Let’s Make the Leads “Fall” In🍃
Good morning, gang,
I hate the cruel truth that summer is over, but I have no power over it.
Welcome to Issue #4. We're still (VERY) long on #TeamKamala but the season has changed. The newsletter is now named Interconnected Us: The Newsletter, inline with the business name. I'll explain that story behind our name in the future.
Today: a networking story with actionable tips, an invite and an offer for you. Let's go.
Story:
As I write this, behind the scenes, I am donating my time, trying to help a single mom who is facing a discriminatory situation. She is selling Kamala t-shirts to support herself & her daughter, who is a promising high school level athlete.
This woman's career history has some seriously impressive hits, and her network is vast, extensive and powerful, but also, as you can imagine, her heart is hurting from all the waves that keep coming at her.
My own experience with trauma is that it blinds me to the abundance all around - including the abundance of my network (including each of you), who is just a call, text or email away.
While I have never walked in her shoes, here is the action plan that has worked for me in moments when the fear we all face takes over:
1. Cling to self-care. Even a smidgen of it, i.e. a few deep breaths and/or a simple gratitude practice. Repeat and repeat until my rigid focus on scarcity starts to crack.
2. Surround myself with others who will show up with loving encouragement; no thank you to hostility or criticism when I'm tenderhearted ("Keep in mind that I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my sh*t." - Erykah Badu, "Tyrone").
3. *Lovingly redirect my attention (over and over, and over) away from what I'm owed, what is just, etc. And last,
4. Consciously refocus on being of service. How can I reframe my needs, so that I am offering it in such a way that it satisfies their needs?
Example:
I've reticent about telling you, but there's a book I've been wanting to read, Stand Out as a Thought Leader. I've wanted it to read it alongside other current and/or aspirational thought leaders - but in an environment without mansplaining and with women whose worldviews, and therefore potentially their thoughts (that they want to lead on), aligned with my own.
Step 1 (self-care) - I took enough long walks and journaled until I saw options, and stopped listening to the fear, which usually shows up as a combo of perfectionism and avoidance/procrastination.
Step 2 (loving peers) - I shared this idea with our colleague turned my new friend, killer rainmaker Jennifer B. Gardner, Esq. In the short time I've known Jennifer, she consistently shows up with kindness and support for my ideas.
Step 3 (redirect over and over) - self-care, again. But this time, there's some gentle discipline, some structure. "Yes, I understand that you are nervous about telling others that you want to read this book, and you might feel exposed. And, we're doing it."
Step 4 (refocus on being of service) - Will this help (some or all of) my subscribers (who have already self-selected to step further into my world)?
So, without further ado:
Invite:
Register for IU's first book club, on Stand out as a Thought Leader. Subscribers only.
Offer:
Be a part of a community of women who are supporting an incredible mother-daughter duo; Mom being a national civil rights activist and daughter being an Olympic hopeful. Check out their shop of Kamala-inspired t-shirts in their "Excuse Me, Madame President Collection," and be a part of turning their dreams into reality.
More news in the postscript (P.S.), below.
See you in two weeks.
xo, R
P.S. I've been told 100x I should teach networking, as you know from Issue #3.
News: I'm starting to offer it in a 1:1 package, firstly to my subscribers. If you are having trouble getting in front of your target client, your ideal employee and/or that golden opportunity of whatever stripe, shoot me an email back and I'll explain how I work before my new website is up on it. Or, just ...
