I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
What a Pain in the Neck
The fact is, I've been suffering from neck pain for well over a year now. It's not debilitating but it's just painful enough to be annoying and, at times, pretty distracting.
Last week, I saw someone on social media touting a C-shaped pillow that had helped her relieve her neck tension. She wasn't the first person I've seen review this product, but her review is the reason I decided to bite the bullet and finally try it out for myself.
Now, I'm a pretty skeptical shopper, especially when it comes to things that promise results, which sound 'too good to be true.'
So, when my pillow arrived, I figured I'd try it for a week and then return it and just continue to cope, relying on my physical therapy exercises and stretches to help me carry on.
Still, there was a tiny ray of hope I harbored deep within that lying down on this pillow all my troubles would melt away. That my head would feel weightless or, even better, that I would feel nothing at all from the shoulders up.
Spoiler alert: That's not what happened.
This is not a pillow like we know it. It's made of hard plastic, there's no cushion to it. As such, it's kind of uncomfortable.
While the directions recommend 10-minute sessions, I only lasted about 7 or 8.
I went about the rest of my evening as usual. However, as I got ready for bed, I realized my neck wasn't bothering me. I was absolutely flabbergasted.
Could this pillow that's not really a pillow actually work and that fast?
All I know is that I've been using it now for 10 minutes a day every day and my neck feels better than it's felt in ages. I even have full range of painless motion. It's crazy!
But, why am I tell you all this? Because I've been thinking about the lessons in this experience.
- While mindset is key to success, physical well-being is paramount. It can become quite easy and routine to live with pain and discomfort, so much so that we forget how it limits our abilities and potential as well as what life was like before it arrived and made itself at home in our bodies.
- Even when we're doing all the right things we may still need help in solving our problems. There's no shame in that because there's honestly no real honor in toughing things out and going it alone. Even in the movies, the lone hero needs to eventually rely on others to get the job done. Why suffer if there's actually tonic to our pain?
- Seeing isn't believing, but experiencing is. That's why testimonials are a powerful part of any customer conversion strategy, but they won't save you if your customer experience doesn't live up to their hype. So, from hello to goodbye, your prospect-through-customer journey needs to be stellar.
I also want to share this with you because even as someone who likes to think they know better, I still fall victim to old habits and patterns that do not serve me.
It's humbling and honestly helpful to be reminded of this and that asking for help is a power move not a signal of defeat.
If you're ready to overcome your business aches and pains, let's talk.
Until next time,
PS - In case you missed it, last week I wondered Are Good Work(ers) Hard to Find?
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Easily Said & Done
I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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