Suit Up And Show Up

How to Suit Up and Show Up for Success

The first time I was called to go on a big Los Angeles TV station, I danced around my office in excitement, amazed that my efforts were being noticed by the outside world. My whoppin’ 3 minute segment would be broadcast live at the wee hour of 5:15 am meaning I’d have to get up at around 2 to get ready. But I didn’t let that hinder my enthusiasm. I learned long ago that suiting up and showing up will eventually pay off.

Sometimes clients call me frantically because their visibility efforts aren’t yielding mega-results instantly. That is like complaining that your first Lotto ticket didn’t bring you the jackpot, or the apple seed you just planted isn’t yielding buckets of apples.

Suiting up and showing up can sometimes payoff in an instant windfall, or it may take some time. The tricky part is you never really know exactly how something will pay off until you do it. You also don’t know if the payoff is going to be financial, or making a key contact, or something else.

The “something else” category is a favorite of mine, because it far surpasses anything that our imaginations can conjure. It’s a lot like love: you never know when it will strike! So the next time you’re asked to speak in front of a room full of 15 people (instead of the 1500 you know you deserve), or if only 3 people are signed up for your 9 week coaching program, or if you’re invited to go on the radio but it’s at 3 in the morning, try to keep yourself open to the invisible gifts that may be hidden beneath.

If you’re a fan of the Law of Attraction, suiting up and showing up is one way to show you’re ready to be in receiving mode. You’re demonstrating that you want it bad enough to pay your dues.

Here are 3 quick tips on suiting up and showing up while you’re making your name as an expert in your field:

1. Don’t be a supermodel: check your attitude at the door
It’s cool to embrace your inner princess and your emerging diva, but when it comes to getting known, you want to practice humility. Suit up and show up, be a professional, and know that as things go on, it will get easier. The 80’s supermodel who said she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $50,000 is NOT your role model. Remember, your message is a gift to the world and it will make an impact!

2. Focus on relationship building
If you were to ask for my #1 visibility strategy, I’d say it’s relationship building. No, not press releases or big fancy campaigns, but good old fashioned person-to-person congeniality. The small town reporter you befriend today may go on to work for a high profile magazine tomorrow… you just never know. Cultivate relationships, show genuine interest in others, and watch how your opportunities increase.

3. Act As IfnWhat do you do if you only have 3 people signed up for your big teleclass? (You know, the one you expected 350 people to sign up for.) Or what if you show up for a speaking engagement and the audience is NOT your target market? Or even going on a radio station whose signal may reach the parking lot on a good day?

You act as if you’re speaking to a teleclass of 350, or an audience of your ideal clients, or you’re on Oprah’s radio show. You perform your best, you shine, you do what you’ve been called to do.

If you truly have a strong message to share with the world, then you must hold the belief that it is of value. By suiting up and showing up, you demonstrate belief in the power of your message and the steps you’re willing to take to get it out to the world.