So my kids used to go to sleep kicking and crying. They’d throw a hissy fit for over an hour, and I’d try everything in my might not to make them even more upset—often with little success. Of course, this meant that I wasn’t sleeping much either.

Everyone hated it.

Then one day as I was driving my newborn to the store to grab something, I dozed off at the wheel for a couple of seconds. Luckily nothing happened. But it was a close call. So close that I realized,

Hang on a second. This is NOT good.

I was SO worried about upsetting them that I didn’t do what’s actually good for them: getting some shut-eye so that they can grow properly!

That was when I knew that this whole thing needs to stop. I put together a plan on how to encourage better sleep, and after some trial and errors—it worked! They slept. I slept.

AHH … the sweet sound of a full eight hours of sleep!

Turns out, my relationship with the internal monologue of ‘not wanting to upset’ them, was hurting not just me, but themselves!

It was a disservice for them.

If we’re completely honest, we’ve all done this with our work AND our business.

How many times have you avoided a difficult conversation because you didn’t want to feel like you’re pushing in?

I certainly have.

But instead of getting thanks from people for not sharing my offerings, sometimes I got some surprising responses that left my mouth wide open.

Here are other responses that other people have got as well in the past.

•       “I felt mad. I really wanted it. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
•       “How come you didn’t tell me? I wish that you would.”
•       “I can’t believe I missed it. This would’ve been really great for me.”
•       “I guess now I have to go back to that job that I hate and live the same s**t life”.
•       “I’m so pi**ed. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Weird, isn’t it? The reactions here are almost guttural. Probably no different than if your kids grew up hating you because you didn’t teach them certain things because, um … they kept fighting it?

And YET … they actually needed it.

So how can you convince someone that they need something that they didn’t yet know they need?

1. Remember that what you have can actually change not just their day, or their year. It can change their LIFE. Years ago, I came to this country because my home country of Indonesia got too dangerous for me to live in (full story here). And when I found myself halfway around the world from everything I knew, speaking a language I didn’t know, with people who don’t look like me, it was bad. Find out what the worse part of it all.
2. Accept that great leaders eat last. Find out how great leaders know how to stand by someone’s side and support them—with what you have to offer. This is especially true if you want to earn handsomely doing what you do.
3. Find things that are actually worth a thousand words. You might just find that what you’ve been saying to them is NOT what rings true to them.

If you’re curious what other things you can say or do to convince them that they need what you’re offering, take a listen.

After all,

I believe in taking small and meaningful steps to create the biggest possible difference.

Take steps toward being your best, true self while still confidently convince other people of what you believe in.

 

Listen to the episode now and FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to the show.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.