The Lone Leader Weekly
26th April 2023
Don’t Be Afraid To Start Over.
What you have now may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
#1. Start As A Sceptic.
But use your awareness to admit when you are wrong.
#2. There Is Only Now.
Your past haunts you, and your future taunts you; what other choice do you have but to be in this moment?
#3. Stop Hoarding Your Past Wins.
Create space to take on the new, the weird and the unknown and watch your energy soar.
So much of what we do is designed to manage our fears and protect our current status. But what if you threw it all away and started over?
FYI – Please don’t make any rash decisions based on my ramblings, but do ask the question of, what if?
I have been embracing the new in abundance recently with moving house. It’s simple stuff, walking the dogs a lot, riding and running to explore the local area, new shops, new faces, new surroundings. Including still not being able to find things in the kitchen!
But with all that change comes baggage, memories, habits, thoughts. Ironic that it came up this week as our third value as a business is ‘ditch the baggage’, and if I am honest, I am doing a shitty job of living it in some areas at the moment.
You see when you make significant changes in one area of your life, you shine a light on others, and thats not all that much fun.
Last week I was doing my usual navel gazing about the business on the back of a win with a new program being launched for business owners.
Having been selected from 65 applicants to be in the final 7 that would deliver in the program I allowed myself a little pat on the back.
Not because of the ‘win’, not because I applied (I usually don’t even bother), but because of the content of the application.
As I was writing it I realised that I was truly the right person for the job.
My intent around the experiences I searched for and gained brought me to the moment that I was able to operate in a completely new space.
And thats when the friction started to rub. As I bobbed back home on the ferry (thats another new thing, public transport), I realised that there was some baggage, things that no longer served me, especially in the business.
I can’t tell you how many times in the past 12 years people have told me how much they love the name Waking Giants, and I tend to agree. But to look inwards as we all know is the hardest thing to do.
Thinking on the day I happened to look at my website; it was a pastiche of my past, my present but nothing of the future.
While only a website it is a window to the world in why I do what I do. And it’s been doing a shit job. When I look at it, there is so much more to tell, but so few words required.
I realised it was a relic of a past business and way of thinking and being that was no longer true. While I am hugely grateful for it and everything it has brought me. It’s time to move on.
My usual practice would be convince myself of all the good stuff and copy it into a new design. Not this time.
I busted out the whiteboard and wrote down what I wanted, who I wanted to serve and how. All things that I am 100% clear on.
Then I realised that I need to start building a window to the world that aligned, that felt authentic, clear and allowed me to grow my opportunities to do what I love.
Liberating, no shit. I realised that this was an anchor to 12 years of baggage that no longer served me productively.
By going through the process of starting over, both in our personal lives and the business, you have to make tough decisions.
Ditch the baggage; relationships, thoughts, habits, ego… anything that no longer serves you.
What it does is free up precious time to move into new spaces, new thoughts, an abundance of creativity and opportunity.
But, we must be open to the universe presenting you the opportunity to move forward.
This week when life it getting full, busy, overwhelming or straight up fucked, grab a pen and pad and ask, what is serving me and what is holding me back.
Do more of one, and none of the other. Then you are ditching the baggage.
Until next week (When the new website will be live). Embrace the fear of the blank page.
G.
What next?
Subscribe to The Lone Leader Newsletter
Each week you will receive 3 powerful leadership and strategy tips that you can action today.