Why Someone Else's Strategy Won't Work For You

You've decided it's time to make a change.  To level-up.  To move. 

It may be aiming for the promotion, growing fitter and healthier, pivoting in your career, increasing revenue in your business, meeting the love of your life, creating financial freedom or turning your passion into a business.  Or, something else entirely.  

You’ve crafted a vision that pulls at your heart. That brings tears to your eyes. A vision so compelling, you can’t help but move toward it.

But there’s one problem: you don’t know how. How do you take the first step, when you’ve never walked this path before?

Because you're a smart cookie, you seek help.  Maybe it's a mentor, maybe a coach, maybe a friend, a personal trainer or  marketing consultant. 

They give your their strategy.  Their 10-step plan.  Their 'foolproof' formula.  But it doesn't work, even when you follow it to the letter. They're a raging success. This should be working!  So, why isn't it?

The confusion, frustration and constant feeling of failing begins to whisper that maybe this dream isn't for you after all.  That you should just give up. But, hold on a minute! 

Have you ever considered that the plan is the problem?  Not you?

Why I fired my marketing coach

When I first launched Sky High Coaching, there was no AI to help build a website or map out a content strategy. I had no sales background. I was learning on the fly.

So I hired a marketing coach. She gave me her strategy. I implemented it.

It didn’t work.

I asked if we could try a different approach - nope. This was the plan she'd found success with!

I pushed back when things felt icky, pushy, even borderline unethical.

She didn’t appreciate it. Soon I was dreading our calls. They became combative and unproductive.

So I did the only thing I could: I fired her.

Why the mentor's advice didn't work

Rose* was frustrated. Despite being a brilliant second-in-charge, the top job kept eluding her. On paper, she ticked every box: smart, experienced, driven, passionate. She had a mentor and had been following his guidance for years - but still, no progress.

In one coaching conversation, we uncovered something crucial.

As a teenager, someone she trusted told her she’d make a great 2IC one day… but never the boss.

Boom. An unconscious belief planted years ago had quietly been running the show ever since. No matter how solid her mentor’s strategy was - it was never going to work against that script.

Why an MLM's sales strategy works for some, but not others

Tania* craved financial freedom. She was inspired by a colleague who had recently quit her job after finding success in an MLM company.

Tania signed up, bought the products, and followed the strategy laid out by her team leader.

It didn’t work. She hosted a handful of parties and made very few sales.

During one coaching session, we uncovered some unconscious beliefs around luxury versus essential purchases along with her true feelings about MLMs.

The strategy wasn’t aligned with her beliefs, values, or true vision for her life - so it was never going to work. 

The problem with online training plans

Last year, I set out to complete my first long-distance walk.

I downloaded the official training plan and followed it religiously.

But the plan didn’t build me up to the full distance. And on event day, over 10km from the finish line, my body seized.I crossed that finish line, but it was painful. And entirely avoidable.

I could go on and on - I have mountains of these examples.

But here’s the thing: The person selling you their 10-step plan?

They weren’t bullied the way you were in primary school.

They weren’t betrayed by the boy who cheated on you in high school.

They didn’t have that teacher who singled you out, or the friend of 15 years who suddenly walked away.

They weren’t laughed at during their first big presentation.

They weren’t the only woman, or person of colour, in yesterday’s meeting.

They don't have your body type, shape or niggling injuries.

You are utterly unique.

There is no one else on this planet with your exact mix of parents, siblings, teachers, friends, lovers.

No one who shares your exact childhood, teen years or adult experiences.

They also don’t possess your skills, talents, gifts, or strengths.

They don’t know your deepest fears, desires, challenges, or beliefs. And unless they take the time to ask (and let’s be honest, if they’re spruiking a foolproof plan, they probably won’t)…They have no way of knowing whether their strategy will work for you.

And in my experience, and the experience of so many clients, it rarely does.

So what do you do when the most 'successful' strategies (for other people) aren’t working for you?

You stop outsourcing your plan. You start building your own.

You begin trusting yourself over someone else’s blueprint.

You stop asking what worked for them and start asking what will work for you.

This is not an extensive list, but a few ways to do this include:

✨ Indentifying your values

✨ Building on your skills and strengths

✨ Utilising your gifts and talents

✨ Aligning with your unique goals, energy and pace

✨ Taking your real life into account, not just your 'ideal' day

✨ Moving in ways that feel energising, not draining

✨ Considering mindset, emotion and embodiment - not just action

It doesn’t mean having zero structure.

It means having a structure that holds space for you - not someone else’s formula.

If this resonates… if you’re done trying to wedge yourself into someone else’s mould…

And you're ready to create a vision and strategy that’s uniquely yours. That honours your values, your pace, your truth, your life...

Then The Sky High Coaching Salon might be your next right step.

This isn’t a cookie-cutter program. We don’t all work toward the same goals, and we certainly don’t follow the same strategies.

Some come to grow their business or rise in their career.

Some want to lead with more impact.

Some desire bettter physical and/or emotional health.

Some are ready to call in love, build confidence, reclaim their voice, or make a bold life pivot.

What unites us is the desire to move forward in a way that’s real, aligned and deeply personal.

The Salon is not for everyone. It’s a curated experience and we need to speak first to see if it’s the right fit for you. Applications are now open. CLICK HERE