After launching my programs I often send out a post-launch survey.
An example of some of the questions that I ask include:
- What was the biggest determinant for NOT signing up to the program?
- What do you feel is MOST holding you back?
- What would it take for you to sign up for the program next time?
But it doesn’t matter what questions I’m asking or what program I am receiving feedback on, I always get a similar response. And it all comes back to the fear that women have of investing in themselves and their business.
You might think that your fear to invest in yourself is as unique and different as you are. But I’ve found that most women all have the same fears and blocks holding them back from investing in themselves.
Here are some of the reasons…
We are afraid that we’re not ‘perfect’
I hear from women all of the time who tell me that they’re not quite ready for my programs. Can you relate? Do you want all of your ducks in a row before you even start to think about investing in yourself? This all comes down to the fact that we are afraid that we’re not perfect and we believe that we must be perfect in order to succeed.
In Reshma Saujani’s TED talk (video below), she talks about how girls are taught to be perfect and boys are taught to be brave. In summary, girls are taught to avoid risk and failure and gravitate towards careers or projects that they know will be great in. And as a result, we miss out on opportunities to learn, grow and thrive.
So what if we ditched the need to be perfect and embraced our bravery instead? What if we allowed ourselves to experiment and ‘try things out’ without needing everything to be ‘perfect’ before we start?
We want to be sure about the return-on-investment
As I said before, women like to avoid risk. They want to be sure of the results and sure of the return-on-investment. But the only way to be sure is to really back yourself. To say “There are no real certainties in this life but I’m willing to back myself and work really hard to achieve my desired results”.
Because if we only invested in those things that we felt had an “easy or certain return-on-investment” then we would never really be challenging or pushing ourselves to reach new heights.
We undervalue our strengths
Another theme from my post-launch surveys, and many conversations with women, is that we undervalue our strengths saying things like:
“I don’t feel like I’m advanced enough yet”
“I just need to know more about Astrology before I dive into the program” (by the way you really don’t – I’ll teach you!)
But when we say this, we’re also failing to recognise our strengths and the knowledge and skills that will support us.
What if you stopped over-emphasizing those things that you’re not so strong in and reminded yourself of your strengths instead?
We never think it’s the right time
In my last launch, I asked my community “What it would take to sign up for the program next time?” And you know what 50% of the responses were? It had to be the ‘right timing’.
What if I told you there was never going to be a right time? What if I told you that only you were in charge of carving out the time? There will never be a perfect time – there are always going to be other commitments but my Level 1 Business Astrology Certification runs over 9 months with plenty of breaks and catch-up time to account for our busy lives.
Once again, it’s never going to be perfect but you have everything you need to succeed!
So tell me: can you relate to some of these reasons or fears about investing in yourself? Maybe you’ve even said some of those things to yourself or others?
Now we know the reasons why you might be afraid to invest in yourself, here are some reasons why we should take the plunge and do it anyway…
It challenges us to reach new heights
Investing in certification programs (or any of the big investments I’ve made) have been some of the scariest decisions that I’ve made for my business. But I knew that if I invested the money then I had to be open to up-leveling my business and making the investment worth it. It really was the nudge that I needed to reach new heights.
It allows us to be brave
You know how Reshma Saujani was talking about choosing bravery over the desire for perfection? The best way to embrace bravery and ditch the need to be perfect is to just go for it and invest in yourself!
It forces us to back ourselves
Choosing to invest in yourself is the ultimate declaration that you’re ready to back yourself and your strengths. You might not know everything but you’re willing to back the strengths, skills, and knowledge that you do have!
So what does our Astrology say about this?
of-course our action-taking style as expressed through our Mars has a lot to do with it too.
If you have a fire Mars (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius) you will likely be someone who just jumps in and bravery comes more naturally but perhaps you have had experiences of buyer’s remorse that make you worry about future purchases.
If you have an earth Mars (Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn) it will really need to feel right in your body and you will likely be more hesitant to be brave and you are more prone to the excuse of it not being the “right time”.
If you have an air Mars (Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius) you will likely over-think things and potentially miss the opportunity as a result – going round and round in circles.
Finally, if you have water Mars (Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces) you will need to tune into your intuition and feel an emotional connection. It is really important for you to do things like have 1:1 calls with the program provider to connect with their energy first.
The good news is that you can learn to take action and be brave no matter your Mars sign – you can learn to work with your natural bravery and action taking style – I show you how to do this in the Level 1 Business Astrology Certification and you can then help your clients with this too!
So I hope that this has encouraged you to join us in the Level 1 Business Astrology Certification as time is swiftly running out!
