I just returned from spending an amazing 3 days with 75 other top coaches at an intensive retreat in San Francisco, the Conscious Business Playground. I went knowing that we would be examining common practices engaged in by those of us who participate in conscious business (as a coach, practitioner or entrepreneur), and seeking to uplevel industry standards. I thought that I was already doing pretty well in this arena, since authenticity is a must for me, but I wanted to learn.

And I did. Boy, did I! So, I want to humbly share my experience.

Now, I won’t name all the names in the room for confidentiality’s sake, but you’d know many of them – all quite big names – business coaches, wellness coaches, relationship coaches, and personal transformation experts. And we covered many deep topics – both for our internal growth and how we do business – that contained room for all of us to grow.

For example, we discussed how newsletter marketing isn’t working so great these days, because trust has eroded in the entire industry. Most people just assume they’ll be marketed to, and not given actual value, so they don’t bother to open their emails (and thank you for opening this one!!).

If you read my posts from time to time, you probably know that I always strive to be authentic and real. It’s a super high value for me, to speak honestly, and as one human to another. However, when I really dug into it this weekend, I realized that a subtle energy of lack, and mistrust in the Divine, pervaded my motivations. Sure, my business is going very well. But I realized I was, on some level, wanting to control things. Like, if I didn’t use particular marketing methods that everyone else does and which I was taught (such as the format of sales pages, for instance, which I just dislike in general), I feared that people might not join my trainings – no matter the quality of my work. This subtle fear and mistrust surely gets conveyed energetically – and also means that, on some level, I perhaps haven’t been trusting the universal flow of energy, or my own value.

Shifting this, now, is already leading to a significant deepening of myself in relationship to my business… I seek to become even more conscious about every aspect of my business, at a higher level. To hold every single thing I do in highest consciousness, surrender and trust. And to make sure that I am likewise appreciative and fully respectful of you, and your path, too.

Why is it so hard to keep our consciousness raised around our businesses?

A big part of the problem, in my opinion, is that we emulate what others are doing. That’s not always a bad thing: I believe it important to know the path well-traveled, because it’s likely that it has worked for others. And, if we want do do things our way, it’s essential to know what works in order to deviate from it. Instead of reinventing the wheel, or trying to drive on triangles or cubes, we can make the wheel our own.

Another problem: for fear of things going badly, we can become risk-averse… and then we stop innovating, or even cease doing what we truly love.

This strain of thought may bring to mind certain newsletters or interactions that felt salesy or manipulative. However, this is the problem with trying to grow: it’s easy to critique what others are doing that feels out of alignment… but much harder to really look at our own stuff. 

So I pose to you, if you’re willing, an inquiry – the same questions I am asking myself:

• What aspects of my business don’t feel aligned?
• What practices have I learned from others that don’t totally feel right?
• What would I like to make my own?
• Knowing that making mistakes is part of the path, what seemingly risky ideas do I simply want to try, in order to make this path truly mine?

One of my other huge takeaways from this weekend was my deep desire to continue to forge collaborations and be in community. So I would truly love to hear your responses. Would you be willing to share some of your reflections?

If so, please comment below, so that we can all learn together. Thank you – your sharing will inspire and move so many others!

I hope my reflections and lessons I’m learning are helpful for you. May we all raise our consciousness further – in our personal lives and in our work in the world – to create the planet on which we wish to live.