99. Bypassing a 100,000s waitlist in just ONE day with grace (Rebroadcast) - a podcast by Thalia Toha: Entrepreneur Magazine author | CEO, Adventurer, and Strategist

from 2021-04-27T06:40

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What is the ONE thing people say about you?

I don't know about you, but as an introvert, telling a story has never come naturally for me.

But today is Tell a Story Day.

So I have to share with you about a time when I was in Las Vegas.

I'm no gambler, party-goer, or any of the sort. But I did find myself in an interesting situation there once. 

I've shared this in a previous episode before, but as a refresh, this is how it went.

I was putting on my PJs when my phone dings. It was a text from a respectable leader whom I’ve been wanting to meet. The text read: “If you’re free, I’m having a private happy hour. Let me know if you want in!”

If you know me well, though, you know that I’m a total introvert. The only reason I was in Vegas was for business. I didn’t even get to go out much. And no, I definitely didn’t gamble. 

That night, I was SO ready to chill on my comfy bed. And I was just not in the mood to go out.

But because everyone I know had said that this person is impossible to get a hold of, I decided to go. It might be my only chance.

I scrambled around for something nice to wear in my carry-on.

And I followed the directions she sent me to the restaurant. When I got there, there were no signs of her. I thought that I must’ve got lost. At that point, I decided to take off my heels and started walking barefoot. The granite floor felt icy. But I needed to let my feet breathe. People looked at me weird. But I can feel my feet blistering. So I just kept on walking.

Then I saw someone who looked like the manager. I asked him if he knew anything about this happy hour. He said, “Yes, of course. Come follow me.”

We took a long walk through the kitchen and I got a huge whiff of what smelled like spaghetti marinara soaked in butter. I definitely know what I’ll eat later!

Before I knew it, I was in this big room. Jazz was playing in the background. 

The person I was supposed to meet saw me coming and waved her hands vigorously. “Hey! Thalia, right? Over here!”

I’ve never met her before. And we’ve only ever exchanged a few emails. 

But the next hour or two was pure magic.

  • She introduced me to all her friends. Even some big names that I’ve been admiring from afar for years. I remember everyone laughed a lot.
  • The food was amazing. I think I downed close to 20 skewers of grilled food.
  • The entire time I was thinking, “How did I end up here?”

I went home thinking about how much fun it was, which was weird because I didn’t do the typical Vegas stuff. 

I’m just not that person.

The following months, I got a massive opportunity from someone I met through the person who invited me to the hang. All my friends thought it was crazy. No one believed that I had somehow got connected with her. 

Personally, I was shocked by the whole thing, too. 

But the thing that surprised me the most, is that I got the opportunity NOT because I know a guy who then knows a friend of a friend of this person’s sister. You know, because of all the typical ‘connection’ stuff people always rave about. 

Quite the opposite, actually.

I emailed her.

BEFORE she knew me. Before she decided to invite me and gave me VIP access.

She had no idea who I was.  When I told people I was going to try to get in touch with her, they all said, “Don’t bother … it’s a waste of time.”

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This year, the pandemic has really made us think about what actually IS worth our time. Meanwhile, you might even be feeling like there’s this mind-numbing sameness in your life.

Going through the motions, here are what some people have said recently:

  • Nothing is working

“I was really excited about my business until the excitement wore off. Every day I trick my brain into working hard, but I let other aspects of life take up my time and haven’t been focusing enough. I can’t keep doing this. It’s tough to be consistent … literally nothing is working”.

  • I just keep doing the same things over and over again

“I just can’t find the confidence and strength to put myself out there more. Somehow I'd prefer to do work that makes me want to kill myself over work that I love to do and is better paid. I ended up just sticking with what sucks, so that I didn’t have to talk to people … Why can’t we just pay someone to do everything. I don’t like the whole dress up every day and do it all over again. I just want to make money”.

  • I don’t know what people will say

“If I can start working for myself, I will be so much happier with life. It doesn’t even make sense to go back to work. I think I’m just tired of working for someone else. But I don’t know what people will think of me if they see my email. What will they say? I don’t want people to know about it. I’m just not sure how to approach people if they don’t know me. I’d send them an email. I’d refreshed my inbox every day. Nothing. Then I follow up. Radio silence. And on and on it goes …”

Yes, reaching out to people for ANY reason at all, can be complicated. Let alone doing it so that you can find the right mentor, great clients, or get your dream job even.

For one, people’s lives and work patterns have changed, particularly now after COVID.

There are now new rules to getting someone to notice your work, especially if they’re busy.

And unless you do it right, you may end up seeing everyone left and right celebrating their success while you get further and further left behind.

But if you know:

  • When to reach busy people so that they take notice,
  • How to catch their attention without sounding like a broken record, and
  • How to get a reply within 24-hours and save yourself from hours of follow-up hell,

THEN you will become unstoppable.

Work will feel like finally putting your feet up on your couch after a long day. 

Before that, though, you can actually do a few small things that can give you BIG wins, like:

  •       Focusing first on when you say things, then on what to say. Think of it like if someone had asked you to move in on the first date. You’ll freak out. No, actually, you’ll probably run away first--as you should.
  •       Taking care of how you’re approaching them, then on how often. And yes, there’s a BIG difference between the two. I get asked so many times, “Thalia, how often should I follow up?” While the frequency matters, ways that you do it matter more. And,
  •       Finding ways to take non-values OFF their shoulders, instead of simply adding value. If I hear ONE more person out there saying that the key to success is to add value, I swear I’ll just turn on the news and voluntarily watch it on repeat for three straight days. 

So what does this really look like, though, when it’s your turn to open up that blank document, and stare at the blinking cursor? 

And how can you hit Send without that awful feeling that they would probably just scroll past your message or, worse, that they’d just dump what took you 40-minutes to write ... in the trash?

I talked about this in an article I wrote that went out to millions of readers of Entrepreneur Magazine this morning. You can see what they’re all reading today by clicking here.

You see, I’m passionate about standing by your side so that you can do whatever you want while things are running in the background AND while you’re doing what you love for people who need your help. 

To make this possible, let’s have other things do the work for you, including your inbox.

If you want to learn more about the 5 new PRO rules for emailing a high-value person, while getting the recognition you deserve, and without having to feel like you’re dead-lifting for no reason, you can read more here. 

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Today, I wanted to give you a Behind-the-scenes look at how that Entrepreneur Magazine article came into fruition. There were a couple of roadblocks that happened, and it nearly made the article just a dream.

So from today's episode, you'll take away:

  1. How to stand out among 100,000+ people.
  2. How to get a response within 24-hours and avoid the follow-up hamster wheel. And,
  3. How to create a win-win work relationship over email with someone you've never met before.

You can download ALL the details in my Ultimate Guide on Stopping the Scroll Problem Your Way by clicking here.

Let's get to it, Growth Solvers!

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