Last year, I celebrated 10 years as a creator and entrepreneur and shared 10 Courage Moves I’d made by that point.
This month, I am celebrating 10 years as a full-time business owner and I’m ready to talk a bit more about what I’ve learned about success and courage to still be in this game 10 years later when many of my friends have dropped out.
There’s one thing that I can point all of my success and persistence to … and that’s having a Brave YES Mindset.
There will be many times when you won’t feel certain about your decisions or choices. There will be many times when you feel out of your element.
As a courage coach and strategist for women+ business owners, I specialize in helping to grow your clarity, courage and confidence around everything from your sales system to your marketing campaigns to day-to-day time management and work-life balance. We’re doing things like setting boundaries, changing mindset and motivating you to do the hard things that keep sitting on the backburner.
The Brave YES Mindset is at the root of all of it.
For me, there’s been nothing but advantages to saying YES and living with a YES Mindset rather than a bunch of NOPE. There are times when a Brave NO is necessary and I’ll share more on that soon.
In my work as a business coach who pushes her clients to their edges of comfort and courage, the Brave YES Mindset is the work.
I’m sure you’ve heard of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.
Well, it’s kind of like that but … more active. I equate it to growth mindset — but Top Gun Maverick style.
The truth is, when we are redefining our comfort zone and doing things that bring discomfort and work to grow our confidence — as well as visibility and revenue — we tend to focus on the negatives — everything that will go wrong, everything that we suck at, everything that is hard or feels impossible.
Well, that’s one way — a common way — to handle courage work and taking risks.
Through my work and certification in positive psychology and becoming a Dare to Lead professional of Brene Brown’s work, I believe that taking a more positive approach to BIG BOLD work is not only possible but helps us move through it much more easily and peacefully.
To tell you about the Brave YES Mindset, though, we must first talk about your NO brain! I first learned about the Yes Brain and the No Brain from the parenting book “The Yes Brain,” by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
So, let’s talk No Brain … and this is based on my work with adults and not the parenting book though there are absolute similarities and I think we witness NO brain more in adults than children, honestly.
What words can you toss out if I am someone who is a NO brain. Let’s define them together.
The No Brain
STUBBORN
CLOSED MINDED
OFTEN SELF-SABOTAGING AND LOSING SIGHT OF YOUR OWN DREAMS AND VISION.
STRUGGLE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT.
YOU aren’t good enough. Negative thinkers.
Afraid to try new things.
FEAR OF CHANGE
FOCUSED MORE ON TRYING TO PLEASE OTHERS
Have you ever met a NO person? Have you ever been on a committee with a NO person or had a team member who is a NO person? I have been through lots of business coaching sessions helping clients with their NO employees.
HOw many of you are the NO brain in the room? Be honest?
Now, a YES Brain … this is the mindset that gets things done, that plays bigger, that changes things or makes things happen.
The YES Brain
OK, what are some words or phrases YOU would apply to someone with a YES Brain. Open. Learning. Growth.
The Brave YES Mindset …
OPEN-MINDED
ADAPTABLE
NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK UP OR STAND OUT
TAKES RISKS
READY TO TRY NEW THINGS
BENDY, FLEXIBLE
GROWTH MINDSET VS. FIXED
Which do you prefer to lead with? Your YES Brain or No Brain?
A Brave YES Mindset is about being open minded and saying YES to opportunities that bring you alive, that center your thriving, that puts you in the driver seat in your life — but they are challenging, they push you to your edge. They are both scary and liberating. They may lead to feelings of fear and anxiety but are almost always lead to feelings of pride and joy.
SPECTRUM EXERCISE — where are you on the Brave YES Mindset spectrum?
When do you need a Brave YES Mindset?
Some of the times when a Brave YES Mindset will serve you well …
When facing a challenging life or work circumstance
When you need to raise your prices or ask for a raise
When you are ready to uplevel or pivot your business because it’s not working for you anymore.
When you are facing burnout, languishing or a feeling of boredom in your life or work
When you are tired of hiding & playing small and not getting the respect you deserve
When you are ready to take yourself and your expertise more seriously
A Brave YES Mindset leads to the VISION. And the Vision leads to the Brave YES Actualizations — the actions to make it happen.
10 Perks of Embracing a Brave YES Mindset
Start living and leading in your power
Enjoy seeing possibility and potential
Embrace your own strengths
Let go of perfectionism
Make decisions based on HEART not EGO and redefine your own comfort zone
Permission to do what feels good rather than what everyone else is doing
Take bold action to create confidence rather than hope for confidence or perfect timing some day
Experience a lot of fun tada’s and wins
Tune into your creativity and soul fire.
Stop searching for answers everywhere outside of you and start tuning in and turning on for your own joy.
Checklist: How to Get Started with a Brave YES Mindset
Get super clear on what your Brave YES action IS AND create a plan of success.
Set and strive toward meaningful goals that bring you positive energy and feelings of hope and joy.
Practice self-compassion and cultivate Unshakeable Resilience.
Become aware when your NO brain is taking over — and learn how to activate your YES Brain. Being mindful of your thoughts and feelings is key.
Surround yourself with people you can brainstorm with to expand your perspective and experience. Support is everything when it comes to being courageous. This is why when you tell your personal story, people are drawn to you. We need each other to be braver.
Develop a system to track your YESES and WINS — and share those with your supporters & mentors. GOLD stars.
I recently told my story during a keynote presentation about hitting my own upper limit.
I was 44 and, as a high achiever, I didn’t like that I hit the end of my checklist very much.
There had to be something more for me, right?
In other words, I was feeling burned out and washed up. Not a great feeling but pretty typical as we enter midlife.
What was left for me? What was next?
And then one day, as these negative thoughts began to consume me, I was walking across my bedroom — on a mission to keep moving through life pretending like I wasn’t having an existential crisis — and I tripped on the pant leg of my baggy pajama bottoms and I fell — hard. It hurt. I started to sob.
That was my rock bottom — my breakdown — the moment I realized something needed to change.
The truth was, I had hit my upper limit — in other words I felt like I wasn’t deserving or capable of anything more. And that limit had me trapped inside my comfort zone where I was safe but burned out, and comfortable but not inspired — and despite knowing I wanted to do something else, I was terrified to make a change.
The thing was, I knew what I needed to change BUT it was going to rock a few boats — mine included.
All of this is what unfolds if you are in an upper limit — you can’t see any other way forward or up.
Your Business Has An Upper Limit
You haven’t changed anything but things aren’t working like they used to.
Sales are slowing or plateauing and you are in hustle and grind.
This is a business upper limit issue — you can’t see anything improving with the current situation or mindset.
An uplevel is necessary.
What does an upleveling for YOU look like ..
an identity upgrade
a total pivot
a refinement or rebrand. — refresh
a glow up on the inside
a brave yes
What does an upeleveling look like for your business?
visibility upleveled
offers upleveled
pricing upleveled
restructuring or rebranding
pivot entirely
What you need to get started …
When you decide it’s time to uplevel … you need to do two things first.
Once you’ve done that, there are two steps to do before you even take on an upleveling …
You must first set your Brave Life or Business Vision. This is the clarity and the roadmap you need to move forward and start taking action. Sometimes action creates the clarity — but I find it’s best to really spend time on the vision before you waste a lot of time.
AND, you need to cultivate Unshakeable Resilience.
Resilience is key to handle the fall out that will ultimately happen in one way or another as you take yourself or your business to the next level. You will have to ultimately let someone or something go in the process. You will lose people. You will fail and that’s OK.
To cultivate Unshakeable Resilience, you need to focus on what I call the STRONG Method™.
Lean into your STRENGTHS.
THRIVE in Positivity
REACH out and UP — and get quality support. There are three types of support: private, 1:1 support with a trusted mentor or coach — someone who is going to hold space for you and your dreams and goals, group support because group energy moves you into new levels without as much effort, and support to do your boldest, best work because you can’t do it all and you shouldn’t try.
One of the biggest visibility blockers we encounter and have to wrestle with is the algorithms themselves.
How do I know this? I absolutely know this because I had a beautiful business years ago that easily got traffic and was able to spread the word. I had lots of shares, likes, comments and engagement. People were going to my website, opting into lead magnets and freebies that I had available and signing up for programs, signing up for webinars.
All of that stopped when the algorithms changed to reflect the pay to play model when the social media platforms decided that they wanted ads for visibility.
We know they are trying to make money — which is fine — and in order to do Because of all of this, it takes courage to show up on social media and in the algorithms on the social on the regular because you are traveling through what I call the Dark Valley of Irrelevance, which is just the algorithms making it very hard for you to be seen.
You may have the best message in the world but unless it sets fire to something it’s not gonna really get seen. Even if you have a large platform it’s going to be challenging for everyone of those people who follow you to see your work.
But here’s the thing — it doesn’t matter. Not everybody’s going to see it but it doesn’t matter. If nobody’s clicking, liking or commenting that doesn’t mean that the right person isn’t paying attention or it doesn’t mean that people don’t like your work.
It does not mean your work is not relevant, important or that it doesn’t matter or that you don’t matter.
It’s just the algorithm and traveling through the dark valley of irrelevance which I have another podcast about and I encourage you to listen to.
The pesky algorithms make it hard to be seen and so that makes you think it’s not worth it. I get that.
The solution is that you need to decide that you are going to be seen and heard no matter what — you’re not gonna give up, you’re going to keep going.
And, with that, you need to have courage to keep showing up.
And, to keep showing up like that requires … consistency, which means you need to have capacity and the clarity of what to say and do on the daily.
Need to get a plan for this? Book a call with me and we can discuss how I help you with all of this in a Courage Coaching Intensive Session — or in private business strategy coaching. Book a FREE coaching exploratory call now.
When we open our eyes and see the whole picture —- maybe a week later, or a month later, or a few years later — we see that it was our failures that led us to the path we are on right now.
It doesn’t fly off the shelves like GET 1000 SUBSCRIBERS EVERY DAY WITH THIS FORMULA!!!!!
No, the truth is building a sustainable business that centers YOUR thriving and YOUR values requires a lot of testing, failure and trying again.
That means we’re taking the long way around — which happens to be my absolute favorite way.
In my own business, every single failure has acted like a compass to get me back on track to my own sacred success.
This is one of the Gifts of Failure.
Sure, it’s also excruciating because failure requires patience.
Ugh. Patience! None of us have time for that.
I get it.
But what if every failure is a realignment, getting you back to what matters most?
What if every failure is actually the marrow of your inner strength that will carry you to your next level?
What if each failure is an opportunity to test and try again and expand even your own imagination of possibility?
I don’t have a lot of experience with failure, personally. I’ve oddly succeeded at most everything I ever set out to do.
But, I recently failed at something and rather than see it as a failure, I’m seeing it as a practice.
I bet you don’t fail that often either.
And that needs to change.
💥 If we aren’t failing, we aren’t risking.
💥 If we aren’t failing, we aren’t testing enough.
💥 If we aren’t failing, we aren’t saying enough Brave YESES.
What would happen if we collectively began to embrace the gifts of failure?
What could it teach us about ourselves — and the world?
What could you try — and possibly fail at — this week? I want to hear about it!
LET’S WORK TOGETHER!
I currently have two opportunities for partnering with you as a business and courage coach.
Private business strategy & courage coaching — 6 month time commitment meeting 2x a month with access to me in between sessions as needed. Need my eyes on your copy, your lead magnet — copywriting is one of my superpowers as a coach. (Also, 6 months because we focus on the slow, methodical, sustainable Brave YES business building methods that ensure you are a business owner 10 years from now.) LEARN MORE HERE.
One-Day Brave YES Coaching Intensives — Let’s focus on ONE area of yourself or your business and knock it out. Got a Brave YES ahead of you … we can do the inner work needed to be the badass you need to be. Got a new offer you want to map out, let’s build that together. Ready to build your business methodology? I’m your rumbling partner for that. Book a Call with Me Now.
Today I’m going to talk about what I’m calling the Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey.
So, the Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey is a version of the Heroine’s Journey, a storytelling archetype that I’m proposing here today that can help you transform your business, and very possibly your life.
And I’m also going to touch on an aspect of the Hero’s Journey as well.
I know you’ve heard of the Hero’s Journey, popularized by Joseph Campbell, which follows the path of a male hero who faces challenges undergoes transformation and returns home with all this great new wisdom and power and but there’s another version of this that I really strongly love and prefer, and that’s the Heroine’s Journey made famous by Maureen Murdoch, who wrote a book called The Heroine’s Journey.
So the Heroine’s Journey is a storytelling archetype that focuses on a female protagonist, the Shero, and that’s what I want to focus on here today.
This is connected to the work that I have done — to become a business strategist and courage coach. It’s also very related to the work I do with my clients. I see this journey unfolding for my clients over and over, and it doesn’t even matter where you are on the journey.
So this particular archetype is all about how we face the challenges, do the hard things, and how we confront our fears.
You’ve heard me talk about facing our fears.
I’m always talking about that. And I think it shows up way more in people’s lives and they even know and how we make choices with the decisions that we do make. All of that can lead to transformation and change, personal growth and empowerment.
But, in order to embark on the Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey, the protagonist must have a mindset that is open to change and be willing to fail, willing to learn from her mistakes. And so this, of course, as you can imagine, ties right into the Brave YES Mindset framework I am constantly bringing up, which is all about embracing challenges, and seeing opportunities for growth, for upleveling and for expansion.
It’s the belief that skills and abilities can be developed through taking brave action rather than being stuck or, you know, stuck with a fixed personality or with what little wisdom we have or we’re born with — rather than this idea that we can constantly — and we always — changing, growing, transforming and evolving.
And that when we’re open to that is the Brave YES Mindset — or what you’ve heard called growth mindset.
When have a growth mindset we are saying, OK, I’ve got a Brave YES Mindset here — I am willing to take on the risks, the challenges, the hard stuff. I am willing to stay motivated and persevere through the hard times.
So the Heroines journey can be seen as a metaphor for the Brave YES Mindset.
Afterall, the Shero starts out feeling stuck or dissatisfied or unsure of what her next move should be. How often do we feel that in business but as she travels on her journey, which Joseph Campbell called the call to adventure, I’m calling it the call to courage.
The Call to Courage
As she travels on her journey, this adventure, this is her Call to Courage.
She learns how to take Brave YES action to overcome obstacles, to develop new skills, to ultimately transform into a stronger, more empowered version of herself.
Sometimes, the Call to Courage is to grow your business.
Sometimes it’s to start a business.
Sometimes it’s to uplevel your business.
Sometimes, it’s to uplevel yourself so that you can uplevel your business.
Sometimes it’s to pivot your business entirely.
The call to courage comes to us and I have had the call to courage.
And that’s how the Brave YES was born.
It comes from something that we want to change and it’s driven by dissatisfaction or a lack of contentment — or a desire to experience something else.
We’re not always running from something and I hate the problem focused marketing that we see everywhere.
A lot of times, we’re actually running with wide open arms toward a possibility and that’s the work that I love to do with my clients.
I try hard to not go too deep into problems and pain killers because I know that my people just dream bigger for themselves. So this call to courage happens when we realize there’s something more for us. Or there’s something that we need to change in order to be happier, or more creative, or to make more money but we know a change is needed. That is the key change
Sometimes that change is small and may be an internal shift in how we show up and do our work. Other times. It’s the call to courage in knowing we need to make a big change might even need a pivot work or audience might need to uplevel who we are trying to work with.
So I’m going to walk you through the Heroines Journey, what I’m calling Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey — because I’m going to apply this Call to Courage to being a creative entrepreneur, or a personal brand or an entrepreneur of any sort.
So both the Heroine’s Journey and the Brave YES Mindset require us to step out of our comfort zones and embrace the unknown.
We’re taking risks. We’re putting ourselves out there. We’re making mistakes. We are learning from failure and rejection.
And, in doing so, we unleash our creative potential.
And we make progress on our audacious goals, both personally and professionally. It’s natural that we are going to learn and grow from just trying and failing.
If you’re a creative entrepreneur, business owner, someone who takes your values and your integrity very seriously.
Remember that you are on this hero’s entrepreneurial journey. AndI’m gonna go through the steps of that journey and see if you can identify where you are and here’s what I know about the Call to Courage — and this journey. If you find yourself at the end of the journey, you’re really about to start back at the beginning.
That’s how this works.
It’s a constant cycle. Or circle.
Like a big long hike in the woods.
You might get back to the beginning but you’re gonna go right back out there when you can.
Because you love it. You’re addicted to it. It feels good.
So here are the elements of the Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey to Help you Discover Your Inner Heroine and Build a Thriving Business … by Listening to the Call to Courage.
Separation
And, I constantly feel like I’m back at separation, just so you know. I’m actually in a separation moment right now. On my own Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey — and this is when the Shero feels out of place in her current environment or in society and she seeks to break out of it.
As a creative entrepreneur, you might feel this from time to time. Maybe you feel kind of stuck or pigeon holed in your industry and doing things a certain way, a way that doesn’t align with your values or your passions or your creative spark.
Separation can be the first step toward building a business that is truly fulfilling and meaningful to you.
This might be where you begin to realize that the circles you’ve been running in the networking circles or the friendship circles isn’t quite supporting you in the way that you want.
And it’s time to pull back and separate.
It may be your business model or your marketing strategy that feels off or out of out of alignment with your values. Or your interests or your joy.
There is a distinct feeling that something is not quite right. And you’re recognizing that you need a separation — to pull back away from certain people or ideas or ideology or methodologies — and just take a pause.
How many times have you been in that space?
Initiation
The next element on the journey is initiation and this is when the Shero faces the challenges and obstacles that are going to test her character and force her to confront her weaknesses.
As a creative entrepreneur, you know as well as I do, there’s always moments of feeling like you’re facing a conflict or an obstacle and how you respond to those challenges is going to determine the outcome. And so this is where the Brave YES Mindset — the growth mindset — really comes into play in my business coaching.
What are you going to do with this challenge?
How are you going to respond to this conflict? That difficult conversation — the obstacle you’re feeling trapped in, that a sticky situation?
Having an open minded perspective, to see it another way so that you can initiate in the best possible way is the easiest way through Initiation.
Initiation can also go about takin action.
How many people do we know? No change needs to happen. Maybe they’ve even made a separation. But now they are just waiting and waiting and waiting.
Initiation is about taking action. It’s about responding. It’s about movement. There’s energy there — unless there’s not, in which case you’re going to stay stuck and stagnant.
But, as you move on the journey, if you take action the next element is transformation.
Transformation
And this is where the Shero begins to experience significant change both internally and externally. This is how she starts to problem solve and see a bigger picture for herself and her business. She’s able to start to make big picture decisions and overcome her challenges.
And as a creative entrepreneur, you know that you need to be open to change and be willing to evolve as your business grows and changes.
So this transformation period is when you’re learning, you’re taking in new skills, you’re trying out new roles, new identities, you’re pivoting, you’re tweaking.
And if you’re me might not ever be there because you like the process of molding and shaping.
And this, honestly, this place of transformation is my passion, my sweet spot in coaching. This is the work I’ve been doing with creative women for 10 years. And it’s the work that I love to do for myself and with myself that inner work.
It takes courage — The Call to Courage — it takes inner work.
The fourth element is reconciliation.
Reconciliation
This is where the Shero — the protagonist — reconciles with her past and her identity and finds peace and purpose in her journey. And, as a creative entrepreneur, it is so important to reflect on your past experiences both good and bad — and to use them to inform your future decisions.
But the key here is being able to own this new identity and let go of the old and this is the work I really see with my clients. who are trying to uplevel and really do bigger things, but are really still trapped in the old self.
The old identity — the one that your friends know, the one that your family knows, that first job you had or that you know the business and the degree that you got and when we can let go of that identity — that’s when you’re able to move into the next identity.
And this is a reconciliation process.
This is really truly identity work and it is very important. Many people skip this step, only to find themselves back sabotaging in that old identity.
So if you remember nothing from this conversation, remember you can’t get to your next level in your old identity — you just cannot.
That part of you needs to grow and transform and you must reconcile those two pieces. And sometimes it’s more than one pass identity by the way, and I’m not going to get into that but reconciliation is huge.
Empowerment
The next element is empowerment.
This is where the shero starts to have control and agency and sovereignty and that is where my work in the Brave YES Power Squad — which kicked off last week — is the perfect fit.
If you’re going to get started and integrate into this this journey, this new identity, this new direction, this new level in your business, you’re going to have to get to that place of feeling empowered so that you can inspire others and create a ripple effect of positive change.
And the Call to Courage shows up strong here. This is where the Brave YES happens. This is where the action — both the tiny brave steps that you need to take but also those big Brave YES Power Moves — that are going to move the needle take shape.
Integration
And, then finally, the sixth element is integration and I love when we get to this point in our coaching journey.
For my clients, this is typically showing up between nine months and 12 months. This is where if I work with somebody long enough this is really where I start to see not just integrating your whole being, your whole self into your business but also into your relationships and your community. And you’re really starting to be who you want to be and serve in the way that you want. And, you’re finding balance and harmony in your life and work.
And it’s important this part, this integration of self and transformation and who you want to be is so important to show up authentically.
This is when you will start to sell your work in a way that will blow your mind.
This is where you will start to have the support and the relationships that you need to empower you and uplift you This is where consistency sharp starts to show up.
This is where you will start to feel empowered to take up space.
Get on the stage put yourself out there this is where you will truly begin to not quit on yourself anymore
These are the elements of the Shero’s Entrepreneurial Journey, because we are all on it. And I’m wondering where you are?
Where are you on this journey?
Are you in the integration? Because if you are, you’re about ready to go back to the beginning, where you’re going to be in that separation because you’re at a new level. And every time you reach a new level, you’re going to have to experience that separation.
Maybe you’re in that empowerment stage. You just feel so on fire with passion and energy and you’re ready to just do the work and the call to courage is really showing up for you.
Or maybe you’re very you’re so much at the beginning in that space of Okay. Something needs to change and I don’t know what that is. That’s fair. That’s totally fair.
And this is where I would encourage you to do some deep journaling. Talk to people really start to verbalize and articulate what you’re feeling and experiencing.
Have conversations because verbal processing is often the only way we can get to the root of what is happening.
And you can do that through journaling.
You can do that through dictation on your phone.
You can do that through working with a coach or a mentor therapist even but start to articulate it because that is the key to getting that Call to Courage to start the journey.
Taking the first step doesn’t matter where you are on the journey. It doesn’t matter if you feel 100% solid and who you are and what you do. You’re on the journey because there’s always room for growth — and that’s where the growth mindset really comes into play.
There’s always another level of the journey.
So when you feel complete with this journey, it’s all about preparing for the next one.
Because what happens if you don’t start the next journey? What’s the alternative to that?
Staying stuck, stagnant?
Remaining in your comfort zone?
Ultimately, not seeing the growth of the possibility that you want to see.
There’s always going to be another Call to Courage. Another layer of problems and obstacles to encounter and you are the Shero — you are the energy, the catalyst, the heroine.
So I would love to hear from you and for you to identify where you are on this journey?
When I was a child, my grandmother, who we lived with for a few years and whose house I spent nearly every weekend and summer day at, used to make me swear — a lot.
Not that kind of swearing.
If I made a promise, she’d ask: Do you swear on it?
I promise I will eat my vegetables.
Do you swear on it?
If you swore on it, you meant it. She made me raise my pinky and say, “I swear.”
And if you broke that swear, it was really serious business — like you’d go to H— or something, I can’t remember. I just know it was really bad.
(Or, so I thought because I took swears VERY seriously. Looking back, I now realize this was just a really impressive parenting tactic and oddly it worked very, very well and I’m kind of wondering why this didn’t surface for me until this essay.)
First, let me be clear: My grandmother is my everything and she is a TOTAL comedian. Her “making you swear on it’“ was always a joke but I always wanted to keep my promises to her — and still do.
Anyway, as I resurface this memory about my childhood “swears,” I’m not surprised that I have always been passionate about promises and use this as a “purpose practice” in my own life as an entrepreneur and CEO — and with clients.
In my private coaching program, the first essential Brave Yes emPOWERment Tool we work with to help you find your Brave Yes so you can take yourself and your business to the next level is finding, declaring and believing in your PURPOSE.
You design a blueprint for where YOU want to take YOUR business or organization as the CEO and boss.
You set clear Brave Yes Intentions for you and your work.
And, you get super clear on your purpose at this very moment — including your personal desires and your justice and equity mission so you feel truly aligned when growing and building your changemaking vision.
But we can’t make as much progress in any of that until you are feeling good in mind, body and spirit.
This is where I invite you to set your first Brave Yes Intention and promise with me …
Consider your personal needs and desires right now for your self, your health or your wealth (the basic needs you need to thrive).
What is that one thing you need to do in order to thrive and flourish in those areas so you can be the leader you need to be for your business?
How can you make sure you are 100 percent nourished and cared for in those areas right now?
And with that, what promise do you need to keep for yourself right now in one of those areas — or all three?
This promise is not a business strategy, per say.
It is a life strategy that will inform your business strategy and goals.
The truth is that when you are working with purpose toward big + exciting goals, dreams or ideas, the intense mental focus and heavy lifting you are doing can take away from your personal needs and desires.
When you lose sight of your purpose, you can easily lose your way.
And when we lose OUR way, we diminish our ability to thrive and make an impact.
I can’t tell you how many times in the past I lost my way, ended up down some rabbit hole I had no business being in and lost sight of what I should have been putting more time, energy and resources into for my own personal purpose and flourishing. All because I hadn’t set a clear promise to myself.
The thing about a promise is … it’s personal and it’s 100 percent in your control.
And so now you need a swear ritual …
Photo Credit: Chrissy Metz, giphy.com
It’s time to make your promise legit.
Normally, in client sessions, our conversation would be where you get crystal clear on your ideal promise and then you would put a swear on it by telling me your plans and then we’ll check in on how you’re keeping your promise about two weeks later. (Learn about my private, one-to-one coaching program here.)
For now, the promise you’ve made to yourself — and it can be super simple — is just an idea, a thought.
It needs some power behind it.
Since I’m a hopeless romantic, I want to invite you take just one more step with your promise …
Let’s begin by going back in time to the delightfulness of “Anne of Green Gables” and how she encouraged a ritual with her new best friend Diana from next door, a ritual to solidify their friendship forever.
“Will you swear to be my friend forever and ever?” demanded Anne eagerly.
Diana looked shocked.
“Why it’s dreadfully wicked to swear,” she said rebukingly.
“Oh no, not my kind of swearing. There are two kinds, you know.”
“I never heard of but one kind,” said Diana doubtfully.
“There really is another. Oh, it isn’t wicked at all. It just means vowing and promising solemnly.”
“Well, I don’t mind doing that,” agreed Diana, relieved. “How do you do it?”
“We must join hands–so,” said Anne gravely. “It ought to be over running water. We’ll just imagine this path is running water. I’ll repeat the oath first. I solemnly swear to be faithful to my bosom friend, Diana Barry, as long as the sun and moon shall endure. Now you say it and put my name in.”
Diana repeated the “oath” with a laugh fore and aft. (The book itself is rooted in old language that would not be acceptable today.)
So, your next step is to create a ritual to put a swear on your promise. The more official the better, because Anne says so.
You can imagine swearing to yourself over a body of running water, if you want to be super legit about it.
You could also head out to an actual body of water and stand with your hand over your heart and recite your promise to the universe.
You could also simply light a candle or write your promise on a sticky note. : ) (Sticky note oaths for the win!)
And then raise your pinky and repeat, I solemnly swear to ___________. Repeat your promise here as many times as you need to hear it, until it sticks in your body.
It’s silly.
It’s powerful.
It works … If you don’t let yourself off the hook.
Now, how can I support you in mind, body, spirit — and strategy — with your promise?
—> READY TO GET CLEAR AND STEP INTO YOUR PURPOSE? Let’s work together! I have 2 spaces for private, one-to-one coaching opening up for April and 1 space in May.LEARN MORE HERE.
