Getting Help on Becoming Excellent

Update (September 17th): This class is still open and will remain open for the next five weeks. I'm SO glad I'm in it - I've met a lot of great people.)

Yesterday I talked about the choice you have to make between being excellent and being comfortable. I gave a lot of general stuff to think about, but I didn't do much to help actually help you make that leap.

You may be stuck at this point. You may want to start excelling, but have no idea where to start.

This blog is one resource for that. You may even consider hiring me. But I think a far better idea, for now, is to sign up for Self Promotion for Wimps.

The People Behind Self Promotion for Wimps

I made a choice back in May that change the course of my life. I took the plunge and hired Naomi Dunford of Ittybiz fame as my small business coach.

It's hard to qualify what all I got from that month of hand-holding, but the bottom-line is that after each session of talking to her, I had more good ideas for this blog than I could possibly actualize. Naomi's advice took me from "hey, I kind of would like to do this, but I don't know if it'll work" to a much tighter focus of what works and what doesn't. She's an interesting cross between an idea engine, social marketing maven, and business coach, and she was (and is) exactly the voice of (sometimes) counter-intuitive reason that I need.

But not only is she damned good at what she does, but underneath her female Mr. T persona, she's a caring, sensitive woman that actually wants to help new entrepreneurs, small businesses, and creatives make money doing what they love to do. It really does bleed through, and that client service ethic is one of the reasons she's both so successful and frazzled. If cursing makes you blush, you may have a harder time getting that from her, but if you can listen through the noise, there's an authentic, caring brilliance there that's difficult to find anywhere.

Helping you make money is Naomi's forte, but actually helping you actualize yourself day-to-day is not her strongest point. It would have been easy to walk away from our conversations feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and generally frustrated that I couldn't get any of those ideas out of my head and into reality.

Enter Havi Brooks. I found Havi through Naomi and instantly fell in love with her blog, duck, and positive spirit. Havi has a way of reaching through to the best parts of you and making that part come alive. You kind of forget the less than good parts are there, which is exactly the point.

Havi picks up where Naomi leaves off. She has a few brilliant products that I will be reviewing sometime in the future, but she's really stinking good at helping you get over yourself and get creating.

Through a series of mutually beneficial conversations, they realized that they could merge their strengths and help people start actualizing their dreams. Self Promotion for Wimps was born.

What is Self Promotion for Wimps and Who Is it For?

I could come up with my own story here, but I'll take it straight from their intro page:

This is a 6 week power course for creative types, small business owners, and people who are (understandably) too busy freaking out to properly live their dreams.

It's a telecourse, so in typical Ittybiz fashion, you can take the course in whatever attire you'd prefer. You really don't even have to show up, because all of the calls are recorded and available for whenever you'd like to listen to them. That's what it is, but you may be wondering whether the course is right for you...

If you already have a solid business (or idea launch) plan, know exactly how you're going to do it, and have the confidence and competence to do it on your own, then Self Promotion for Wimps is not for you.

If you already have a metric ton of good ideas or ways to move your dream into reality and couldn't benefit from two (and a crowd) different voices to help you come up with more, then Self Promotion for Wimps is not for you.

If you don't need any project coaching and would prefer to pass on years of collective knowledge about how to turn your dreams and ideas into a profitable, authentic way to live your life, then Self Promotion for Wimps is not for you.

Or, to tie this back in with yesterday's post, if you'd rather remain comfortable in your full-time job rather than excelling and living from the inside out, then Self Promotion for Wimps is not for you.

Self Promotion for Wimps is for everybody else. I'd especially encourage people who don't think they have any particular talent to sign up for Self Promotion for Wimps, as I know for a fact that you'll find both that "thing" that you can do and you'll get pushed, nudged, helped, and harassed into actually doing it.

But Self Promotion for Wimps is Expensive!

Actually, it's really not. You get 6 one hour and 15 minute sessions that will be recorded and sent to you. Think about that, folks. You get the services of two already-overbooked, industry-proven consultants for $205 dollars.

(Update: I accidentally left out "unlimited email questions about any aspect of the topic [...and answers to] the questions of everyone who signs up" because it really didn't sink in for me that that was part of the package. Havi's dead on that this is far, far more valuable than the actual course itself, since you can ask them specific questions about your own stuff. It's now a mix of collective learning and individualized attention - which is the optimal learning environment. The bottomline is that they seriously undercharged for this. Thanks, Havi!)

My experience with the matter proves this fact: at some point, you have to start investing in yourself and your dreams to start actualizing them. Enrolling in this program is not an expense. It's an investment in your future. (I'm quite aware of how corny that sounds, but it's the truth nonetheless.)

What you're looking at paying is $35 per session, which is roughly the amount of a decent restaurant meal in most places throughout the US. You stand to gain exponentially more from that $35 than about anything else I can think of spending it on.

Havi and Naomi both have the Midas touch when it comes to the products and services they create. I've yet to see a product, service, or post from either of them that wasn't value-packed and worth the time or money spent on the product.

I believe so much in what they're doing that I'll be paying and attending, as well.

I'm good at what I do. I'm not a wimp (most of the time). And I know an excellent opportunity when I see one. This is it, folks. I really encourage you to read more about it and sign up.

Or you could remain comfortable for the rest of your life. Your call.

The telecourse begins on Wed., Sept 10th, and it has a Question and Answer session. Sign up before then for the most bang for your buck!