Some days, I wish I wanted to be a business coach.
It’s not entirely a made-up construct of my own
(but rather a fairly well-established idea in the world of coaching)
that people are far more willing to invest in themselves if the expense holds the promise of those subtle but pervasive values we all hold (or that have a hold on us)
You know them:
– productivity, financial gain, success –
I have been told, in fact, that perhaps if I wanted my business to be more lucrative, I should consider offering more services oriented toward entrepreneurs and corporations.
And I could. I have been a high-functioning, card-carrying member of a world that values productivity, financial gain and success: I have the resume, the degrees, the publications, and even a world record to prove it. I could teach women how to be successful, just like me, until I was sitting with my laptop on a beach somewhere working four hours a day.
Let me not be mistaken: I count several business coaches among my dearest friends and mentors, and I deeply believe in their work. I will be the first to say that entrepreneurship has been the biggest gateway to my overall growth as a human being, and I will not discount the currency that financial independence grants women in the world we live in. No, far be it for me to have anything but great respect for this work.
But.
I have been that woman at the dinner table, wringing her hands as she tries to justify the investment in a soul-moving opportunity for personal growth by saying “and I think it will be really good for my business. You know. So maybe it will pay for itself.”
But.
The vast majority of the women who have approached me for coaching over the past three years have done so in the name of career change
but have completed our work with something more like
deeper self-trust
a well-honed intuition
healthier relationships
supportive boundaries.
Technically, you can’t take that shit to the bank.
But I have seen what happens in the lives of the women I’ve supported,
and even though some days I fantasize that it would be easier to hang a new shingle
“Business coaching for heart-centred entrepreneurs”
I want to stand here – and stay here –
in honour of women who believe their soul-work is just as important as their “work-work”
in honour of the women who’ve become more sovereign in their journal entries, not just their business plans
I want to stand here
ready
for women who are curious about what might happen
when they opt out of their previously-held models of success
when they heal themselves from busy
when they feel worthy because of the way they are rather than what they do
when they let their hearts lead the way.
when they feel like they belong in their bodies and can speak to themselves with compassion and can hold all the complexity of who they fully are and can use their voices to say what they mean and show up unapologetically and know what courage tastes like.