Earlier today I wrote a post on LinkedIn titled, Your Pact which was very much influenced by Seth Godin’s post The Pact he shared today.
But as I thought more about it over the course of the day, I realized that what I wrote barely touches the surface. Heck, I’m writing a book about it so I wanted to share some time with you to dive in a bit deeper.
Yet, before I share all of that it’s only fair for you to know where I’m coming from today. Because like many things I write, it comes from inspiration and to fully embrace the message, context is always helpful.
This morning, after my morning routine, I opened up my inbox to read Seth Godin’s post of the day. Actually, this is part of my morning routine because his words are always “food for thought” for the day. And today was no exception.
As I shared at the beginning of this article, I wrote a short article about the post, thoughts and ideas it raised for me. And then I went on about my day…But as the day went on, it stayed in the back of my mind.
Then later in the afternoon, I had the fortune of interviewing Jessica Williams, founder of The Super Woman Project for my current book project, Unleashing Your Inner Warrior: Your Road to Unbecoming. Jessica’s story is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and so inspirational. And while I took so many pages of notes while listening to her, one of her (many) quotes stuck out at me:
“Fully stepping into who I am.”
So, of course, we continued our conversation with that as theme - what does that mean? What does that look like? What does that feel like?
And then after the interview I had a lot of thoughts and emotions inside so I decided to take some time to meditate. Although I meditate every day, I had not felt like I needed it this badly for a while. It was one of those times when my thoughts were running a mile a minute and my emotions couldn’t keep up with them, much less my brain or hand (as I was trying to write…). So, I meditated.
And what surfaced was two questions:
- Who do you serve? [per Seth Godin]
- What are you committed to? [per Erika Lyremark]
These 2 questions had been bouncing in my head all…day…long…
They are so simple, yet so complex.
You may know the answer…You may not…But either way it can be damned scary and even frightening!
And Jessica’s phrase “Fully stepping into who I am” embraces both of my answers to these questions.
Who do you serve?
This is a question many people may ask employees to face customers on a daily basis. Or the boss may ask her managers the same question. But those just scratch the surface.
The deeper approach is to ask, deep down, who is it that you want to help? Who do you want to contribute to? Some people say there are no right or wrong answers, but I say the answer is not “your customer” or “your boss.”
If you see all customers the same and all bosses the same, then you are missing big pieces of the puzzle. People are individuals and yes, our brains like to “bucket” people to make it easier, i.e., take less energy to process and think - but as humans we have the capacity to override some of our wiring.
Who do you serve? gives you an opportunity to think about your ‘ideal’ customer, your ‘ideal’ boss - people you want to attract and work and partner with.
If you bucket all customers and all bosses together than you are not only doing them a disservice but may more importantly, you are short changing YOU.
What are you committed to?
Now this is the really hard one…
Just a head’s up, as you start answering this question, it can be a bit like peeling an onion - each layer is harder than the one before OR as I prefer to describe, like Russian Nesting Dolls where within each doll is a smaller, more compact version of the previous one. Either way, you will peel back the layers and uncover who is really inside each time to give yourself space to explore what you are committed to.
I hesitate to give examples for this one because we tend to compare ourselves to others, then judge and think either you should be more like others or you (subconsciously) change your answers to what you think others want to hear.
So, with this question, ask yourself “What am I committed to?” Write down the answer. Then ask “What am I committed to? Write down the answer…and do this for a total of 5 times. When you step back from this exercise, you will see some clarity and focus arising. Write down what you see. Notice what you wrote down first and then last - and think about the road between the two.
Me? Who do I serve? What am I committed to?
I am committed to helping women unleash their Inner Warriors, to be their truest, best selves so they can Communicate To Be Heard. A universal message yet individual experience.
With a Smile,
Amy