Does your model help you, or hold you back?

This week has been all about validation for me - of myself and my products/services.

And I hope you’ve got your coffee at the ready and are excited to dig in because today I’m sharing my biggest revelation yet! ☕️ 

What’s in a Model?

So, last week I officially got diagnosed with autism, specifically the kind that doesn’t show up AT ALL on the “older” tests.

But my CAT-Q test which assess one’s ability to mask or “camouflage” was 125 - bang on what the average scores are for female’s with ASD.

Apparently, that paired with the fact that I studied both Linguistics and Psychology at university, gave me “models” for coping that has basically made it impossible to diagnose until now — at the age of 32.

I’m fortunate that I’m pretty good at spotting patterns, and then finding workable models or frameworks that make it easier to navigate challenging situations.

But I must admit that my stringent adherence to models and frameworks in order to make quick and un-emotional decisions at work can, in personal contexts, have some pretty dispreferred responses.😅 (for good reason)

Does your model help you or constrain you?

Now, I’m willing to bet that we’ve all got our little “operating systems” or “toolkits” that just get us through the day.

And recently when submitting an upcoming talk on Group Programs VS Memberships, I realised that my clients often have a very fixed view of what their programs need to look like because that is what they’ve seen before.

But Tasha and Dakota proved to us in Scrappy Systems that you don’t need to build your business the way everyone else does for it to be successful.

And if my diagnosis “gives” me anything, it’s validation that my model’s may have been set up for survival. But that it doesn’t mean they were set up to allow me to really grow into my full potential.

And I’ve realised that it’s time to stop asking myself:

• How can I best serve others?

• What is the best way to demonstrate value?

• What MORE can I do or give for this to be successful?

And rather first start with candidly asking myself:

What am I prepared to show up for?

If you would like to go further down this rabbit hole with me — I highly suggest signing up for the CoCreator Growth Summit happening next week to watch. It’s free! 😉 

Skip Socials — Support a Local

🧐 Who You Know Matters: And the most well-connected network I’m part of is the Open Letter; A local South African startup newsletter that restored my faith in email marketing. Subscribe for a daily read that makes up for not having an MBA imo.

🧪 Need Validation Before Committing? If you’re sick of death-by-survey you might want to learn a bit about how validation experiments can help you get data and evidence to make decisions about your business. Go read Dr. Katelin Wall’s post.

🆘 Get Help with Networking: I’m doing a talk next Thursday for FEDSA that will give you some unconventional tips — a.k.a. neurospicy friendly! RSVP for free.

⭐️ Building Trust or Seeking Attention? It really does matter which one if you’re trying to get real client engagement. Join the conversation in the community here.

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