Do you believe in miracles?
You know in fairy tales how there are genies, magic wands, fairy godmothers and any number of beings and items that can make whatever you want magically appear in an instant? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had one of those in real life?
But, of course, we all know life doesn’t happen that way… or do we?
When clients contact me, they want success. They want clients calling them from everywhere, ready to buy. They are looking for the quick fix. The magic wand. The miracle worker.
And I don’t blame them… because I am the same way!
I am always looking for that magic, quick result. Part of my brain knows it doesn’t make sense, but another part wants to believe.
I start a diet and after one day of salad, I jump on the scale anticipating the number will have dropped. I start a workout and when my muscles are sore the next day, I have a quick 10 seconds of believing I have transformed. I try a new mascara full of promises and before looking in the mirror, I am convinced I’m going to look like Meghan Markle or better!!!
We all do this, so… why would our brains be any different in business?
I once had a client who believed in “magicians”. He had a great store with great products, but those products were expensive, his location was terrible and he had no consistent messaging.
His brain was also stuck on the “Big Wow”. He had everything to succeed but right there in his store, but kept looking for outside solutions. He wanted magic, THE quick fix. Continuity takes time. Who has time?
It seemed every occasion I saw him he was hiring a new person. Each time it was, “THIS is it. HE is THE one.”
Every new hire seemed to have their own magic wand.
One was a PR person. She was going to make him famous because she was so well connected. She organised a beautiful event full of beautiful people. Some bought products, some discovered the store and came back, but there was no big “Hoopla”.
Next, it was a marketing guy who was going to make him famous by building him a fantastic website. This guy was “the best”. He had worked for big designers in Paris such as Burberry and Gucci. A few months later, my client had spent $25,000 on a website. The website was nice, but very slow. My client was happy at first. It was such a beautiful website, full of bells and whistles! But after a few days of people saying they could not find him on Google and the site was too slow, he was very unhappy. The magic bullet had missed its mark.
Then he associated himself with a fashion icon. Now, she was going to put the store on the map. She had great clients and would share that clientele. But, once again, the result did not meet his high expectations.
Finally, he hired a new rep. This woman was great at selling. The best. She was going to bring her clients from her previous store. It was going to be big! She did bring in some business, but it was far from the tidal wave my client was expecting.
What was missing every time? Consistency. Also, reasonable expectations. But consistency was the big one.
You will hire people. They might not bring the big parade you were expecting, but good people will continually bring you closer to the next level, step by step.
Be wary of big promises. A true expert has the experience and wisdom to know that there is no “big bang”. There are no miracles. There is patience and there is consistency.
Learn from each step forward. Take notes and keep going. Keep hustling!
Success is built on hard work, not miracles.
There is no magic. There are no saviors. You have to do the work yourself. You have to hustle, every day. An Olympic medalist doesn’t simply show up and win gold. They work at it, hard, every day. Great musicians don’t just pick up a guitar. They practice and experiment every single day.
If there is any magic bullet, it is routine. Repetitiveness, consistency and patience are what create “miracles”. As the championship golfer, Gary Player, once said, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Funny how that works, no?
I like to think that I bring a bit of magic to what I do. I help people bring out the “why” of their business and shine that light, brilliantly, through incredible videos. But I also work hard, work consistently and coach my clients on how to consistently get their brilliant, amazing message out there, continuously. Even pixie dust needs someone working hard to spread it around.
Do the work to ensure your message gets out there, every day. Be visible. Post pictures, quotes or better yet have a video series. Be present every day and the miracle will happen!
Barbara Eden
