Submitted by Shelley Jacobsen.
I never thought taking a good long look into my past would help me find the missing piece that would help me achieve my success for the future…but it did.
Even though I’ve been a writer most of my life and a former staff writer for some of the largest industry giants including the Fox Network, I’ve always felt like something was holding me back, like I was being punished and restricted to a certain level of success that I was never able to push past.
When Nick sat down and spoke to me at AWAI’s Bootcamp 2014, I have no idea how he was able to peel back my protective layers I kept buried for so many years…but he did.
Somehow, he sensed how dissatisfied and inadequate I felt as a writer as he listened to me share my story and experience with him. He stared at me for a moment, shook his head and then said, “So what’s the problem? You should be a rock star copywriter. There’s something holding you back, something deep that’s preventing you from achieving your level of success only you can discover.”
For the first time in my life, I was speechless. I’m sure Nick thought I was just pushing his observations to the side, but the truth is, I was rattled because deep down I knew he was right and I was scared to death of what I might find.
He told me I needed to put on my big girl pants and deal with whatever I needed to deal with so I could reposition myself and achieve my goals. He said bluntly, “The only one holding you back is you.”
On the plane ride back to Toronto, his words “The only one holding you back is you” kept coming back into my mind. After some deep soul searching, what I discovered shocked me.
When I was a kid growing up, I always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Those dreams were shattered when my loving parents who always tried to have my best interests at heart explained, “Shell, you’re just not smart enough.”
At the time, I didn’t feel offended because I knew my parents were only trying to protect me from disappointment. What I didn’t realize was… those words would stay with me and haunt me for the rest of my life. Those words were the words that prevented me from achieving my success because I just didn’t feel worthy.
Dealing with the past has provided me with clarity and closure by opening the doors to my future. And for that, I will always be grateful to Nick.
In less than three months, I went from feeling dissatisfied and burned out, to winning a prestigious project proposal and signing a contract for over $30,000, getting promoted at a company I currently write for and signing monthly retainer deals for clients who approached me.
Nick helped me unlock the barriers that were holding me back and for the first time in a very long time, it looks like I’m finally going to be able to crack the code of becoming a six-figure copywriter.
Nick’s advice was like a prescription for success…I feel like I’ve gone from being stuck, to becoming unstoppable.
NOTE: If you’d like some help or guidance in writing a better story for yourself, check out my new one-on-one coaching program for freelancers… “The New Story of You”
