Episode 98: Own Your Path: The Power of Letting Go of Comparison for True Growth
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Going with the flow does not mean that you're passive or you don't have a direction or you don't have an opinion. It's about being strategic with your energy and being present. So that means recognizing when to push and when to pause. Understanding that slow growth is still growth. Adapting your business model to the current reality, being willing to pivot when the market shifts or your life circumstances change, or this different bucket of people are showing up for you when you thought this other bucket was going to show up.
You're listening to prospecting on purpose, where we discuss all things, prospecting sales, business, and mindset. I'm your host, Sara Murray, a sales champion. Who's here to show you that you can be a shark in business and still lead with intentionality and authenticity? Tune in each week as we dive into methods to connect with clients, communicate with confidence, and close the deal.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Prospecting on Purpose. Today is episode 98. That's right. We've done 98 episodes of this show. We are approaching that 100-episode milestone over two years, almost two full years, and two seasons of this show. So first of all, we'll just start by saying thank you so much for tuning in and listening.
What I'm going to do over the next four episodes is like a mini-series celebration. And in each episode, we're going to cover two lessons in each episode that have fundamentally shaped both the podcast, but also the business. And really personal and professional mindset shifts that have really changed and shaped how I show up in the world, how I'm handling stress, how I've been able to connect with other people and get some really great guests on this show.
So it's really about what's making the biggest impact from a professional growth perspective, but also a personal growth perspective. And just to kind of start and jump right in to give a little bit of context to this first lesson. One thing that I think most of us do, myself included, is- we compare ourselves to other people's timelines or we compare ourselves to where we think we should be on our own timeline.
And the truth is in life, whether it's personal goals and journeys or professional goals and journeys, there's no real specific linear timeline, and as soon as you can respect and honor where you're at in your journey and get really present, then you're able to intentionally build towards your goals while not being bogged down with all this extra stress and anxiety.
So the first lesson we're going to cover in this episode is to respect the season you're in when I started my business. I had this image of really what success looks like. And I thought I needed to hit six figures in year one. I had, you know, all these people I wanted to hire, you know, maybe contractors at first, but how would I scale, Obviously I'm thinking in year three, I'm going to be speaking on these big stages and I'm mapping out these launch plans. I'm mapping out these income plans and You know, I'm seeing other people out there doing it.
And I started to really compare myself and I was comparing myself to the energy of entrepreneurs who have been in business for a lot longer than I have, or in industries where it's a really clear need that they were filling.
And so it's something that is always going to be in demand. So it's comparing apples to oranges, right? And not only is that comparison. Just not possible, but it's also not realistic. And so I was comparing myself to other people, of course, but I was also comparing myself to where I thought I should be and what I thought other people were expecting of me.
So using this example, if I didn't hit six figures in my first year of business, I felt like a failure. And then when I did hit that milestone the next year, I found myself not sharing that win because it felt like I should have hit that a lot sooner. And so it's a, it's a mindwarp for us and we all go through it in different, you know, kinds of categories of life.
But here's what I have really learned and I still have to practice it. Every single person is in a different season of life. And so entrepreneurship is a great and easy example, because. You know, you're comparing yourself to people who've been building their foundation for years, or maybe they started with a really healthy savings cushion, or they have a partner who supported them when they were without income.
And when I first started my business, my income changed significantly. I went from a steady paycheck to very little income, and it was very up and down when that income would hit. And that was really hard because being independent and supporting myself is part of my identity. That's how I measured success for myself.
And so, you know, when you go from being this one version of your identity to a different version of your reality, It can be really jarring, and this can happen in a lot of other ways. You know, people can lose their jobs, you know, God forbid you lose a family member. Like, life's gonna hit ya, sometimes by choice and sometimes not.
But if you're comparing it to where you need to be instead of where you actually are, that's just gonna end you up in a world of hurt. So, the moment that I started respecting my own season of life and where I was, everything changed. I stopped beating myself up for not matching someone else's output or income levels.
I stopped really being down on myself. And instead, I would ask myself what's realistic and sustainable for me right now in this season. And when you think about seasons, the best part about them is they are not permanent. So as winter turns into spring, the season of building and learning will evolve too.
And this is really where I think this concept of going with the flow comes into play. Going with the flow does not mean that you're passive, or you don't have a direction, or you don't have an opinion. It's about being strategic with your energy and being present. So that means recognizing when to push and when to pause.
Understanding that slow growth is still growth. Adapting your business model to the current reality. Being willing to pivot when the market shifts or your life circumstances change. Or this different bucket of people is showing up. For you when you thought this other bucket was going to show up and then, of course, you know, trusting that consistency over time beats the short-term hustle. And when you honor that season of life, then you can create from a place of alignment rather than obligation. And the people that you work with will feel that.
When you're going through something that's hard or challenging, this is where true growth happens because you become more resilient. If you started a business and immediately closed a six-figure deal right out the gate, or if you started a new job and you've got a promotion right away, you may not appreciate it.
Number one, you may not appreciate it in the same way as you would have if you had to really build for it. And then number two, you may not be prepared to handle for things in the future state. So let's say you know what happens when that six-figure contract wraps up and now all of a sudden you have to go out and hunt for business when you've never had to go out and sell before.
That instance may actually be a lot harder than if you started with smaller deals and you built resilience and you learned the skills and laid the foundation and then you grew from there. Winter is where you learn to hunt, it's where you become strong, and it's where you cultivate your growth mindset which makes fear of the unknown less scary because you know you're going to come out on the other side stronger.
Which leads us to lesson two, embrace the unknown. Learning to embrace the unknown has been one of my greatest teachers. It is a skill that I really didn't have a couple of years ago that I have now and everything I just laid out in terms of respecting the season you're in really contributed to this, but going with the flow is required to be able to embrace the unknown.
So very simple example, when I recorded the first episode of this show, I had no idea I'd be here talking about episode 100. You always hope for it, but, you know, you just never know. I didn't know who would listen. I didn't know what opportunities would arise. I didn't know the skills that I would learn.
I didn't know how this journey would unfold. I didn't know what type of guests I'd have the type of people I'd meet. Recording that first episode 22 months ago, it took me, honestly, probably like four hours to record 20 minutes of the episode, reading a script that I wrote. I ended up cutting that 20 minutes to 12 minutes using GarageBand.
I cried more than once recording episode one. I ended up having to stand up and fully act the whole thing out because that's the only way I could get my energy to try to get to where I thought it should be. I had to watch a lot of YouTube to learn how to edit GarageBand., editing that 12-minute episode probably took me another three hours.
I mean, it was brutal. And fast forward to now, I still spend a lot of time prepping for our episodes, whether that's reading a guest book, or writing out my thoughts because I wanted to be intentional and thorough. I can still crank out a 12-minute episode, but it's significantly easier. I have a great team that edits and does all the collateral.
I have great loyal listeners. So thank you all for listening to this show. You know, now I've received LinkedIn messages or cards from people telling me that something helps them. I have a handful of really cherished clients, some of whom I've attracted through the show. I'll get emails from former guests that their episode landed them a speaking gig or helped them close a deal of their own.
So you just really never know where things are going to lead unless you take the steps into the unknown. And it can still be scary, but if you come at it from a mindset of embracing the unknown versus fearing the unknown, that little reframe from fear to embrace is going to create some massive shifts.
Here's my favorite way to think about it. The future, you know, tomorrow and beyond is like the dark night, right? It's dark. You can't see where you're going. But luckily you have a flashlight and this flashlight represents belief in yourself. It represents your support system. It represents everything you've learned up until this point.
You have these great resources all within this flashlight. And as you're looking into the darkness, the only way that path is going to reveal itself is if you just start walking forward, you can't see the whole journey. You can't see the outcome and that's okay. You just need to see enough to take your next step forward.
Another way to look at it is like having three versions of yourself. So you had your past self who had dreams, your present self who's taken action, and then your future self is going to thank you for being brave enough to embrace the journey. And all three are equally important and all three are navigating the unknown together.
You need to always remind yourself that even the most successful people you admire started out with just a flashlight and a willingness to take that first step into the darkness. And the only way you ever come out of a season of winter and into spring is to keep moving forward.
To wrap up this episode, Respect the season you're in and realize that the unknown isn't this empty space. It is filled with possibilities you haven't discovered yet. And it's not a void to fear, but a space that's rich with potential. So go with the flow. Be present in the moment, respect the season you're in and embrace the unknown.
That is it for part one of our special mini-series. Thank you so much for being part of this journey. I will see you next week for episode 99.
Thank you so much for listening to the Prospecting on Purpose podcast. If you loved what you heard today, subscribe to the podcast and please rate and leave a review for more info on me.
Or if you'd like to work together, feel free to go to my website, Sara Murray. com on social media. I'm usually hanging out at Sara Murray sales. Thanks again for joining me and I'll see you next time.
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