Are You Ready To Make Magic Happen?
There’s a common misconception that magic is supernatural, other-worldly, or make-believe. This might be so for storytelling and the movies, but the real fact is, the magic you see on stage is more of a craft than a gift.
Performing magic isn’t about luck – it takes planning, dedication, practice and good timing. It requires putting yourself on the line in front of an audience and taking a chance. Just like running a business.
I believe that making progress in business requires us to challenge ourselves. It means choosing to do scary things that might fail, that make us feel uncomfortable and that make us work harder than we’ve ever had to before.
Making progress requires making a bit of magic. The sort of magic that happens outside our comfort zone, not within it.
Think back to the last time you felt a sense of achievement. Whatever the task or goal was that you completed, it took effort, right? Effort that most likely pushed you out of your comfort zone. After all, isn’t the feeling of achievement tied to a belief that the thing we want to achieve is pushing us to do something that we ordinarily wouldn’t? Something a bit magical?
When I look back over 2023, I have a lot to be proud of, but one of my biggest achievements was putting together an incredibly successful event program for the 2023 Queenstown Retreat.
The organisation and planning of this event really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Arranging guest speakers, wellness activities and property tours in a country I had only visited a couple of times was a gamble, and I really didn’t know if everything would work out the way I hoped.
Over many years, the Byron Retreat evolved and grew to a level that I was incredibly proud of, but this time I wanted even more for our members. More variety, new experiences, more learning and most importantly, more magic.
Queenstown was a vastly different program to any previous retreats. I had no guarantees how the delegates (who were entrusting me with a significant investment) would respond to everything I had planned, but I knew I wanted this to be the best retreat to date. Every single part of organising this retreat pushed me to the limit.
After a year of tireless planning, many moments of second guessing myself and hours spent relentlessly reworking the program, the time to facilitate the retreat finally came…
Magic happened!
The retreat flowed seamlessly, the delegates bonded beautifully, and the program was a huge success. Everyone (me included) left the week feeling inspired, rejuvenated, invigorated and ready to take on the world. There was no luck involved, just plenty of work and a whole lot of intentionality.
On reflection I could have made things a lot easier for myself. If I had wanted to roll out the same retreat program in the same location, year after year, it would have been a lot easier. A lot more comfortable. But that wouldn’t feel like progress, which is what I expect for our members.
Looking forward to 2024, I start with my mission of empowering designers and architects around the world, and create actionable goals from there. Reaching more members means getting more uncomfortable on a regular basis!
This year I’m committing to the following things that will push me out of my comfort zone:
Starting a podcast. I love the way this medium speaks to people around the world, is evergreen and can really shine a light on the work that we do, in a way that no other form of marketing can. However, it terrifies me! A combination of unknown technology, putting myself “out there”, and the known time commitment it takes has seen me procrastinate, until now!
Establishing a national speaker profile by hosting panel discussions at Melbourne Design Week and Design Show Australia. Although I’ve become a bit more comfortable speaking to audiences, speaking to large groups of people still terrifies me. But… I know it’s an incredible way to get our message out there.
Getting in front of the camera to shoot a series of videos for a TDC collaboration with Programa. Once again, I have experience producing videos for our online content, but it’s SO uncomfortable putting yourself out there in front of a camera.
Launching into the USA, Canada and the UK. Our membership in these countries is growing steadily and there are so many opportunities available. Putting myself up against established operators will certainly push my levels of comfort!
So how does this relate to you?
Every day of every week of every year, you have a choice. You can choose to stay comfortable and get the results you know you can get. Or you can get uncomfortable and add a bit of magic.
Either way is OK, there’s just a big difference in the outcomes.
Do you have big dreams and high expectations about what you’re going to achieve with your business? My advice is that you make sure your aspirations are in line with the levels of discomfort you’re willing to experience.
It’s not luck or coincidence that certain people will excel in business. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the Instagram curtain to contribute to what looks like a simple formula for success.
Where are you going to get uncomfortable this year to add some magic to your business? Here's some suggestions to get you started:
1) Get your business organised to operate more efficiently and profitably.
If you’re ready to start the year off with a serious hit of organisation, consider our Business Bootcamp. We push you like a normal Bootcamp program, and hopefully you’ll feel out of your comfort zone.
2) Push yourself over an extended period.
Our Premium Group Coaching Program (launching in April) provides sustained coaching over a 6 month period, supported by a wonderful community in an intimate group environment. Committing to a coaching program over this amount of time might feel uncomfortable, but the results will return on your commitment exponentially.
3) Join a supportive community.
Perhaps you’re longing to make lifelong friends in the industry, but the idea of reaching out makes you feel uncomfortable? Our Retreats and Trips are an instant hack into a group of supportive and loving TDC members. Take the leap and snap up one of the last 2 tickets to our 2025 Palm Springs Trip and we promise you’ll never look back!
4) Ask those questions you think are silly.
Firstly, there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers! Our Free Group Coaching provides members with the opportunity to ask those burning questions and join in some powerful conversations about what's happening in our industry.
I hope you've taken a couple of valuable tips from this, our first TDC x Learning newsletter. If you're reading this online, and want to hear more, make sure you subscribe as a member (it's free!).
Until next week, stay well and always be kind.
Cheers,
Andrew and the TDC Team
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