The Hidden Phase Between Starting and Succeeding That Nobody Talks About

Ever wondered why some people achieve their dreams while others seem trapped in an endless cycle of starting and stopping? The answer lies in understanding "the gap" – that critical period between deciding to pursue a vision and seeing tangible results.

When we first commit to a goal, we're riding high on excitement and motivation. Every possibility seems within reach. But what happens when that initial enthusiasm fades and results aren't immediately visible? This is where most dreams die – not because they weren't viable, but because we misunderstand the natural progression of meaningful achievement.

We're examining why this gap phase triggers our deepest wounds around rejection and abandonment, especially in today's instant-gratification culture. You'll discover why posting something once online and getting minimal response doesn't mean "nobody wants what I'm offering" – it simply means not enough people have seen it yet. This podcast unpacks the delusion that success should come quickly and easily, particularly in the digital space.

The most successful visionaries understand that perseverance through uncertainty is what separates achievement from abandonment. They recognize the value of proper support systems – whether through coaching, masterminds, or accountability structures – to navigate the inevitable challenges of bringing something meaningful into reality. As we often say, "Choose your hard" – because staying in a situation that doesn't fulfill you while knowing you're capable of more is its own kind of difficult.

Ready to transform how you approach your goals? Listen now to discover practical strategies for navigating the gap phase with confidence, clarity, and unwavering commitment to your vision. Your future self will thank you for persevering when others would have given up.

Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding the Gap to Success
• 4:37 Why We Abandon Our Path
• 7:19 Misjudging Progress and Results
• 10:09 Staying the Course vs Changing Direction
• 15:21 Finding Support for Your Journey
• 18:44 Episode Closing and Resources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

In this episode, we are going to cover the exact thing that may be the difference between you on a very simple, easy maybe not always easy, but more of a linear path towards your goals, and one where you feel like you're starting and stopping, like you're here, you're there, you're everywhere and nothing seems to be happening. Stick around. This is an important one.

Speaker 2: 0:37

Welcome. Welcome to the show leaders. Today's episode is we're covering a topic that is super super important.

Speaker 1: 1:16

If you have any type of goal, you are working towards any type of vision that you want to create, especially if it's a bigger vision. We are talking about the gap that happens between when you make the decision that you are going after something, that you are desiring to create, something you are getting in the energy right of it already being done. You are excited, you have this vision and what happens on that journey from that decision, from that realization, to it actually coming into your reality, of it being in your physical right, because if you listen to the last episode I did on manifesting, everything we are moving towards is already done. We're not actually creating anything out of nothing, but there is still a path that we go down that feels like it is a journey, even though time is irrelevant, but that's a whole nother podcast. What happens on this journey is we often start out with excitement. We start out with unbridled, just motivation. This is what we're going to do. You know we're running on all those good hormones that are released, all those good chemicals released in our body, and that doesn't last, in fact, once we start going on the journey and we don't see results right away, which typically we don't not all the time. Sometimes results come fast and furious, but sometimes we don't see results. Just think about, like, if we can compare it to exercise. I know for me when I used to exercise or I'd go on a new routine in my 20s, sure I would see results right away. I can work out two days and I'd have a huge change in my body. Now in my 40s, no, that is not happening. It takes a significantly longer time for me to see the results that I want.

Speaker 1: 3:56

When I am working on something and this is true for any kind of vision that's worth anything there's often a period where we start out with excitement and we're not quite sure the steps it's gonna take to achieve it. We're not quite sure of everything because we haven't done it yet. And it doesn't matter if you are following someone else's strategy, if you have it all mapped out. There are still things that come up, the nuances of any journey that make it a whole different thing. And what I've seen in my work what happens is a lot of times people don't lean in to the energy of perseverance and they get caught up in the weeds. And when they don't have a clear awareness of that, gap right between when you start and when you actually start to see the results that you want. If they don't have an understanding of what happens in that period or can happen, they can feel lost. They can feel like they're making a mistake.

Speaker 1: 5:19

The worst thing that I see and I see it all the time, I see it all the time, and I've been guilty of this myself is that we change paths and there's nothing wrong with changing a path, by the way, there's nothing wrong with changing it but we do not want to change the path because we've suddenly got in our head and think we're on the wrong path, just because we are not seeing the results that we want that quickly. But I remember a time where I was doing something similar, because when you're in that kind of a loop, you can get lost in the blind spots of it. So it's for me it's really easy when someone else is doing it to see that, or if I'm working with my clients, we can identify it. It's not as easy when you're doing it yourself to see, especially if it's something where I mean, let's be honest, if you're doing that every couple of days, that may be a little easier to to realize, but if you're doing that every six months or every you know few months. Mind you, we don't want to do something for years upon years. If we're we're not getting the results that we want, because that is crazy. If we're not getting the results that we want, because that is crazy.

Speaker 1: 6:46

But if we're being honest with ourselves and we haven't put the effort in or we haven't really put in that elbow grease to this vision that we are desiring to create, and then we're switching gears because we don't see the results right away, especially in the online space, or especially when we're selling something or we're offering something or we're trying to grow a social media, we want to be aware that there's a gap period where you may not see results. In fact, you may not see much results at all. That doesn't mean it's not working at all. That doesn't mean it's not working. That doesn't mean the energy that you're putting in is for nothing. It means to stay the course, especially if you're in the beginning period and you're still understanding what you're doing. So a weird thing that happens online, I don't know. So a weird thing that happens online, I don't know. I'm not sure what has created this.

Speaker 1: 7:49

I think it's a lot of those bro gurus who push the narrative that you can create a 10 page ebook and make millions of dollars because people are just going to rush and purchase it. Mind you, that's not really the case anymore with ChatGPT, but that was a narrative that was going on years ago and I would talk to a lot of people who would get very frustrated and very down on themselves because they would create something that they were really passionate about or they believed in and they would put it out and either no one would purchase it, no one would buy, or not many people would see it, and when we really went in and started looking at things, they only mentioned it, let's say, once, on their social media, or they only put it out a couple times and it's a delusion that we can fall into, because what that does if we have wounding around, fear of rejection which many of us do many right Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment these are core wounds it can trigger that and suddenly you can get in your head and you can start thinking well, nobody wants my stuff, nobody wants me, I'm doing it wrong, I'm a failure. And then you stop and it's like hold on, hold on. No one's even seen this or no one's even registered yet.

Speaker 1: 9:19

Sometimes, you know, I post things on my social media and I think I've posted it. It's like overkill, I think I'm posting it so much. People are sick of it. And then I will get on the call with someone or have a conversation and I'll ask them hey, did you see that thing that I? I was talking about? Or I'm sure you've seen me and they're like no, what is that, if I haven't seen anything? And they and they're regulars in my social media and they haven't even seen it.

Speaker 1: 9:49

So we really have to put things into perspective in that gap phase, to watch our internal triggers, where our wounds are being triggered by things not working out and where we misjudge the process. And now it's actually much harder than we thought it was going to be and we want to stop, especially if we have created a vision that's completely in line with our values. This is going to be a vision that is going to literally blow your mind. It's going to feel so fulfilling, it's going to bring so much joy to your life and the key is to stay the course. Do not give up Now, again, if you're doing something over and over and it's been three years and you're not really seeing what you want to see, then please do not keep doing the same things over and over. Now it's time to assess our strategy, assess what we're doing, but that doesn't mean that we need to change our vision, right?

Speaker 1: 11:12

I really cautious anyone to give up on their dreams, on their vision, what they're desiring, because there is divine timing that is at play with everything. And as long as you get very clear what the vision is, you know and trust it's aligned with who you are and the work that you came here to do, and you trust that you are being guided to this in whatever shape or form, that is because it feels right, it's coming from an authentic desire, then you can be sure that you are going to reach there or something better. So not to get in your head and start questioning everything and doubting that it's possible for you. So a couple things that you can do when you have this vision, when you have an awareness of what you're creating, do some research on what it actually takes, and this isn't to go down a rabbit hole and go down and feel like, oh my God, this is so much stuff, I don't know if I can do this, but just have an awareness of.

Speaker 1: 12:33

Okay, you know what this is going to have, these different moving parts I understand. You know this is new territory. There's going to be a learning curve. There's going to be things I have to do that feel challenging and hard. I may not see results right away, that's okay. It doesn't mean I'm off track and, if you can, this is one of the biggest reasons to hire a coach and I'm not just trying, I'm not just saying that to promote coaching, but it is so, so important to have support in that gap phase.

Speaker 1: 13:17

So one you don't start to go down these rabbit holes and start talking yourself out of things and start just going all haywire. Lord knows listen, I can speak on this because I've been there and when you can have a coach, or you're in a group or you're in something that is keeping you on point right, keeping you on your path, so you can simply show up and do what's needed, not get in your head, not overthink, not go down into doom and gloom, stay the course, have an easier time staying the course, staying accountable and work through that inner critic that comes in during the gap and starts trying to throw you all these false truths or your wounding comes up and it starts making you question your entire reality and existence and what you're doing on earth. Critical to have, and if you're at a place where you can't afford that or you don't have money to put even though I would say if you have money to put towards a vision, I would highly recommend allocating some of that to coaching or some kind of a group. Not all groups. Groups are at every different level, every different price range. Mind you, being with a group of high level entrepreneurs or business leaders or creatives will likely give you a different experience than being with a group that is perhaps not at that level, and I'm only speaking from experience being in these different groups. There's a different level of awareness and clarity and encouragement that I have experienced in higher level groups and coaching containers than lower ones, and that's simply because I find that there's less fear, there's more ambition and there's more what's the word I'm looking for Risk tolerance. There's more perseverance and risk tolerance. Now, that is my experience.

Speaker 1: 15:54

I'm not saying that you have to go into a high level coaching container to get great coaching. You may find that with a completely free group, an accountability buddy group that you can find or curate, and that is enough for you, although I will preface and say I personally, I haven't found that myself. As for me, I need to have skin in the game to really be accountable. I am not great at just accountability buddies, I'm really not. And and that's okay I know where, I know, I know my limits and I know what works for me. But for you you, if you're listening and you have a big vision and you know you get in your head the strategies. I want you to implore is one really have an idea of what this is going to be like and commit to the process. Know that if you are creating this vision, if you are dedicated and committed to having this, there's going to be challenges, and you really got to get the mindset right.

Speaker 1: 17:08

And there's a reason why most people do not do this. Do not go after anything bigger than status quo or where they are, because it's hard, it's challenging. There are challenging moments. Now it's not always hard, and we can argue that hard is also being in status quo, when you know that you are driven for more. So it's that old saying of choose your hard. And second strategy is to find support. Make it easy on yourself. There's a reason why every successful person I know has mentorship, coaches, masterminds because it's not only a lonely journey when you're doing it on your own, but it can be challenging in that gap where you're working towards something you're putting in so much time, effort, money, you're not seeing the results and in those moments you need to have people to talk you through it, even if it's just listening to what you're going through and letting you know that it's okay, it's part of the journey. You literally have this. We've all been through this and you will get to the other side. Stay the course, stay the course. Okay, leaders, that's it for this episode.

Speaker 1: 18:44

If you would like to talk to me about the Magnetic Leadership Accelerator, again, it is still in the beta. We are we're doing a long beta for this because I am dedicated to creating the most efficient, powerful system for transformation and vision creation. So you are still getting included one-on-one with your enrollment into the group. This will not be forever. The one-on-ones will be disappearing as soon as we move out of the beta. So it's a great time to get in and, of course, I always have a few spots for long-term one-on-one.

Speaker 1: 19:26

If you're the type that likes one-on-one, so you can book, go to my website at lisajeffscom and apply for a test drive consult. Other than that, leaders, I love you. I appreciate you. Thank you so much for listening and joining me. I hope this is helpful. I hope this gives you some clarity. If you have a question, drop me a question in the link, where you can. You should be able to see in my show notes a text button or on my Buzzsprout website and you can send me a text message of your question or what you're going through right now and, if it makes sense, I will do an entire podcast episode on that Love. You have an amazing morning, evening, afternoon, whenever you're listening to this and, as always, let's stay connected.