’s fully fledged, I want you to write that down. And then I want you to break it into smaller, less intimidating steps.
So maybe it’s researching networking events. Maybe it’s registering for that event, creating an introduction, picking out an outfit, showing up. Break it down into smaller, less intimidating steps. And then commit to taking one of those steps this week. So maybe you just research networking events this week. Maybe you just write down a quick introduction for yourself. Commit to taking at least one of those steps. Remember, every successful entrepreneur you admire has felt this discomfort, the difference is they pushed through it.
The last piece I want to reiterate is that I’m not saying all education is bad, far from it. Being a lifelong learner is crucial for entrepreneurial success. But we need to redefine what valuable education looks like for entrepreneurs and recognize when something is necessary versus a method of our avoiding something hard or scary. Instead of another degree or certification, it might be more beneficial for you to invest in accountability or a specific business skill that will require you to take uncomfortable action.
So, what I mean by that are things like maybe investing in a marketing course that teaches you how to actually reach your ideal clients. Maybe there’s a marketing course that will help you create Facebook or LinkedIn ads. The idea being that the course should push you to actually run an ad by the end of it. So, you aren’t just getting that skill, you’re forced to take action within the course.
One of the most impactful courses I took was a mini course where the topic was, create your work in the world and I think it was a five week course. And at the end of those five weeks, you were going to launch whatever the thing was that you were working on. And at the time, I had an idea for a group program that would help moms create more time and energy. The thought being that if they had more time and energy, they could start spending time on building a life and business they love.
And by going through the mini course, I was able to create the Moms ReEnergized curriculum, which is a group I launched and ran earlier this year. I also recently did an interview with a mom who went through that program. So, if you want to learn more, I’ll link that interview and more information on that program in the show notes. But what’s important to note here is that the marketing course itself had an outcome that moved my business forward. At the end of that course, I had the content and exactly how to market it, which led me to being able to truly launch it and try something new and yes, terrifying in my business.
So, think about investing in marketing courses that allow you to move your business forward, all while you gain specific skills that will continue to be valuable for you in reaching your customers. And next, consider investing in a business coach who will hold you accountable and push you out of your comfort zone. This can be someone who helps you come up with a more concrete plan of meaningful action you can take. I know in my program we create specific 30, 60 and 90 day plans that align with where the business is at and what the client needs at any given moment.
And I’ll be honest, I’ve worked with many business coaches for my own business and have learned way more from those folks than I ever did in my MBA. Many of the tools and ideologies I share in this podcast and in my own coaching program are a mix of what I’ve learned from my own coaches.
The third thing that I would recommend is a sales training that helps you overcome your fear of ‘being salesy.’ I can’t express enough how important sales is to your life as an entrepreneur. And I know that you hate me for saying that, but listen, we are always selling, whether it’s to sell ourselves in an interview or for a promotion, or trying to persuade our kids to eat healthy foods. Sales is everywhere in our lives, and it’s so important to you and your business. It’s a skill that you can definitely improve on. So, taking a course on something like this will absolutely help not only your business, but your life.
These investments directly contribute to your ability to create and grow a successful business. All that being said, I want to share a quote by Patrice Washington that I heard recently, and if you don’t know her work, I recommend looking her up. She has an amazing story and the pillars that she coaches on are top notch. She said, “Sometimes you don’t need another marketing course. You need to understand why you keep trying to hide.” This quote hits at the heart of what we’re discussing today.
Often our pursuit of more education is really just a way of hiding from the scary parts of entrepreneurship. So, while, I suggest ways to invest your money in different courses that will move your business forward, investing in something or someone who will help you understand why you keep trying to hide and help you rewire your brain so you see yourself as worthy and valuable may be more impactful than anything. And this could be a coach or a therapist or a group program that offers a safe space to be vulnerable. Or maybe it’s just a ton of self-coaching, which is a tool I teach all my clients so they can coach themselves even when I’m not around.
I really wanted to share that quote though, because it aligns so much with my mission in this episode, which is to really encourage you to go for it right now with what you know and all the credentials you already have. And if you’re going for it and it feels like it’s not working, try something scary before you lean on another degree or credential. So, I challenge you to dig deep and ask yourself what am I really avoiding by pursuing more education? What action am I afraid to take?
So today we covered a lot, we talked about recognizing when learning is becoming a form of procrastination rather than productive action and moving your business forward and remember the swimology parable. So, at some point, you have to get in the water and start swimming. We talked about acknowledging the value you already bring with your unique experiences and skills, just as you are, no more degrees or letters after your name.
We talked about embracing discomfort and seeing it as a sign of growth and pushing yourself to take uncomfortable actions. I tell all my clients, if you feel like you want to throw up, it means you’re doing something right. And we also talked about redefining valuable education for entrepreneurs. So how to focus on skills that directly contribute to creating clients and growing yourself and your business.
As we wrap up this episode, I want you to remember you are capable of so much more than you realize. You have the power to create the business and life you dream of, but it requires action, scary, uncomfortable, exhilarating action. So, here’s what I want you to do.
This week, I challenge you to take one action that scares you. Maybe it’s reaching out to a potential client or posting about your business on social media, whatever it is, do it. Then reach out and let me know how it went. You can email me or better yet like Mona, join the free mom entrepreneur circle where there’s a community of moms ready to cheer you on. And remember this podcast is here to guide you step by step towards creating a life you love. We’re in this together, so until next time, keep taking those brave and courageous steps forward and I’ll see you next Wednesday.
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. If you want to learn more about how I can help you stop making excuses and start making moves, head on over to www.jenna.coach. I’ll see you next week.
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