When I lived in Minneapolis, I hosted outdoor movie parties in my back yard.
You might be surprised by what you can do with a white king-size sheet stretched between volleyball poles, surround sound speakers from Craigslist and friends who are willing to lug over their own lawn chairs for a night under the stars watching classics such as Caddyshack and The Shining.
Once I moved to New York, I started hosting “Bistro After Midnight” in the street outside my brownstone. Set out a table, chairs and a couple of bottles of wine — invite random neighbors to stop for a glass of vino and some conversation — and you have yourself a BAM!
It took awhile to trace my MacGyver-like ability to spark a party anytime, anywhere.
You have your own MacGyver-like ability to do what you know.
And when you take a step back, you notice that what you “know” may be hidden under the different ways you do it.
For instance, McGyver didn’t always use gum and a toothpick to stop a 50 story building from collapsing. But we knew we could count on him to save the day — regardless of how he pulled it off.
Evoking joy and expansion IRL is a through-line that carries into my business. From hosting one-on-one strategy intensives – to 8 person retreats – to a 1500 person franchise expo (not necessarily in that order.) Give me a room (or a comedy club or a park) and cool people — and we’ll have a blast while we push our edges.
But 8 years ago, I worried that I may have pushed the edges too far when I took the show on the road to Austin.
Not only was it my first event away from my home turf. It was the first sales training I delivered live. And I decided to offer “hot seats”, because, hey, why not pile more unknowns into the mix? 🙄
Facebook Memories served up this video where I’m reading the “Top 10” application that Ava Diamond submitted to win a hot seat. She models marketing beautifully. And oh dear, my hair. 😂
I took away a lot of lessons from hosting that offsite experience. But looking back, my biggest takeaway wasn’t how to negotiate room blocks or corral the group after coffee breaks. It was something much more important.
When you take a leap into something new, it’s less scary and intimidating than you ever anticipate because you always bring your knowing with you.
You have your own version of hosting parties and events. Maybe it’s saying exactly the right thing at the right time. Or connecting disparate ideas or people. Or offering healing where physical pain exists. Or knowing precisely how to teach parents how to parent without making them feel like assholes.
Whatever your “party” is, you slide through it seamlessly. It’s second nature. Reveling in the joy of doing it.
You can’t un-know the things you know.
It would be like learning how to un-breathe. It’s gonna happen whether you’re consciously thinking about it or not.
So even if you find yourself in unfamiliar territory, the essence of what you know will surface. But because you’re wired for change, you’ll eventually become fidgety in how you’re doing what you know. So the other side to this is…
You can’t undo what you’ve done, but you can choose to do things differently.
You might use “gum” in one situation — and the heel of your Louboutin in the next.
This is what I love so much about working with “reinvention” clients. They’re repurposing, reengineering and reimagining things they know and things they’ve done — to create a more expansive expression of themselves and their business.
Before you begin to feel restless, find a new way to look at your collection of “know” and “do” experiences. This will spark your imagination and create different ways to infuse fresh energy and profit into the picture — prompting you to stretch. And then stretch again.
Get a clear picture of the thing(s) you can’t un-know.
Look at all the ways you’ve been doing it in all areas of your life.
And then reimagine your next stretch for doing things differently.
Make this a regular practice. If you wait, it’s too late.
Barcelona Bound!
Because I know how much travel ✈️ expands my way of thinking, way of being and way of doing business + life — my next stretch is to spend the month of May 🗓 in Barcelona. 🇪🇸
And while I’m there, I’m hosting 2 exclusive, custom-crafted, private VIP experiences:
A mix of visioning ➕ strategy ➕ exploration ➕ tapas (oh yes, tapas!) ➕ a few surprises await for two “ready to reinvent/reinvigorate/reengineer“ business owners! ✍🏼🍢🍷💃🏼❣️
If you’re curious, go ahead and book an exploratory call to discuss what it would look like to create an experience that’s perfect for you. There’s zero obligation to hop on a plane for us to explore it.
https://carolynherfurth.com/barcelona-vip/
Barcelona is full of creative inspiration + and I’m excited to share this exclusive experience to reimagine life + business.
If you’re restless, bored or approaching “max out” on the current iteration of your business — maybe meeting me in Barcelona is the answer to creating your next stretch!
