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Real Change Happens From Inside Out
January 24, 2017
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Once upon a time, I was called to interview for a major market programming job at a station that had struggled to find an audience since its inception several years earlier. Sensing that drastic measures must be taken to turn around a failing brand, I presented a few out of the box ideas to make noise within a crowded market and draw some badly needed attention to a station that wasn't on the radar for most listeners.
However, the company had a different vision. They wanted to keep much of the existing strategy in place, tweak the music slightly, and relaunch as a "new" station with a fresh name and logo. It was obvious we weren't on the same page and we left the interview knowing we wouldn't move forward.
The rebranding effort provided a short-term lift for the first 60 days, then the station quickly came right back down in the ratings. Listeners checked out the new product to hear the commercial free music, but it didn't feel like a new product, despite what the imaging told them to believe.
A few cosmetic changes on a failing radio brand rarely yield long term results. Now, as I work as a personal transformation coach for clients around the world, I see many people apply this same losing strategy as they try to elevate their life and find a deeper sense of fulfillment.
There was the client who came to me after 3 years of job hopping. He felt empty working long hours in the finance industry and wanted to do work that allowed him to contribute to the greater good. Instead of looking at other more fulfilling career paths, he kept moving to similar jobs at bigger, more high profile finance companies. After three months at each new stop, the "new car smell" wore off and he found himself feeling even unhappier.
There was the client who struggled in her romantic relationships. She felt cosmetic surgery would give her more confidence to attract the right partner. She spent thousands of dollars, only to realize she was still an insecure person with a smaller nose.
Even in my life, I made a dramatic physical transformation in 2012, losing 37 lbs. and getting in the best shape of my life after a brutal breakup. I moved cross country for a new job, with a new body, thinking I had everything I needed to crush it in the next chapter of my life. Yet, a few months later, those same self-limiting thoughts of "I'm not enough" began to creep up in the back of my mind.
Whether it's a radio brand, or your personal life, meaningful change cannot happen from the outside in. It's an inside job. You can change a logo and positioning statement on a radio station just as you can change a job, a relationship, or your physical body. But if you do not address the underlying issues that caused the problem in the first place, you will rarely experience long term success.
For me, losing weight was great. It gave me more physical energy and really helped my dating life. But it was like taking a "zombie house" from HGTV that was overrun with mold, slapping on a fresh coat of paint, fixing the landscaping, and expecting it to be livable.
At the end of the day, I was still living in a moldy house
On our personal growth journey, the "mold" comes from our beliefs.
If you want to experience the highest levels of success and make a million dollars, but you have a belief that being rich will make your family members jealous, you will find a way to not be successful.
If you want a deeply fulfilling romantic relationship, but feel unworthy of love because of past rejections, you will keep jumping from one fling to the next on Tinder.
Finding a coach or mentor to help you examine the root of those beliefs and help you rewrite the story you have told yourself about your life is crucial for you to get to the next level in your career, love, health, and finances.
As a free gift to help you reinvent your life, I've put together a free workbook called "The 5 Must-Ask Questions to Reinvent Your Life at Any Age." The answers to these life-changing questions will give you clarity, focus, and action steps to get unstuck and move forward. Grab yours for free at my website, www.creativesoulcoaching.net
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