21/09/2024
When I first started drawing blood samples from patients in my 3rd year in the university, my hands used to shake a lot.
I remember how embarrassed I was when a patient once asked me why my hands shook so much.
I had no answer.
One day during my laboratory posting in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, my duty was to prick the thumbs of pregnant women and collect their blood samples into a capillary tube for us to check their packed cell volume (blood level).
I was very anxious and pricked the first woman without getting any reasonable amount of blood the first time.
On the second try, the blood that oozed out was not enough to fill up the capillary tube and when the supervising Scientist asked me what the problem was I said “Sir her palm is strong”
“Her palm is strong” was what I could think of 🤦🏽♀️
I regretted it immediately the words came out of my mouth.
The woman let me have it that day.
She told me she checked her PCV regularly but had never been pricked twice + other things I’d rather not say.
As a result, I was removed from the sample collection bench and asked to arrange the 20 collected capillary tubes in the microhematocrit centrifuge and spin them.
I was relieved and I carried out the task. Immediately I put on the centrifuge to spin, I heard a strange noise.
In seconds I imagined what 20 pregnant women would say to me when they found out their tests were ruined and they had to wait to be pricked again.
I started feeling very hot and my heart rate doubled.
The machine works with a timer so I just casually walked away when no one was looking.
Immediately I was out of sight.
I RAN.
I RAN VERY FAST.
Any one who saw me with my lab coat running would have thought I was rushing to save a life.
I couldn’t go home because my bag and the keys to my house were still at the lab so I found a good hiding place and sat for an hour or two.
Long story short, I sneaked back into the lab to get my bag and found out that nothing happened to the samples and the sound I heard of the capillary tubes getting crushed was all in my head.
Thank God!
I realized that the more I drew people’s blood and pricked people's thumbs, the more confident I became.
The more confident I became, the lesser my hands shook.
It took a lot of practice and facing my fears to get to the point where I can locate a vein and just draw out blood without flinching.
During one of my holidays, I paid my cousins to use their veins for practice at home.
I wanted to get better and I knew I could only do so by getting my hands dirty.
My parents are health workers so I had seen them draw blood and administer drugs intravenously multiple times but I still had to practice because learning and watching from the sidelines doesn’t build confidence.
Watching someone do something is very different from doing it yourself.
You see, what brought this story to mind is the lack of confidence a lot of new and aspiring virtual assistants have.
Some have paid for courses, programs, coaching etc. They have the skills and certificates to show but they just don’t have the confidence that they are good enough to be successful.
Others don't know where to start from because they don't have skills.
That affects everything else: their pricing, marketing, business systems etc.
Maybe you are too afraid to shamelessly market your services.
Really, what's the worst thing that could happen if you showed up with shaky hands?
What's the worst thing that could happen if you started learning a skill today and stopped procrastinating and feeling like you are not good enough.
If you’re struggling, then my little story has the answer you need.
You might not like it but you need to do it afraid.
Practice! Practice! Practice! On real businesses.
Even if it means you won’t get paid your full price.
Remember I had to pay my cousins to let me use them to practice.
It’s easy to think you’re not good enough to accomplish something.
But it’s just as easy to think you are.
They’re just thoughts — not facts.
So if you don't have in-demand skills and would love to learn some for example, how to create a WordPress website, manage emails, manage a calendar, and learn so many other skills, then joining Go Virtual Academy (govirtualacademy.com) is a no brainer.
As a GVA member you will get:
1.) Multiple trainings to learn the digital skills you need to succeed online (I'll teach you at least 10 digital skills like SEO blogging, website design, email management, calendar management, etc.)
2.) Hands-on experience so that you will feel confident and have sample projects to put on your portfolio.
3.) Business launch support with my VA business setup program to learn how to market your business, price your services, onboard clients etc.
4.) 5.) Access to my resource library of templates: Contract templates, website templates etc.
6.) A supportive community of VAs who are on the same journey away from social media and all the noise
7.) A certificate to share
8.) A job board to help you find clients who are actively seeking virtual assistants.
Here's the link to join: govirtualacademy.com
