I haven’t written for a while because I’ve been holidaying and business-retreating, (making up verbs now!) and allowing change to wash over me.
It’s been amazing and wonderful and vulnerable and scary and life-and-business-changing all at once. Yet the funny thing is I wasn’t seeking change, I wasn’t running away to ‘find myself’, or do my own version of Eat, Pray Love, or ‘make a change’, … but it found me anyway. The truth is, I obviously was seeking something.
I wasn’t unhappy, in love, life, parenting or business.
I wasn’t annoyed.
I wasn’t anxious.
I wasn’t scared.
I wasn’t even really frustrated.
But….
Something hadn’t felt right for a little while.
Something had shifted.
Something was niggling.
Something was hovering. Just out there in my peripheral vision.
And it turns out I needed to shift again. To evolve. To focus.
I’ve had many careers. I’ve lived in many homes/states/countries. I’ve had many hairstyles. I’ve partaken in many fads. And I’ve had many incarnations.
So I’m not afraid of change. In fact I thrive on it. I get rather bored doing the same thing, in the same place with the same outcomes for too long.
And so it is today that I share this with you…an experience that occurred whilst on retreat 10 days ago in Bali.
So, I was THAT girl on the retreat.
I was THAT girl who got stuck for words on how to describe my ‘thing’ (and I’m NEVER that girl without the right words!). I was THAT girl who then melted down because of it – not once, but twice – and who cried like a frustrated broken toddler in front of a brand new group of people. I was THAT girl who realised that what she was doing and had hung her hat on for so long was not what she wanted to do anymore.
I’ve supported THAT girl before, when I’ve run my own retreats. I’ve witnessed THAT girl before, when I’ve participated in other retreats. But I’ve never BEEN THAT GIRL.
And it was scary. And embarrassing. And awkward. And vulnerable.
And then it was wonderful. And amazing. And transformative.
I know now it was the cliched ‘breakdown before the breakthrough’ that had to happen.
I’ve shifted my sights, and am now clear on what’s next, but I’m doing it without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Because why would I throw away all that experience and expertise? I don’t need to be Shirley Valentine. Instead, I’m calling it ‘refinement’. Calling it focus on my zone of genius. Calling it evolution.
It felt a bit teenage drama and altogether unnecessary in the moment, but on reflection I was probably heading for that point for a few months. It’s pretty scary and messy at the time, but it’s a freaking cool thing to have happen when your head and heart open up to the clearest light you’ve seen in a while.
So what’s actually changed?
I’ve decided to come up out of the minutiae of content marketing and copywriting and do more of what I love best.
I want to do more of the stuff that lights me up, that keeps me in flow, that allows me to just be me all day.
And I realised that that stuff was NOT talking about the tin tacks of landing pages and email marketing and Facebook posts and Instagram strategies. That stuff is my zone of excellence – I can do it really well – but it’s not my zone of genius.
What really spins my wheels is helping people transition to become standout leaders in their niche… Influential thought-leaders who create real impact in their community… Authoritative leaders with a solid body of work behind them (read: a book or program or blog) that they can reference and leverage. People who lead by example, not by theory. People who have done the work, experienced the moments, made the choices, stood their ground. People who lead by aspiration and inspiration not by domination. People who want to leave a mark on the world and leave a positive powerful legacy.
However, becoming that person takes guts. It takes effort. Requires change. A change of mindset, a change of learning, sometimes even a change of physicality. It takes outside help, a different perspective to open your eyes to what you already know and to show you how you can use that moving forward in a different way. The result of the effort is so worth it. Because then things become effortless. They become learned. They become part of your DNA.
Change can often feel ‘hard’, or lumpy or terrifying.
Making the transition with ease and grace is what I want for you.
And I can help you make that happen.
The way I want to do it is by…
…being on stages, facilitation, leading groups of people to change together. Events, masterminds, retreats (Bali next year anyone?!). I love the feedback and energy of live ‘theatre’. I love the demonstrative nature of transforming a big blank canvas into someone’s business or life by design, right in front of them. I love the clarity can be realised when working together amongst a collective. I love watching as the lights go on behind an audience’s eyes as the penny drops. I love the energy I can bring to that space.
I figured out that I can see really clearly how people can take what they already know and apply it to a new situation. Maybe they’re transitioning from one business to another. Maybe they’re making the leap from corporate career to small business owner. Maybe they were once a carefree laptop lifestyler who now finds themselves a working parent. I can visualise how frameworks and processes can be adapted to new industries. I can see what changes of thinking are required to make shifts happen more easily. I can see how to package knowledge into books or programs or services. All of that comes easily to me, and I know it’s valuable to those for whom it doesn’t.
So this note is nothing more than to say hi and let you know the transition I’m going through, so you know what to expect from me moving forward. I’m still a word-nerd who will forever champion your writing and content creation. But I’m excited to elevate and offer you so much more than ‘how to write a blog’. All of us are growing and expanding – some slowly and almost without knowing, some much more fiercely and abruptly. I want to help you step into that new space gracefully and ensure you become the extraordinary thought-leader you were born to be. I hope you come along for the ride.
Big loves.
Happy story-sharing.