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I'M TICKLED YOU'Re HERE.
I like to think of it as the $10,000 question. The question that sparked months of preparation, hundreds of running feet, and 15,000 parched mouths satisfied for a lifetime.
Early in my marriage, around 2013 or so, I applied to become an “advocate” for a large nonprofit. I had donated to them for years and saw the light they brought to dark places. As an advocate, I traipsed off to local events at churches and theme parks to find sponsors for kids in developing countries and jumped on special calls to develop skills.
Then one day, the organization emailed me. Would I be interested in coaching? Meeting twice a month on the phone to discuss my involvement.
Uh, sure. Coaching like this felt strange to me, but why not?
On the first call, I sat in my home office, phone to my ear, answering “get to know you” questions about myself and my life. Towards the end of our short time, the kind woman on the phone stopped me.
She said, “Mikaela, you’ve talked a lot about other people’s ministry. But what about yours? What would you say is your ministry?”
The question.
I couldn’t answer her. Physically. Something stopped my tongue and I realized I was crying. Finally, I squeaked out, “I don’t know. I never realized I could have a ministry.”
Something inside of me felt released. I could have a ministry. I could keep supporting the ministries of others while having my own.
A few months (and a few more coaching calls) later, I found the courage to move forward on an idea brewing in my mind for months: host a 5K to raise money for safe drinking water. With a mighty team of other women, we brought in over $10,000 to provide clean drinking water for over 15,000 people.
Because of one question. One coaching call.
I believe in coaching because I’ve seen it work. The power that one question can have on a person, on thousands of people.
But I also understand it’s an investment financially, emotionally. Are you ready?
I would argue that yes. I don’t even need to know your situation, but yes. You’re ready. Coaching can help in all situations, especially if you’re feeling stuck.
But if you’re still on the fence, here are five signs you’re ready for a writing coach.
Google is one of my best friends. It tells me everything from how to fold a duvet cover to stopping a toddler from throwing his food. I love it.
The problem is that Google doesn’t know me. It doesn’t know my season of life, personality, passions, or values. It may pull up a blog post about joining the “5 AM Club” in order to prioritize my writing. Truth is, I’ve tried that strategy before, and it was a trainwreck. The 5 AM Club doesn’t work for me right now.
Anyone relate? Coaching gives personalized help when all of the generic stuff isn’t cutting it. We can find a better time or way (during naps, after everyone goes to bed, hiring a babysitter) to schedule writing time that you actually enjoy.
Can I get an amen?! This has happened to ALL of us. Maybe you set too high goals or goals misaligned with your values in life. Maybe life just happened (hello, 2020). Whatever it is, abandoned goals can be demoralizing. How will you ever make progress if you can’t even meet a goal?
Enter, accountability.
We’ve all heard how powerful the simple act of telling someone else about your goals is. Telling your friends and family is a great first step. But the truth is, they may forget to ask you about them. Or, if they do and you haven’t gotten far, they’ll likely shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh well.”
A coach won’t let you get away with that. A coach will ask you what happened, then help you navigate the obstacles so you finally get over that hump.
Y’all. Writing on the internet is weird sometimes.
I often feel like I’m a pioneer in the wild, wild west. Never before have we had so many opportunities before us to share the gospel, love our neighbors, cultivate our gifts.
And as THRILLING as it is, we’re also kind of on our own sometimes.
Our friends and family support and cheer us on, but ask them about a lead magnet and you’re likely to get a blank expression. They don’t really understand the slight panic of pushing the “publish” button or what it feels like to get an email subscriber.
Coaching holds a space to let you process ideas with a fellow writer in a one-on-one space.
It’s like walking from the foyer of a big church to sit down in a coffee shop with a fellow church member. We walk through how all of the information you’ve learned from writer’s groups or Google applies to your life and where God is leading you.
We get clear on your values and long-term goals to see what one next right step makes sense. See ya, mind clutter.
It’s easy to lose your way in the wide world of social media. Maybe you really want to be like Jennie Allen or Emily P. Freeman, so you start sounding a lot like them. You read their words, use their phrases, try to think like them (guilty!).
But God didn’t make two Jennie Allens or Emily P. Freemans. He made one of them and one of you. Your job isn’t to imitate them but to create from the inspiration they stirred in you.
Going back to your values can realign you. Through a helpful exercise, we get crystal clear on those values and then evaluate how you’re aligning with those values.
I used to say “I don’t have time for that” when something new was introduced to my schedule. But, the more I said the phrase, the more it bothered me. That wasn’t true. The reality was I didn’t want to make time for it. I had enough time to watch TV and scroll for 30 minutes on Instagram. So now, I substitute “I don’t want to make time for that” instead. I’m not a victim to my schedule.
Mindset is at the heart of a lack of time for most of us. Old thoughts like “I’m not an organized person” or “I have two wild kids and barely enough time to do the laundry” make you feel like time is too limited. And perhaps that is true. You might need to step back from writing for a season. Maybe.
Or, maybe you need to identify any fears, exhaustion, procrastination that are preventing you from wanting to find the time.
In coaching, we get to the bottom of those thoughts and replace them with more helpful ones so you can re-prioritize and make the time for what matters to you.
Friends, no matter where you are in the writing journey, coaching can help. The power of a question can fire up new pathways in your brain, illuminate a new way forward, excite you once again.
If you identify with any of these, let’s chat, for free. Click here to book a 15-minute discovery call and ask me all your questions! This will help you see if, for real, coaching will be worth it for you.
It'd be my honor to work with you!
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I help women confidently publish their excellently written books.