Three years ago, I took on an ambitious and exciting project.
I gave myself one year to interview 100 women entrepreneurs (that I didn’t know!), research, write and publish a book. Yes, just one year to do all of that!
No small feat when you take into account having to contact each woman many without a warm introduction, maneuver through PR people and other gatekeepers, convince them that I was legitimate, schedule, interview (in the few hours I had free) and distill all the gems of wisdom that came out of each call!
You should have seen my wild spreadsheet trying to keep track of all of this!
It was a truly amazing experience.
Many people don’t know my motivation for taking on such an ambitious project while running my acupuncture practice, seeing patients 2 long days a week, and caring for a toddler full time the rest of the week:
- I always wanted to write a book but never quite knew the topic (until this one came to me in a spark of inspiration).
- I was at a mental road block and needed to find my way. For years I knew the people I wanted to serve (women business owners) but I didn’t know how.
I decided to stop the struggle and just listen to women who have been there and how they found success. I stopped trying so hard. I surrendered. I listened both to my inner guidance and to the beautiful stories of these women.
What better way to discover your own path than to listen and learn how others found theirs.
I wanted to learn from them. I wanted to gain meaningful insight that not only would help other women but in all honesty help me too.
I wanted to hear how real women with real companies made it all work… not just the glitz and glamour shown on their sites and in the media but the behind the scenes messiness of real life.
And yes success is messy!
You can learn a lot from speaking to 100 people.
When I say “speak” I do mean actually speaking to them on the phone or meeting with them in person.
- It can be 100 ideal customers
- It can be 100 moms of disabled children
- It can be 100 successful artists
- It can be 100 cancer survivors
- It can be 100 innovative chefs
Whatever it is that you’re curious about, you can find 100 people to talk to about it.
I know you’re asking yourself, “But why would anyone want to talk to me?”
Listen, I’m not a New York Times best selling author or even a professional journalist.
I wasn’t even an English major.
Even worse, I had a debilitating fear that could have filed this dream away with other discarded hopes or unmet desires.
At that time I had a serious fear of talking on the phone – doing phone interviews scared the crap out of me! (After about 50 calls I got over it – immersion therapy I suppose! Voila – not a problem since!)
I wasn’t about to let my silly fears and the “who am I” whispers in my head stop me.
I lead with my strengths – honesty, passion and integrity.
In my brief introductions to these women:
- I clearly stated my intentions for the project and book.
- I told them exactly who I was, why I was doing it and what I was looking to learn from them.
- I shared why I thought they were perfect to chat with.
- I told them how their stories would influence others on their journey.
- I explain the time commitment (I stated only 20 minutes of their time).
- I stated how the project came about and my hypothesis.
- I gave my time line for the project and the approximate date of publishing.
And guess what? It wasn’t as daunting as you’d expect.
Women, in all their loving generosity, were happy to share their stories, give their thoughts and magically each gave me typically 3-5 other women to speak with.
What are you curious about? Are you feeling stuck in your life and business?
How would speaking to 100 people change the direction of your life?
Give it a try… And watch magical things happen.
The product of my 100!
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