Hey, you’re extraordinary!

I just came back to my desk after a beautiful weekend away at a Spiritual Retreat in Jamberoo.

It was a serene place to spend 3 days.

The theme for the weekend was Contemplation and Action and how you never have to act alone, you can always reach out and ask for companionship on the journey.

I rediscovered simplicity and connection in the weekend.

But I will admit even though I was largely unplugged from technology, I also viewed my experiences with my business owners lens as well.

Why?

Because the messages that were being shared in the discussions circles I was participating in were as resonant for me as a business owner and entrepreneur as they were for me as a woman. And that’s because I believe a wholehearted business brings, by definition, the whole of you, forward. There is no “oh, and now I’m a business owner, Oh and now I’m a Mother and now I’m a wife and now a soccer player and now a sober person and now a and a and a……”

I believe you’re a constantly evolving blend.

And I know that you need space to discover and lean into this.

We all need space.

We need to unplug from outside influences and noise and busyness so that we can tune into our own voice, hear what our hearts have to say.

We do need contemplation before we take action.

We also need to let go of any ideas about the way things should be or must be – those are words that reek of judgment and comparison and rules that simply don’t need to be applied to you.

Because….

Just for a moment, entertain the thought that you are extraordinary. Your ideas are extraordinary. Your energy is extraordinary. The difference you will make in the lives of the people you connect with, work with and serve is extraordinary.

Imagine that is simply…… true.

Extraordinary.

You, right now, as you are.

That what is calling you, asking for your attention, quietly but insistently (what I like to think of as a slice of your purpose) is exactly what you need to do. What is right for you, right now.

What do you need to let go of to allow that space for you to emerge?

How about you consider listening to that inner voice? How about allowing your vision to unfurl and expand…. Contemplating the possibilities that bubble up, choosing the ones that most excite you and then taking wholehearted inspired action.

Because your ideas and you, are extraordinary.

Don’t immediately dismiss this notion as whimsical and ridiculous.

If you’re like many women, you’re likely to have been listening to your Inner Critic for years now, downplaying your desires and telling yourself to curtail those dreams. To get real.

But what if you changed the record?

What if you 100% fully and truly backed yourself?

Extraordinary things just might happen.

Things that delight you and fulfil you and bring you joy and make such a tangible difference to others as well .

Now, wouldn’t that be extraordinary?

So what gets in the way?

Is your inbox overflowing with newsletters from people who you are following because you want to see what they are doing, and how they are doing it and when and where and why?

Are you telling yourself that someone out there has the answers, the perfect program or approach that will inspire you to create your own? That if you can just find the business model, the promotional sequence, the branding and messaging that is working perfectly for someone else that you can follow, everything will fall into place for you?

I’ve tried that. And it doesn’t work.

It will either land you in the middle of “compare and despair” or will have you chasing your own tail, changing and changing and tweaking and tweaking, getting confused and overwhelmed, stuck deeply in procrastination and perfectionism, looking for “THE way, THE answer, THE solution”.

When you are crowded out by ideas and options, your own inner voice and guidance gets lost.

When you don’t have the space to pause and listen to what you truly want to create, the services you truly want to provide, the people you feel called to serve, you can become paralysed. And filled with doubt.

If you’ve been in this cycle a while, you may think you don’t actually HAVE a voice inside.

Believe me, you do. You really do.

It’s just a quiet voice. It seldom shouts. It’s a little below the surface. But it is there.

Perhaps what you need to do today is to unhook. Unsubscribe. Turn down the volume. Hit pause on the interruptions.

Even if you cannot gift yourself a weekend out of your “regular” life as I was fortunate enough to do, perhaps you can gift yourself an afternoon? Even an hour or two can be the start of something good….

Just allow yourself small piece of space and grace to listen to your heart.

When what you REALLY want to do begins to bubble to the surface, let it come out. Don’t push it back down with “that’s too hard, that’s ridiculous, that’s been done before, how on earth will I make money with that…” or any of those other thoughts.

Sit with it.

Open your mind to Skylight Thinking (that’s when you just focus on creating the pathway of possibility and allow your very clever brain to begin to find ways to make it work rather than getting immediately bogged down in the myriad of obstacles and stumbling blocks).

Get curious and connected.

Doors will open for you.

And so my weekend away opened another new door for me. It allowed the idea that I know has been sitting in the background for some time to step forward and be heard and seen.

And I liked what it had to say.

And yes, of course when your idea, your current calling does emerge you will need to step up and get strategic, absolutely. Passion and desire provide the fuel, but you do still need the engine.

But the strategy part, that’s much easier to develop and apply when you know that what you are putting your time, attention and effort into aligns with your heart and your values.

That’s when extraordinary things start to happen.

So, my extraordinarily wholehearted friend, what might you discover when you allow yourself the gift of space and the permission to listen to what’s calling you?

Angela Raspass Business Coach & Self Worth Educator

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Angela Raspass

Angela Raspass is Business Strategist and Self-leadership Coach for female business owners.