Oh yes, the past can hurt.
But, you can either run from it or, learn from it.
– The Lion King
Your past is a powerful thing.
It has shaped you into the person that you are today. Every single experience you have had has contributed to the character that you have developed and what is in your life today.
On a good day it is easy to look back with fondness and appreciation as you consider…
Relationships. Children. Travel. Jobs and careers. Promotions. Awards and achievements Celebrations and milestones. Money in the bank. Health and happiness.
So many great memories.
But what of your shadow side? The things and experiences that you may perceive as missed opportunities. The dead ends and cul-de-sacs. Bad decisions. Wrong choices. . Regrets. Mistakes, Disappointments. The times where you did not meet your expectations of the expectations of others,
Are there slices of life you would prefer to forget?
Challenges and battles hard fought. Addictions overcome. Relationships severed. Luck leaving. The things that you feel shame around. Those memories that you tend to hide from and that still have the ability to take your breath away or deliver that sucker punch to your belly.
What about them?
I believe so much of your gold is in your dirt.
It’s just not possible to get to this stage of life with a “clean slate”. There is not a woman on this planet who doesn’t have something in her closet that she would prefer not to bring out into the light of day.
But here’s the thing.
It’s often precisely what’s in your closet that you can build the foundation of Your Second Act business upon!
The wonderful Brene Brown said “vulnerability sounds like weakness but looks like courage”.
And that is oh so true!
Some of my own biggest aha moments, the times when I have felt like I had been holding my breath and can finally let it out have been when I’ve heard another woman sharing her story and thought “oh my God, me too. And I thought I was alone”.
There is so much power in honesty and openness. So much resonance and connection. And so much great opportunity to attract the sort of people we would most want to work with, whom we can most help when we make a stand, share our stories, wrap our business around our values and experiences and the swamps we may have waded through to reach this point in our lives.
I can’t put words in your mouth, but I know for me, I don’t want to learn from a Guru preaching from a mountaintop. I want to my teachers to jump down into the hole I may have found myself in and take my hand, squeeze it and say, “it’s ok, I’ve been here too and I can show you the way back up”…
I believe we want to know that the person who is offering us help really knows how we feel, that they have been in our situation, that they have a true understanding of what we are challenged by and aspire to achieve.
We want to know that they have indeed, walked a mile in our shoes.
- The Career Coach who found her own passion in life after escaping mediocre jobs that just did not light her up.
- The Teacher who has a child with learning difficulties and really knows how to connect with you and your child and find new ways to help him or her learn.
- The artist who initially doubted her own creative ability and is now joyfully showing others how to break through their blocks and create for the sheer joy of it.
- The Business Mentor who has mastered her own mindset monsters and now helps other new entrepreneurs face their fears
- The Retreat Leader who has faced her own addiction challenges and found a way through to a new way of living and now inspires and supports other women to do the same
- The spiritual healer who hid her gifts for so long in a marriage where they were undervalued, in fact, downright ridiculed, who has now reclaimed her power, ended that relationship and started afresh and now helps other women to do the same
This is the power of a Next Chapter
It’s a time when you can harvest your past with clarity and find your unique blend of strengths and skills, insights and talents, passions and desires and combine them into a potent and powerful offering that is just what people, your people, need.
Because I absolutely guarantee you, there are people right now, looking for exactly what only you can offer.
If that’s hard for you to accept then the filter through which you view your past is likely to need replacing. You could be stuck with a fogged up glasses that just don’t allow you to see the actual picture very clearly..
That lens you gaze through might be robbing you of your true worth and the value of what you have experienced and thus, what you can teach and share with others,
There might be some misbeliefs that are getting in the way, some old stories cluttering up your mindset, obscuring the truth, holding you back from becoming the person you have always meant to become.
That yearning you feel? That desire for fulfilment, to make a difference, to have an impact, that’s the truth right there, calling you.
Are you ready to listen? And then to respond?
Business strategy, client attraction, tools and tactics, they can all wait for now – I have plenty to share with you so you can master those skills later. What you need to begin with is an opened hearted look at your past so you can harvest what you want to bring with you into Your Second Act and let go of what you no longer need, the limiting beliefs that just don’t serve you anymore.
You just need to pop on a new pair of glasses.
Because we need you!
So, how can you take this step?
Making peace with your past is a core concept – the first module, in my Self-Study Program that I encourage all women on the edge of a Next Chapter to complete. It’s called Your Journey Board and it’s an illuminating experience that helps you understand who you are, how you arrived here and where you’re headed next.
It is my privilege and pleasure to help you make peace with your past, connect with your present and joyfully create and embrace your future – Your Next Chapter.
