“What if I suck?”

I ask myself as I sink deeper under my blanket. A familiar anxiety swirls in my chest at midnight. 

Tomorrow morning, I’ll host an in-person gathering for the coaches community in Hanoi, Vietnam - many of whom are brand new to my work. 

I’ve been back to Vietnam for Tet Holiday, which I enjoyed as a kid but not as an adult. Traveling has made me feel ungrounded, family gatherings have left me frazzled, and living in my parents’ house has triggered a host of feelings. 

Bringing my 3-year-old daughter along on this trip hasn’t been easy as well. She needs me. And I desperately need Me Time. 

I don’t feel I’m in a good place to teach or share anything with anyone - let alone a group of experienced coaches curious to learn what I have to offer as a business mentor. 

“I just want to hide.” 

I feel the urge to call the event off. Telling people I got sick due to terrible Hanoi weather and air pollution. Of course, they’ll understand.

At this moment, there’s real drama inside me. 

But at the same time, there’s a deeper, quieter, and larger part within me that whispers: “It’ll be okay.” 

There’s also a psychological “muscle” that I’ve built over 10 years of growing multiple businesses: the muscle to hold a compassionate space for my resistance, doubt, fear, and “not-good-enough-ness” - AND still show up anyway.  

This is one of the most—if not THE most—important entrepreneur muscles you need to start a soul-fulfilling and impactful coaching business. 

The muscle to show up. 

No matter how many coaching tools you have, if you can’t show up for your audience, you won’t attract clients, create impact, and earn enough money to sustainably go on this journey. 

And yet, for many of us, showing up is hard. 

If you find yourself hiding instead of showing up, it’s not that something’s wrong with you. 

Showing up is hard because building a coaching business and showing up in front of your audience isn’t just about making money. It's your deep, sacred calling, which can be terrifying to pursue. We are often most afraid of the things that mean most to us.

That’s why you might catch yourself in the pattern of hiding, running away, and procrastinating to really go out there and do the necessary marketing work to get the clients. 

Below are 6 pieces of wisdom to help you move through your resistance and show up with more ease and powerfully to your audience:

1.

Get honest with yourself and acknowledge the moment you're hiding and running away from your business.

It's important to remember that we're all human and have moments where we let procrastination, habits, patterns, and resistance make us run away. 

Instead of beating yourself up to show up perfectly all the time, be honest and catch yourself when you're hiding or running away. 

Be compassionate about that, and gently bring yourself back to show up again. 

Every time you bring yourself back. You build the muscle to return to your business. 

And then you can stay in your business a little longer.

2.

Heal your relationship with work.

Many of us have work trauma in toxic working cultures where work was constantly associated with stress, burnout, and sacrificing our joy, freedom, and well-being. 

It's not meant to be like that. 

When you have your own business, you get to decide what work means for you. You get to rewire yourself and heal your relationship with work. 

How can you make work pleasurable?

How can you make work joyful, peaceful, and even regenerative?

When you can answer these questions, showing up for coaching work seems easier, more joyful, and more peaceful.

3.

Have a healthier relationship with your resistance.

No matter how much we heal our relationship with work, having resistance is still normal. It's part of being human. 

Every greatest creators, artists, and entrepreneurs have resistance, too. 

Resistance is a part of our human psyche. We meet them when we do our genius work. 

Resistance is like the dragon guarding the treasure. 

So, learn to build a better relationship with resistance when you sense it's coming. 

Let's say you have an email or piece of content you want to work on and sense resistance coming. 

In this case, you don't look at resistance as a sign that you don't deserve to do what you do or let that make you doubt your destiny.

Instead, you notice resistance as a sign that you are outside of your comfort zone and keep doing your work.

It really means a lot to me and opens opportunities for me to align myself with the best work, feel resistance, and show up anyway. 

Feel whatever you need to feel and show up anyway.

4.

 Have support to face the resistance

In my membership program - Impact Coaching Circle, one of the most favorite activities voted by members is our weekly “Do-it-afraid” session on Monday. 

This is the place where coaches can have focused sessions with other like-minded members to do the work that they feel most resistant to. 

It’s the same for you, too. Find a community that feels most aligned with you and get support there. You’ll find it so much easier to “do it afraid” together with the collective energy of other coaches. 

Getting support also means talking to your family, friends and telling them you're pursuing your dream so you need more focused time to make the progress.

How many hours a day or any time during the week do you need to pursue your dream?

Make that plan, and ask the important people in your life for support so that you can focus on doing your best work. 

5.

Take time away to restore.

We'll show up more powerfully when we intentionally recharge, give ourselves a break, let ourselves pursue other hobbies, and nourish relationships with friends and family. 

So take the time to reset to show up sustainably for your business.

6.

Know that you’re enough

Finally, even if you are in the middle of an intense personal challenge, you're still capable of showing up for your business, advocating for your message, and transforming people's lives.

I've gone through a divorce and a postpartum period of intense personal challenges. During those times, I found that my work became a sanctuary where I could break away from the intense personal challenge I was going through. 

This isn’t about bypassing your pain, but it’s about honoring the truth: even in the middle of intense personal challenges, you’re still simultaneously capable of changing others' lives.  

So, to continue the story above,  

I wake up the next morning and gently take myself - or my “selves”: my afraid self, my brave self, my doubtful self, my wise self… - to the event venue. 

I show up with all my imperfections and vulnerabilities. 

I choose to believe that I have values as a human being; my experiences have values, and therefore, by extension, it’s unequivocally valuable for the participants to be there with me. 

And that no matter where I am physically, mentally, and emotionally - my unique state of being at any given day carries an inherent gift that I can offer. 

I don’t need to prove anything. I can simply show up and be present.  

Here’s a photo of us beaming at the end of the gathering: 

I leave this gathering feeling uplifted and whole. Once more, I showed myself another piece of evidence to solidify one loving truth… 

I’m enough to show up for my soul’s calling, no matter what.

And so are you!

What piece of wisdom do you want to practice to move your coaching business forward?

Share with me in the comment section below. I read every single reply personally, I promise. 

xo Milena 

P.S. If you resonate with what I share, can I support you on this journey in a deeper way? 

I’d like to invite you to explore my flagship membership program - Impact Coaching Circle (ICC).

ICC is the program I’ve built since 2021 to help new coaches kickstart and grow their coaching business sustainably without sacrificing the ease and joy in their lives. 

You will learn a new, loving way of working, reaching your goals, and growing your coaching business without the hustle. 

ICC includes a rich library of quality business training, monthly group coaching sessions, monthly mastermind sessions, somatic healing sessions, expert talk sessions, unlimited community support, and many more!!

ICC enrollment opens only twice a year, and the next enrollment period is in May. Don’t miss this chance to explore this level of support for your coaching business. 

Join the Impact Coaching Circle VIP Waitlist here. 

You’ll be the first to know when it’s open and enjoy exclusive bonuses that you won’t want to miss. 

SHARING = LOVING

Hey, fellow purpose-driven human!

I’m Milena. When I was 24, I said no to corporate job offers to “do my own thing.”

9 years, some major fumbles, 3 TEDx Talks, 1 published book, 50,000 followers, and hundreds of clients (from 15+ countries) later…

I make a multi-six-figure living as a coach while spending most of my time walking barefoot in my apartment. #introvertgoal

I know you want to make a difference.

I’m here to help you turn that calling into a financially sustainable coaching business — while staying away from the hustle, and skipping the pitfalls that trip up most new coaches.

Quit your 9-to-5. Move to a paradise island. Slow yoga every morning. Work from sunlit cafes. Make time for loved ones (including yourself). Grow your influence. Wake up excited about your day. And serve only the clients who light you up…

All of that (and more!) is possible, once you have the right support.

Let me help you shine.