What’s true?

Well, hello again. It’s been a few weeks since my last newsletter (okay, more than a few), and instead of giving you a polished “I’ve been busy” update, I’m going to tell you the truth: I’ve been in a season of asking myself one question over and over - what’s true?

At my coach’s retreat last week, we did a simple and powerful exercise called What’s True? When I did this one year ago, I decided to retire the coaching group I had run for a few years. I was a little nervous about what I’d connect with this time. 

Follow along and see how powerful this exercise can be for you. 

🌟 What’s true?

I haven’t been clear about what my work looks like. After stepping away from my own coaching groups, I gave myself space & grace to navigate the disruption of packing & selling a house to move fully cross-country. I thought for sure I would hit the ground running this past January, completely ignoring the truth that I hadn’t been laying any foundation for how I want to work with clients and have an impact in the world. 

I mean, I have my Camino experiences and those come from deep within my heart and from within my soul. Even more exciting about the next one is that I’m collaborating with a dear friend and fellow pilgrim. But the next one isn’t until October 2027. Even though we are doing all the work now to enroll people and craft the community around it, it feels far off. (It’s not.)

I’ve had fits & starts: offering one-day Vision Sessions because I simply wanted to be with others in a creative and supportive way. Any halfway-decent business coach would tell me to have a solid offer for those who participated. I didn’t because I couldn’t see that far ahead and all I knew was I desired to play with others. So that’s what I did.

After some time, I connected with how I thought my coaching would look next. I swan-dived into creation mode and soared through crafting new programs. So Much Fun! I got feedback and insights from people I trust as I fine-tuned these offers. I even had calls with people I love working with to invite them into my *new* *amazing* *life-altering* programs. 

You know how I felt once the creation was complete? Meh.

I realized I loved the creation process and didn’t love the idea of facilitating what I created. There is a past version of me that would’ve given my current self a stern talking-to: Suck it up, buttercup! Get out there and make some money!

There’s a louder, current version of me that remembers doing things to make money never feels good - everyone loses.  

🌟 If all that's true, what else is true?

It takes time for me to show up in an honest, authentic way. For a variety of reasons, it’s taking me a verrrrrry long time right now. So I’ve decided to allow that, not struggle against it.

This means honoring the pace and the hallmarks of the seasons:

Spending my time in Winter deep in creation mode - visioning and dreaming up.

It looks like not pushing fully-baked & half-loved programs out into the world, but instead getting even more quiet and still to hear what’s true for me. 

Allowing the season of Spring to guide me into embodiment - a stronger connection of who I am and who I’m becoming so when I do show up for others, I am super-duper me with all of my gifts.

This entire essay spilled out of me after reading Branden Collinsworth’s post on Instagram. The parts that hit me hardest:

However long it takes, mastery built the right way belongs to you completely. In a world full of borrowed results and borrowed credibility, there is something quietly powerful about knowing that what you carry, you earned all the way down to the root. Nobody gave it to you. Nobody can take it away from you. 

…… Go deeper than feels necessary. Push further than feels comfortable. Stay with it longer than the culture tells you to. Trust the season you are in even when it looks nothing like the destination. Every hour you give honestly and fully to your thing is compounding in ways you cannot yet see.  

This reminds me of what my high-school cross country coach told us: Every mile you run is money in the bank that no one can take away from you.

🌟 So, what’s true? 
I can already see the fruits of this wisdom. I have the beginning of a new program that is beautifully aligned with my Camino work. Each time I sit down to create more, I can barely write fast enough. I am so excited to do the doing of it that I remind myself daily to take even more time to create it. 

It feels like me. And it’s asking me to embody my own message before asking others to do the same. This looks like walking and hiking and more walking and more hiking. It looks like taking impeccable care of myself. It looks like following my intuition even (especially!) when it’s asking me to slow down. 

🌟 Anything else true?

All around me, things are lining up in support. Time feels more expansive. People are even more supportive. I receive good news & gifts daily. I feel like good news and a gift daily. 

That’s enough for now. 

🌟 What’s true for you?