#68 - Throw Out The Baby

Change is afoot at You Inspire Me. Behind the scenes, my website is in revamp, automated systems are being put in place, and I'm growing a team - all of which will allow me to communicate my work more easily and give me more time to develop and deliver services I love.

And as I've been putting these new plans and procedures in place, my Saboteur has been having a field day. [Saboteur = that part of us which wants to keep things as they are, not rock the boat, and therefore sabotage any forward movement]. His stance is that change is a bad thing and he drags me down, telling me that these changes must mean that everything I've done before has failed, been wrong. He would love to convince me it's all too much, to throw out the baby with the bath water. When he's in charge, I feel wobbly, even despairing. Thankfully, over the years I've become intimately acquainted with his strategies and when he allows me a moment to breathe, I can eventually shake him off and put ME back in control.

Anyone else recognise that feeling?

Just as you often feel clearer after a cold has passed, so too with the banishment of good old Sab. I feel refreshed and stronger now, like something stagnant and toxic has been washed out of my system. Without the distorted vision he gives me, I can now see that it's time for celebration. I am standing clearly in the acknowledgement that I run a rapidly-evolving business and it's time to hire people and put robust systems in place for the next phase. I've seen too many amazing businesses fail because they weren't functioning as businesses. They positioned themselves as community services and didn't take that leap into solid professionalism.

Just as Obama's inauguration speech focused on the dawning of responsible maturity, so too for me it is time to put off any childish, amateurish ways. You'll soon see a cleaned up website, fully hosted under my own domain name; a request for you to opt-in to a new email list; automation of e-courses & digital product delivery; sexy incorporation of audio and video; and perhaps even a few new names and faces as the You Inspire Me team.

Yes - You Inspire Me just grew up.

Do Things Differently
1) What does YOUR Saboteur have to say about you making changes, growing up, evolving? How do you ensure you move forward anyway?
2) Inquiry: What do I need to give myself permission to do?
3) Action: Take the next step forward, noticing and bypassing your Saboteur's efforts to stop you.
4) Share your comments on this blog post.

** I was interviewed about one of my favourite topics, Fear of Failure. Listen here today only - it's up on the radio archives for one more day, after which we're looking to upload an mp3 version to my website. If you know that fear of failure blocks YOU from moving forward, commit to change that today. Join our workshop on Sat 7th February in Cambridge - full details here **

(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009

#57 - Your Slice Of The World

Where were you when you heard that Obama would be the next American president? I was in bed, it was 6am, and I got a text from my dad with lots of exclamation marks. I almost cried with joy, as I know many did do. On Facebook, my friends' statuses were jubilant, my clients that day had renewed vigour, women at the gym were beaming. It was literally as if the air had changed, the atmosphere had a different smell, the whole world was a different colour.

As far as I saw it, this wasn't about a man of mixed-race who represented triumph at the end of a long, hard civil rights battle. I'm not naive enough to believe that all divisions and inequalities had dissolved. Obama is still a middle-class, Christian, heterosexual male and as such has more demographically in common with George Bush than with me. The day he was elected was also the day Californians voted against same-sex marriage.

No, what is new and refreshing and inspirational is this man's ability to hold a vision and expand it to an ever-increasing slice of the world. To touch more and more people with his realistic idealism, his genuinely-believed "Anything is possible" ideology, his focus on peace, democracy and earth stewardship. He stands in his role as a true leader, someone you can believe in and trust in. How he speaks - no notes, so relaxed, so in his body - inspired me to buy a book on Transformational Speaking, so hungry was I to learn what he does so seemingly effortlessly.

My client summed it up beautifully, saying: "I feel now we can shake off the cynicism". For a while now, my friend and I have had a familiar faithful conversation where we bemoan the lack of true leaders in the world. Now, we don't get to play so passive any more. Obama shows that we need to throw away the excuses and say "Yes we can" - and then get on and do it.

If we want leaders like Obama, we need to support them, vote for them, become them. There is no shortage of brilliant, inspirational people in our world. Let's just make sure they know how significant they are and play the roles they are here to play.

Do Things Differently
1) Make a list of ten people, alive today, who give you hope, who inspire you, who you're happy to have in charge of their slice of the world, no matter how big or small that piece is. Alongside their name, identify why it matters that they play that role.
2) Share this with each of them - alert that person to their own significance. They might not have a clue. Also, find a way of supporting them.
3) Scan the list you made in the first section and notice which values popped up repeatedly. Allow yourself to realise what's most important/significant for you - this might help you with the next step...
4) Finally, identify which slice of life you are currently responsible for. How are you doing? What's next for YOU as a leader in this area? (Hint: It's probably a step that feels scary) Do it! :-)

(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008