I was at an event the other day and a man came up to me and introduced himself. He said he knew me because he was on my newsletter list. He then told me that he was on my list because he loves the concept of Alignment, because that is what he does in his business too. And then he let me know that he was upset because “I got it first,” and now he has to think of some other way to brand himself and talk about what he does.
This is actually not the first time I’ve heard this. And in fact after I stuck my neck out and started talking alignment almost 4 years ago, I started seeing the word popping up everywhere. At the time, I was “Align and Profit.” Soon someone was “Align and Prosper” and I also saw many programs pop up that started with Align Your _______. Well, first, no problem, there’s plenty of aligning to go around. And, I’m glad I said it.
I Was Afraid to State It
When I started talking alignment years ago, I was actually afraid. I didn’t tell my coach… at the time that I had renamed my business to Align and Profit until it was all said and done, and then I was nervous as hell to share with her. Because she taught all kinds of guidelines for names and I was pretty sure “Align” wasn’t going to make the cut. After all, what does that even MEAN, right?
But it meant something to me, and I had to trust it would mean something to my people. And I had to be the one to state it. See many had thought about it, as I later learned, but I stated it. And the people who had thought about it, are now newsletter fans, because they look at me and say, “I do what you do” or at least, “I get what you do.” Not everybody gets it, but my people get it.
You Have Something to State
Its common that I’ll talk with clients and hear them saying that they want to talk about something but they don’t think it’s important or enough. And usually it’s brilliant, but because it feels so simple to them, they can’t grasp the value of it. Whatever your thing is, it’s probably important, and if you start to state it, and state it repeatedly, before you know it you’ll have a tribe.
Another common occurrence I experience is one that is similar to the man I spoke with at the event. People will think, “well, someone else is saying this,” or “I hear so many people talk about it, it can’t be my thing.”
And yet it can.
Perhaps people are talking about something and you happen to be hearing it all around you because that is a message to YOU, and you need to be the one to state it, and make a business out of it, because it is who you are. You can be the one to state it and make it your own.
You certainly don’t want to state it in the same way as someone who already has a brand or a market for it, but chances are the way you would say it would be different. And if it already exists, it just means that is going to force you to say it in a way that is yours.
Your People Are Waiting For You To State It
The only difference between you and the people you admire is that they had the courage to state the thing they were thinking about, and put some skin in the game around it. And the people who were watching, the moment when they stated it, they went, “YES!” And began to follow.
Just because you may hear people talking about it, and it may seem common to you through your filter, doesn’t mean it can’t make you tons of money, and make a big difference. Because those people who are talking about it right now, who ‘get it’ intuitively, they may not be doing anything about it. They may not be acting on it. And you just may be the person, the FORCE, to spur them into action.
Your people are waiting for you to state it!
One great place to state your thing, and begin to own it and design a business around it is at my spring event, Align It Live. We’ll do the behind the scenes work in a safe space, to make your business captivate. Check it out – the first 5 people get an automatic VIP upgrade which includes your lunch!