This photo reminds me of the power of decision.
It reminds me of my power to turn impossible-seeming dreams into my new reality. It specifically reminds me of the time when I decided to sell $25,000 worth of art in a single transaction, even though the most I’d sold at the time was $3,200…and then I did just that.
This is a really helpful story because while it is common for coaches to espouse philosophies about the power of belief and decision, people are naturally skeptical and want proof that “this mindset stuff” works. My clients are no different. They are savvy, smart, usually already very successful in certain arenas of their life, and often very skeptical, especially when it comes to their own abilities and what’s possible. My clients invest a significant amount with me in order to create something that seems impossible to them. This is the kind of coaching work I most love and at which I’m extraordinarily effective.
People with a burning vision to create something extraordinary and heretofore, seemingly impossible, hire me to help them create it. Almost the first thing they want, without fail, is for me to explain to them how to do this in a way that makes it clear that this is going to be incredibly complicated. Because, if it weren’t, they would’ve done it already and wouldn’t have to hire me, right?
So they are a little disappointed at first when I pull back the curtain and reveal the magic formula:
They must decide they are going to create this thing.
That’s it. They must decide.
And because they usually want more than this, I give them all that too.
Here is an example of that more, a story I share with my clients that illustrates the power of decision…
A few years ago I decided I wanted to sell a painting for $25,000. The most I’d sold a painting for at that point was $3,200. At the time, I thought $3,200 was pretty good considering I don’t have a sophisticated art pedigree, I’ve never had a formal art education or famous mentors, I’ve never been shown in a gallery, I don’t have relationships with galleries or taste makers, I don’t have a rolodex (or techy equivalent) of rich and famous people, and I have a relatively small social media following. When I’d decided to sell a painting for $25,000, I’d actually just began painting for a little less than ten years. I began the day after I graduated law school when I realized I felt like a fake lawyer even though I had a real J.D., but I knew I was a real artist even if I had no paintings to show for it…yet (another story about deciding…).
Something I love about creativity, though, is the opportunity to engage in this process creating something out of seemingly nothing. I also love the challenge of impossible-seeming dreams and how they can evoke and cultivate within you abilities you didn’t know you had. It also seems like it can create opportunities that zoom in out of left field.
This is what happened when I decided to sell a painting for $25,000. I had a painting in mind, one I loved and felt strongly was worth at least that much (different story, different time). The painting is called SHE RISING and you can see it on my art site, www.leahcbart.com.
So, once I made the decision to do this, I was thrilled but also overcome with intense nausea, doubt, fear, had terrible anxiety and couldn’t sleep for days. But I went ahead and publicly announced I was doing this, listed SHE RISING on my websites for $25,000, wrote about it, announced it on social media, and told everyone I knew about it. Some people responded with enthusiasm and encouragement, rooting for me, cheering me on. Even if they weren’t going open their wallets and drop a quarter of a grand on my art work, they were sure I’d find someone who would! I also received plenty of either blatantly negative feedback and also subtle social cues that suggested perhaps I would do better to seek mental health support…or just go back to being a fake lawyer.
(Backing up a bit, I had had someone approach me about this painting, SHE RISING, when it was $10,000, but after talking about the meaning behind the painting we decided it was not the painting for them. I left feeling I’d had a near miss and not long after was when I decided to honor the $25K number I’d been feeling in my gut all along).
What happened next was NOT that I sold SHE RISING – it still is hanging on my bedroom wall and will until the right buyer appears, or maybe I’ll decide I don’t want to sell it after all, or maybe I’ll decide I do but that I don’t want to part with it for less than $40K. We’ll see.
What DID happen next was that within two weeks of listing SHE RISING for $25K, I was approached by a couple that are art enthusiasts and wanted two special commissions for a home they were remodeling. I’d met the wife at a writing retreat years before and she’d been quietly following my progress on my blog (which I continued to publish even though I was pretty sure just my mom was reading it). They gave me the dimensions, I worked up a proposal based on my commission fee which was already determined and listed on my website…and the total for the two, very large, commissions came out to $24,500.
True story. (I know, I pinched myself plenty of times to check!)
The moral of the story?
DECIDE.
If you want more, remember this:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!”
-William Hutchinson Murray
If you want even more, you may want to learn more about working with me to bring your dream to life. If so, email me at leah@leahcb.com to with your “impossible dream.” If it seems like something that is a good match for what I do (helping visionaries bring dreams to life that are fulfilling to them and have the potential, on a personal or public scale, to better the lives of others and move humanity forward), then either I or my assistant will email you to schedule a thirty minute Discovery Consult. In this free laser coaching mini-session, you’ll receive valuable, actionable insights and we’ll determine if we are the right team to bring your vision to world.
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