Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to find my work “boring” or “unsatisfying.”
Or what if I discovered that I wasn’t really that good at what I had chosen to do for a living?
Or what if someone came along and said, “Hey, I know you think that what you’re doing now is pretty great, but wait ’till you see THIS!”
What would I do?
And then I remember: All of those things HAVE happened to me. And I wouldn’t change for a moment what I did as a result.
Yesterday I hopped on a “meet and greet” call with someone totally new to me. Invariably people always ask, “What got you into business coaching?”
And every time, I take a big breath, let it out, and start with, “Well…it’s a long story…”
You see, my path to this moment has been pretty long and winding. Twisted, I might say, if I were in a funny mood. Yes, it’s been twisted! And I have come to see that sometimes, the best paths are.
From studying psychology at Western, to working for a year in retail, to learning the skills of diagnostic imagining at college, to jumping ship from “Western” medicine and leaping into a career in homeopathic medicine, to mentoring with a wonderful business coach, to studying business intuition and launching my own consulting and coaching business…phew. Twisted path, indeed!
And somewhere in all of that I took courses in marketing, advertising, writing, human relations, counselling skills, medical intuition, psychology, Reiki…and so much more.
And it has all culminated in one grand thing: Making me Who I Am today, with the tools that I have at hand, tools I am exceptionally skilled at using, such that I am better at what I do than I could ever have been if I hadn’t headed those wake-up calls.
What if I hadn’t recognized how unfulfilled I was working in hospitals and clinics performing diagnostic ultrasounds?
What if I hadn’t realized that, while I was a “good” clinician, I wasn’t exceptional? (And I really do like being exceptional at things…)
What if I hadn’t listened when my business coach said to me, “Look, I know you like what you’re doing with your homeopathic practice, but let me tell you, I think that THIS is where you really belong.”
What if I had ignored these nudges, these internal questions, these overt signs that I needed to make a change?
Yesterday I had the deep, deep honour of working with a new client who came to me wanting to take all of her years and experience as a health care professional practicing western medicine and transform her work into more of a coaching model.
When we discussed who she wanted to work with, why she wanted to coach them, and why they’d choose to work with her, it was obvious: Clients will choose HER as their support because she is uniquely positioned to offer her services in a way in which no one else can. Because they are not her. And they do not have the same tools in their tool kit.
All of your life experiences, all of your learnings and teachings, every single piece of Who You Are is what makes you uniquely positioned to do what you do. And recognizing that is, I believe, one of the foundational steps in realizing your professional dreams.
So the questions before you now are these:
Are you happy and fulfilled in your work?
Are you really, really good at what you do?
If someone came along and said, “Wait! Stop! You really ought to consider doing THIS!” would you be tempted?
And, perhaps most importantly, are you using All of Who You Are in your work or are you playing with a much smaller tool box than you could be?
I am willing to bet that your own path has been somewhat twisted — the best paths usually are — and my invitation to you today is this: If you are not using All of Who You Are in your work, start doing so.
Pull out a skill you’ve left sitting on a shelf somewhere. Apply it to a situation…test it out on a client…exercise that which you’ve let get a bit rusty.
And be prepared for them to be surprised..and thrilled..and to say, “Just when I thought I had seen everything…you offered me so much more.”
Fully completely,
XO
Rebecca Liston helps her clients predict, pivot, and compete in an increasingly complex global marketplace. Her clients quickly uncover the root of their challenges and know the actions to take to overcome them. A six-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, Rebecca combines business strategy with intuition, giving her clients the edge on forward-thinking, elegant answers to their most complicated problems. Her clients include CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs. She is based in London, Ontario. What if you could get the answer to your biggest business challenge, in one sitting? Visit www.rebeccaliston.com to learn how!
