Suz Chadwick [00:00:00]:

Welcome to the Brand Builders Lab Podcast. I'm your host, Sue Chadwick, certified business and mindset coach, author, and speaker. Each week, we'll be talking about simple but powerful business and mindset strategies that will help you build a lean, clean, and profitable business so You can learn to get out of your own way and pay yourself more. Forget average. It's time to level up. Hey, gorgeous. Welcome back. Look at us go.

Suz Chadwick [00:00:28]:

So many episodes. I have been on fire with the Instagram lives. We clean them up, we edit them, and we drop them here for your listening pleasure on the podcast. I actually went to an event last night. And something that the organizer said, which I'm gonna share with you, really inspired this episode. Got me thinking in a whole new way. I come up with some really good analogies in this episode, Can I just tell you that just come to me? They just come to me as I'm speaking, which is so, so good. So listen.

Suz Chadwick [00:00:58]:

We are gonna dive in. Come and listen up to how to keep showing up when things get hard. Today, we are going to talk about how to keep showing up when things get hard. So I was actually by something that was said at an event that I was at last night. I went to the Shecom event here in Melbourne, which was fantastic. And Lisa, who runs the Shecom event, when we there was a panel discussion, One of the things that she said, it was kind of like what happens when things get tough. And she said, when business gets tough, Our natural instinct is to contract, is to become smaller, is to not show up because it just feels really hard. And She said what needs to happen is the exact opposite, and I just could not agree more.

Suz Chadwick [00:01:55]:

So this morning, she kind of inspired me To talk about how to keep showing up when things get hard in your business. So the 4 p's that I think can really help you when it comes to, You know, showing up when things get hard. And the first one is just really around your purpose. And yesterday, I was coaching a client And, you know, she's she's been struggling to get clients herself. And one of the things I just said to her is why why do you do what you do? Like, why does this matter? Why do your clients need this? Why do you wanna talk about it? Like, you you're building a whole business around it. What is your purpose? Because when things are hard, I think you've kinda gotta go back to why you started the business and why you're doing what you do. And I know that that Feels really, once again, cliche because everybody talks about it. But when you really think about like, for me, seeing my Clients who I know are amazing, not show up, not share their message, breaks my heart.

Suz Chadwick [00:02:56]:

So that's why I am so passionate about coaching Women to be those bold and powerful voices. So when it gets tough, I think we've just gotta anchor back into, Like, why we started the business and why we're here and that passion. Because at the end of the day, you are doing something that you're passionate about. You started it for particular reason. And I think a lot of times, we just kinda lose focus on that. So really think about that purpose of why you started And think about the fact that did you expect it to be easy? Like, when you started your business, were you like, this is gonna be a breeze. This is gonna be so easy. Everything's gonna go my way.

Suz Chadwick [00:03:37]:

Everything's gonna be amazing. And it's like the Instagram post that I I put up this week that I learned from Tony, which is we're not meant to be happy all the time. We're just meant to progress. And the more we progress, the more happiness we have. And so within your business, when you have a purpose, when you have a reason for creating your business, being a business, And you just think about, am I progressing? Like, am I further along now than what I was a month ago or a year ago? Look, I really want you to think back. If you've been in business for a while, I want you to think back to the 1st year or the 1st 2 years in business, And I want you to think about where you are now and what that journey's been, yeah, and how far you've come. I think sometimes we've got this negative bias all the time about What's not working, what's not right, where we're not, the the things that have not worked, etcetera. And we focus on those instead of thinking about all the progress that you've made.

Suz Chadwick [00:04:34]:

And I would really encourage you if this isn't something that you do on the regular, I would really encourage you to sit down and be like, You know, what is the difference between, like, when I first started or the last year to where I am now? What have I learned that's new? What have I done that's new? What have I progressed in? Like, how far have I come? Because if you can see it in the gratitude of your progression, if you can see it in All of the things that you've learned and how you've moved forward, even when you're not exactly where you wanna be, it'll just make a difference to you showing up. Yeah. Because if you're focused on those and you're trying to have more of an optimistic view rather than a pessimistic view, then You're gonna be in such a better mental state to show up and keep growing your business and keep connecting with your audience as well. So that's the first thing. When times are tough, the way to keep showing up is to anchor into your purpose, anchor into your vision, anchor into why you did this, Anchor into your passion. Yeah? Or and so that you can keep showing up and doing what you're doing. The second thing, which is I actually think is, like, The most important thing are the people, the people around you, the people who you can say, I had a really crappy month, or I had a really a year or, you know, like, I'm down $100 this year, but I'm still gonna keep going because I know that the business has its cycles. I know that it's gonna go up and down, and they're, like, they're supporting you, going, yeah.

Suz Chadwick [00:06:05]:

You can do this. Like, do you wanna brainstorm ideas? Do you need me to help you? Like, is there anything that I can do for you? And if you can have people around you who are, like, not just there to listen, which I think is important too, But who who you can have really great business conversations with. And it's not always about everything being rosy and amazing. I think sometimes When you can have those conversations and last night at the event, the speakers were talking about their imposter syndrome. And the fact that Everybody has it. We all experience it. And it's just about learning to move through it and learning how you can get better at Kind of not sitting in it because I think it's really normal to especially as we continue to progress and And we continue to learn. Imposter syndrome is just you believing that you've not learned as much as you can.

Suz Chadwick [00:07:01]:

So it's always gonna be there. And I know that's a really weird thing to say, but I actually think it's kind of like when Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic talks about, we can never get rid of fear, but we just allow it to sit in the car, Like, in the back seat. It's not allowed to touch the radio. It's not allowed to drive the car, but it sits there with us. And I actually think imposter syndrome needs to be one of those things that we have in the car with us, but it's just not allowed to drive us. Yeah. It's just not allowed to own us. It's not allowed to, Like, have any control over us.

Suz Chadwick [00:07:34]:

Look at the way that we think about this. I really want you to think about struggle. When we struggle and when things aren't going well, It helps us move into a different gear. It helps us show up in a different way. When we have imposter syndrome, it's just that we haven't learned Everything that we wanna learn, that's all it is. It doesn't have to be this huge bad obstacle. It's just like fear, one of the things that sits in the car. So I want you to think about this.

Suz Chadwick [00:08:00]:

You're in a car. I love the when these analogies come to me. You're in a car. You're driving your car. And next to you is Your optimism, your positivity, your cheerleader, your we've got this, your grit and determination. That's who's sitting next to you in the passenger seat. And in the back seat is fear, imposter syndrome, and struggle. And it's fine.

Suz Chadwick [00:08:22]:

Like, they're there. They're always gonna be there. But you just have to not give them power. You just have to not give them the power that they're gonna, like, stop you from moving forward. And so I think that when we take the power away from the things that we think Again, it have a really negative effect on us. Then it just is kind of something that's there, but It's like, alright. I'm just gonna keep going. Like, it doesn't actually stop you in your tracks.

Suz Chadwick [00:08:53]:

So how do you keep showing up when things get tough? You reframe where what you think is holding you back. And you accept that As long as I progress, as long as I move forward, that's what, like, life and business is about. Because that's where happiness comes from, is when I break through. If you didn't have the negative, you would never feel the joy. You can't feel joy unless you felt sadness. You can't feel elation unless you felt really defeated. And so we can't, like, have one without the other. And I think a lot of times, We think that somehow we've failed if we have a negative emotion.

Suz Chadwick [00:09:34]:

And I just want you to know that just know that you can't, You know, you can't have the sweet taste without the sour. So we have to appreciate the struggle. We have to appreciate The imposter syndrome. Because then it drives us to learn more. It drives us to be better. It drives us to show up in a different way. Doesn't it? And so almost feel like I value and appreciate the negative so that I can really experience the positive in an incredible way. So I just want you to think about that.

Suz Chadwick [00:10:07]:

The first one that we talked about was purpose. The second thing we're talking about is people. And I almost feel like the emotions sit as the people in our car as well. The third thing that really can help you to keep showing up when things are hard It's just really managing your mind from a perspective of our brain has a negative bias. How do I control, manage so that I am always tapping into the optimism, tapping into the possibility, Tapping into the positivity. Tapping into what I know I am capable of. And so for those of you I've got clients who are on this at the moment. You know that I love my intentional thought creation.

Suz Chadwick [00:10:50]:

Where's my book? I've got my intentional thought creation that I do in the morning About today, I'm gonna have a great live with you. Today, I'm gonna connect with new people. Today, I'm gonna record a great podcast. I'm gonna have a great coaching call with my BBA clients. Like, today, I'm gonna decide how I'm gonna thinking how I'm gonna feel. I'm not gonna leave that up to my brain because my brain is just here to survive. It will want me to conserve energy, to not do anything scary, To sit and not work. Hello, procrastination.

Suz Chadwick [00:11:22]:

And so I'm I'm actually gonna decide to take control and not allow my brain just to do what it wants. And so when things get tough, I just want you to think about how am I managing my mind? How am I making sure that I show up in a way that Even though this is hard right now and I appreciate the struggle, what a different way of thinking about it. Yeah? Imagine if today you went, I accept and I appreciate the struggle because I know it's gonna make you better. I know it's gonna make me tougher. I know it's gonna, like, make me excel at what I'm doing. Because struggle helps us to be more creative. Struggle helps us to really think about how we can Do things in a different way. Do things better.

Suz Chadwick [00:12:07]:

So how are you gonna take that and make that better for yourself? And the 4th thing It's really just to become a problem solver. Yeah. Become a problem solver who you're just like, I can work out anything. I I want you to really think about that. You're like, I can work out anything, any problem that comes my way. There's nothing that will, like, Get me down. That will break what I'm doing. If I am trying to do something and what I'm doing is not working, there are a 1000000 other ways to do it.

Suz Chadwick [00:12:38]:

If what I'm doing is not working, then I will find somebody who will help me to think differently. If what I'm doing is not working, I know that I have the ability because I've seen lots of other people be successful, so it's possible. And so really think about how How much are you relying on yourself to be a problem solver? How much are you identifying yourself as a problem solver? Yeah. So that you can be like, I can solve any problem. I can I can achieve whatever I want? I can solve any problem. It will be a struggle, and I know that it's hard work, but I can totally make that happen. And so today, I just really felt inspired by something that was said last night at the event that I was at. And I think that Those are 4 things to really think about on how to keep showing up when business is tough, when you're struggling.

Suz Chadwick [00:13:25]:

I just want you to think about what is my purpose, who is around me, what is possible for me, and how do I just become an internal problem solver? Because that's what business is, is that you just gotta keep figuring out because the market's always changing. You're changing. You're evolving. Your client base might be changing and evolving with what they need as well. And so you can be that problem solver. Yeah? So that is what I wanted to share with you this morning. Have an amazing rest of your day. Happy Friday.

Suz Chadwick [00:13:55]:

We're in Australia. It's Friday here. Friday morning. And if you've got any questions, just let me know. But otherwise, Go forth. Keep showing up even when things get hard because you can do hard things, my lovely. You can do hard things.