I recently spoke at the Whale Hunting Women Summit (www.thewhalehunters.com) in Indianapolis. The idea behind Whale Hunting is that of conquering big deals, big clients, big ideas. All of the women who spoke had an incredible story of a whale they had harpooned, beached and harvested! I thought I would share the basis of my talk.
I realized, when thinking about what I wanted to share, the biggest whale that I have to conquer (almost on a daily basis), is the crap that I put in my head—how I speak to myself, how I think about myself, how I don’t trust myself.
I think all of us struggle with feelings of “enough.” As children, I believe most of us feel nothing but AWESOME and more than enough. Unfortunately, life kind of beats that out of us.
So, how do these thoughts show up in my life? I’m not present. I don’t take risks. It keeps my gifts from the world. They keep me “stuck.” I am sometimes afraid of my life’s potential.
When I realized it was a line of bull that I was feeding myself, I dipped my toe into the joy that is available when you let go of fear and doubt. I started my career at Caskey that I am in love with; I give all that I am to my clients and honor the trust that they have put in me to help them grow their businesses. I remarried and had a child (something I thought I didn’t want). I laugh—A LOT! I surround myself with a magical circle of friends that push me to be more of who I am.
It’s not easy. Here are some things that I would encourage you to do if you struggle with a whale of your own.
- Just do it! Do not procrastinate or self-edit. I will be now. I am now.
- Train to be strong in all ways: mentally, spiritually, physically. If you don’t, you won’t be able to take on all of the things you are capable of.
- Embrace chaos and joy—especially yours. Life is absurd, you might as well laugh at it.
A lot of the push for me came from reading a book by Michael Port, The Think Big Manifesto. There is a great quote in the book:
“I will be comfortable with who I am right now and know that I am good enough. I will use my talents and gifts to do big things in the world. I will not give up in the face of fear or disbelief – mine or others.”
What is your whale?
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