The $10,000 Decision

The room was filled to capacity. The lights were dim except for the spotlight on her on the stage. The backdrop had five silk banners, drapped and flowing downwards from floor to ceiling that read : Mindset, Movement, Marketing, Math, Motion.

As I sat with my binder on my lap and the invitation card in my hand, I started to feel the rush of hope and anticipation build.

“What if you could build your business and create a movement? What if you could market your business and change the lives of many and make a lot of money? What if you could take what you already know and build an incredible business that will serve you for years to come? Would you be interested?”

Yes! Yes! Yes! I could hear myself saying under my breath.

I had spent the past two days in the company of over 600 entrepreneurs in a hotel banquet room that had been transformed into an incredibly invigorating and inspiring room of learning, personal and professional growth, and yes, as a perfect self-confidence booster like no other.

I was feeling so pumped, excited and knew, deep within, that is was my turn to say yes to me and to step fully into living my potential.

For the past few years, I had been immersing myself in beareavement studies following the death of my mother in 2007. I had also launched a second business helping families and seniors downsize and move into their next homes. I also felt a deep desire to step fully into something bigger, although I didn’t know what that was yet. I just knew it was inside me waiting to be born.

It felt very much like when I had started Women Moving Forward in 2002. This inner knowing, this deep calling to step into a bigger and more purposeful and meaningful way of helping others, of building community and making connections.

As I sat there with the invitation in my hand, a small booklet of five pages, listening to her share the opportunity she was offering I just knew I had to say yes.

And I was ready to say yes. I had every intention of saying yes. This opportunity to work with her and her team was perfect! Absolutely perfect! I was going to say yes!

“The investment is $10,000”, she said matter-of-factly.

What? $10,000??

I know she was still talking after she said that pivotal sentence but I couldn’t hear but one voice. That of my own in my head.

$10,000!!! Oh my gosh. I can’t do this. That’s way too much money. Where am I going to get $10,000? Oh gosh.

But I want to do this. I know it’s my time to do this. I know with her coaching I can do what I know I’m meant to do.

She has the experience and the expertise. She just taught me over the past two days what I need to know. I have to do this.

But how do I say yes to $10,000? What will my husband say? He’ll for sure divorce me.

$10,000!!!

I turned to my dear friend who was sitting next to me. She could see that I really wanted to do this and she could also sense the fear that was escalating as I contemplated this opportunity.

“This is for you Pete.” (My friends call me Pete). “This is perfect for you”, she said again in a calm and reassuring voice.

“But how am I supposed to say yes to a $10,000 investment in ME!?! ”

She paused. Smiled. And then said, “If anyone can take that $10,000 and multiply it by 100 it’s you. You can do this. I believe in you.”

Her words were reassuring. And I did believe in myself. But….

…..$10,000!!!

As I looked closer, there was a payment plan option. That would certainly help me. I wouldn’t have to tap into our savings or personal investments. I could simply use the payment plan and pay for this myself. I knew I could do it.

But $10,000!!! Oh gosh!

I still couldn’t get over the price of this opportunity.

Was I even worth it?

I slowly found myself hearing the sounds of the room again. I could hear her from the stage.

“For the first 15 who say yes, I have a special bonus opportunity for you.” And as she started to talk about the bonus, I knew that I had to say yes. I’d work it out.

I can do this. I am worth it.

And I got up, went to the back of the room and signed the agreement for the non-refundable deposit and joined my very first , of what would become many, high level coaching program.

Just looking back on that experience fills me with so much emotion and crazy wild thoughts.

Who was I to think I could invest $10,000 in a coaching program, in a woman, I had only met once but had been following for six months?

Who was I to think that I could pay the $10,000 and earn far more than what I was paying?

Who was I to think that I could be who I knew deep down I knew I could be?

For the first 24 hours after signing what I felt like was my life away, I was so scared what my husband would say and that I wouldn’t fulfill what I believed. It took me until I got home, and we were sitting in the hot tub, for me to tell him what I had done and why I felt I could do this, and that I needed him to believe in me.

Looking back, it was the scariest and most exciting investment in me that I have ever made up until that point and it still comes back to remind me every time I say yes to an opportunity.

When we simply go day by day letting time pass us by without truly stepping into what we are capable of, how we can be of service to others, and live our potential fully, we are cheating ourselves of what life is offering us.

There’s accountability.
There’s commitment.
There’s belief in self, the future and what is possible.

It’s more than just doing the work. It’s investing fully in the potential of it all.

If you are sitting on the fence waiting for permission to say yes to yourself and what is possible out of fear and worry, you will always stay at the same level and see minimal growth.

But if you are ready to say yes to an opportunity that requires you to invest in yourself and your future, here are some questions to ask yourself. If the answer is yes to these questions, then take a chance on yourself and say yes to the opportunity.

1. Will this opportunity teach me and support me through something I don’t know or wish I knew?
2. Will this opportunity give me the guidance I need to make decisions about what is yet to come?
3. Will this opportunity provide me the accountability and support I need to reach new levels of success, growth and fulfillment?
4. Will this opportunity connect me to new people or offer new connections I may not be able to make on my own?
5. Will this opportunity be something that will push me, and honour me, as I move forward?

If the answer is yes to any or all of these questions, this opportunity may be the one that is waiting for you!

I’ll always remember that fateful day in that room of over 600 people, holding that invitation card in my hand, and knowing that it was my turn, my time to say yes to me. It opened the door to so many other opportunities, and I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not taken that chance and said yes to me.

Are you ready to say yes to you? I have room in my private practice for one-on-one clients for a set duration of time, or for a private 4-hour VIP experience where we’ll map out your full vision and mission, solidify the monetization and revenue streams, and create the plan to support it all. Ready to say yes? Connect with me today!

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash