Enter the House of Your Own Wisdom

Inspiration boards surround my desk. When I look up from my computer, there is something to motivate or inspire or calm me.

A quote by Kahlil Gibran reads: “No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”

This reminds me that all the answers are within me. This reminds me that all the answers are within my clients.

I invest heavily in my own learning and growth and it is with those teachers who do not bid me to enter the house of their wisdom but to excavate and discover all that is within me.

I do the same for those whom I work with.

My coaching does not consist of prescribed methodology or rigid structure. Yes, there is structure. There is guidance. There is a framework. There is a step by step system, a process to follow.

The real coaching comes in giving of faith and lovingness to let folks allow themselves to trust the process, and to trust themselves.

The answers are within. The wisdom is there. The beauty is there. The knowledge, the love, the insights, the whatever it is that you want to share with the world is there. The key is trusting yourself and trusting the process to let it come forth.

Trust is one of my favorite words. It is written in all caps on my whiteboard. It is my go-to word, my anchor.

When things go askew, it is usually because I am doubting myself. When I reaffirm to trust the process and trust myself, the ship rights itself again and onward we sail.

When I trust myself to put myself out there, in writing or in speaking or in any way, that’s when the real magic happens. That is when the connection happens. That is when opportunities happen.

teacher My clients come in to the process at all degrees of trusting in themselves. We all waver from time to time. No comparing, no judging, and no negative self-talk is the place to start (and always return to).

Confidence comes in the doing. Everyone comes out the other end of the project more trusting, more relieved, more buoyed, and more ready, willing and able to move ahead to the next endeavor and adventure.

Many are inspired to write more books, create products or programs, and take the stage to speak. It all starts with a nugget of trust.

If you are engulfed in the wave of self-doubt, know that it will pass. To speed the process, make a list of all your accomplishments. All of them. Go way back to learning how to ride a bike or baking a pie or tying a slipknot. Keep listing things you have done, big and small. Start to feel the energy of all you have done, all you have learned, all you have experimented with and learned from. Add to the list as new things pop into your head.

Keep the list around to refer to when you have a moment of “Who am I to do this?” You are the person who has done all those things. This is one more that you will add to the list.

Post something on your inspiration board to remind you to trust yourself. Those words alone will do it. Speak in your own language. This is what is written at the top of my board and it may resonate with you too:

Relax. Have fun. Be awesome.

‘Nuff said.