I’ve been thinking…

Here we are four days into the new year. How’s it going?

The last couple of weeks of 2017 were very busy. I usually use December to clear things up. I go through everything that I have in my office, and even documents from my business coaching work and clients that I have on my computer. I like to start the new year fresh. For some reason this year I had a lot more work to wrap up, and my personal life was busier than usual. This year, in addition to the things we do during the holiday season, we incorporated some of Todd’s family traditions (Sammi’s fiancé) into ours. It looks like I’ll do my end of year cleaning in January this year.

To help kickstart 2018 I’ve been reading two great books about sales, You Can’t Teach a Kid To Ride A Bike At A Seminar by David Sandler, and Smart Calling, Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling by Art Sobczak. Both books ask you to take time to understand what differentiates you from your competitor. To answer the question “Why you?”

This is a topic that comes up frequently in the conversations I have with my clients. In fact, to a large degree this is what my business coaching book, Because You’re Worth It is about.

My favorite exercise in my book is on page 90. It’s what I call “A Superman bio”. I developed the exercise to help a client who was stuck in her own mind. She had shared a short bio she wrote that was going to be used to introduce her for a presentation she was doing. I was struck by how critical it was of herself. She couldn’t imagine what anyone else could possibly see in her. I saw so much in her; how could she not see that in herself? It was as if, in her mind she was Clark Kent, and hiding her superpowers from the world.

Here’s the exercise I created for her. Give it a try and see what you come up with.

1. Take a few minutes to describe yourself as if you were…

• Your favorite client
• A colleague (or maybe your current, or former boss?)
• Your partner, spouse, best friend, your child, your parents
• Someone you helped in passing
• A stranger watching you go through your day, and interacting with others.

2. Consider, what would they say about you.

• Why do they spend time with you?
• What do they see in you?
• Why do they love you?
• How do you help or encourage them?
• What do you do for them?

3. This might be a little extreme but think about what these people would say in a eulogy for you.

• Who would they say you were?
• What would they say you stood for?
• What would they miss most about you?

You have my permission to brag. In fact, you may not include anything negative in your responses.

Write down things you are not comfortable saying aloud or even admitting. Things that if someone said it to you, you might respond with, “Oh come on now, that’s not me,” or “Stop it, that was easy,” or “It was nothing.”

Go ahead and be big. Be bold. Be brave. Unmask the person hiding behind the glasses & suit.

After you’ve written your Superman Bio, read it aloud. Take it in. This is the real you behind the glasses and suit. This is the Superman (or Superwoman) that is worthy of the clients, the business, and especially the life you are dreaming of.

What are you seeing that you didn’t see before? Share your thoughts on this exercise, or better yet, share your Superman Bio in the comments section below.