Swindled…by the same woman…TWICE.
No lie - I’ve gotten swindled by the same woman two times.
My son, his 2 friends, & I were heading into a coffee shop when a FAST-TALKIN’ lady approached us in the parking lot with a STOOOORY!
Oh - man. I can’t even pretend to give this story justice.
Suffice it to say it involved a broken-down car, her son in the hospital a few blocks away, a cell phone that died, and NO CASH on her.
There was a lot of arm waving, hand wringing, and voice trembling…
With six VERY BIG, very YOUNG eyes on me, I made a decision in the moment - gave her $20 & wished her a safe journey.
The kids & I spent our coffee talk deciding whether we’d been taken -and we unanimously agreed we had.
We also decided to feel ok about it instead of angry or ashamed.
Fast forward 2 years - this time I’m alone, leaving my hairdresser, heading to my car on a city street.
It’s drizzling & I’m distracted because I don't want my newly-blown-out hair to get FRIZZY.
Again - a woman approaches, arms flailing, talking VERY FAST at me with a complicated & big story.
Something about her feels familiar, but I can’t place it.
I give her $20 & she FLIES away from me. The MOMENT I close the door; I squeeze my eyes shut and remember
DAMMIT!!
She got me again!
Writing this out, I could be embarrassed that I got scammed twice by the same woman.
We’ve all felt taken advantage of - especially online, right?
Whether it was the beautiful bag you bought off Instagram that’s an obvious piece of shit when it arrives on your doorstep…
OR a course you bought that didn’t serve up all it promised.
We’ve all been there. No shade or shame necessary.
WHICH is why it is so VITAL to create a know/like/trust factor
with your audience
AND…
With yourself!
This month, I’ll talk more about how to create a long-term relationship with your audience to help them come to know you, like, you & trust you.
Then become raving fans.
BUT! Today - I want to talk about earning YOUR OWN TRUST.
Because…heh, heh, heh…
That lady showed up at the Target parking lot just last weekend!
She came at me with her same fast talkin’ ways…
except this time I tuned IN.
I knew I recognized her from somewhere…
I knew this felt familiar.
And because I was laden down with my bags and a big COVID face mask, I had a few moment so slow down.
I didn’t need to rush in & give her money. I took my time & listened to her.
THEN I remembered her! The same GIANT red purse, the same GIANT set of car keys jangling in my face.
A HA! Not today, fast-talkin’ lady! NOT. TODAYYYYY.
So, I simply said, ‘I don’t have any cash” and she dropped me like a hot stone - then went to another car in the lot.
I calmly got in my car, called the police, and told them what I knew about her. Then I left.
Learning to trust ourselves is a journey - sometimes slower than we’d like it to be.
It’s hard to trust ourselves if we’ve been
- Denying things we want
- Living with guilt or shame
- Believing that the other people in our life deserve more than we do.
I realize that I usually feel guilty when someone else is in trouble. If they need money or help, I have a long-running script that it’s my job to help that person.
Because I have SO MUCH already.
I carry around guilt. I SHOULD all over myself.
And that’s why I react so often instead of being more measured…
Where in your life are you not trusting yourself?
Like you don't trust yourself to pivot in your business, charge more, or expand to the next level?
You might be waiting for the exact right moment and the exact right strategy -
Or you might be waiting for someone to tell you what to do because you don’t trust yourself.
I promise - if you don’t trust YOURSELF, you will never feel ready to make any leap.
In fact, there’s someone you may want to hire for your business -
A graphic designer
A marketing expert
A virtual assistant -
And the reason you don’t is that you don’t trust that - after you pay money for it - that you’ll even do anything with it!
This week, get honest. And try some low-risk self-challenges where you do something because YOU FEEL LIKE IT.
Learn to trust yourself.
Because once you do, you’ll find your confidence soars, you’ll be incredibly grounded, and your business will be able to grow with more flow.
PLUS - life will be a hell of a lot easier & more enjoyable.
I SWEAR!
One last thing - Speaking of trust, have you noticed that if there’s something YOU need -
- Like buy a new car
- Hire a contractor
- Find a new babysitter
one of the first things you do is ask your friends if they have someone to recommend?
It’s called Social Proof, and it’s vital to help your audience come to trust you.
As an entrepreneur, it can feel uncomfortable to ask for social proof from those who’ve worked with you - but it doesn’t have to be.
I created a step-by-step, non-yucky or pushy process to get the social proof you need to help get you the testimonials, reviews, and feedback you need.
Podcast reviews
Facebook recommendations
Yelp reviews
Google reviews
Trust yourself that if you ask for feedback & reviews, they will be GOOD!! People WANT to rave about you, they just don’t know how, or they haven’t thought about it!
