These Shoes will take you where you want to go.
Guaranteed.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

When I work with clients who are stuck on how to make progress with their goals, we walk thru (pun intended) a system.
It’s a system I call SHOES.

We use this on a macro level as well as micro. In other words, we’ll use this first to look at the big picture, and also at the details .  It helps us create a customized map to help them navigate to their goal.

Shoes stands for:
S. = See your Vision
H. = You are Here
O. = Obstacles that are in your way
E. = Equipping
S. = Strategy + Synthesis

Why use this approach?

For one thing, the right shoes always fit!  As a woman, that kind of thing is oh-so important.

Shoes also take you where you want to go — even if it IS your feet in the shoes, without them, you might end up with a lot of blisters, cuts or worse.
Also, there’s a style appropriate for every situation. And the right pair will get you there faster than all the others.

As a client once told me:
It’s like I asked you which shoes I should wear and you said, ’Well, what are you planning to do?’  I told you ’Go hiking.‘  and you said ’Well, then why are we looking at high heels? Your hiking boots would probably be best.  They’ll get you there with the most ease. You’ll be able to keep your head up and enjoy the journey instead of looking down to watch your footing.”

Let’s take a closer look at the Shoes System:

S: See your vision.  If you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t get there! Hold your vision in your line of sight and it will guide you as you decide which path to take.When I’m with a client,
we look for the vision that passes what I call the “tingle test.”
This tingle can be electric – sort of a “Oh my gosh I want that !” feeling.
Or it can be just a little “Hmmm, I wonder what that would be like?”

Sometimes, I’ve found that declaring a Vision can be an obstacle.  It seems big, daunting, out of reach, it can be illusive and overwhelming. The thought, “I have no idea how to make this happen”can stop your forward momentum. Other times, we shy away from declaring a vision for fear we can’t change it.

Chances are that as you move toward your vision, you’ll have new discoveries, causing the picture to morph and evolve. That’s totally normal.

Remember: you can (and probably will) change your mind as you go. You design and refine your vision. You are the author, producer and editor of your story. But your vision keeps you headed in the right direction. Sort of like a GPS that helps get you where you want to go.

I love my GPS. I named my car Ruby Slippers” and I call the lady who talks for my GPS, “Glinda.” I love that I can give her my destination and then enjoy the drive.

Your Vision also serves to move and inspire you when the going gets tough.

Working with clients to clarify their vision is one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes they’ll have a gazillion ideas but don’t have a clue which one to work on or where to start. We look at that their vision and values, and based on that, decide on the next best step. Which idea will bring them the most ease and biggest bang for the buck of energy and dollars?

 

How We Applied the Shoes System to Her Situation:

Here’s how I did this with one of my small business clients, recently. Jane (not her real name) is a Social Media Specialist and…
S: See your vision.  She wanted to create more passive income.

Her Vision: A community for other Social Media Specialists that she could train and support.

H: Here you are ~you are here.
You have to know where you are to know how to get there. With Jane, we took an inventory of her assets and looked at everything she had going on:
She still had young children at home. She already had an established business. She had pieces of products that she’d created, and had given several trainings.

 

 

O: Obstacles
Ask: What’s in your way? What’s keeping you from getting to where you want to go? This could be internal (a feeling of stuckness) or external (things like scheduling, technical support, or , maintaining boundaries).
Sometimes, our obstacles are simply not knowing what to do next. What great idea to choose, or how to implement one of your brilliant ideas.
For Jane, it was a matter of using her time more efficiently, creating boundaries around time, putting the pieces together to bring in income. And finding ways to deal with her mindset of overwhelm.

 

 

 

E: Equipping

Working off of the prior three items, what do you need to help you make your vision
a reality? What do you need to bring into your life or business? What do you need less of? Jane and I pulled from a treasure trove of techniques, tips and tools that could lead her to the next step, to strategize ways to reach her goal.

Bringing together the things she’d already created, we found ways to package them into training products – items she could sell that wouldn’t require as much of her time and energy as live trainings might (passive income). I also helped her learn how to change her mindset of overwhelm and create effective time management strategies.

S: Strategy and Synthesis
You can have a gazillion brilliant ideas and intentions but unless they’re put into action and done in real life, they’ll remain ideas and intentions. Words on your computer.Desires of your heart that no one ever gets to be a part of.
This is where we take the previous pieces and strategize ways to pull them all together so you can implement and share with the world.

To reiterate Jane’s story:
S: She wanted to create more passive income. Her Vision: A community for other Social Media Specialists that she would train and support.
H: She still has young children at home. She already had an established business,
had pieces of products that she’d created, and had given several successful trainings.
O: Using her time most efficiently, creating boundaries around time, putting the pieces together to bring in income, shifting her Mindset.
E: Bringing together the things she’d already created and packaging them in deliverables of trainings and products.
S: We created a timeline and calendared what should happen when.

Is there a vision you’ve got that you’re not quite sure how to implement? Try on these “Shoes” and see if they help you find your way.