Andrea wakes up to do yoga every day, quickly showers and takes the metro to the investment firm. By the time she sits at her desk, her heart sinks; she knows she is meant to do something else; something that has meaning, something that makes the world a better place.
This job pays for her apartment and, frankly, for her expensive yoga classes and retreats. She's conflicted, yet knows there's got to be more; there must be a way to funnel her beautiful heart, create a living she adores, and make a difference in the world.
Andrea is not alone, and she is part of a movement that knows that who we are & what we do, can align.
Personal and business are one. Long gone are the days when we separate the two, and here are the times when we own that who we are deserves to be lined up with what we do, in life, in our communities and in our work.
I remember ten years ago when I started blending the soul and business components, for myself and those who dared to be coached within this counter-culture blend. At the time, what I did was not seen as chic but overtly esoteric and bizarre.
Not anymore. Today, the wave of young spiritual coaches, mentors, and healers marks the validation that more and more people understand that in order to create true sustainable living, we must own who we are, express it, monetize it, and be of an authentic contribution to the planet.
Ten years in the Biotech industry, while pursuing a Masters in Spiritual Peacemaking, felt to so many as a disconnect in my life. At the time, I felt that I was leading two separate lives: there was the Business Woman Asha who closed million dollar agreements, and then there was the Spiritual Midwife Asha who mentored women into connecting to their soul and their sense of sacred balance. Two separate lives. Not completely owning the blend and marriage of how the two would one day fit together, perfectly.
Soul + business do go perfectly together.
We see that today more and more. What we love the most, especially as women, is when we can be who we really are and still get work done. The sense of blending the human part with business seems like a utopia, yet more and more as we claim that we can have our cake & eat it too, we can actualize the marriage of the esoteric & the practical.
But how? How do we begin to own and blend the two parts of ourselves which we have grown up to believe are separate?
1.Unapologetically discovering who we are
2.Creating a systematic approach to uncovering our purpose
3.Seeking community in actualizing coming out and taking full responsibility to create what we desire for ourselves and the planet.
The era of the bottom line being the priority in business is quickly fading. We see it with kick-starters and we see it in social entrepreneurship with companies that are focused on profitability with a cause. As human beings, the hold of a Wall Street driven push can only last for so long. We have seen the downfall of such a short sighted approach to life, and more and more of us are claiming our happiness, our peace of mind, and our sense of adventure, without compromising the ability to provide for ourselves and our loved ones.
We are evolving as a collective. I see this in my mentorship groups. I see how we are each devoted to evolving, not in a critical or harsh way, but with the intent to be compassionate, with the intent to practice self-care & yes, even self-love. At the core of our evolution resides ignoring the perfectionist influenced details and connecting to the inspiration that comes when we intuit the essence of who we are, who we love and who we want to serve.
The key is to move away from doubt, confusion, skepticism, and past hurts in order to move intoTRUST. Trust in ourselves, in how we are supported, and trust that as we continue to dip into the expansion of our own soul expression, we pragmatically create structure and business strategy. We not only benefit from having fulfillment, balance, and profits, but we shift the collective, and in turn shift the experience for the next generation of women devoted to making this world an even more delicious place to inhabit.
Soul + business. Perfectly together.
Love,
ASHA