One of the many things I have learned from working with Linda Larsen for the last twelve years is that sometimes we have to change and, sometimes, change means taking a risk and going wayyyy out on the tiniest little branch to find what we want; that success, generally, is found far outside our comfort zone.
And so here I am.
What you are reading now is my first-ever blog post and it’s here on my freshly created website. It has, sometimes, been a struggle to get here. (OK, I’ve been working on this since before Methuselah had to shave; you know, the cobbler’s children never have shoes!) I started out trying to do it all by myself (dumb, Kate, very dumb!). Then the universe smiled on me and gifted me with Brian Deckard, my wonderful website designer (graphic artist, SEO wizard, inbound marketing czar, etc. etc.). We have changed platforms, functions, and content thanks to my wanting it to be “just so.” I’ve gone from two sad little pages to this beauty of a site that makes me weep with joy (scared Brian a bit that day, I think!). Brian has helped me create a site that I’m proud of; a site that will showcase our speakers and help me connect with meeting planners so that, together, we can positively impact the lives of audiences all over the world.
But here’s the thing: it’s scary out on the end of this tiny branch! I have changed my logo and I have changed my website URL because they did not serve me any longer. Both were “fine” before, but neither represented me and my vision for AFS now. But changing two important parts of my business was a hard decision and would mean changing our email addresses, business papers and, of course, this website! Yeah, I could have kept everything the same and it’s likely that no one would have noticed. But I would have noticed. And I wanted to have the best site possible to represent our speakers, to help us connect with meeting planners and be the tool that will help us help people.
So here’s what I have learned: the world is full of amazing, kind and smart people like Brian and the rest of my team. If you are committed, you can make things happen even if it takes longer than you thought it would. You CAN change, even if the thought of doing so is daunting. And the fear of what waits for you at the edge of that tiny little branch is nothing compared to staying where you are and not risking great and beautiful things.
[su_quote cite=”Andy Warhol”]They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.[/su_quote][su_divider top=”no” style=”dashed” margin=”10″]
Kate Holgate is the Founder and President of Alliance for Success Speaker Management and happily spends her days taking care of her family of speakers and the meeting planners that book them for their corporate and association conferences, conventions, events and training programs.
Deckard & Company!