Avatar Leadership

Myth.........Magic.........Inspired Impact

How many times have you seen Avatar? I confess...I've seen it three times. Like epic stories told in ancient traditions around the fire, this tale of compels us to experience the power of myth, magic, and inspired impact.

From the moment Jake Sully decides to tame and ride Toruk, the fiercest flying predator, his conviction never waivers. Instead, Jake 'succumbs to courage' - embodying his most courageous self. All the ways in which he has been seeing himself differently - as an Avatar - converge and coalesce into deep thrilling transformation of legendary leadership.

Jake's decisive action connects him to something so much bigger than himself that he regains the trust of the Na'vi. His heart-centered actions embolden him to lead the Na'vi in saving Pandora and their cherished way of being. 

Avatar leaders inspire us. As we watch Jake Sully seize the opportunity to transform himself into an Avatar leader, we vicariously experience what it feels like to be courageous against all odds.

Pandora Possibilities

Sometimes we just want to dabble in a leader role, instead of facing the challenges that transform us into Avatar leaders. Linking with our inner Avatar opens us up to Pandora possibilities.

Avatar leadership frees us to discover, experience and enjoy the full expression of who we are. This links us more deeply with what we value most. Inspired, we decide what direction will lead ourselves and others to make a meaningful and significant difference in the world.

Challenges in business and life are telling us it's time to shift into Avatar Leadership. So...What is one inspired action you can take today to shift into your Avatar? Do it and notice the difference - no matter how small.

Fear of a Fabulous Future

5 Invisible Barriers to Success

...for Smart Women Leaders

If you want to be more effective as a leader, take a close look at your inner leadership game. 

"To be effective leaders, we must first understand the field, or inner space, from which we are operating." ~Otto Scharmer, Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges 

Be candid with yourself and identify what really gets in your way. For smart business women it is often one of these hidden culprits.

1. The feeling that while you deserve what you want, it would be unfair to others if you had it.
2. The need to deliver on your expectation that only perfection is enough.
3. A sinking feeling that you do not have what it takes to lead your team or business to the success you envision.
4. The belief that to be smart, engaged, energetic, happy, and enlightened you have to be 'superwoman'.

5. Deep-seated reluctance to ask for and accept the help you need to achieve your ambitious goals.

Leadership Limitations

Unexamined beliefs, feelings and frustrations only have power if you give it to them. So take back your inner leadership power with this simple exercise.

• What belief, feeling or frustration gets in your leadership way?
• If you were free of that belief, feeling or frustration, what would be better for you as a leader?
• What do you gain - if anything - by not letting go of it?
• Who would you be as a leader without it?
• What 3 small steps could you take - starting now - to release your leadership limitation?

Decide to take immediate action. With each step consciously let go of the limitations lurking in your leadership blind spot. Your awareness of new possibilities will increase. This creates more space for you to play a bigger inner leadership game.

"Successful leadership depends on the quality of attention and intention that the leader brings to any situation." ~Otto Scharmer, MIT - Action Researcher in Innovative Learning & Leadership

Stop-Doing Strategy Leads to Success

FREE TO LET GO

What isn't working for you in business, leadership, or life?

This may sound like difficult advise to follow. Yet 9 years of coaching smart business women to be wildly successful has proven the power of this strategy over and over again. You get more from what you let go of than you do from what you take on.

For example, are you feeling any of the emotions posted on the sign in the photo? If so, what would be different for you if you didn't feel unsure, confused, or disoriented? Right now...What would you do differently if you were free of feelings that keep you from taking action in the direction of the future you want to live?

Jennifer found out. For years she climbed the corporate ladder, sacrificing her personal life at the altar of professional success. Her sense of dedication and responsibility routinely kept her working long and very late hours 5-6 days a week (sometimes 7). This meant she slept little and rested even less. Work-free vacations were rare. She felt she couldn't afford to be disconnected from work. Then the unthinkable happened. Her company took a nosedive and didn't survive the crash landing. With all her hard work and years of success in business, Jennifer found herself without work or a separate noteworthy  life. 

What did Jennifer let go of to help her have work and a life she loves? Her picture of what she thought success should look like. You know, the Calvinist work ethic: Work hard to prove you're worthy. No pain, no gain. There'll be time later to enjoy your life.

Losing her job forced Jennifer to look at her workaholic ways and beliefs. She quickly realized her 24/7 relationship with work kept her from seeing that her idea of success did not reflect her core needs and values. That's when Jennifer decided to work with me to reinvent herself so her work and life could be in sync with her redefinition of success.

Her progress is stunning. She let go of a lot of the limiting ideas she had about success. This has freed her up to explore and discover where she wants to make a contribution with her expertise. This is a very different and more empowering mindset than looking for a job or new career opportunities. Instead of feeling lost, bewildered and perplexed by her situation, Jennifer spends 4-5 hours every week day fully engaged in creating the future she wants with intention, focus and inspired action.    

That Crazy Little Thing...

...Called Results

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because their is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."  -- Martha Graham

Life balance give us greater access to the fullness of who we are and the energy to express it. When we are in sync with our inner rhythm, we produce remarkable results with less effort. 

You Are Enough

Energy From Your Essence

"Can you imagine if you really let in that you are not a problem to be solved in any way? Imagine you knew that anything that would tell you otherwise is just a movement of thought in the mind that says 'Whatever is, isn't the way it is supposed to be.' So the biggest act of compassion starts within. And when the self is no longer seen as a problem, this is called the peace that passes all understanding."                   -- Adyashanti, Author

Relaxing with Reality

"Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity."   -- R I Fitzhenry  

These two quotes are rich with meaning. What do they inspire you to do differently, starting now?

Inspired Action

This amazing photo was taken by my 8 year niece, who feels she is enough. In one of her many creative moments she put a drinking straw against the lens of her inexpensive digital camera and got this incredible result.