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.
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The Shero’s Entrepreneurial 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.