On February 6th, 2023, I officially launched the CEO Collective, and it was one of the most incredible moments I've had as an entrepreneur. I took time to anchor in the moment. The gratitude, the pride, the excitement – and I'll be honest, I definitely fangirled over MYSELF a little too.
But today I want to talk about how it almost didn't happen.
If you read last month's blog on my intention for 2023 (Adventure, FTR), you know I started my year off by the ocean. Something I had promised my husband we were going to do back in early 2022, and it was the most grounding and energizing experience – just as I had predicted.
What you don't know is that after that incredible week away, I came home ready to dive into completing the work needed to launch the CEO Collective, only to find that my computer had malfunctioned in my absence.
It wiped everything.
Countless hours of recordings, content, and marketing collateral … gone.
At that moment, I had two choices, accept defeat, push back the launch and perhaps, in doing so, never actually achieve this dream. Or, recreate.
Since you already know the Collective is live, it's obvious which road I took, but it's important to be honest when I tell you there was a process that went into coming to that decision and taking that first step forward.
Here is what that looked like for me:
1. I cried – like, quite a bit. The situation sucked, and I wasn't about to pretend it didn't suck. Too often, toxic positivity inhibits us from really feeling and moving through the motions when we hit a roadblock. Letting yourself sit in the suckiness of the moment provides the grief you need to move forward.
2. I owned it – after I had let the emotions flow, I accepted the reality of the situation. The content I had poured my heart and soul into creating was gone. There was nothing I could do to retrieve it. It was at this point that I had to let go of the expectations and pivot. I knew that while the program launch wouldn't be exactly as I'd initially created it, it could still be something amazing.
3. I accepted the lessons – before I could fully begin to immerse myself in creating new content for the CEO Collective, I had to take a look at what had happened and allow myself to learn from the lesson. In my case, this means backing up and re-backing up my work. But lessons learned can look so different depending on what you're trying to work through. Letting those lessons set you on course for a better "second attempt" increases your chances for success and renews your confidence in the process. Lastly,
4. I didn't let it stop me – after a good cry, owning the reality of the situation, and identifying what I could learn from it, I picked myself up and got back to work. This involved reconnecting to my "what if" for the CEO Collective, this idea I'd been dreaming about since I first sat down to start creating this program …
What if I could create a space that harnessed the "power of the swarm."
Honestly, I nerd out on brain science; it's one of the reasons why the work I do with my clients is SO effective. There's a concept that animals use during migration. It was captured in Episode 3 of the National Geographic documentary Welcome to Earth, hosted by Will Smith. Titled "Mind of the Swarm," it delves into the basis of why swarm behaviour happens and how it is so powerful.
I sat and watched as these wildebeests tried and failed to cross alligator-infested waters independently. Alone they were no match for the predators and succumbed to their power over them. Instead, these wildebeests started coming together from all corners to create a thunderous "swarm," and together, hundreds of them made it across alive.
The wildebeests are not the only animals to exhibit swarm behaviour, and it is this exact principle on which I created the CEO Collective. Women in business coming from all different stages and locations, meeting as a collective and moving forward en masse increasing not only the enjoyment of our journey but the viability and growth of our businesses.
I sit here, having launched the CEO Collective after recreating lost content. In some ways, what I created ended up better, more fully formed on the second swing, proving again that bumps in the road can break you or they can make you; the decision is yours.
Seven weeks ago, you said this was your year; how's it going? Are you still on track, or do you feel yourself falling back into old patterns?
No judgment from here because I understand the science behind WHY that happens, but also HOW to move beyond it. The bumps we face are not always tangible events, like a wiped laptop. Sometimes it's a mindset bump. That voice inside that says, "there's no way I can recreate this."
I'm here to remind you that it doesn't have to feel 100% perfect, and you don't have to be 100% "ready" because ready is a lie.
We're never ready. We all start something new at the place of suck. Ready is an excuse that we use and give weight to that allows us not to take accountability and not have to act or change our behaviour.
So let me be the counter voice, the one that says, "you CAN do this. It's YOUR time." So, if you want to change the narrative and ACTUALLY make this year YOUR YEAR, then it's time to join the CEO Collective.
Believing in you,
Cheryl
