Have you ever seen or heard something multiple times in a short period of time and thought, “That’s a sign. Someone’s trying to tell me something. I really should pay attention.” This happened to me a few weeks ago and so I decided it was time to tap into my intuition.
The first sign came on my weekly coaching call with my business coach, Vicki
I was complaining that no matter what I seemed to be doing, my email list has been stuck right at 4,600 subscribers, I’m losing people at the same rate that I’m bringing them on, I’m afraid that I’m not going to make enough money now that I don’t have a steady paycheck… and on and on and on.
After we unpacked that I was actually redirecting grief from the recent loss of a close family member into feeling like the ground I was standing on in my business was shaky (a blog post for another time), Vicki suggested that I needed to expand where I was looking for my target audience, that I was fishing in the same pond as everyone else in my niche, and that pond was overfished.
And then she shared with me an idea that, well… you know those blind spots I mentioned in last week’s blog post? Let’s just say I keep my blind spots protected with a shield.
Vicki suggested that I create an Alexa Flash Briefing for the Amazon Echo
Yeah, that thing was fun to play with on Christmas Day… I even got one as a gift but I never got around to opening it because I have no use for it. Everything I need to do I can do on my iPhone.
So I threw that shield up and her idea just bounced off of it and rolled away. Lucky for me, she knows that I do that, so she asked me to just research and consider it. “Fair enough,“ I thought, and I lowered my shield just a little bit.
The second sign came the next morning
The first thing I do when I get up each day is go down to the basement and get on the treadmill. Every other day, my husband gets up and goes to the basement to work out too… so whoever gets their butt out of bed and downstairs first gets dibs on what podcast we listen to.
That morning, I made it downstairs first and I turned on Amy Porterfield’s 200th episode of her podcast, “Online Marketing Made Easy.” And it was all about zigging when others are zagging – or learning the fundamentals, but then taking it in a different direction than what everyone else is doing.
Hmm… that’s exactly what Vicki recommended to me yesterday… she said that 80 million Echo Dots were sold over the holidays and right now and it’s an untapped audience…hmm… and I lowered my shield just a little bit more.
The third sign came the following morning
The next day, my husband Floyd beat me downstairs to the basement put his podcast choice on, Something You Should Know. Dangit, if I just would have gotten up 10 minutes earlier… Whatever. I was groggy, totally not paying any attention to it when I heard the guest say, “Successful people zig when everyone else is zagging.”
Seriously?! Someone’s trying to tell me something.
It’s not “someone” trying to tell me something, you guys, it’s me. It’s my intuition.
When I feel major resistance to an idea like I did on my call with Vicki, it’s my intuition talking.
’m trying to be right. I’m trying to stay in control, to have what I “know” to be true continue to be true. It’s a safe place to be.
When I have my shield up, I’m not receptive to the signs
But if I’m safe where I am right now, what’s the incentive to grow? To grow, I need to lower that shield, reveal those blind spots, and consider that my intuition is trying to get my attention.
Hey Shannon, you’re not right about this. It’s time to stop distracting yourself and do something uncomfortable in order to grow.
The thing about me is, I’m always in GO mode. I’m always trying something new, I get impatient, and I don’t always give things the time they need to marinate and develop before I decide that it’s not working out and I’m on to the next thing.
Because then I still get to be right.
It didn’t work, I did it right, so it must not work. Moving on.
When I’m moving that fast, I’m not giving my intuition a chance to tell me anything
And when I’m moving fast with my shield up? Yeah, I’m totally not going to see the signs my intuition is giving me, even when they are bright, flashing neon ones.
I’m actually really grateful for what I’ve been able to accomplish operating from that safe place – quitting my day job, helping over 5,000 people build their website (even if they all don’t stick around on my email list), and starting all of this from scratch and figuring it out along the way. If I’m going to get to where I want to be, it’s time to pay attention to what my intuition is telling me and let the people that I trust to help me actually help me. I needed to put my shield down and seriously consider Vicki’s Alexa Flash Briefing idea and listen to my intuition.
So I asked myself these 4 questions to try to figure out what my intuition was trying to tell me:
1. What is your knee-jerk, snap-judgment reaction to this new idea?
Alexa just lets you hear the news, buy stuff from Amazon, drop in on people, and turn your lights off and on. That has nothing to do with anything that I’m doing and the people that I know who love their Alexa aren’t at all interested in building a website. Oh, and my niece likes to use it to make fart sounds, which cracks me up, but that’s beside the point, so…
2. Why do you think that? What experiences have you had that would give you that opinion?
My only exposure to Alexa is from people who I don’t consider to be my target audience, and they were just having fun and screwing around with it, they weren’t using it for anything productive. Therefore, I wrote it off and was not receptive to someone telling me something different than what I believed to be true.
3. What if the reverse were true? What would that look like?
Okay, Shannon, I’ll play along. What if my target audience likes to listen to Flash Briefings? What if they love to start their day with some inspiration while they are getting ready to go to a job they don’t love? What if they have no idea that there’s this whole concept of side hustling and building an online business? What if they found my Flash Briefing and I could help them see that a different life is a real, true possibility because I’ve done it?
4. Is the reverse what you want?
Um, yes.
And once I examined what the reverse of my snap judgment could look like and see if feels like it’s in alignment with my goals, I was able to do some research on Alexa and what it takes to make a Flash Briefing with a more open mind.
And then, it all became crystal clear.
As I was doing my research, all of these ideas that have been swirling around in my mind for the past few months that I wasn’t taking action on because I was scared or I couldn’t figure out where they fit in or how to execute them – they just came into focus.
I could finally see how this new idea was going to help me fish in a different pond while also staying true to who I am and creating fresh new ways to serve you guys too!
When you have that kind of clarity, things come together fast
A completely new brand was born. I built a new website in just a couple of hours. I’m going to be building a totally new email list from scratch. Which means getting in front of a new audience and strategically implementing all the tactics I’ve done haphazardly as I learned them over the years in a much more focused and intentional way.
But this isn’t shiny object syndrome…
I’m not abandoning my WordPress BFFs to go work on something new. This is a strategic move to find people just like you guys – but just a little bit before you knew you needed me – and start building a relationship with you so that when you do decide it’s time to start a side hustle and build a website, build an audience and turn your expertise into income, you know exactly who you can turn to for guidance.
And the best part? I’m going to be sharing the journey, strategies, and tactics with you guys – my BFFs – along the way to help you guys continue to move forward on your path.
Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.
With that, I’m super excited to introduce you to Pep Talks for Side Hustlers!
Pep Talks for Side Hustlers started as Daily Flash Briefing for Amazon Alexa – but then it got waaaayyyy too long for a Flash Briefing.
Now it's a podcast, and you can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. Get a list here.
Wondering what the heck Alexa is? Watch this video.
We’ll be talking about things like how to find time for your business while working full time, how to stay motivated, how to juggle your full-time job and your side hustle, work-life balance, money, the path to quitting your day job, and much, much more!
Add Pep Talks for Side Hustlers to your Flash Briefing
If you have an Alexa, you can find my flash briefing by clicking here, or you can use the Alexa app on your iPhone or Android and search for Pep Talks for Side Hustlers. You’ll be able to listen to my very first Flash Briefing, and then you’ll get one every single day after that!
Not only is it an Alexa Daily Flash Briefing, you can also subscribe to Pep Talks For Side Hustlers on iTunes here.
Check out the new website and Get the Freebie
You can catch past episodes and get all the resources mentioned in the episodes on the new website over at www.shannonmattern.com. And I’ve got an awesome freebie over there for you called, “Ten Ways to Create More Time for Your Side Hustle” and when you subscribe you’ll get a recap of the week’s pep talks in your inbox every single Friday.
Join the Online Community
Pep Talks for Side Hustlers is more than just daily motivation to help you build your business, it’s also a community where you can engage with other people who are on the same journey you’re on, where you can share ideas, struggles and wins, and get feedback and support from people who know what you’re going through.
Join the Pep Talks for Side Hustlers Facebook Group here – I can’t wait to see you in there, 🙂
Share Pep Talks for Side Hustlers!
Pep Talks for Side Hustlers isn’t just for people that have online businesses, it’s for anyone that feels unfulfilled in their career or has a passion or hobby that they’ve never considered turning into a business and they just need to see the possibilities!!
I’d be so grateful if you could help me spread the word about this Flash Briefing & podcast by copying & pasting the below links and sharing them out on your social medias!
Pep Talks For Side Hustlers on Alexa:
https://shannonmattern.com/alexa #peptalksforsidehustlers #alexa #podcast
Pep Talks For Side Hustlers on iTunes:
https://shannonmattern.com/itunes #peptalksforsidehustlers #alexa #podcast
And the best part?
I’m going to be sharing how I’m building this new brand with you guys, my BFFs! I built the website with Divi, so that means a Divi tutorial for you guys. I’ll show you how to create an Alexa Flash Briefing, and much, much more.
And those of you that are enrolled in Serious Side Hustlers and Website That Make Money will see the business-building strategies I’m teaching you being put into action.
And get ready to meet a bunch of new BFFs, because I envision that WP+BFFs Facebook Group and the Free 5-Day Website Challenge will continue to grow and thrive because they are the next steps for the new people who come into Pep Talks for Side Hustlers!
I can’t wait for them to meet you guys because you are amazing!!
Thanks in advance for support, and I can’t wait to share this journey with you!
And let me know in the comments, what are you resisting in your business? What do you think your intuition is telling you?
