Help! I Want A Business Breakthrough!

I was never much into gardening, it was for older ‘retired’ people that had a lot of time and not much energy on their hands (geez I was a punk as a thirty-something!)

When I fell in love with a gardener - who doesn’t have much spare time for his own garden - it NEVER occurred to me that I would get interested in flowers, until I was introduced to cactuses.

I’ve often reflected on how much they compare to humans. Many of us are prickly on the outside, defending the sweet nature held within, for all it’s worth. Patiently waiting - with, or without realising - to bloom to its most magnificent state, in perfect conditions.

For the last year I’ve been waiting for the donations from my wonderful mother-in-law, Epiphyllum hybrid and Peniocereus Greggii - Pink Orchid Cactus and Queen Of The Night - to bloom.

The Pink Orchid has treated me with some wonderful displays of beauty and delicacy lasting several days each time. A spectacular multi-layered set of petals extending to the size of a side plate! The vibrancy and stunning display brought me a new insight into the joys of seeing nature display her wares.

The White Queen, however?.. well I’ve seen her amazing flower stems grow to full size about 6 times but I’ve missed her in her full glory, time after time.

You see, SHE only flowers at night for a single evening. If you don’t remember to head out into the darkness when you’re relaxing at the end of the day, you miss everything. And I have missed the spectacle every single time. Discovering the slightly wilted bud on its descent back to decay in the morning. So. Disappointing.

As I pondered on this frustrating but beautiful dilemma it occurred to me… how many of us as self-branded leaders, forget that the night we choose to radiate, shine, and ultimately bloom is often missed by those desperate to revel in our splendor?

As we grapple with our fears of ‘being truly seen’ we make once-in-a-blue-moon magnificent appearances, hitting the mark of our message and leaving an impact, only to shy away from the success until we adjust to the new heights of recognition. 

With time, we slowly catch up with the new level of ‘public recognition’ and prepare for the next rare showing of our brilliance. Again we stun our followers or audience with our insights and delight with our passion.

Inching further up the public-figure ladder we know we are intended to mount; we chip away at the blocks to our self-belief, confidence, or ability to accept our gifts for the brilliance they contain, and keep ourselves for rare exhibition appearances rather than regular showroom displays, then retreat to the shadows of safety. 

We think we’re taking the right approach

Show off our capabilities as (if) we achieve them, add this piece of credibility to our portfolio, share that interview, contribute to THE thought-leading platform and slowly build our swag of accomplishments. We must not tell of our brilliance until we are able to prove it.

What if instead, we spent that much effort nurturing and setting our internal environment up, FOR OURSELVES to blossom?

For the first five years of my business, I focused on the conditions being perfect for my clients, for those that I am here to serve… and only cultivating my inner world on the side. Don’t get me wrong, I was continuously working on my mindset, but I was focused on something outside of me to create a breakthrough for me.

All the strategies I implemented, all the ‘80%’ stuff of getting my business ‘right’ was pointless, the stuff on the inside was not ready. The soil had not been fertilised with the perfect balance of nutrients to ALLOW me to sparkle when I chose, rather than when the environment was externally lined up.

If we are only focused on being the most brilliant white Queen Of The Night, what if we are missing the chance to be the radiant Pink Cactus instead? Consistently showing up a little less gloriously but still with magnificence and presence nonetheless?

Waiting for my big break to be the white queen was not the right path for me, accepting my glory as of the Hot Pink (nae omnipresent orange) giant cactus flower is a path that doesn’t require ‘perfect conditions on one rare night of the year'.

All I needed was some consistent inner game and show up with confidence to be SEEN. The rest started to happen from there.

The bigger stages and platforms will line up for me when I give up ‘trying to line up the external ducks’. 

I wonder… Are you ready to stop aiming to be Queen Of The Night, waiting for the perfect condition sometime in the future, or are you willing to be the amazing Hot Cactus now and see what the universe lines up FOR you as you accept your brilliance THAN step into your white light?

Are You Destined To Only Be A Queen For One Night?

Or if you’re ready to align your inner conditions with the vision of your shining light, I have a personalised program ready to release your dreams to their blooming brilliance.