The Upward Path

your message matters

personal development

Why is it so hard to say what you do?

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Hands connecting jigsaw pieces

The introduction or ‘elevator pitch’. Those one or two sentences you prepare for opening networking conversations or adding to your website or materials. On the face of it such a simple thing, but the cause of massive frustration and soul-searching.

I’m on a course at the moment about selling (in an authentic non-pushy way). So many of the people there are really wrestling with their intro. Including me!

I think it’s harder for ‘heart-centred’ businesses, and those where you’re not delivering a well-known function, like plumber or accountant: you’re delivering you, and your individual jigsaw of passion, experience and skill.   [Read more…] about Why is it so hard to say what you do?

Big and little fields – a quick idea for working on your ‘purpose’

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Fields in Wales

Do you get pulled between an inner urge to make a big contribution to the world and the need to do something useful in the moment, so that you go round and round and don’t get anywhere?

Looking back, that’s been part of my experience. This is a simple idea I hit upon for my own personal development, and took along to a recent coaching session. I’m posting it in case it helps you too.

I’ve met a lot of people who went through a corporate career and at some point had that realisation that it was wrong for them and made a big change of direction. My story isn’t like that. I’ve flitted about doing short stints here and there.

A lot of it was navigation with little training or support, but I think also the feeling that I ‘ought’ to be making a big difference and using all my gifts stopped me settling into roles and activities that might have helped me get there. It wasn’t deliberate, and often wasn’t conscious, but of course it’s a recipe for dissatisfaction and insecurity.

This is an attempt to get a better relationship between a clearer big picture and the activities that can bring it to life.   [Read more…] about Big and little fields – a quick idea for working on your ‘purpose’

‘What do I want to do?’ Make the early steps easy on yourself

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Walking barefoot on stones

Are you in that space of wondering what to do with your life, or maybe making a big change looking for something better?

That can lead to wonderful things. It can also lead to long periods of uncertainty and beating yourself up.

I was propelled on to that journey five years ago when my mum died. It naturally led me to that place of questioning and awareness of untapped potential and limited time.

It’s been a twisty path. I’ve learned a lot and met some great people who’ve helped me along. But standing here now it still hasn’t fully crystallised into a recognisable form of ‘success’, and with that unhelpful sharpness of hindsight I’m wishing I’d been wiser, and kinder to myself.

Of course, I’m only where I am because of the journey I took. The awareness I have now comes from time served. And I don’t know what might be round the next bend.

If you’re beginning a similar process, I want to tell you what I can to make it less hard on you.   [Read more…] about ‘What do I want to do?’ Make the early steps easy on yourself

The holes in the Earth Summit

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Pushing the Earth uphill

It turned out the Earth Summit was more of a foothill.

This was a huge event back in 1992. We hoped it would lead to fixing everything.

Looking back I can see it was inevitable that it didn’t get that traction. It didn’t have a big enough picture. In the 1990s we simply didn’t know the right things to create widespread change.

But now our toolkit is better.

The Earth Summit

This was the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro. At the time it was notable for bringing so many world leaders together, and also for the involvement of groups from all sectors of society in lobbying for change and running a programme of parallel activities. Campaign groups were there, of course, but so were local government, indigenous communities and many others.   [Read more…] about The holes in the Earth Summit

Is scar tissue stopping you finding your treasure?

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Ivy covering door

Have you ever been reflecting on your life, and had an experience like going into a room and realising there’s a door that’s been wallpapered over?

Physical scar tissue comes from injuries that heal imperfectly. I’ve adopted the term as an allegory for something that happens in our inner lives.

We have different kinds of pain as we go along. We might react by taking a long time to work it through. At the other end of the scale we might try to act as if everything’s fine and carry on as normal.

But then what can often happen is that we cover it up to protect ourselves. It hasn’t healed fully, but it’s superficially workable. As a raw wound it was hard to bear, but now it’s out of sight, out of mind.  [Read more…] about Is scar tissue stopping you finding your treasure?

The upward path – video blog

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It’s an old metaphor. The fork in the road. The point of choice. Do we take the upward path to the world we want to see, or the downward path of fear and short-term convenience?

From personal development work helping individuals to campaigning to influence governments, if you are helping to make things better you are part of the same big picture. And you need to get better at broadcasting your messages over the noise.

 

 

I wanted to ‘nudge’ myself into doing some video work, and I thought the best place to start was with this.

‘The upward path’ started as a bit of a placeholder concept while I was working on other things. But I’ve come to realise it’s a pretty good label for the big picture that is my ‘why’ – and that it’s important to talk about in its own right as part of my own body of messages.

(I’ve also been sharing word-graphics on Twitter under #upwardpath – and Facebook with the tag used less consistently!)

There was a false start with uncooperative technology, and a surprising amount of resistance around being visible, but I think it’s turned out pretty well. Do leave feedback about the content or cinematography in the comments!