The Client Who Almost Broke Me

Real-Time Journey Content

I need to tell you about the client I almost fired last week.

Not because she was difficult. Not because she wasn’t doing the work. But because she was holding up a mirror to every insecurity I’ve been trying to hide, and I didn’t like what I was seeing.

She came to me six weeks ago, full of fire and vision. She wanted to launch her coaching business, build her platform, and step into her calling. All the things I help women do.

But every single week, she’d show up to our calls with the same story: “I didn’t post this week because I wasn’t sure what to say.” “I didn’t reach out to potential clients because I didn’t feel ready.” “I didn’t launch the program because I’m still working on making it perfect.”

And every single week, I’d give her the same coaching: “You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to start. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time.”

She’d nod. She’d take notes. She’d say, “You’re right. This week will be different.”

And then next week, same story.

What Was Really Happening

By week five, I was frustrated. Not with her—with myself.

Because here’s the truth I didn’t want to admit: She was doing exactly what I’ve been doing in areas of my own life.

While I’ve been coaching her to stop waiting for perfect, I’ve been sitting on a book proposal for eight months because I keep finding reasons it’s not ready yet. While I’ve been telling her to stop overthinking and just post, I’ve got 47 Instagram drafts I’ve never published because they don’t feel “good enough.” While I’ve been pushing her to launch before she feels ready, I’ve been postponing my own next-level offer because I’m terrified no one will sign up.

She wasn’t the problem. She was the mirror.

And I wanted to fire her because it’s easier to be frustrated with someone else’s fear than to face your own.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

Last Tuesday, I showed up to our call ready to have “the talk.” You know the one: “I don’t think I’m the right coach for you. Maybe you need someone else. Maybe you’re not ready yet.”

But before I could say any of that, she said something that stopped me cold:

“I know I keep saying I’m going to do it and then I don’t. And I know you’re probably frustrated with me. But can I tell you why I’m really scared?”

And then she said it: “What if I step out and nobody cares? What if I finally do the thing and it doesn’t work? What if I’m not actually as good at this as I think I am?”

Sweet baby Jesus.

She wasn’t lazy. She wasn’t uncommitted. She wasn’t making excuses.

She was terrified of the same thing I’m terrified of: What if I’m not enough?

What I’m Learning Right Now

I didn’t fire her. Instead, I did something I’ve never done with a client before: I got real about my own fear.

I told her about the book proposal I’ve been sitting on. The drafts I haven’t published. The offer I’ve been too scared to launch. I told her that I’ve been coaching her through the exact thing I’m still wrestling with myself.

And you know what happened? She cried. Not because she was disappointed in me. But because she finally felt like she wasn’t alone.

“I thought you had it all figured out,” she said. “I thought I was the only one still struggling with this.”

And that’s when it hit me: Maybe the messy middle isn’t something to hide from my clients. Maybe it’s the exact thing that makes me qualified to coach them through it.

Maybe they don’t need me to be perfect. Maybe they just need me to be a few steps ahead, still figuring it out, still choosing faith over fear even when I don’t feel like it.

Where We Are Now

This week, we made a deal: She’d post on social media if I’d publish one of my 47 drafts. She’d reach out to three potential clients if I’d send the book proposal. She’d launch her program imperfectly if I’d open registration for my next-level offer.

And we both did it.

Were our posts perfect? No. Did we feel ready? Absolutely not. Did we want to delete everything five minutes after we hit publish? Yes.

But we did it anyway.

And here’s what’s wild: She got her first two clients. I got a response from a literary agent. And we both learned that the breakthrough doesn’t come from being perfect—it comes from being brave enough to move while you’re still scared.

What I Want You to Know

If you’re in the messy middle right now, struggling with the same fears you’re helping other people overcome, you’re not a fraud. You’re human.

If you’re coaching others through something you’re still figuring out yourself, that doesn’t disqualify you. It makes you relatable.

If you’re waiting to have it all together before you step into your calling, you’re going to be waiting forever. Because the women who need you don’t need your perfection. They need your proximity. They need to see someone who’s still in the fight, still choosing faith, still moving forward even when it’s messy.

I’m not writing this from the mountaintop. I’m writing this from the messy middle, right alongside you.

And maybe that’s exactly where we’re supposed to be.

What fear are you coaching others through that you’re still wrestling with yourself? What if that’s not disqualifying—it’s exactly what makes you the right person for the job?