Eat your Frog!

So I've got a friend. . .and we'll call her Banana. Banana and I are great friends, with zillions of things in common. Strange obsession with organization - check. General rule follower - check. Loves books - check. And she once told me about a book, called "Eat That Frog", which is basically a book about how to stop procrastinating and get done the things you need to get done. I've never actually read this book, but the title and premise has always stayed with me. The idea is - if you have a laundry list of things you need to do and one is terrible and you hate the thought of doing it (for example, eating a frog), the best way to make progress through your list is to do the terrible thing first. So first thing in the morning, you get up and eat that frog. It will make your day go better after that as well as make you feel like you've accomplished something great. Some days for me, just getting out of bed is the frog I have to eat.

ANYWAY. I mentioned before I started my own business. And to say that it is slow going would be an insult to turles everywhere. I have one (that is 1, singular) client that has come to my studio. So I'm feeling moderately to severely bummed and monumentally stupid. But I'm trying hard not to give up and I know that advertising and networking is key. Which is something that I truly, truly suck at. Really. I can talk all day about someone else, something else - but tell me I've got to talk about how Fantastic I Am and how you Really Must Come See ME is my idea of horrible. That isn't to say I can't talk about ME - I can talk about a project I'm working on, something I've done or am doing. . .just not with the idea of Selling myself. Interviews or reviews of any type are nail-bitingly uncomfortable for me.

So now, what the heck does this have to do with eating my frog? Well, I joined the local chamber of commerce - lovely folks, really - and they recently had an "After Hours Get Together". Which was Luau themed. Really. So I go - BY MYSELF - to an event where I know absolutely NO ONE. I dress so that I look smoking hot, totally confident and in fantastic shape. I feel none of those things. I laugh at slightly inebrieted gentlemen smirking about getting "lae-ed". I introduce myself to random strangers only to discover they work at their jobs way too much to have time to work out. I tell people about how fantastic Pilates is for their spine, posture, balance and overall health. I nibble on strange foods and pretend I have to take a phone call in order to not look like a totally out-of-place nimwit. I win a doorprize - a book I already owned. I hand out business cards to people who show a flicker of interest in health and wellness. I take business cards from people. Right back pocket - my business cards. Left Back pocket - the cards of others. I pray I remember to take them all out before I wash my jeans. I wave goodbye to people whose names I do not remember, but to whom I have been introduced. I walk, head high, with purpose and confidence to my car, close the door behind me and exhale - realizing I have been practically holding my breath for 2 hours. Home I go.

And that my friends was my enormous, warty bull-frog that I ate. I couldn't do it first thing in the morning, but I did it, none-the-less. I was so FREAKING proud of myself. I don't know if anything will come of it or not (I had several people give me great tips, ideas and offer to take flyers to their offices).

So - have you eaten your frog today?