I’ve been going through an interesting journey the past couple of years and I’m curious if you can relate…
It starts with a hint of dissatisfaction.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way”
“Why aren’t I happy?”
“If this isn’t ‘IT’ then what is?”
That quiet voice in the night – saying things that you would rather not hear.
After all, you’ve been working your butt off to get this far. You’ve achieved what you set out to achieve. And it’s working.
You’ve created a business doing what you are good at.
You are making a comfortable amount of money.
You do great work and your clients love you.
Put simply, you are where you wanted to be and you still don’t feel like you’ve arrived.
After all this work, you still aren’t satisfied. It doesn’t feel like enough.
Another little voice kicks in now:
“How come you can’t be happy? This is what you wanted isn’t it?”
The voice of guilt. The voice of “you should be happy, so suck it up princess!”
So, you bury those thoughts beneath the busyness and keep doing what you’ve been doing – pretending that everything is fine. Pretending that you are happy.
But the truth is – you aren’t.
You want more. You crave something different.
But you are responsible for what you have already created!
You have clients. A team. An income. People who rely on you. Expectations to fulfill.
You can’t just throw that out the window and start again – nor do you want to.
Guilt kicks in again…
“How dare you think about something else? Isn’t this good enough for you?”
“It’s irresponsible to consider making changes when you’ve come this far!”
“Why can’t you just be happy with what you have?”
Yes, you created the business you wanted.
BUT the truth is, it isn’t working for you anymore…
And you aren’t sure why.
So, you set out to fix it – because that’s what you are good at. Fixing. Solving. Making stuff happen.
You find another formula, implement another proven strategy but it falls flat.
You talk to your colleagues and find out what they are doing, but it just doesn’t feel right for you.
You hire people. You fire people. You launch new programs. You re-launch old programs. You do it again. They do OK or they don’t so you try something else.
You work harder. Push further. Keeping doing what you’ve always done.
But nothing changes. It doesn’t get any better and may in fact be getting worse.
You are frustrated. Dissatisfied. You feel secretly trapped in the business and success you set out to create, and don’t feel like you can change it.
The truth is, you’ve been trying to fix a spiritual problem with a business solution.
And it doesn’t work – you can’t ‘do’ your way out of this one.
This is the dark night of the business soul.
The place where you have everything you thought you wanted, and it’s not enough. It’s not ‘IT’.
You still aren’t happy and you have NO idea how to fix it.
You feel like you are being called to something more, but you’ve worked so hard to get here and can’t conceive of making a change!
What used to work – pushing, fixing, doing – is no longer working.
It is disconcerting to say the least! And if you are anything like me, you may be doing everything you can to fight it and outright avoid it.
But the truth is, it’s a rite of passage.
This is a natural evolution of your calling.
You have simply reached a stage of growth in your business that is inviting you to go further.
“The moment you say ‘I have got it,’ you have lost everything you had. As soon as something comes, you have to go one step further. Then there is evolution. The moment you say ‘I am satisfied with that’, that means stagnation has come. That is the end of your learning; you have closed the windows of your intellect. So let me do what I cannot do, not what I can do.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
This is the journey of your deeper truth and calling expressing itself through business.
Business is one of the most powerful change agents in the world. And you have proven yourself to be ready.
You have already created a business. You have made money. You have served clients.
You have built a foundation of success that is necessary before you can be ready for what is next.
These thoughts that have been haunting you are a sign… your soul is calling to you and letting you know that yes, there is more. There is another way. And it’s time.
This is where truth matters more than ‘traditional’ success.
This is not just about the money. It’s not just about making a living.
It’s that you’re moving from wanting more success to wanting more truth and fulfillment in your success.
And there is nothing wrong with wanting more.
This is truth expressing itself through business. Through you and the work you are meant to do in the world.
A place where the old rules of success – the ones that got you to where you are now – no longer apply.
I am putting together a group of women who are going through this to help them birth what is next. If this speaks to you and you are ready to get support with a group of like-minded women then let’s talk.
Simply click this link to share a little bit about yourself and we’ll be in touch to set up a 1:1 private conversation.
In a few days I’m going to tell you about my own personal dark night of the business soul journey… it’s a path I’ve been on for the past couple of years (and one I tried to avoid!)
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