Why I Could Not Market My Business Even When I Knew Exactly What to Do: The Unforget Yourself Show
For years, I thought I had a marketing problem.
I bought courses. Hired coaches. Learned strategy. Built websites. Studied messaging.
I knew what I was supposed to do.
And then I would get to the part where I had to actually market the business, tell people what I did, follow up, be visible or ask someone to work with me.
That was where execution stopped.
I joined Mark Ashley Adams and Katie on The Unforget Yourself Show to talk about that gap between knowing and doing, why traditional mindset work did not solve it for me, how Brainspotting entered the picture and what eventually changed.
This conversation predates SCAN, but it is one of the clearest examples of the problem that eventually became the center of my work: strategy can be completely understood and execution can still fail.
I Did Not Need Another Marketing Course
The uncomfortable part of my story is that I was not confused about what marketing required.
I knew I needed visibility.
I knew I needed conversations.
I knew people had to know what I did before they could hire me.
But every time I reached the point where the strategy required me to actually put myself in front of people, I found another useful thing to do.
That made the problem easy to misdiagnose.
I was not doing nothing.
I was doing a lot.
Just not the action most directly connected to getting clients.
Busy Work Can Be Extremely Convincing
Productive avoidance is difficult to spot because the alternative activities are often legitimate.
The website does need attention.
The email sequence could be improved.
Another course might contain something useful.
The branding could be cleaner.
None of those activities are inherently a problem.
The pattern becomes useful information when they repeatedly replace the same higher-value action.
If the marketing plan says “reach out to five people,” but you spend three hours redesigning a page instead, the page may not be the real story.
Why Mindset Work Was Not Enough for Me
Mark, Katie and I talked about the difference between changing what you consciously think and addressing what happens when you actually try to execute the action.
I had already done the positive reframing.
I understood the logic.
I could tell myself the right thing.
None of that automatically changed what happened at the moment of visibility.
That distinction eventually became much more important to me than the phrase “mindset problem.”
Knowing the better thought is not necessarily the same thing as being able to take the action.
The Body Can Give You Useful Data
A large part of this conversation focused on Brainspotting and the physical sensations that can show up when someone approaches an action they repeatedly avoid.
At the time, I explained this work primarily through emotional and somatic language.
Today I use that information more carefully.
A physical reaction does not automatically prove that you have a deep block.
It is one piece of evidence.
I still want to know:
- Is the strategy sound?
- Is the action clear?
- Does the method fit the person?
- Is there a practical reason the task has not happened?
- What changes when the person actually tries to execute?
Marketing Was Where My Pattern Became Obvious
My first business forced me to confront something I had been able to avoid everywhere else.
I was capable.
I could learn.
I could work hard.
I could help other people solve problems.
But marketing myself triggered a very different response.
That selectivity mattered.
It told me this was not a global inability to execute.
Something specific changed when the action involved being seen.
External Support Can Help Without Being the Whole Solution
One of the ideas in the conversation was the role of outside support when an action feels difficult.
A coach, colleague, body double, structure or environment can make an action easier.
That does not automatically mean the support is a crutch.
Sometimes better structure is exactly what is missing.
The useful question is whether the support helps execution happen or whether the same specific action continues to stop even when the environment and structure are strong.
What I Would Diagnose Differently Today
When this episode was recorded, I was more likely to explain a stuck action through emotional resistance, limiting beliefs or a block.
Today I start earlier.
“Where is execution actually breaking down?”
That keeps us from assuming the cause before we have looked at the evidence.
Maybe the marketing strategy is wrong.
Maybe the next action is vague.
Maybe the workflow does not fit.
Maybe you need accountability, a different structure or a smaller next step.
Or maybe all of those things are in place and the same specific action still stops.
Those are different problems, and they need different solutions.
Why This Episode Still Matters
The title of this episode says almost everything:
“Why I Could Not Market My Business Even When I Knew Exactly What to Do.”
That is the gap I now spend most of my time studying with clients.
Not whether they have heard the strategy.
Not whether they have another productivity tool.
But whether the strategy actually turns into action, and if it does not, where that process breaks.
In This Episode We Discuss
- Why Jennie could not market her first business despite knowing what to do
- Productive avoidance and staying busy instead of getting visible
- Why more strategy did not solve the problem
- Traditional mindset work versus what happens during execution
- Brainspotting and how Jennie was using it at the time
- Physical sensations associated with avoided actions
- Fear of visibility and being evaluated
- External support and regulation
- Why knowing the right thought does not guarantee the right action
- How Jennie’s own business struggle shaped her later execution-block work
Listen to the Full Episode
Hear my full conversation with Mark Ashley Adams and Katie on The Unforget Yourself Show: Why I Could Not Market My Business Even When I Knew Exactly What to Do with Jennie Hays.
About Jennie Hays
Jennie Hays is an Execution Block Specialist, Brainspotting Practitioner and business coach for coaches, consultants and service-based entrepreneurs.
She helps capable people figure out why strategies they already understand are not consistently turning into action.
Her work distinguishes between a true execution block, a strategy that does not fit the person and a plan that is simply too vague or poorly structured to execute.
When an actual execution block is present, Jennie combines rapid block resolution and Brainspotting with practical business strategy and execution design to help clients return to clear, measurable action.
