One of my early mentors back in the day said to me one day,

‘It takes 90% of the energy to get the rocket in the air and only 10% to keep it there’

and it has always stuck with me.

The challenge is to switch from that hustle of launch into the cruise phase, and at times, I have found that harder than the frenetic activity of launch.

There are still a couple of things to watch out for now that you have staked your claim, got your support team, mastered your mindset, gathered your tools and created your map.

We’re talking about getting ready for the long haul.

I remember a conversation I had with a client a year or so back. She is a successful relationship coach and clinical social worker who was bringing her work online for the first time. The conversation went something like this:

Client: “Lorraine, I am doing everything right, investing heavily in the right help and advertising, but I am still not seeing results. When do I know to throw it all in and go back to my offline business solely?“

Me: “Well, I can’t predict the future [client name], but I can share this. I set myself a goal. I promised myself that I would show up, consistently, for two years before I threw in the towel. Two whole years. If after that, I could look back and be no further forward, then and only then would I walk away.“

I’m delighted to be able to tell you that that same client messaged me a few weeks ago to tell me that she had cracked it. Clients were coming consistently to work with her at her highest level, and she considered her online branch of her coaching practice to be launched and sustainable. And it didn’t take her 2 years!

The key to getting to your cruise phase is to be prepared. It didn’t take me two years either, but I was prepared for it to. I put some mechanisms in place to ensure that I could keep going for that length of time, and I surrounded myself with things to help me stay on track.

I joined a mastermind.  (For many years I was a proud member and partner of Natalie MacNeil’s Conquer Club.)

I hired a coach. (Implementation is key to this phase, and I needed someone to hold my feet to the fire just as I do for my clients and students.)

I created my own version of affirmations that would keep me going when I felt like giving up. (Here is what they look like)

I learned to lean in to the discomfort of the low times and difficult decisions. (Watch this video to see what I mean by this)

I just…kept…going!

Many will not adequately prepare for this phase, and it is those coaches who will give up. And that breaks my heart because they have so much to give. I don’t want you to be one of them.