A few weeks back we got a call from a woman who was bringing a group of women entrepreneurs to Whitefish, MT. (Whitefish was their third destination along with Greece and Paris - Whitefish, our little town!) She was interested in having us put together a day with the horses for her group.
CrisMarie was jumping at the chance, but I had some strong reservations – was I ready for this step?! Our work with horses has generally been built into one of our programs like Find Your Mojo in Montana or team experiences, which are kept small and intimate, six to eight people. We use the horses to help our clients improve their presence by getting immediate feedback from the horse. I was worried that this women’s group was too large, and I hesitated saying yes.
However, it did seem like the universe was providing a direct invitation to step into an opportunity, so we worked through our differences and mapped out a plan for saying yes. In the end, however, the date did not work—but the seed of an idea was planted!
Even though I’d said yes, that event did not happen, But I wanted to make something else happen. So, I sat down with Bobbi Hall and CrisMarie and shared my idea to get some more publicity and attention to the awesome joy and learning that comes from playing with horses. We made a short movie, nothing too fancy, if you haven’t seen it you can see below, and I started advertising our public events.
I have to say that the initial signs of the event being a big success were SLOW! There were only a couple of ticket sales and those were curious-but-only-want-to-watch tickets.
Still, I was determined. I tried some other advertising options like putting it up as a Kalispell Chamber event, using Facebook Ads, and talking it up with folks visiting downtown.
Our first event was scheduled for August 12, on August 10 we got four more sign-ups and on the 11th, seven more! Wow! Suddenly, I was concerned that we were going to have more people than we had chairs. But I figured that was a damn good problem to have.
The day was a great success! We had 17 people and only 14 chairs. But no one complained. People were really engaged.
It was so fun to have people who have never been around a horse team up with people who’ve had years of horse experience and watch them work together in, what we fondly call, the playpen (Bobbi’s big grassy field). Those who signed up to play directly with the horses shared some great insights about their experience.
One woman wanted to let go of a lot of pain and hurt. She was so surprised at how just being willing to share and not get stuck in her story really helped her shift. (She was the one with no horse experience and was thrilled to get three horses through and over the obstacles.) Those who were just watching cheered. They were learning as well. It was only a couple hours and some pretty amazing things happened.
What I learned was that I can do this. Sometimes it takes saying yes and getting a ‘no’ and deciding to make something happen anyway!
Where in your life are you doubting yourself? Are you holding back or not trusting that you CAN make something happen?
Where are you missing the nudge or gentle whisper to try something new or different?
This work with the horses started for me a few years back with just gentle nudge to say yes and I threw my name into an Koelle’s Equus Coaching program. The journey since then continues to be one that often takes its own next step after a nudge or something happening that I didn’t really see coming.
I love how the horses keep teaching me that lesson: to listen, to have a little faith, and to make something happen!
You can do that too. Just listen and say yes! Maybe that first yes won’t result and what you imagined. Maybe you’ll just be planting some seeds. Keep listening and have a little faith.
P.S. If you want some support making that leap why not join us for Get Unstuck, Relationship Mojo, or our signature retreat Find Your Mojo in Montana. I’m also available for personal coaching.
Hugs,
Susan
CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke are Master certified life coaches, business consultants, speakers and authors of The Beauty of Conflict. They believe real relationships are the key to creating great business results. They’ll take your team from mediocre to great.
Interested in coaching? Check out CrisMarie’s executive coaching and personal coaching, or Susan’s personal coaching and equus coaching.
Want to take a class? Sign up for one of their virtual classes: Get Unstuck, Relationship Mojo or come to their signature retreat Find Your Mojo in Montana. Click here to check out all their service offerings.
Click here to contact them to coach with you, consult with your team, or speak at your next event.