Finding Proof with Dr Tess Crawley

People tell me they are amazed at what I manage to achieve in a day. That I manage to get my message out and share my knowledge and still run two businesses … the list goes on. 

But the reality is I’ve really had to wind back to simple basics over the past few months. 

As I’ve gotten busier and my businesses have shifted and changed, I’ve been drowning a little. What previously seemed so simple to stay consistent with, has become a struggle. 

Little things … Like doing a live stream and ensuring it ends up in all the places or putting out blog posts, or regularly keeping the podcast updated.  Each task on its own takes very little time. But when I fall behind, it snowballs like you wouldn’t believe it!  

And don’t even get me started on my email inbox!  So, at last, I’m doing something about it!  

Tomorrow my new virtual assistant starts her work trial with me.  

This has been months in the making, because I was too busy to put together a job description for the agency to recruit from! But recruiting is done, selection has been made, and Lenie starts tomorrow!  

I’m always encouraging my mentoring clients to delegate the tasks that contribute to them feeling snowed under, so I’m glad I can finally come clean that I’ve put my money where my mouth is!  

Sometimes we all need to take time to stop and focus on that ONE thing that will act as our life preserver when we feel like we’re drowning. For me it was getting that job description done. For you it might be hiring that cleaner. Or putting out that recruitment ad.  

It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be done. Right?  

So, here’s to delegating and being honest with ourselves when we feel ourselves drowning just a little.  

Get yourself a life preserver before you really are in over your head!  

Much love, Tess x  

p.s. ONLY TWO SPOTS REMAIN … If you need to challenge your psychological barriers to business success, don’t forget my 12-month intensive mentoring program, Like A Boss 2.0, is still open for registrations. But don’t wait too long, there are only TWO places left! Send me a message if you’d like to learn more. Or jump onto my website to check it out: www.tesscrawley.com.au.  

p.p.s. You’re welcome to download my latest free resource, How to Slay Your Own Bullshit! 

Here’s the link: http://www.tesscrawleyglobal.com/bsslay…

I will repeat this message until I’m blue in the face. The stress, responsibility, financial risk, and sense of isolation common among business owners are not to be taken lightly.  

If you struggle with isolation, if you struggle with finances if you struggle with the burden of responsibility if you struggle with the isolation if you struggle with ANY of it. Please know you are not alone.  

I have struggled in the past, and no doubt will again. What has helped me get through the roughest patches is support from others who get it.  

And here’s where I’m going to go all broken record on you. 

You Do Not Have To Struggle Alone.

Find peers. Find a mentor. Find a colleague. Find a support network. Find professional help if you really can’t pick yourself back up.  

Please believe you are not alone. Please believe the struggle is not a statement on your competence. Please believe there are many others like you. Please believe in tomorrow. Please. Believe.  

The roller coaster of business ownership is unrelenting, but we persist because we believe in what we are doing.  

And I believe in you.  

Much love, Tess x  

p.s. Help is available:  Call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14  If you need help keeping yourself safe, BeyondBlue has a great safety planning app, BeyondNow. 

You can download it here: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/…/beyondn… 

In Australia, you can also find a range of helping services at this website: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.… 

GLOBALLY, a range of helping services are listed on this website: https://ibpf.org/…/list-international-s…

TIME SCARCITY 

What it is, what it’s not, and how it’s screwing you over! 

🔥🔥🔥🚀🚀🚀🔥🔥🔥 

How much money would it cost you if I charged you $5.00 for every time you complain of not having enough time? How many times a day to you use lack of time as an excuse to not achieve something important on your to-do list? 

Or, how often have you said no to a great opportunity, blaming lack of time as the reason? 

It’s okay. I get it.  

Time scarcity is my Achilles heel too.  The difference is I’m now on the lookout for this BS excuse and DECIDING whether or not something is important to me or not. If it’s not a priority, fine. But let’s not blame “time” for that! 

Telling ourselves there’s “not enough” of anything as an excuse or as a fear or as a limiting belief is a form of scarcity-driven thinking. Time scarcity is just another form of the scarcity mindset. 

It is not that you lack time. You might lack organization. Or you might be unwilling to delegate. Or you might be scared to do the thing. 

But regardless of the root cause, you actually have the same 24 hours as me, Richard Branson, the Queen, Beyonce, and the butcher down the road.  

DECIDE what’s important in your day. DECIDE how to tackle those priorities. EMBRACE your choice to say no to things that aren’t a priority. 

Then if it’s important to you, do the damn thing! 

Much love, Tess x 

p.s. If you need to challenge your psychological barriers to business success, don’t forget both my 12 Month (Like A Boss 2.0 - where you get access to me and all my stuff!) Intensive mentoring program is currently open for registrations. 

Send me a message if you’d like to learn more - www.tesscrawley.com.au

FIND A WAY FORWARD  

I know you’re tired. If you’re anything like me, you’re bone-tired! But there is still a way forward.  

I know you struggle to find the time to do all the things. If you’re like me, you’re juggling business ownership with family life and wondering why you never find time for a haircut.  And who created all this washing??  

Like me, you’re human.  

Also, like me, you’ve got the same 24 hours as we all do.  

If you’re tired of feeling like you’re always complaining about how tired you are or how little time you have, shake things up a bit.  

You don’t have to join the 5 am club, but maybe even half an hour earlier would let you start your day feeling more organized.  

I know we shouldn’t “eat lunch at our desk”, and we should take proper breaks, but maybe as a business owner, you need to combine things a little to stay afloat. Perhaps eating your lunch in a park or a cafe with some time to think (without all those damned interruptions!), would allow you to feel like your day is staying on track.  

And you know what? You won’t go to hell for having Uber Eats for dinner tonight if it means emptying your inbox and spending more time with your kids watching that movie.  

Whatever works for you, do what you need to do to find that balance, that sense of sanity, that feeling of respite. Or just so you feel like you’re simply not drowning in it all.  

You’re a business owner. You’re tough, you’re quick-thinking, you’re creative.  

And you’re human. Never forget that!  

Do what you need to do to shake things up so the path ahead, your personal way forward, remains clear.  

Much love, Tess. x

his is a nugget of wisdom I gained during my discussion with Anthony Trucks last week. (Check out the Finding Proof podcast episode where I interview him about the similarities between parenting and business ownership, and between business coaching and being coached as an NFL player.)  

If you are the sole or major revenue stream in your business, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?  

If you don’t have others around you sharing the responsibility, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?  

If your business can’t cope in your absence, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?  

If these questions make you wince, do you really have a thriving business? Or do you have a job?  

And it gets worse … If your business can’t pay you a decent income (in addition to keeping its nose clean), do you really have a business, or do you have a hobby?  

Think about the systems and team you need to support you in order to ensure that (a) your business can not only survive, but thrive in your absence and (b) it can pay you a decent income along the way.  

If you want your business to be a legacy for your family and a constant for your community, you really need to be thinking about these things too.  So, which is it?  

Do you have a business?  Or a job?  Or just a hobby?  

I’ll leave that for you to ponder.  

Much love, Tess x  

p.s. If you need to challenge your psychological barriers to business success, don’t forget both my 12 Month (Like A Boss 2.0 - where you get access to me and all my stuff!) Intensive mentoring program is currently open for registrations. 

Check out my website if you’d like to learn more.  www.tesscrawley.com.au

At the crack of dawn yesterday morning I had the great pleasure to talk with Anthony Trucks, former NFL player and American Ninja Warrior competitor, foster care survivor, and business coach.   

We talked about how business ownership is a lot like parenting. And in fact, he sees his role now as being like a "business grandparent"; helping his clients "birth their businesses" brings him great joy!   

Anthony has some great approaches which I will hold onto - "You are not your business", "If you don't have freedom to move in your business, you have don't have a business, you have a job". And more.   

To find out more about Anthony on his website: www.anthonytrucks.com

I made an unexpected new friendship today. I love it when life throws joy my way, don’t you? We were supposed to be recording a podcast interview for my podcast, Finding Proof, but instead we just talked and talked and talked. 

We talked about our shared journeys of being mothers and business owners. We talked about what it’s like when people let you down in business. We talked about some of the assumptions people make about business owners, and the reality behind that … for example, does it surprise you to know that I’m actually an introvert? 

And we talked about what we could learn from each other. 

My new friend is Amberly Lago. She’s from Texas, but lives in LA. She’s a Queen of Instagram, but a bit of a Facebook rookie. She’s got an incredible backstory (which we didn’t really cover today, we’ll save that for the podcast). And she’s just so delightful. She’s a mindset coach and a public speaker. And she’s really smart. 

Amberly talked about how people often assume that as business owners, our world’s expand. People assume that all doors open to us. That we’ve got it all and more. BUT the reality is, as Amberly so eloquently put it, our worlds actually shrink. 

We have less time for friends, because we greedily hoard any spare time for our families. 

We have fewer people around us who “get” what we do or why we do it. 

We have fewer people to turn to who can normalise our journey. 

As so the dark side of the business owner journey is that over time you begin to feel increasingly isolated. 

This is a massive psychological issue for business owners. Especially in difficult times when we feel that we are truly alone and in the dark. We internalise difficult times as being personal failures, instead of recognising them for what they are - the normal ups and downs of business. 

We feel like failures instead of feeling like experienced ship’s captains of a boat navigating choppy waters - just like every other ship’s captain experiences from time to time. 

So today was yet another magical moment of connection between two likeminded business owners, social media boss ladies, and public speakers. We “got” each other so much we didn’t get around to recording the podcast episode! 

The great thing about that is we get to do it all over again, but this time for your benefit! 

I have a feeling Amberly and I will be having many more conversations as time goes by. 

We’ll both be bringing you along for the ride, so you’d better follow us both - on Instagram and Facebook and wherever else you can find us! This is going to be fun!

Much love,

Tess x

p.s. If you need to challenge your psychological barriers to business success, don’t forget both my 30 Day (Firestarters - closing this Sunday!) and 12 Month (Like A Boss 2.0 - where you get access to me and all my stuff!) Intensive mentoring programs are currently open for registrations. Send me a message if you’d like to learn more.

It's so important to listen to your values when making business decisions ... Unless those "values" are actually fear in disguise.

Copycat syndrome - not what you think it is. It's a scarcity-based fear, and it can keep you playing small!

Long before I was a psychologist and business mentor, I used to be a junior lifesaver (a Nipper) on Queensland's Gold Coast. 

Here's the story of what happened when an ocean race went terrifyingly wrong and how it led to my own irrational fear that I still regret letting take hold.

Find out what it means for you and your business.

#CueTheJawsMusic