We humans are generally guided by two emotions: love and fear.
I love that! I love checking my emotions to see which one is playing out at any given time.
Spiritual teacher and author Gary Zukav put it perfectly when he said, “You cannot act in love and act in fear at the same time. You must choose between them.” So true!
Be brave and take a risk
A couple of years ago, I pitched to a corporate services organisation to run some leadership development for them. This organisation was based in the middle of Collins Street in Melbourne and was “doing things differently”. It was disrupting its industry and seemed like a perfect fit for a misfit like me!
I prepped for days, put all types of pressure on myself and, ultimately, owned pitching the role. I even turned up in a judo suit 🥋! I was all in, black belt and all. I pitched my plan and walked out of the meeting with my head held high.
I didn’t win the work.
Was I disappointed? Yes, of course I was. Could I have done things differently? You bet. But at the end of the day, what this experience taught me of was this: these things can be scary, you can worry about what people think, you can stop yourself for fear of making an idiot of yourself, or you can choose to step up, step in and do something different. Take the risk and if it doesn’t pan out, no regrets.
Let love take the lead
About a week later, this organisation was in the news. One of my mentors sent me a message to say, “They weren’t your people.” He also gave me some wise words along the lines of, “Emma, you found out that people lie. They told you they were thinking differently, and when you pitched differently, what happened? You didn’t get the work, so even clients sometimes lie.” It was a revealing moment for me.
Those who know me well know that fear does not hold me back. I made a choice a long time ago to not allow myself to operate out of fear. It’s a constant learning journey for me, and I hope after reading this, you will also make some choices that suit you and serve you, instead of sabotage you.
Do you allow fear to hold you back? Why? Perhaps it’s time to be brave, be bold, put yourself out there and throw caution to the wind. Let love take the lead. You never know what opportunities it could bring.
I’m Emma, and I’m a business and executive coach who believes wholeheartedly in the potential of women. My coaching philosophy is simple- taking action leads to results- and I love working with women in business and in corporate roles to take their passion and drive and transform their professional and personal lives.
Be enthusiastic, optimistic and energetic, every day.
Em x