Your Big WHY You Became A Massage Therapist

I had an interesting discussion a couple of nights ago with a friend of mine who is a fellow massage therapist and Reiki Master.

We were discussing a conference call he had just completed in regards to attracting massage clients and such.

He mentioned that they discussed internal development, goal setting, beliefs, self confidence, motivation, how to attract massage clients in other manners, etc., etc.

What caught my attention going back to my good ole' days of network marketing and multi-level marketing was when he mentioned how the speaker discussed, "Your Big WHY!" Sorry, but I just had to laugh ;)

Now, I'm almost certain that figuring out 'your Big WHY' goes way back, prior to network marketing, yet that's really where it was hammered into me.

But, let's keep this to massage therapy, as that's what the conference call was about.

Ah yes, 'your big WHY' explained...

To dig down deep inside yourself and figure out "Why" you're here; why are you a massage therapist; why you are not confident in yourself to market your business or charge more per client, why you didn't change the toilet paper roll when you knew it was running low, etc., etc. Why you need to have a strong and amazing "Why." You get the drift.

First, before I begin my rant, I'd like to state that having a strong "Why" IS important.

Setting goals and having a business plan and visualization is all important as well.

Keep this in mind though:

The thin line between visions and fantasies is painted by the stroke of accomplishments.

While the journey to excellence begins with an image, a vision of what is to be, it will end in mere fantasy and speculation without the "will to accomplish," the determination to take the steps necessary to make the dream into a concrete reality, the obsessive commitment to 'endeavor to persevere' towards that goal no matter what, and of course, the sense to alter the dream as circumstances change in the face of reality.

Thus, the difference between a vision and a fantasy has to do with the degree to which these mental images or scenarios can be realized with the resources at hand, and the extent to which we are willing to commit those resources to its concrete enactment.

But, let me explain just a bit further as to your beliefs and your big WHY, as most people don't take this concept far enough, or at least flush the concept out just a bit.

Spending tons of time on your big Why is only part of the picture. It's like performing light, effleurage massage strokes on someone who wants deep tissue. Yes, they need to get warmed up, prime the pump so to speak, but it can't stop there.

Your big Why is tied to your beliefs.

Everyone has beliefs, no big deal. Yet, here's the kicker that no-one's told you about:

The evil lie of motivation and belief has got to be one of the greatest shams in the history of sales (and yes, as a massage therapist, you are in the sales business!)

Millions of business people (and now massage therapists it seems, as many don't see themselves as business people) everywhere are told that the reason they aren't successful yet is because they just don't have enough belief. Or they don't have enough of 'your big WHY.'

Don't you just want to lose your lunch when some big shot in front of the room or face to face or on a conference call tells you that?

The self-proclaimed motivational speakers and teachers and massage marketing gooroos would have you believe that you just need to get to that "breaking point" where you're sick and tired of being sick and tired and then...nothing will be able to get in your way!

Sound about right?

So what do you do? You listen to inspirational CDs. You purchase more massage marketing materials for your business. You cut out pictures of the car you want to buy and the places you want to go. You put those pictures everywhere – your fridge, your dashboard, your cupboard doors, your computer monitor – so you're constantly reminded of what you're working so hard for. You think positive. You listen to every conference call you possibly can to energize your battery and "pump" yourself up for the week.

You go to the annual massage conventions because you know that just seeing all those massively-successful stars up on stage will be enough to kick you into overdrive. You'll be so overwhelmed and inspired that you'll be unstoppable! You'll reach that magical turning point where everything starts working and your bank account is filled with cash!

Let me pause for a moment here and ask you a question: If you fit this description above, how's it working out for YOU?

Oh, I already know how it's working for some. Long lists of testimonials of how magnificent such and such and so and so were, etc., etc.

Yet again, how's it working out for YOU?

Let's continue on...

Stop and think about it for a minute. Really think about it. Is that how it works? Is fanatical motivation really the missing ingredient to success?

Last time I checked, you don't need to have your big WHY and a dream board just to make an average $30,000 income with a massage job. (I'm speculating here, I don't know what the actual number is, although I doubt it's higher than 30k.)

So why do we need all that stuff in massage marketing? I mean, wouldn't it make sense that if you were doing what you're supposed to be doing, you'd at least be able to make a comparable income with your business?

Now I know what you're going to say. Yes, of course owning your own business is different. It's harder than working a job. You don't make money immediately. It's called delayed gratification. You have to lay the foundation first before you get paid. We all understand that concept.

However, massage marketing doesn't have to be as hard as it is for most people.

The point is, if you're truly building your business correctly, you'll start seeing positive results, small as they may be at first.

If you've been hard at it for a year or more and you still aren't cashflowing...something is seriously wrong! And I can guarantee you it's not your motivation!

Think of it this way:

If You're Using A Shovel To Dig The Foundation For A House – When You Could Be Using A Bulldozer – Then Yes, You’re Going To Need A Lot Of Motivation To Get The Job done.

Make sense? The more inefficient your system is and the more ineffective your tools are, the harder you're going to have to work to get results. And because of that, you have to make up for it big time with motivation.

When you're using the right tools for the job...you're seeing steady, consistent progress and things are trucking along smoothly...motivation becomes almost an afterthought!

Let me ask you: If you had prospective clients to talk to every day that understood what you do as a massage therapist, expressed an interest in learning more and were eagerly awaiting your massage, do you think that motivation would be a problem for you?

No! Of Course Not!

But motivation becomes a major issue when you have to force yourself to pick up that 10,000 pound phone to call your son's soccer coach who you know doesn't give a rip about your massage business! That's when you need to whip out your handy-dandy goal statement and remind yourself exactly why it is you're annoying the heck out of people.

That's what I did. I willed myself to harass everyone 5 times over in regards to the benefits of massage until eventually people just stopped talking with me. Lost a few friends in the process as well.

You know what though?

I finally did reach that "magical" turning point in my business where all of a sudden everything started working.

I went from barely 1 massage per day to 5 like clockwork. I went from trying to set up appointments with everyone...to having fellow massage therapists calling me to ask if they can do what I do.

What happened?

I stopped worrying about belief and started concerning myself with the real nuts and bolts of how to market a business.

Which is this:

Find the people who are looking for what you have, use an effective marketing system to automatically sell to them for you, and then spend your time working with the best ones.

That's how I became so overwhelmed with interested prospective clients banging down my door that I literally couldn't handle them all myself.

But here's the point I'm really trying to make:

It Was Not My Motivation, Desire, Belief Or Any Of That Intangible Stuff That Made The Difference In My Results.

It was the massage marketing system I was using.

You see, I was insanely motivated when I was getting poor results. I always was. That factor never changed. Neither did my belief, my desire, my discipline or my work ethic. I worked just as hard using a crummy marketing system as I did using an effective one. (In fact, I worked harder with the crummy one).

Motivation was not my problem and it's not yours either.

You can be the most die-hard believer in the world...you can have the biggest 'your big WHY' imaginable...you can have a desire so strong that there's a literal physical burning inside you...you can be motivated till you're blue in the face...but none of that matters if you're using the wrong techniques!

If you listen to motivational tapes and you invest $50,000 into the stock market based on faulty, incomplete and outdated advice, are you going to make money? Of course not! It's all about how you do something.

Motivation Isn't The Solution. It's A Copout.

It's what your massage marketing gooroo tells you when you come to them broken and discouraged, looking for answers and they don't know what else to say.

It's a very easy and convenient thing to tell someone who's having a hard time.

You just don't have enough belief! Your big WHY isn't big enough! You aren't motivated enough! You need to slap pictures up on your mirror of all the things you want in life! If you didn't know how to help a frustrated massage therapist, that's probably what you'd say too.

Here's what's so great about the motivational lie:

You can always get away with using it as a scapegoat because no matter how motivated someone is, you can always tell them they're not motivated enough.

And as long as they believe that hogwash, you never have to know what you're talking about and you never have to give them any real, solid answers to their problems.

And that's why people resort to using it. Because the truth is, they don't know why most of their 'students' aren't successful.

Now I'm not saying any of this stuff is bad or that it's not important.

What I am saying is that when it comes down to it, you can do without the inspirational CDs or conference calls.

You cannot do without a good massage marketing system.

Another crucial point to be made is that there's a HUGE difference between internal drive...and...external motivation.

External motivation is almost like a drug. It feels great when we're in the moment listening to a story of how someone defied all the odds and became the success we dream about being. We feel sure that this mental "boost" will be enough to carry us all the way to the finish line.

But then what happens?

Three days later the realities of life have kicked in and it's already worn off. So we look for the next story to inspire us, the next gooroo to teach us, etc., etc. And the next, and the next, and on it goes.

It's just a quick-fix, not a long term solution.

Do you know what the ultimate motivator is though?

Real results!

For more information in regards to Kris Kelley and his new practice as a Personal Performance Coach, please feel free to visit his new blog here, Crack Between The Worlds and let him know what he can assist you with.