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Dangerous or Scary? Reflections on The Night Before Archangel Summit.

I can’t sleep. I’m haunted by the people I haven’t helped. I know fear is what stops people but I see the results of those who didn’t let fear get in the way and grieve for the people who let it stop them.

Last night at an Archangel Reception I was talking to one of my clients who is here. I’ll call her Abby. She’s a 3-time best-selling author who left a great corporate job to write a book. She didn’t hate her job it just didn’t make her happy. What she wanted was to help others live a life they love so keeping a job that wasn’t in alignment was no longer an option.

She told me that one of the most common things people at Archangel have been asking her is how she got brave enough to give up the good job, the nice office, flying overseas for business, staying in nice hotels, making a very good income. People think what she did was really risky and that must have been really scary.

Looking at her life now, it doesn’t seem scary. She works when she wants, makes all the money she wants, has thousands of fans and followers. People even design t-shirts with her name on them without her asking them to or paying for it!

At the same time I started working with Abby, I started working with a new coach I’ll call Beth. Abby was asking me about her because they wrote their books at the same time and had become friendly.

Like Abby, Beth had great corporate job paying around $150,000 a year and wanted to pivot to a new coaching career even though she hadn’t made very much money as a coach yet.

3 years later, no one is making t-shirts with Beth’s name on it. Like Abby, she got her book done with me, but unlike Abby, she never used it to grow her business. She didn’t do what I taught.

Beth told me it was too scary to quit her corporate job and go all in building a coaching career. She wanted to slowly step into it taking a client or 2 here and there between her work schedule. It seemed like the safer route.

And that’s exactly what was dangerous about it. What was actually dangerous, but not scary, was staying and continuing to do a job that she wasn’t happy doing anymore. It wasn’t her passion but the risk of being broke, even for a short period of time, wasn’t one she was willing to take.

About a year ago I saw on Facebook that Beth was laid off at 56 years old from her job. She is living off savings and insurance payments. She doesn’t have any clients or revenue and she has a health condition that was probably caused by stress.

She spends most of her time trying to heal her parasympathetic nervous system now and hoping her money holds out until she can.

If she built this business 3 years ago when Abby did, she would be able to work 20 hours a week and make twice her corporate salary. She probably wouldn’t have the medical complications, and most importantly she would have the freedom of knowing she was helping people and earning as much money as she wanted.

Yes, her route might have seemed less scary, but her choice was the dangerous one. Really dangerous.

On the other side of scary there is failure or freedom. Pure, unadulterated freedom. One out of 2 ain’t bad.

On the other side of danger there is unmitigated disaster or more of the same. Two bad options.

The path of danger can never lead to freedom.

But as much as most people want the freedom, they aren’t willing to feel uncomfortable long enough to get it. So they stick with 2 bad options. They stick with danger over fear.

Seth Godin calls this The Dip. And most people get to the dip, suffer for a little while, and turn around and go back.

I’m stressing about that tonight because I think it’s clear what the outcome of dangerous choices is. I have to help more people make scary choices instead.

I want more Abby’s in the world. The crazy, brave ones who are willing to scare the piss out of themselves to create something that blows their own mind. I am done supporting dangerous, self-sabotaging decisions like the one’s Beth made.

Getting a book done for you is not enough for me. I want to hold your hand through the dip and to the other side even though it’s scary – no, BECAUSE it’s scary.

Is it scary to work with us? Hell yeah. It requires a level of bravery most aren’t willing to explore.

Scary? That is the good news.

Dangerous. Now that would suck.

Are you ready to get more scared?

Head over to www.theauthorincubator.com/apply to tell me your book idea and why you’re willing to be scared.

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Case Study: Navigating the Business of Writing

Explore Sophia’s fascinating journey from
couch surfing to 2 bestselling books

By opting in, you’re joining our vibrant community! Expect 2-3 weekly newsletters packed with curated content, exclusive updates, and valuable insights to fuel your journey. Welcome to the conversation!

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