Day #1 – Hidden Treasures

Today is Day #1. Philosophically, everyday we awaken is Day #1 – a chance to renew hope and back it with action – everyday offers us the gift of a new start. But today is a special Day #1 for me. Today I let my hidden treasure fully out of the box – today I fully commit to helping you find yours.

I resigned from my full-time position as VP of Marketing of Fimbel ADS to devote all of my energy to fulfilling my life’s purpose: empowering others to shine their best light, for this is the only way I know to change the world. I have been practicing my craft for the last two years while balancing my ‘day job’, and the balance has shifted in favor of Joy, Inc. – in favor of you! I knowingly watched my light fade in a hampster wheel attempt to serve others, and while the days were sometime hard and overwhelming, the growth and the opportunity to learn were tremendous.

We so easily get buried in the doing of the day to day that we forget what we are doing it for. We lose perspective and purpose. We lose our desire for the hidden treasure. And when we lose this, the world loses with us. 

In her book, Big Magic, Liz Gilbert (@Elizabeth_Gilbert_Writer) shares her insights into the topic of exploring what’s inside us all. At one point in the book she says, “I happen to believe we are all walking depositories of buried treasure.” This quote hits home her thesis quite nicely: Fulfilling the life you’ve dreamed of requires the magic inside of you to be released.

I will add to that: Doing so is the way we bring enough light to outlast the darkness of today’s world.

It is ambitious, but it isn’t impossible. In Michael Franti’s song, Gloria, he sings to us, “When many little people in many little places do many little things then the whole world changes.” This doesn’t happen playing it small inside the rules of others, it only happens when our big light shines.

This is the ripple effect at play, and I can only imagine the work that can be done if more people felt wholeheartedly themselves. Consider the conflicts and monotony that would be reduced – consider filling the world with your light.

In this coaching practice, the goal is to bring your hidden treasure to the surface – it is to find joy and to give joy. You and I will build a relationship based on trust, accountability, and collaboration, and then we will build a rolling plan. We do this by identifying values and desires – we start where you are. This will include an exploration of what you are tolerating and what you are willing and able to do to step beyond the obstacle. Together we will put behaviors behind the hope, and together we will evaluate, celebrate, and navigate your next best step.

Here are the hard facts, however…

1. There is no magic pill or process to finding your authentic self as it is yours uniquely. No one ever before on this great planet has ever walked your journey. No one could ever tell you how it should be done. 
2. I do not have the answers for you. I certainly can offer my advice! But that wouldn’t be authentic to you, and that would get you nowhere. What I do instead is offer you questions, accountability, and support that will require your truth to lead the way.
3. Growth takes time. Ask an oak tree. Growth takes time. It also takes commitment and nourishment. But more importantly – it takes initiative. I spent 39 of my precious years thinking I had to be perfect and sacrificial only to find I was withering away. Through this practice, I continue to regrow the mindset and the behaviors and the joy that serves me and others. But growth takes time.
4. You are going to have to feel your feelings. This is a hard fact for many as we spend much of our life trying to ignore our feelings – move through them. But, my friend, your feelings are signals, and we need to listen. We do not need to act on all of them, but we have to be aware they exist. Then…hang on to your hats…you will need to dig up some vulnerability and address those that are holding you back. But do not fret…I will be with you the entire way. 
5. This one may be the most uncomfortable one for you as it deviates from the narrative we tend to hold, but it is the single most important thing I can share with you: YOU ARE WORTH IT. You are so worthy of loving yourself. You are so worthy of finding your joy. You are so worthy.
6. It is on you to take the first step. Go back to #1. No one on this planet can tell you when it is time for YOU to shine, for that blessing and burden fall on your shoulders. Reaching out to ask for help might seem unheard of, so consider it like this: If it isn’t initially for your sake, who in your life might benefit from a happier, healthier, more confident and creative version of yourself? Do it for them, but don’t be surprised when it becomes about you!

If you are feeling the pull to explore what’s hidden inside of you and ahead of you, let’s talk. I gladly offer a complimentary consultation to share more about the work we will do, how I got here, and where you would like to see this collaboration take you.

Today I took the next step toward my most authentic self (thanks in great part to wonderful coaches I had along the way), and I would love to take you along my journey by formally inviting you to Joy, Inc on Day #1. 

I am only a message away, and your hidden treasure is not out of reach!

Much Love,

~M