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When I get stuck, I mean really stuck, it is always because I am asking the wrong question with the wrong body part. I get caught up in the HOW and asking my brain (via my ego) what I am supposed to do next. It never turns out well.
What I recognize about myself in these situations is this… The more complex my solution, the more in denial I am about the results I truly want. My desires are not hard to reach. My purpose is not an impossible ask. My dreams are not dependent upon a wild scheme that involves anyone but me.
One of the greatest responsibilities we have as entrepreneurs with a message is to create a safe place for people to confront their own privileges, to face their own limitations, to go head-to-head with their own demons, and to offer them the room to challenge their own assumptions so they can begin to question what they believe is their own truth.
We are not defined by our worst moments. We are not defined by what has happened to us. We are not defined by our reactions. We are not defined by our silence. And we don't owe anyone our stories.
We talk a lot about what being a badass Goddess looks like. It always has something to do with yoga poses, flowers in the hair, beautiful beach sunsets, and chocolate. Add in oracle cards, essential oils, and candles, and call it a retreat and women will pay thousands of dollars to have that experience. And I guess that is part of it. But what I see as being a Goddess is the part where we fiercely take a stand for women and children all around this world.
You have something to say and an audience that needs to hear it. And it is vital that you get your message out into the world in many ways and on multiple formats. It is your responsibility to make sure it lands with those who will use that message to activate and/or inspire their own life's purpose. But it is also your responsibility to do no harm to those who will read your message and interpret it in a way that could permanently damage how they see themselves.
By hiding, I was keeping myself small and unassuming - and that there was safety and comfort in that. If no one saw me, they couldn't expect anything from me. I could get by like I always had. No light meant no spotlight and no one to disappoint.
What other spaces am I avoiding because I don't look like everyone else? What places do I pass over because I don't want to be judged or rejected? What events do I skip because I don't want to be the "other" one in the crowd?
We are our message. We are our own story. We give voice and life and meaning and passion and purpose to the words gifted to us by the Divine. When we bypass the ego - the part of us that says we can’t say that or who am I to claim such a thing - when we ignore that chatter in our head and allow the message to flow from our mouths and through our fingers, that is when we create real impact in the world.
Most of us set goals and then map out how to reach those objective. We go through our day with one focus - meeting our target. Everything in between is just a task or to-do item; something to check off a list so we feel like we are one step closer to the ultimate prize.
We don’t have time to worry about if our hair looks good before clicking LIVE to share our message.
We don’t have the luxury of waiting until we have all the pieces in place before offering a solution. We don’t have the heart to put our fears in front of the needs of others. Because we are the ones who are focused on making money and making a difference.
What you have to say is what the world needs to hear - right now. Things will never get better if the ugly truth stays in the shadows. No amount of spiritual bypassing will ever make our shameful past go away. You can't "love and light" this shit out of existence nor can you LOA it out of the DNA of our sister of color.
My favorite childhood memory is playing around-the-neighborhood hide-and-seek. Most of the kids - maybe 10 of us - would break into teams and hide in fields, up in trees. underneath bushes. And, as you can guess, I was a master hider. Inside the safety of tall pine trees were my favorite places to spend time - day or night.
But now is the time to stop hiding, and go seek what makes me whole, what challenges my beliefs, what demands my attention so that I may change the world, and myself.
Hate is part of our history, but it doesn't have to be part of our heritage. We can choose to pass down hate and division or we can stand for love and inclusion. We define our heritage; our heritage does not define us.
Your business is an extension of you. Your message is your truth. Your programs and services are your gifts to the world. If you want to say something, but don't want to be judged, then know this: you are being judged for not saying something.
Truth is, we were born knowing our purpose. We were designed to do this work. It is our destiny, our incarnate responsibility to honor. Then, life gets in the way. Society and media get in the way. Ego and fear get in the way. We buy into the belief that we have to "search" for our true identity, our life's purpose. We seek outside help to uncover what has been inside us all along.
We make living our purpose difficult. We make speaking our truth painful. We make following our deepest desires fearful.
Somewhere along the way, we were told running a business was supposed to be easy. That hustling was bad. Flow was good. And all you have to do is ask for what you want and the Universe will bring it to you.And we bought it. Hook, line, and sinker.
Change happens in millions of micro-decisions, in hundreds of small steps, in seconds of action (or inaction). Every minute of every day I get to choose how I want my future to look, how I want to feel, how I want to live my life.
Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone deserves to be heard. It's what I live my life by. What I've built my business on. How I approach each person and every situation.
What is the story that needs to be shared at this time? What story will have the most impact? What story will spark the most conversation or create the most change?
What if what I need to say needs to be heard, right now?
What if what I need to teach needs to be learned, right now?
What if what I need to disrupt needs to be shifted , right now?
Can I wait for this stranger within to get tired of hiding? Can I wait for her to find her courage, to overcome her fear?
