An excerpt from my free ezine IDEAS that PROVOKE and INSPIRE for leaders seeking meaning in business and in life. In this issue, I share my observations and experiences over the past year, after the economic collapse of 2008.
A year ago, the credit crisis of 2008 blasted into our lives. One year later -- how are you faring?
The markets, Bernie Madoff, Earl Jones and more -- all symptoms of a sick system. Which have created losses of not only money, but some people's hopes and dreams.
For me too, it's been an odd year. Not only has my net worth shrunk, so has my income. Not to mention a health hiccup that slowed me down for eight weeks.
I am generally optimistic person. But honestly, some days last year, it felt as if I was in a theatre watching someone else's life. As the audience, I asked: What will she do? What's her breaking point? Why doesn't she just get a 'real' job? Why doesn't she make a decision? What is the freakin' universe ASKING of her?
When I was in Mexico in March, I had dinner with a lovely American couple (I'm Canadian). He's an electrician interested in alternative energy. She's a professor. We compared notes on our investments. At the time, I was down 35%. The man looked up at me: 'We lost 60%'.
In the vacuum created by massive monetary loss (or any other type of loss for that matter), I can't help but wonder: what was ready to be shed? What new growth is waiting to be born?
The October issue of Canada's MoneySense magazine reports on the 1997 victims of the British Columbia mortgage scam Eron. Those who considered themselves knowledgeable about securities lost 75% more money than those who admitted knowing almost nothing of the markets.
A few years ago, a friend told me about an investment opportunity. High returns. Able to 'withdraw' at any time. Some story about not having overhead. I didn't bite.
Around the same time, I was also approached in a professional setting about an exclusive investing group with a guru teacher. If I coughed up $10,000 -- no wait, today it's $15,000! -- I could learn this guy's secrets. When I asked her what this guy's pricing strategy was -- why the high tag? -- I was dismissed: "You're not ready."
This was a strange one. First, I felt shame -- I liked her initial pitch, but her reaction was confusing to me. Then I felt ticked off. Then curious. To this day, I cannot find one shred of information about this 'guru'. I'm waiting to see him on the news someday -- in handcuffs.
THREE WAYS TO SPOT A FRAUD: ultra-high returns, a 'revolutionary' product, and a veil of secrecy. Hey, I'm human. These things are seductive. They tug at our secret hearts.
I am aware of a myth many of us grew up with, though we rarely admit, that if we're 'good', someone will take care of us, call it god, fate or government. That if we 'do the right thing' the best jobs will fall in our lap, and our luck will fall from the sky. That because we're lonely AND good, our perfect relationship will evolve without REALLY extending our hearts openly, vulnerably.
Even though I'm an astrologer, I wouldn't say it's in the stars. The stars may create shifts in energy. But the earth we live on is heavy to move. More often, our dreams and desires need help out of the earthy muck before they can fly. Remind me to buy a shovel.
On the investment industry, I can't help but wonder if there aren't a few more surprises still to be had. The energy of humanity, I believe, is ascending, but the earth is heavy. When a system's sick, it takes a while for deep healing to take hold. It doesn't happen overnight. When life really wants us to change, our hearts may hear its whispers, but often it takes us a while to hit the road.
Confusion is simply the place between a formerly held perspective and a new one. - Tony Robbins
This year, Forced Isolation was my persistent, loving (if uninvited) ally. Like my Moondance character Althea was asked, many times I was asked: 'Are you ready?' My answer, finally: YES!
Last week, I opened an email from super-successful entrepreneur Alexandria Brown. I clicked in. I was still listening four hours later.
Ali's words mirrored my own thoughts, my own imagination, my own deepest feelings felt in my quietest moments about the times we're in, and what that means for my business and my life. It was like listening to my own voice coaxing me into the future. If I had been in busy-mode, earning money the same old way, I would have missed it.
The next morning was decision making. I booked a flight to Las Vegas to attend Ali's event, SHINE, which will help me develop an actionable business model aligned with my life purpose. I'll check back later with you, and share what I've learned.
Like my Moondance characters, I've often succumbed to the earth: doing the same old, yet dreading getting up every day, disgusted with myself for being controlled by fear, by the system, by everybody else's 'normal', yet not sure how to get out.
Today I notice that even in my most uncertain times... I have felt the glow of hope. This is my life. And the truth is that the times I have felt most alive is in transition, during change, while contemplating the previously unthinkable, while standing on that cliff, every cell in my body exclaiming... don't tell me, you're going to JUMP?
I am heavy Capricorn, so on the outside, my moves may appear well planned. Inside though, it feels like a revolution.
When have YOU felt most alive? What awakens your inner Revolutionary? Will you be liberated as your own world continues to heal and unfold? Or will you spend more energy safeguarding old ideas whose time have passed?
Join me -- Grab a shovel! If you can manage it, a backhoe!!
Behind the pillars of earth that engulf us, we'll find our futures waiting -- under the radiant stars.
