Taking Sufficient Action
It didn't feel appropriate to write about coaching without acknowledging what's going on in our country right now. I’m referring to the shooting that took place in Atlanta, which robbed the lives of eight people, mostly Asian-American women. I’m also referring to how this event has brought to the forefront the fact that there is an increase in violence directed at people of Asian descent in the United States.
Now more than ever – speaking as a white person who predominantly speaks to other white people – it's not enough to put stuff in our Instagram feeds, wish people well, or say that they are in our “thoughts and prayers.”
We need to stop hate. But more importantly, we need to stop white supremacy in this country.
If you're someone who is in a marginalized community, this message isn’t for you. I know that you already know all of this. I want to say “I’m sorry” for what you have been through and continue to experience, but I know that “I’m sorry” isn’t good enough. I cannot even fathom what it’s like to have to face these types of events and come to terms with everything you’ve had to internalize in your life.
Please know that I stand with you in solidarity. To the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, I stand with you. I stand for love, I stand for justice, and I stand for change.
If you are not part of those communities, please don’t ask your Asian friends what you can do to support change. That is not their burden to take on. Go ahead and use this really great resource known as the Internet. Every major news outlet has been posting articles that list the organizations you can support, as well as ideas for volunteering and supporting Asian American-run businesses.
Do your research. Do your work. Be responsible.
With that all being said, let’s talk about how you can know that you’re taking sufficient action to see the results that you want.
This happens with my clients all the time. Clients who want to build businesses ask me what actions they should take to build a business. Clients who want to be in relationships ask me what actions they should take to get into a relationship.
Whether we’re talking about combating racism, building a business, or getting into a relationship, before you can even talk about action, we need to talk about the end goal.
If your goal is around anti-racism, do you actually have a higher commitment to anti-racism? And what is it? Because if it's continuously showing your support, rather than performing your support as an ally – like posting a yellow square or giving a one-time donation or sending “thoughts and prayers” – while these actions may have good intentions behind them, the lasting impact of those actions probably do not serve the commitment or the goal that you have to real change.
Look in other areas of your life. This is true with businesses and relationships.
I have clients who ask me about the services they should be selling. They ask, “Should I be working one-on-one with clients? Should I be creating a group offering? Should I be getting paid for public speaking?”
My question is always this: What are you selling these things for? Do you have a commitment to a niche audience? Are you clear on how much money you want to be making a month?
As an example, if you want to earn $10,000 a month, but you're only going to take the action to get hired once, unless that client is paying you $10,000, that action is insufficient to reach the goal that you're committed to achieving.
As you’re reading this, consider what actions you need to take to achieve the successes you want to experience. Are you connected to a larger commitment or a larger milestone?
If you're not, likely the experience that you're having is that you're throwing pasta on the wall and hoping certain noodles stick. Or perhaps you're taking a little bit of action but you’ve started to stall out. Or maybe you’re even taking a ton of action, and you're proud of yourself for being busy, but the busy-ness isn't resulting in the changes that you want to have.
Let me know what in your life you're working towards and how that helps inform whether or not you're in sufficient action to achieve it. I look forward to hearing from you.