I feel like I need to apologize to all of my former business clients. They were hiring a consultant and what they got was something a bit…different…something that required them to be a bit more courageous than perhaps they were bargaining for.I learned this over the years as my clients started calling me their “business therapist.” See, I’ve always gone straight towards the darkness, to the unsaid, and into the vulnerable parts no one ever wants to show (especially to their business consultant).
My work with them always got them the agreed-upon deliverables, but I have to think it might have been a bit confusing for their business consultant to constantly be asking, “And how did that make you feel?” or “Have you had a transparent conversation about this?” or “What are you pretending not to know here?”
Now that I’ve shrugged off the consultant cape, I’m being fully transparent with clients about my need to go straight to the darkness, into the unsaid, and to dive into the vulnerable parts. I cannot seem to stop myself. Those unexamined places matter!
The good news is the courageous people are really responding to my shift in focus from consultant to Wayfinder!
And when I say people, I really mean women (though there are one or two guys who continue to show up and I admire them deeply for it). Big courage.
I’ve got a little collection of statements and phrases that my potential clients use when we explore the idea of Wayfinding together.
These glorious women (and the couple dudes) talk about what they want. What they dream about. They swan dive (sometimes reluctantly) into the “What ifs…?”
I’m sharing these statements because I want to know if you see yourself in any of them?
There’s so much possibility here to move beyond the stuckness and the fear. To move beyond the “living small” or staying in the acceptable range.
All it starts with is admitting out loud that which makes your knees knock together a bit.
- What is it that moves my life? It’s really time for me to get back in touch with that.
- I want to explore what’s fully possible, but I am afraid to really believe I can have it.
- I want to follow my heart and I want to be supported in my efforts to dream big.
- I’m constantly negotiating what’s doable, what’s “enough” or what’s acceptable rather than what’s possible.
- My brain says, “Self, you just need to make money. You don’t need, at this point in your life, to dwell on some pie-in-the-sky ambition to the live the life of your dreams.
- I’m aware I make myself “smaller” to fit into more acceptable roles.
- I’m pretending not to know that I’m not, in fact, too old for this big hairy challenge I keep dreaming about.
- What scares me just the tiniest bit is I know on the inside I must change course.
Whew! See why I titled this blog “Calling the courageous?” It takes BIG guts to admit out loud what’s been admitted here and I honor each and every statement.
I honor the courageous who are willing to step into inquiry. I honor the brave who are willing to dance with the fear. I love the women who dive in, no matter how shockingly cold the water might feel.
I especially honor the ones who take the first step, because that’s all it takes to move from “stuck” to “I can do this.”
P.S. May I ask you to share this post with one or two women? Women who hint around about change or dream out loud about something they really, really want. Women who are courageous and brave and know how to take action…but might be feeling a bit less courageous when they think about this big dream because it isn’t clear…or because it is crystal clear?
I’d love for you to share this email with them. Simply copy the link above, paste it into an email, and send it their way with a short note about why this matters to you.
THANK YOU!