17. The Fastest Way to Get Better at Anything

Chloe's German A-level speaking exam is in a few weeks and she's scared. So instead of more revision, we booked five days in Düsseldorf. 

In this episode I'm talking about why we're going, what we've got planned, and the two lessons that come with this trip.

One is for me - I've gone from a full week to two days to get everything done, which means getting very ruthless very quickly about what actually matters. 

And one is for you - because the fastest way to get better at something scary is to do the scary thing. Not read about it. Not wait until you feel ready. Just do it. 

Chloe doesn't need more revision notes. She needs to speak German to real Germans. And whatever your version of that is in your business - the same applies. 

We're off on Thursday. Wish us luck.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome to the Girls Mean Business Podcast, where we share business and marketing tips, advice and trade secrets to help you raise your game and build your brilliant business. Get more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Here to show you how your host, Claire Mitchell.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Hello, it's Claire from the Girls Meme Business. So today is Tuesday as I'm recording this, and on Thursday I'm off to Düsseldorf in Germany for five days with my daughter Chloe. And this has all been very last minute. We decided on Sunday. Um, her German A-level is coming up in May, and she had a bit of a wobble last week after doing a mock exam. She just went completely blank and just lost all of her confidence. She had to do some listening to some German conversations and then answer some questions, some reading and answer some questions, and then she has her speaking exam in the middle of May, it's only a few weeks away, and she is really scared of speaking. So the background to this is she was supposed to be doing her German A-level at college along with her other subjects, but the week before college started, the college dropped it because not enough people had taken the course, but she didn't want to do anything else, so we had to very quickly last year find an online German school or German course with a fantastic language school who have got her up to speed, she's she knows enough to do her exams, she's just really scared because she hasn't been in classrooms where she's speaking all the time, as she would have done if they'd carried on doing the German at college. She would have had two or three lessons where she was speaking German every week. And although she does have online lessons where they do speak, it's different, she can hide. So instead of worrying and trying to cram in a load more revision, I decided that we're just going to go. We're just going to go to Dusseldorf. I'll tell you why Dusseldorf in a moment, but we're going to go to Dusseldorf for five days and we have crammed everything in. It's going to be a really immersive week. We're going to be speaking German the whole time because that is her scary thing, and she just needs to do it. And I'm actually really excited about it because we've got some really lovely things planned. Uh, we're going to go to the Wildlife Park, which is like a little safari park where you can feed apples to the deer who are really tame and they just wander up to you, which I love. And they've also got raccoons there, which are my favourite animal. And here's a little fact, random fact. In German, raccoons are called Waschbear, which literally means wash bear. Even though they're not bears, it's because they wash their food. And I just love that. Wasch bear. I find it really charming. The word for polar bear, by the way, is ice bear, because they live on the ice, it's very literal. German is a very literal language. So we're going to do that on the afternoon when we get there. And then the rest of the week we're going to the big market. Uh so Chloe can actually order food and drink in German in real life. She's got a little mission to order from at least three stalls, and also just people watch and stand and listen to how the Germans do it, because that's going to be worth far more than sitting revising in a bedroom. Hearing people looking at the way that they do things, the way that they speak, the phrases and the terms that they use, how they respond, all of those things that's really good. We're also going to the Japanese quarter, which is called Little Tokyo, because her speaking exam in a few weeks includes a two-minute presentation, and hers is on the Japanese area of Dusseldorf, which is why we're going there in particular. And she Chloe loves Japanese, she loves Japan. She's actually off to study Japanese at university, so she's really happy about this part. And we're going to spend some time around Imamstrasse, which is the street where all the Japanese quarter is, just seeing what it's like and how the culture's mix and what's actually there. I'm sure she'll do some shopping because they've got some clothes shops and that's her thing. We're also going to Schloss Benrath, which is this beautiful pink palace with gorgeous gardens. We're going to go to the art museum. We've got a day in Cologne planned to see the cathedral and the bridge and the fish market and all the amazing things there, which is very different to Düsseldorf. We're basically packing it in, and the whole time we'll be speaking German to each other and to everybody else, and we'll be listening to it, we'll have the news on, we'll be watching it. And my German is very rusty because I did my degree in 1993. Oh my goodness. So this will help me as well. And honestly, I'm a bit scared of speaking because it's been so long since I spoke German that I'm going to have to get out of my comfort zone and speak as well. And even if we have to use Google Translate, we are going to be speaking German all the time while we're out. So why am I telling you all of this? Well, because for a few reasons actually, partly because some of the podcasts this week will be coming from probably Skipple Airport and from Germany. They'll probably be shorter, recorded on my phone, a bit more off the cuff. But also because there are two really big lessons in this week for me. The first is I've had to take my own advice because I've only really got today and tomorrow to get things done before we go. You know, before this, before this decision on Sunday, I had this whole week and the weekend to work. And so I've had to look at everything and decide what really matters. And for me, that's recording week one of the Big Girl Knickers Business Boot Camp because that starts on Monday and it needs to be ready. I can get it all ready so it goes out there. I can even be in the Facebook group the whole time because you know, technology, but I need to get that done. That can't be done in Germany, it needs to be done here before I go. I've got my fabulous marketing club class for the 15th. I need to do that today or tomorrow. And I've also got to catch up on a couple of podcast episodes. But that is it, everything else can wait. Because instead of having seven days, I've got two. So I've had to be really firm with myself on that because obviously there's always more I could cram in, but I don't need to. I need to actually do the needle movers, the things that make a difference, not just the busy stuff, the things that are going to move my business forward, which for me are those three things. So that's the first lesson. I've had to pick my needle movers and not get distracted. And the second lesson is one that's really for you, which is the fastest way to get better at something is to do it, especially if you're scared of it. That is it, that's why we're going. Chloe does not need more revision notes. She's been revising and working on this German A-level for like two years on and off. But the best way to get her to do the thing that's going to make the biggest difference is for her to speak German, to do the thing that she is scared of. Even if she's struggling, even if she gets it wrong, even if she feels awkward. Same with me, by the way, because that's a bit she's scared of. So the only way through that is to do it anyway. As Susan Jeffers you always said, you know, feel the fear and do it anyway. We are both going to feel the fear and do it anyway and speak German. And that's why Big Girl Nickers Business Bootcamp exists. It's all about doing the scary things that will move you forward, move your business forward. So instead of just waiting till you feel ready or trying to just learn more theory or waiting until you feel more confident, the confidence comes from doing it. You get better by doing it, the improvement comes from doing it. So whether that's sending an email or putting your prices up or going live or launching something or having an awkward or difficult conversation, all the time you're avoiding it, that is the thing that is going to move you forward, you know. And the good thing for you is you don't have to fly to another country just to tackle it, but you do have to just start because once you start, it gets easier, and you usually realise that you knew more than you thought you did. But doing the scary thing is the best way to get over the scary thing, and before long, it's not a scary thing at all. So I need to go now because I've got to get organised, because I've got chickens and a cat and a dog and a greenhouse to think about before Thursday, as well as work. But luckily, my sister Helen is here this week and she's holding the fort and keeping things ticking over, which helps a lot. Lots of love. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

That's it from the Girls Mean Business Podcast. Join us for even more fab tips, advice, interviews, and great secrets to help you get more confidence, more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Connect with us on Facebook and Facebook.com forward slash the girls mean business. And check out our website at www.thegirlsmean business.com.