If we stop and think about it, there really are four distinct seasons in our story schedule each year. And during each season, we need to be mindful of the shifts taking place, both in the world around us and in our own lives.
When we do, it helps us to manage our own expectations as well as the expectations of our clients and even our loved ones.
Listen in to Episode 36 for more details on this topic!
I also believe it can help us set realistic goals and prepare for the changing workload that may happen from season to season.
So let’s take a look at each of the 4 story seasons one at a time.
The first Story Season is the Season of Quiet.
This is often a time in our lives when things slow down a bit, and there may not appear to be much happening on the surface. It’s a season of stillness, of reflection and even solitude. Stories we might focus on during this season are the stories we tell ourselves and our team to make sure we’re all focused on the same mission and moving forward with the same vision in mind. During Seasons of Quiet, we’re often alone with our thoughts.
So Seasons of Quiet are an important time to lay the foundation for a strong mindset. It’s also key to identify and remind ourselves of what our foundational values are, to ensure every aspect of our business reflects those values and is true to our core purpose.
The second Story Season is the Season of Creation.
During this season, you’re creating the stories that capture who you are as a business, what you do and who you do it for. So during this season, you might create some of the 6 stories we talked about back in Episode 14. These include your Purpose Story, your People Story, your Promise Story, your Platform Story and others. The Season of Creation is an active one. So pace yourself!
The third Story Season is the Season of Growth.
This is a season when people start to notice we exist. They may start to follow us on social media and maybe even engage with us there. They might begin to attend our free events or sign up for our newsletter. They may even begin to listen to our podcast or visit our blog or YouTube channel. So now that we’ve got people’s attention, we need to produce consistent content AND make them aware of our paid offer.
During this season, people will start to show interest and reach out and follow us, so it’s important that we not only keep showing up and providing value, but that we also make clear our paid offer. And when we do, our actions will take us to the next season.
The fourth Story Season is the Season of Harvest.
During the Season of Harvest is all hands on deck. It’s the time when those seeds you planted way back in the Season of Creation start flourishing and you find yourself getting up early and staying up late just to keep up with it all. So we need to have a Process Story that allows us to delegate some of our duties to the others on our team (whether they’re full-time or freelance).
The other important message I want to highlight that relates to this Season of Harvest is that once you’ve made the sale and delivered the product, the program or service you promised, then it’s time to CELEBRATE! And be sure to make your satisfied customers a part of your Celebration Story, because it will make the experience so much richer.
Remember: the length of each season can vary from business to business. But it will come around again if you’re mindful of the season you’re in right now. Just keep doing what you need do to keep moving forward, and the natural rhythm of business will take you where you want to go.
And if you feel stuck in one season, let's connect!
It might be time to bring in a coach to help you identify what’s needed to get you into the next season.