Today’s playful exercise:
Make a list of 10 competitors in your field and what you admire about them.
Instead of competitors, I’ll call them nichemates (a term borrowed from Authentic Business Coach, George Kao.)
Here’s what I admire about ten of my nichemates, whose names are withheld to build the mystery. 🔮
The Brilliant Child –
Prolific, irreverent and creative. His mix of genius and teenage-boy humor is delightful.
Everybody’s Buddy –
Known and beloved in his circles. His ability to identify the one point of leverage that will have the greatest transformational impact is legendary.
The Braggart –
Bold, outrageous and unafraid to proclaim himself and his clients as special. (Even if sometimes I judge him as arrogant and elitist, I admire his guts!)
The Ballerina –
Leaping into big collaborations before she had “credentials,” she’s aligned herself with major industry players from day one.
The Transformational Techie –
Applies tech dreams to global spiritual evolution. His vision is big, audacious and impossible!
The Wise Babe –
Radiates fun, wisdom and raw humanity. Plus, she’s just fabulous.
The Psych Sage –
Writes and shares a radically disruptive message. Her writing regularly slaps me in the face (in the best way) and she doesn’t let other people’s resistance stop her.
The Romantic –
Her vulnerability is magnetic. She shares her stories of grief and triumph equally.
The Force –
In a touchy-feeling spiritual community, she’s here to get it done. She enlists superstars for collaborations and makes things happen everywhere, while somehow not calling undo attention to herself, like a business ninja.
The Hypester –
Took high-energy, buzz-driven marketing into the typically shy and sleepy transformational space. He’s made some serious noise to attract a large audience.
Writing this, I notice something kind of huge.
These aren’t just traits I admire. They’re experiences in me I haven’t acknowledged yet.
Carl Jung called this the Golden Shadow, the submerged creative greatness you’ve disowned, that can be seen in your admiration for others.
I asked myself:
Where am I resisting these experiences?
Where am I holding back?
What I’m seeing is that it’s time for me to be the bright, unstoppable force that I am, proposing partnerships, offers and adventures that are as big, bold and audacious as they want to be. And to quit working so hard not to be in the spotlight.
Maybe you’ll try the Golden Shadow exercise for yourself?
- Make a list of 10 competitors (or people you admire)
- Write down what you admire about each one.
- Reflect: where are YOU like this? Where are you resisting or holding back these traits?
Want to play with this idea in community? In the IMPACT membership, we’re currently in our Play & Get Paid month—with the 90-Day Money Game Quest designed to help you connect, create, and earn with joy.
This is where we turn admiration into action, and play our way into getting paid.
Join IMPACT and unleash your Golden Shadow:
https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/impactinvite
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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