Repeat after me:

The best things come to those who try,

not to those who wait!

Got that? Okay! Now, let me tell you a thirty-second story: Nearly 13 years ago I made the decision to move from Chicago, where I was working as a teacher, to New York City.  I barely knew anyone in the city, had no plan, no idea how to use the subway system, and I anxiously suspected that I’d be stepping into a city of overachievers all trying to “make it”.  I, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out what my own “it”  was, but the city was calling me, and the call was getting louder and louder…During a blip of bravery, I finally decided to answer it.

This all felt very exciting in theory, but in reality, it became scarier by the second, and I grew unsure. I started regretting my choice. On one of my last nights in Chicago before moving, I got cold feet. Frozen feet. WHAT was I thinking? WHY did I think that leaving my secure job teaching high school was the right answer? HOW did I expect to become a success story in the Big Apple when there were already so many other people there, already making progress on their own stories. People I was sure were faster, smarter, cooler, more connected, more sure of their path…Had I just made an awful decision?

I poured my heart and my fears out to a friend who was successfully heeding his own calls to do, to create, and to take chances. I told him I didn’t think I could do it.  I was starting to slip into a spiral of self-doubt and I needed someone to tell me it would all be okay.

What happened next? Did he tell me it would all be okay? No. Instead, he told me something that proved even more powerful.  A mantra I’ve carried with me every day since. A reminder that buoyed me up as I made the move to New York City, as I took a job in an industry I’d never worked in before, when I decided to leap (okay more like hold my breath, close my eyes, and jump) into entrepreneurship, and a phrase that to this day sits on my office wall.

That night, in Chicago’s Old Town Ale House, I was told,

“HANG IN THERE CHICKEN WING, THE BEST THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO TRY.”

The best things come to those who try, not to those who wait. Here's how to TRY more... Click To Tweet

 

Those words, my friends, are the truth.  Simple, straightforward, and 100% true. That phrase is the lesson that any successful entrepreneur, maker, creator, or self-made success story will tell you they had to learn before the tide started to turn in their favor.

You must take your chance!

The best things do not come to those who wait, but far too many of us are doing just that.  Our dreams, goals, and ideas are on a treadmill built on procrastination and talking without taking action.

Too much talking, not enough taking action? Here's how to change that...#YouMustTakeYourChance Click To Tweet

Trust me, I get it. There’s a gap between where you are now and where you need to be, but you must take a leap, you must take that chance, and when you do, incredibly remarkable things will begin to happen. I PROMISE. We’ll talk about that more, shortly.

Don’t get me wrong, things will happen to you when you wait as well…

And if you need some cold, hard, clarification on what will happen if you wait – on taking action, on leaving your comfort zone, on putting an end to the procrastinating, on going for the ask, on making that change you’ve been pondering in your business – let me give it to you…

What comes to those who wait:

• Regret. It will come. It will sneak in when you least expect it, often during the quiet moments of not trying.

• Unanswered Questions: What if I tried? What if it worked? What if it didn’t work but it was still worth the ride? What would have happened?

• Analysis paralysis born from your procrastination and obsessing. The less you do and the more you wait, the more overwhelming a task taking action and trying will become. Avoiding trying turns small action steps into giant mountains in your mind.

• Other people taking action on your ideas and being celebrated for them – even if they don’t do it as well as you would have.  P.S. – These people are taking action because their goal is progress not perfection.

• Ketchup, Heinz ketchup, that’s what you’re getting when you wait, and my friends it’s 2017, there’s a squeeze bottle for that, so it’s high time you stop waiting for your condiments as well…

 

What comes to those who try?

Now that we’re all clear that waiting is rarely the right answer, let’s talk about what happens when you try.  That’s right, when waiting isn’t an option, trying is your only choice. It’s a beautiful choice. Sure, it’s often a bit sloppy at the start (I spent more than one evening, cross-legged on my apartment floor, tears a-flowing), it can be scary and it will challenge you, but when you make the attempt, when you put in effort, you get the rewards.

When you decide to leave behind the expectations, when you forget about that “they” think, when you let go of the need to “try perfectly”…when you just give it a good-0ld-fashioned, roll up your sleeves, try…What happens then, you ask?

ALL THE THINGS!

I’m serious, it’s going to blow your mind how the simple act of trying, little by little, every single day, will begin to change your business and your life. THAT, guys and gals, is the secret that successful people know. They aren’t where they are because they’re the “best, first, or only” in their industry.

They’re there because along with their strategy, creativity, and talents they’ve got guts, they have courage, and they try!

They know that to change where you are right now (personally and professionally) and to bridge the gap from where you are now to where you want to be, no matter where you’re starting or how late you feel you are to the party, you try. Even though you aren’t guaranteed you’re going to get the result you want.  You try because you owe it to yourself – and your business – to try.

Another wonderful thing about trying is that even when the result isn’t what you may have hoped for, you will always get unexpected – dare I say magical – gifts simply from taking action.

You will learn powerful (I’m not exaggerating here) lessons, you’ll discover shortcuts for future attempts, you’ll make friends, develop new business relationships, and unearth new strengths and abilities you didn’t even realize you had.  AND you may even get the success that you were originally aiming for when you decided to try, which often becomes the cherry on top of a very delicious sundae.

In fact, imagine that “thing” you want to get from trying, that success, that change, that success.  Whatever that “thing” you want is, know that you will get something exponentially bigger and better when you decide to finally try, because  just by taking that chance and making the leap you will be led to even more opportunities, experiences, lessons, and people than  you never planned on encountering when you first began even thinking about trying. Even the smallest of tries, can lead to the biggest of things.

It’s Never Too Late

Another incentive to try? It’s never too late. Haven’t tried to take a chance on a new skill, a new challenge, a new opportunity for your business? Begin tomorrow. Begin tonight. Begin right now. What matters isn’t the when (stop telling me you missed your chance), what matters is the will, and the decision, to try.

 

Now speaking of magical things that happen simply from trying…

Here’s the happy ending to my New York City story: When we left off, it was with a potent mix of excitement and “what the heck am I doing” pulsing through my body, that I moved to New York, because I felt it calling. I had no idea what I was going to do or what I was going to get out of the experience.  Nevertheless, I was determined to dive in and give it on heck of  a try.  And I kept doing just that over and over again, and never looked back.

Fast forward 12+ years and I’m sitting here writing you this blog post from a home I love, overlooking the New York City skyline, running a business I created that has blended my passions and skills perfectly together, next to the husband I met and married here – heck there’s even a little dog at my feet. It’s pretty darn remarkable.

My friends I have all of these things – my best things – not because I waited, I got the best things because I tried.

Are you ready to try something that will make your business more successful, even if it challenges you a little?

Are you ready to take a chance on your business? Have you been wondering what would happen if you dipped your toe into the public relations world, and took your chance on sharing your business with the press and the world?

ARE YOU READY TO TRY?

Yes! It’s time! Let’s do it!

I want to help you try even more. Especially when it comes to your business, and sharing its story with the press and the world. It can be daunting to think about, but trust me, I can help you turn taking action on that try into an incredibly positive and productive experience!

Every single week I hear stories of my students from the Press for Success PR Training classes and online course telling me about what has happened to their businesses and lives now that they’re taking a chance on something many thought was out of their reach.

Sure, they’re getting featured in places like Reader’s Digest, The Today Show, Good Morning America, In Touch Weekly, The Oprah Magazine, and oh so many more #PRSexy publicity spots, and that gets me excited, trust me.

But they’re also more clear, confident, strategic, sure of what they’re doing and where they’re going, and they are having fun with this new “PR empowerment” they have.

Do you want to feel that way?  Great, here are a few ways to get started:

DO YOU WANT TO FEEL THAT WAY? HERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO GET STARTED:

• Join the Press for Success Facebook Community and hang online with hundreds of other businesses cheering each other along as they grow their media relationships and get local and national publicity for their businesses.

• Be sure you’re signed up for my regular newsletter packed with PR strategies and courage boosting tips to help you take action and TRY!

• DIVE IN with me and learn how to become the master of your business’s publicity by taking the Press for Success Self-Guided, Online PR Masterclass. Not only will you get access to the entire program immediately, but you’ll have your lifetime pass to our ongoing live monthly support sessions as well as our regular PR bonuses and updates.

SPOILER ALERT: We have a spring sale coming up this week that will be offering 50% off lifetime access to Press for Success. Get in on the sale in advance and use our upcoming promotion code shopping now. Simply type in SPRINGSUCCESS at check out and you’ll be good to go!

YOUR TURN…

Do you have any tips or strategies that help you take action and go for “the try”?  Share them with us!

Also, let me know what you’re attempting to try this quarter!