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Afraid To Succeed? Sufferers Unite
Today’s guest post is written by Pamela Wright.
“Maybe you should call Bill. He has more experience with this than I do.”
“I can give you the name of a person who can do this for you. He’s a lot more expensive than I am, but he is worth it.”
“I learned everything I know from her. I’m sure she is available.”
These are some of my favorite things to say to potential clients when I am feeling inadequate for the task.
The problem?
I’m not inadequate for the task. I’m not even so overworked that I can’t take any more clients.
The real problem? It’s not that I’m afraid to fail; I’m afraid to succeed.
You see if I succeed, then I have to live up to everyone’s expectations of me. If I stay at a level of occasional clients, all my friends and relatives look at my business as a hobby.
I once thought I was the only one with this affliction, but the more I look around my marketing peers, the more I realize there are many of us out there. That’s why I am organizing ASAAC (Avoid Success At All Costs) to begin researching the symptoms and the cause of this dreaded disease.
If you join today you will receive an official certificate that can be framed and posted on your office wall worth $1,000. Wait until your friends and family see your disease is real and not a result of your being too lazy to go out and get the clients.
But wait, that’s not all: If you join today you will also receive a butt cushion for your office chair that proudly proclaims you will Avoid Success At All Costs on one side and Proud to Support My Competition on the other side. This cushion alone is worth $500.
I’m not through yet!
You will also receive a directory of all of your competitors, their phone numbers, and email addresses to make those referrals easier for you. After all, the time it takes to find those names and numbers could be better spent over a latte wondering why clients are always asking you to do something that someone else does so much better than you. This personalized directory is valued at over $1,900.
Act today and your membership packet, worth more than $5,000, will be mailed to you with your payment of only $19.95.
Here is what some people are saying about this unique organization:
“What a great idea. Now I don’t have to explain to everyone why my business is failing! I just show them my cushion and there are no further questions.”
“Thank you for organizing us! I always knew I wasn’t a failure. I’ve been afflicted with ATS (Afraid to Succeed) all of my life. It all began when I was seven and my father told me I can be anything I want to be, as long as I truly want it. I haven’t wanted success since then.”
“I have been an ATS sufferer for years. Finally I have a certificate that proves my excuses are valid!”
Join now. You won’t regret it!
PS: Please forward those clients to me. I will make sure they receive the service they are looking for without your having to miss your latte.
Pamela Wright and her company, FocusedWords, are dedicated to helping promote and market RV Parks/Resorts/Campgrounds to RVer’s everywhere. If you haven’t been to an RV resort lately, you need to check it out!
@John Murphy Thank you John. It's based on personal experience. Just have to keep fighting it.
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I think the "butt cushion" bit might have been the best. This was CLASSIC, Pamela - kudos!
When I prepped this for publication this morning, I was seriously laughing out loud at your, "But wait! There's more!" Thanks for sharing your challenges ... and your sense of humor...with us! Totally freaking great!
@ginidietrich Thank you so much for letting me share. I had a lot of fun writing it. Thanks also for the great compliment. Means a lot coming from you.
I've gotten better at this largely because I realized that I AM the best at what I do in our areaf. It's not being conceited - I busted my tail to get here and if I don't believe it, then how is my prospect who I'm asking to shell out some major coin to retain me going to believe it? However, I did also commit to myself that I wouldn't try to be a jack of all trades and if, in fact, Susie Q or Tom Jones is better at something that I have no interest in doing or learning - I will gladly refer to them.
Thank you for reminding us of this!!
This is awesome! Cheers to you Pamela ( @FocusedWords ) I definitely appreciated the laugh today!
In all seriousness, I might be guilty of this in the past, not in the exact way as you phrased it above, but I've been nervous in the past of taking on too much, and I will always succeed that's who I am, but then I'll be so overwhelmed with all of the new tasks I have that I wont enjoy my life. Guess I need to become better at Time Management.
@jennimacdonald Thank you Jenni. To be honest, I have found that all those new tasks are overwhelming until I start working on them. Then they become just part of the daily routine.
@ginidietrich Hey, Gini, Any more videos coming up of you in the smashing blue blouse? ;-)
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Ha! I used to need that certificate posted to the inside of my eyeballs. Then a student turned peer turned mentor told me to "grow up" in the context that I was better than I thought I was and under-charging, *to the detriment of my clients* -- it's that part about being to my client's detriment that clicked it for me. To talk myself into it, I would say to myself "well, if I get this and my inadequacy isn't my imagination, or my schedule REALLY won't allow, or my team is really overbooked, I will sub-contract to a company that can handle the job better than us." And that was hardly ever the case.
@Tinu Ah Tinu, I'm afraid you aren't going to qualify for membership in ASAAC. However, I'm sure that you will be interested in our next group, Success Really Isn't Hard If You Are Good.
I knew there was a support group for what ailed me! I can't wait until I'm able to proudly sit on my new cushion and admire that handsome certificate on the wall. I can also use both as props in the presentation I make to my children when I tell them that a college education is highly overrated.
Humor, of course, is never overrated. Thanks, Pamela.
@magriebler You are more than welcome. I'm so glad you are looking forward to your new cushion.
I just laughed out loud at my desk, Pamela. While this was humorous, though, it's true that this is a very real issue for a lot of people. I've found myself falling into this rut, too. Now here's the question...how do we kick ourselves out of it?
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@annedreshfield Well I could suggest that you join ASAAC, but then that just gives you an excuse to stay where you are. Maybe what I do will work for you. The minute I recognize the rut, I start trying to talk myself out of it. If that doesn't work, I call on others like me to shame me out of it.
@FocusedWords I like that...I react pretty immediately when other people speak up and point out what I'm doing wrong!
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@annedreshfield the trick is to find people that will be brutally honest without being brutal.
Spot on with this post and such a generous membership packet. I was wondering; is the butt cushion embroidered or ironed on? I would want to make sure I get my money's worth.
In all seriousness, I agree with you that it can be frustrating to realize that you've handicapped yourself. Thanks for the humorous post about a situation that strikes too many talented people.
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@HeatherTweedy Thank you Heather! (BTW the butt cushion is appliqued by little old ladies in a secret location. Don't want anyone else getting to them or they might find out that they are a success and start charging me a whole lot more.)
@SpinSucks Is it true you're unwelcome in one entire country, because they keep thinking it's @SpainSucks ?
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