You know it’s not surprising if you are. And you want to know why? It’s because that’s what you were probably programmed to do. It’s part of what most schools teach you. Fit in. Do the right thing. Follow the rules.
Now don’t get me wrong. I understand why schools teach that sort of thing. I was once an official educator myself (now I’m a renegade, but that’s a different story). I know how much easier it is to have a cooperative class where people pay attention and do what you tell them to do. I also know how that tends to kill creativity, innovation, and experimentation. I remember as a college professor doing what I could to get my students to think outside the box. I was at an Ivy League University and these were smart kids. And they were there because they had learned to play the game, do things the right way, and get the grades that landed them at that school.
And I kept pushing them to think differently. To challenge their assumptions. To see the world with new eyes. (I guess I’ve always been a renegade. . . ) And it was hard for them precisely because they were so well “educated.”
This shows up in your business as following what other people tell you to do. Now you want to do some of that because who wants to reinvent the wheel. But it’s different if the only thing you can focus on is trying to find the right marketing person who will tell you the right thing so you can get the results you want (i.e. the grade). And you keep looking around ‘cause the thing is, business requires creativity—not conformity. So you can’t find success in a formula, as much as you might like to. That really leads to mediocrity—can you see that?
And it feels safe, I know that. Stay with the crowd. Do what the others are doing. Heck I see it in myself sometimes (though the renegade keeps focusing her way out, no matter what). There’s something about following a path someone else has cut first.
You just have to ask yourself—is following the path supporting your innovation and self expression or leading you to mediocrity? Could go either way really. Doesn’t mediocrity in business just make you sigh? All those me, too, products? Someone innovates and a whole bunch of people try to follow.
You are better than that. You know that and I know that. You have something in you that no one else has. You are brilliant, vibrant, magnetic, inspiring, and trail-blazing in your own way. You are the expert in your own field. The field that you create. Not the one that some other teacher or master created before you. One in which you are at the center. You are the leader, teacher and healer around which your Village forms because they are drawn to you, to your tribe, the tribe as you create and co-create it.
Let this inspire rather than depress you. Take it as an invitation, not a burden. Begin to honor the truth that is within you. You are vast in experience, wisdom, knowledge and insight. As you acknowledge this and usher it forth you will expand even more into the fullness of your being. You will manifest your Soul Purpose and your Life Purpose together—your energy and your contribution—like you have never done before. Leave the security of mediocrity behind and become your Self.
As you do so you will emerge in the eyes of your clients, customers and students from the crowd of others who “do what you do.” You will no longer be defined by your modality or your school, but by your Soul Essence. Everything you do will be marked by your Soul Signature so that it is recognizably yours, and you will become known, respected and sought after like never before. Because there is nothing more magnetic than a person who has fully claimed, owned, embodied and honored all that they are.
Why settle for mediocrity when this could be yours instead?