I was told that as children we mold ourselves into who we need to be to gain the love and approval of one of our parents...maybe both of them.

And I felt the truth of that.

I discovered that I became a high achiever for my Dad because that’s what he praised me for.

Me getting straight A’s in school was very important to him, and I usually got them.

But it put me on this path of striving in order to be appreciated.

My Mom introduced me to art at a young age.

As my skill grew, I struggled with my art needing to be perfect in accordance with what my mind envisioned.

It rarely came out the way I imagined and often disappointed me.

Still, art and design were my favorite subjects in school.

My high school art teacher even told me one day early on that I didn’t need to do the assignments because I had already advanced beyond them. He told me that as long as I was producing art I was golden.

I aced that class and was chosen as one of 4 students in our school to do a huge mural on our cafeteria wall.

And during high school, my art was accepted into a local gallery.

Despite my achievements, I still didn’t feel it was good enough.

The first college I chose was a design school. I went for graphic design.

I absolutely loved it, but

I was 19, and a single mother with a 2-year-old and no child support. I needed to work full-time. Somewhere in that first semester, I decided that going to design school part-time wouldn’t work and that what I’d learned in the beginning would be obsolete by the time I finally graduated and got a job.

Total BS -

I know.

But that was my limited view back then.

I decided to quit for “practical concerns” (unconscious fear really.)

I switched to a business school and specialized in marketing.

And soon thereafter I gave up art completely.

Last year, a life coach challenged me to spend a week focusing only on pleasure and relaxation and

be sure that nothing I did would be of benefit

to anyone else,

and try not to be practical.

I immediately returned to art.

I decided to do an art piece a day but came up against strong resistance.

Every time I would go to start a piece I would suddenly want to eat.

Realizing this interesting trick my mind was using to distract me, I decided to talk to it.

It didn’t think they were going to be any good. Why bother? It’s a waste of time.

It was afraid of what other people would think of them.

I said the art didn’t need to be any good and no one even needed to see it.

I said I wanted to do something creative just for the sake of doing it.

No one should expect the first ones to look good anyway. I was starting something completely new.

I decided that I would not allow my fears to get in the way of doing what I want.

And I said that we would be doing it…

NOW.

I sat down and forced myself to learn to wrap the quill of a feather with natural hemp cord.

(I had been dreaming of making art from nature for a while and had collected all sorts of things for it, but never did it.)

And that’s when the spirit feathers were born.

As it turned out, I really liked the first one.

And I ended up sending pictures of it to several people.

I kept making them here and there.
​
And I added more detail, but

they were good enough,

nearly perfect too.

The people I chose to craft one for loved them.

But that fear is such an insidious one.

I noticed it again recently when I started experimenting with content on Twitter -

The thought that it won’t be good enough to support my goals came up.

Just like doing anything besides getting straight A’s was a waste of time when it came to getting my Dad’s praise

because I needed to be practically perfect.

(Ugh, childhood wounds.)

What’s fascinating to me though is that when we

acknowledge, allow, and embrace our fears -

they express as higher frequency gifts.

Whaaat?

It’s true.

Let me explain.

The first fear that came through for me was that it won’t be good enough.

This fear drove so much of my life.

I became addicted to consuming information, but

Knowledge is important, but without applied action -

continued consumption reaches a point of diminishing returns.

Then further consumption just offers a false sense of security, or

the feeling that you are moving toward the goal,

but you aren't really getting anywhere.

When you allow this fear to be there and move forward in action,

then you are stepping into a place of trust.

It is there that you find the gift of resourcefulness.

When questions arise, you find the answers.

When challenges present themselves, so too do the solutions.

When you act, you develop skills, transform knowledge into wisdom, and build confidence.

Looking back, you see that you were far more capable than you may have thought.

And even though this fear may return to visit you,

it’s easier.

It’s like someone with high anxiety you’ve known for a while coming by.

You know what to do.

You can handle it.

But each person is unique,

and each fear is unique too.

Another fear that I faced was that of being different.

My other creator friends weren’t doing these things.

Will they think I’m being stupid?

Maybe I should just stick with what the gurus tell us to do -

even though when I create it I don’t feel the juice.

Maybe I shouldn’t share too much personal information.

Countless tweets advise that.

Do I protect myself, or

make myself vulnerable for the greater good?

What will people think of my dark side -

even if they can read about the transformation of those parts?

Usually, creators present their best to the world on social media,

is it unwise to do something different?

I was conditioned to believe it is.

In my school, the main theme was sameness, not uniqueness.

Everyone sit still, be quiet and obedient…

Learn the same way and for the most part, the same things.

Get good grades. Then you’ll go to college.

Then you’ll get a job.

And for many, that is a life sentence in mediocrity.

One they celebrate the release from each weekend.

One they dream of escaping and recharging from during their week off for vacation.

And for years, I did too.

I had an inner drive to break out of that.

When you can embrace this fear of breaking away from the status quo to do something different, it offers you a certain kind of freedom -

the freedom to do what your authentic self wants to do.

And that freedom is a gift that enables you to raise the baseline frequency of life from mediocrity -

to living life authentically - in your style.

This is where you create your own unique path.

It requires a leap of faith in yourself, maybe many leaps.

I’ve learned a lot about this from the book “The Gene Keys - Embracing Your Higher Purpose” and my personal profile. It showed me that this is part of my life’s work and that the more I operate from my truth, the more I will live a life filled with -

a sense of aliveness -

a life I’m enthusiastic about -

a life I love.

That’s been a major focal point for me over the last 4 years and I’ve made tremendous headway.

See, I burned myself out in corporate and left disillusioned and disheartened.

Most people didn’t agree with my choice to sell almost everything I owned, buy a fifth-wheel trailer

(without ever having driven one),

and then travel around the US by myself.

(But they sure do love my pictures and adventures.)

They thought it foolish that I would burn through my savings and go on a “soul journey” to find myself.

Has it been challenging?

For sure.

Do I wish I had listened to them?

Absolutely not.

Do I regret it?

This has been the very best chapter of my life so far.

For the first time ever, I decided to live for myself

and follow through on long-held dreams.

I live a life that many will only ever dream of

because they won’t embrace their fears

or they don’t even recognize fear is getting in their way.

Fears can lie in the shadows where we can’t even see them and hold us back.

"The Gene Keys" have been a huge help to me in this regard, and in so many other ways. It is one of the top 2 books I've read for its profound impact on my life.

I highly recommend you look into it.

If you'd like an intro to what they are and your personal profile, I am now offering this as a service with a very low introductory rate.

As an extra bonus, since you are in my Community Circle, you can get 25% if you order a session before 11:11 PM on 8/8/23. Just be sure to enter discount code 555488 at checkout:

Intro to The Gene Keys & The Challenge Between Your Life's Work & Evolution

If you'd like to pick up the book to dive in on your own you can find it here:

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps me, and doesn't cost you anything.

"The Gene Keys - Embracing Your Higher Purpose"

---