Life happens. As they say, life is what happens when we’re busy making plans. How have you learned to navigate your Direct Sales business through life’s big ups and downs? Or have you found these times simply unfold and you haven’t thought to be particularly intentional about this?
Today I’m sharing my recent big life event and how I go about navigating a forward moving business with 3 helpful strategies for your next big life event.
Since my last episode, well, I had a baby! We welcomed a sweet little bundle of love to our family. All 4 lbs of him came seven weeks early, yet in his own perfect timing.
Because he arrived well before his due date, and I was admitted without knowing I wouldn’t be going back home that day, it was all a bit unexpected.
We are over the moon in love with this cutie. He’s being well cared for in the NICU and we can’t wait to bring him home. If you’ve had a NICU experience you know it’s not for the faint of heart. He’s doing well, yet it’s still not a walk in the park.
I’m grateful the NICU is open 24/7 and we can go any time of day or night and stay as long as we need to. Yes, it’s excruciating walking out of his room every time I have to leave. It gets more difficult. Not easier.
You may even be thinking to yourself, what are you doing on this podcast right now? Go see that baby! You’ve got quite a bit on your plate, what are you doing here?
Choices Are Key to Fulfilling Your Role as Direct Sales Leader
I’m here because I want to be. Harmony is important to me. And well, that’s precisely why I’m here. To discuss how we navigate times like these while running a thriving business, if we choose. And that’s the key message today. Choice. It’s easy to go on autopilot and keep plugging away.
I did think long and hard about if I was taking time away from my business and if so, how much. What would that look like? What do I want? Honestly, my business does not feel like work.
It’s incredibly rewarding, so fulfilling, it gives me personal purpose, having just a little something, ok a big something, to call my own. It’s a creative outlet for me. I feel more myself and more at peace when I am serving you and my clients.
That said, this big life change has been an opportunity for me to be intentional and truly think about how to navigate my role as business owner.
Take this podcast for example. I thought long and hard about if I would miss an episode. I really didn’t want to miss any. I look forward to this and I love doing it.
I was in the hospital for 6 long days and nights. I was admitted the same day my last new episode aired, always on Tuesdays. I was discharged the following Monday. I had time to create a new episode and have it air on schedule.
I made the conscious decision to skip that week. It wasn’t an easy decision. But it was the right
decision for me that week. Just as my decision to create and air this episode with you is the right one.
I absolutely could have and still could disappear. Return to all other things at some point in the future. And in many ways that is exactly what I did, for my own needed timeline. I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because I can be.
Three Strategies to Navigate Life’s Big Ups and Downs as a High Achiever in Direct Sales
Here are my 3 strategies I personally use to navigate business while personally navigating life’s big ups and downs and what I recommend you consider the next time you find yourself in a unique spot yourself.
Be Intentional About Your Choices in Your Direct Sales Leadership Role
- Be intentional about your choices to best serve you and your family.
To do this you have to know yourself. We are entrepreneurs because we want to put our family first. Because we want flexibility with our time. Take advantage! If you know yourself to use work as a busy distractor, to bury yourself in the actions of your business to get through tough times, this is not the same thing.
This is living out of habit, not intentions. It’s possible to still stay plugged into your business and your people in a way that may look different than when you’re not navigating life’s big moments. This is very different than going back to old patterns to simply get through, distract yourself, and power on.
Take a minute to think through what’s best for you and your family. Make a conscious decision to determine IF you want to stay engaged with your business and if so, how can you creatively go about your work time and attention differently?
Address Your Immediate Obligations with Intention in Your Direct Sales Biz
2. Take care of the immediate obligations.
Regardless if you choose to continue to spend time on your business as you navigate a big life change, there are likely appointments on your calendar and actions you had scheduled to take in the near future, especially if your big life change is unexpected, like mine was. Address these.
This is an opportunity to choose whether you need to take care of these immediate obligations or if you can have someone else do it for you. Your partner, your mentor, someone close in your downline.
In my situation, I have an online scheduler for my clients. I had my phone with me at the hospital, but not my laptop. It was easy enough for me to send a quick text to key clients that were in the process of choosing a time, but hadn’t yet.
I simply asked them to pause choosing a time until I could get back with them. Once I could get into my schedule, I changed my availability. This covered anyone that may be looking to reschedule their already booked appointment.
There were a few other clients I had packages to mail to. I simply let them know via text to expect it a few days later. In time, I had my husband package what was needed and drop in the mail. If you have a personal assistant, this is a key time to put him or her to work. It can typically give this person a big boost of confidence to help you in such a time of need.
Share What You’re Ready to When You’re Ready as a High Achiever in Direct Sales
3. Share what you’re ready to when you’re ready.
This is a two part strategy so please stay with me until the end.
Because you may need to connect with people on obligations already on your schedule, you may feel the pull to explain to them what’s happened. You don’t.
This is an opportunity to exercise your personal boundaries and to truly take a minute to decide what you’re ok with sharing, what you’re not quite ready to, and who you feel right sharing with.
It’s important to know that it’s healthy to share only with others that have earned the right to hear what you’re going through. It doesn’t matter if your big life change is a happy one or incredibly difficult. Those that you share with should have earned the right to be included in your highs and lows. What do I mean by this?
There are sadly some people that don’t respect other’s boundaries or have personal boundaries of their own. You’ll know this because you’ll feel it in your gut. Your instincts will tell you. Trust yourself.
Because of previous experiences with folks like this, you were left feeling unsupported, with a prickly feeling after a conversation, maybe there were intrusive questions from this person that didn’t feel right.
People who have not earned the right to hear what you’re experiencing have maybe overshared with others in the past, without your consent, in an unhelpful way that just felt more like gossip than support. You know.
And if you have people in your business and your life that are newer and you haven’t had enough interactions yet to determine any of this, air on the side of sharing less than more or at least be prepared to learn who may handle your information with care and who may not.
Here’s a quick personal example. After my first baby, five years ago, it was so difficult. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything well, even the laundry. I was talking to a dear friend, she has 3 kiddos herself, we were both up at a very early hour in the morning. Texting.
I shared that if she were to walk in my house she may consider calling 911 because it looked as though the place had been broken into and ransacked! I mean honestly. I couldn’t stay on top of anything.
This is a friend who had earned the right to hear my vulnerability. This is what she did. She took a video of her ransacked house, tiptoeing around and whispering as the rest of the family was still asleep yet here we were, both up and sharing in our mess.
She said this is a typical Tuesday around here. Everything is in disarray. You’re so not alone. This is real life. I felt so validated, and of course, she made me laugh, which is the best medicine!
The second part of this strategy is that we’re in a relationship business. You have many, many more people that will be supportive during your highs and lows in life than will be lacking the boundaries to offer selfless support.
It is a great opportunity to allow yourself to be supported. To welcome other’s strengths and circulate the positive, nurturing, supportive human kindness and compassion around you. It is the most beautiful experience to be a part of this.
It’s so surprising to me as women we are typically the first one’s to jump in willing to help someone else out. Yet, when we are in need, true need, we are the last one’s to ask for help or allow ourselves to accept it. Look, I get it. All too well. I am a private person. Welcoming our newest little one has been an incredible high and some of the most difficult days all in one.
Accepting the kindness and help from our community has made all the difference in navigating this. I have been brought to tears of gratitude on multiple occasions as we receive the kindness, and the selfless gestures of support.
It has been the most uplifting experience. I am humbled and oh so very grateful that we said yes to the support extended to us.
There are certainly difficult and private moments I have had through this that I haven’t even processed yet. These will stay close hold to me until I can process them. Even with supportive, close friends ready to hear and help, I know myself and I need to process first, even before sharing with these friends.
And there are some moments that will simply stay private to my family. It’s all ok. But the key is to know and to be intentional. It’s ok to protect your spirit, emotions, fragile state, and it’s ok to be the one to decide how to navigate your life’s big moments.
After all, we are entrepreneurs so that we can live out our personal hopes and dreams, to put our families first and to enjoy the flexibility of our time. With that, I’m going to head to the NICU now and go get some baby snuggles.
The next time you’re navigating a big life change, positive or difficult, I hope these 3 strategies, 1. Be intentional with your choices, 2. Take care of immediate obligations and 3. Share only what you’re ready to when you’re ready, will enhance your personal experience and help you decide how to navigate business through the ups and downs of life.
The best is yet to come, friends! Always.
