There’s been so much going on in the world…. From natural disasters to personal loss or illness, so much can affect our speaking business.
So, it got me thinking…. What would you do when facing a crisis?
Rather than making decisions from a place of high emotion or even being frantic, perhaps we need to plan ahead for the worst-case scenario.
Lately, my husband has experienced some heart issues. He had a heart attack when he was in his 40s, and now, in his 60s, he’s been experiencing AFIB. For those of you with knowledge of atrial fibrillation, you know that it can be scary but not necessarily life-threatening if treated properly.
But, what do I do if something happens to John? I want to have a plan. And what do we do if our lives are altered by a tragic event or health crisis?
How about we create a plan?
First, you have to have an emergency file with all of your bank accounts, passwords, and business information. Should anyone other than you have to take care of things without you, we want to be prepared.
Mine is in the safe and includes my Master Password to Dashlane, which is where I keep all the user names and passwords. We accept credit cards here, so we have the list of all the accounts and what would need to be shut down. I have a plan to donate any books that are in inventory, and who should be contacted.
Now, here’s a side trick I learned from the hurricane posts: if you think there’s going to be flooding and can’t take all of your important documents to a safe place, put them in a waterproof safe or (get this) the dishwasher.
For those of you who haven’t yet taken the time to make a will, please, for goodness sake, get to a lawyer and get a legal will. When my brother (age 53) passed, he hadn’t had his will notarized, so I had to fight to get his wishes handled. It was excruciating and allowed me no time to grieve.
What would happen if you got a horrible diagnosis? What would you do with all of your speaking engagements? Is there a go-to person who you could enlist to help? Share with them what your wishes would be so someone is in the “know” should you be incapacitated.
I’ve heard so many stories of speakers stepping in for other speakers in crisis, delivering the keynote and then giving the money back to the sick person. OMG, that warms my heart. This community can be so beautiful.
You might wait until you have all of the information before cancelling anything. But once you have it, communicating clearly with your clients, I think, is the most honest thing to do. “Hey, I just got this diagnosis, and I am still on board for your engagement, but let’s talk through a backup plan should a, b or c happen.”
Perhaps there’s a financial situation or a divorce that leaves you with far fewer options where money is concerned. What would your step 1 and step 2 be? Perhaps you make a plan.
Let’s go back to natural disasters for a minute. One of the best things you can do for yourself is go to the Cloud with all of your working documents. How can you set it up so that if your home or laptop were destroyed, or you had to move to a different place for weeks/months, you wouldn’t miss a beat, at least where your clients were concerned? And I’m not even touching on any of the depression or PTSD that may come along with all of this!
Preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best…
I know this sounds somewhat like doomsday, but making a plan for the worst-case scenario from a place of intention, rather than knee-jerk reactions filled with emotion, will leave you in much better shape and will allow your brain to relax knowing that you’ve got it covered.
I’d love to hear some feedback from you on what you have done to prepare, or what you wish you would have done. Will you share?
I’ll see you soon Wealthy Speakers!
