The Flow Protocols - a Podcast by Cat Howell – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Procrastination is a dirty word in today's society.  I've even heard someone refer to it as "a form of withholding love to yourself", insinuating that it's a bad thing. That we should "suck it up" and "do the thing" that needs doing.

But what if it was actually there to preserve your energy, preventing you from exerting yourself in tasks or activities that are not necessary or could be approached in a much more effective way?

In this episode I share three recent real-life examples of how procrastination serves us deeply.

For more like this join me inside the free Flow Protocols group >> 
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Take one look at nature, the giver of our air, water, power and food, and you will observe, across both the macro and micro a natural pattern emerging. 
 
 A breath in, and out. Growth following recovery.  

 A shedding of leaves in the midst of a frost, so that energy may be conserved in anticipation of a spurt. 

A sprinter taking a break, because nonstop means breakage. 

Recovery and rest is required for growth. 

Unfortunately this natural cycle has been mislabeled. Often talked about as chaos. Because to the human brain, raised in a society where success is measured by productivity - rest is labeled as lazy. A cardinal sin. 

But rest should be permitted, if success is what is truly intentioned.  

While there is nothing inherently wrong with rest and recovery, our minds are the biggest culprits in making it a suffering. 
 
 We shame ourselves for not being “tapped in, tuned in” to inspiration and motivation. 

Miserable in our search for a purpose. 

We wait for a permission slip to tell us to enjoy the moment, all the while swimming against a current. 

I’ve been guilty of this on more counts than I can count.

The first place to start achieving this is to stop labelling rest and recovery phases as chaos, or something wrong.  

If you have been through some things, if you have courageously faced big unknowns, then your body will need to restore energy, because make no mistake, you are a battery.

Sometimes rest and recovery will last a couple days, sometimes weeks, sometimes years. 

They are equally proportionate to the growth potential accumulating. 

The more you resist rest and recovery, the more you keep yourself in the lesson.  

That wellbeing exists only in the now, your ability to generate the greens is the only productivity you should be focused on. 

So rest little caterpillar. 

Focus yourself upon the things that bring you joy.  

Because in the cocoon you can’t see it, but within it you are emerging wings. 

The less you resist the chrysalis, the faster they grow.

If you enjoyed this episode be sure to join me inside the free Flow Protocols group >> 

I'm no stranger to shame.  For most of my twenties I hid the fact that I once used to dance. I was afraid I would be outcast, judged, cancelled. But in not accepting this part of myself I was teaching everyone around me (though not consciously) shame and it felt like I was wearing a mask. 

I now understand, that fearing judgement from others is in itself a form of judgement (we expect others to judge). It is a sign that we are not at peace with our own inner critic. 

It took me a while to build up the courage to confess to this but when I did it felt like a belt around my waist unbuckled. I could BREATHE.

Shames are one of our biggest portals to expansion. When we hold shames around ourselves we teach others (including our children) to do the same. 

Time and financial freedom is nice, but wanna know what’s even better? Radical self acceptance. Warts and all. 

It also happens to be one of the most magnetic things in business because, at the end of the day - it’s what we all crave for ourselves.

To go deeper into these conversations join me and thousands of visionaries and creatives inside the free Flow Protocols group >>

Always finding yourself in the same situation financially? Dating the same kind of people or attracting the same kind of clients that drain you of energy?

Understanding this about patterns is the key to shifting them around.

For more on the foundations to emotional competence - grab your copy of Magic Source Codes on Amazon >>

Register for free training: https://cathowell.com/freetraining

The reason you don’t have the seven figure business you dream of isn’t because of your intellect, worthiness, strategy, or audience size. 

Rather, it’s because you’re not emotionally prepared to HOLD that kind of business (yet). 

Because here’s the truth, making millions - and sustaining those numbers -  isn’t just happy rainbows and butterflies, cotton candy clouds in the sky. 

It requires the ability to handle:  

 Client chargebacks, cancellations, or dishonoured payments, which may still be at an acceptable %, but the more you grow, the more customers you have, and naturally the more this will take place. If you get depressed every single time a client is unhappy, every time a client ends a contract, or is late paying an invoice, how tf you gonna handle that x10???

 Trolls and haters and people who will post nasty things about you on Reddit just because (even though they never bought from you or met you irl).  A bigger value exchange means more visibility.  Until you have fully ACCEPTED and learned to ignore the inner critic, you won’t be able to handle the critics outside of yourself….

 Plagiarism or people swiping offers or products almost verbatim.  If you get up in arms every time you inspire someone SO MUCH THAT THEY COPY YOU, if you go into emotional reds because of fake IG accounts popping up, if you get ANGRY every time a rip-off platform tries to pass off your courses or offers at a fraction of the price… Then I’m sorry to say, you won’t be able to hold the millions. This is part of the play.  If people copy you, be grateful you inspired them, if people rip your offers off - be impressed that you even hit their radars (doesn't mean you can't legally mitigate this, but if you're in reds about it all, business growth will lead to your downfall)... 

 Clients or staff reaching out at all hours of the day demanding your immediate attention.  If you don’t know how to set proper boundaries this will quickly lead to BURNOUT. 

 Clients who - no matter what you throw at them - just don’t get the results you’re after and the drop in confidence that ultimately comes from this.  Regardless of how good you are at what you do, there will always be some who won’t succeed, if you begin to doubt yourself every time this happens, guess what, growth will stall too. 

 The ability to receive more $$$ without the burning itch to DO MORE, to feel guilty about it or make yourself busy for the sake of busyness so you can feel worthy of it 

I could go on and on. As I said, it’s not all rainbows and powder puffs. 

A million dollar business requires high emotional IQ - resilience, courage, confidence and self acceptance - these trump strategy any day. 

And if any of the above scenarios made you feel uncomfortable or stirred up fears in any way, well - that's the reason why you don't have the business you aspire to (yet). 

Prioritise the emotional skills first, and you'll be well on your way to that BIG value exchange.

Register for free training: https://cathowell.com/freetraining

No matter how good you are at what you do, at one stage or another, you will encounter an unhappy customer. 

Believe it or not, this can be a GREAT opportunity in your business depending on how you respond and handle it.

This episodes explores the emotional skills to turning unhappy clients into brand advocates.

For more join me and thousands of visionaries inside the Free Flow Protocols group >> 

Pricing is a big stick point for many entrepreneurs - too cheap and you run the risk of burning yourself out, too high and you might find no one bites.  

Here are the metrics to watch out for to know when it’s time to raise your prices:

1. You’re fully booked and/or burned out - My partner owns a mobile car detailing business. Three months ago, he was booked out for two week’s in advance.  This was the key sign that his pricing was too cheap.  He has steadily been increasing his pricing each month and last month he had his highest revenue month on record even though he worked fewer hours.  If you’re burned out, running pedal to the metal , then it’s time to up your pricing.   
    
   
   
2. Poor lead quality and results.  People aren’t consuming/integrating or getting results. I’ve tested ad to free lead magnets and courses many times throughout my coaching career.  I even offered Day 1 free from Money Magic, a paid workshop once. No surprise, those who get things for free barely open or consume the content.  Even at low ticket prices below $300 you tend to find people will never once take part.  If you’re struggling with engagement in your community, people aren’t consuming the products or getting the results then it’s time to raise your prices.  Another example of this again comes from my partner’s business.  His cheaper pricing attracted all sorts of customers who were constantly haggling and asking for the world in exchange for peanuts.  Once he started to raise his price, the attracted more entrepreneurs and construction workers who were willing to pay without question and owned much nicer vehicles. 
   
   
3. Close rate above 20%.   I recently opened up my calendar to private clients, and had a 71% close rate. Now this feel good for sure, but in reality this was my queue that I was severely undercharging.  Sales call close rates should sit more at 20%, any higher and it’s time to up the price. For live workshops, the average is 10% conversion rate - if you’re converting higher than this than again, the price was too cheap, go higher.   

BONUS - Customer and confidence feedback - when you start to get massive wins and results from your customers, and your confidence naturally increases as a result, this is a good time to raise prices.  It’s pointless to try to increase your price if you’re not confident in the value or price.  

Obviously what I share above depends on having a solid offer and product.  You can be burned out, for example, doing “busy work” but your offer is crap, and increasing the price will only hinder sales.  

Hope this helps! 

x

Charlotte, a successful and multi-talented entrepreneur, had spent the major part of her life wondering why it was that she seemed to see and experience the world differently than most others.  Before even receiving an official diagnosis for autism and ADHD, she set about building a business on her own terms.

In this episode we explore the nuances of what it means to build and grow a successful business with a neurodivergent brain.

Connect with Charlotte here >> 

So you think that in order to receive and attract big money you must first feel worthy of it? Think again.

In this episode I explore the MASSIVE misconception that you must feel worthy in order to receive and attract money.

Register for upcoming live training: https://evt.to/eeiugdhhw

As someone who has lots of ideas all the time, it can be easy for me to slip into states of confusion of overwhelm.

I've gotten pretty good at navigating through these through the years but recently found myself knee-deep in the bog of self doubt.

I started to question all my decisions, my business, and relationships and couldn't even make up my mind about the simplest of things.

Then a mentor said something that immediately snapped me out of it.

Listen to full episode to discover what that was.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more on the topic