I will be eternally grateful for your great gift of taking in to the fullest extent what it is that I
have to offer, living it, and then reflecting it back in terms of the potential experience of others.
You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help
me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer,
which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, 
Working together was absolutely key, and I think that’s what made it such a great
experience. I felt like you were my partner in this. I felt like my success was your
success. To me, someone who has that attitude and the skills to go with it —
that’s an unbeatable combination! — Daniel Stone, 
I have a website I’m proud of — but for me, the hugest benefit has been
increased self-confidence. Because of the process we went through, and the validity that
came with the process, I trust what I think and I trust myself to speak about it. I have
greater confidence and clarity in my message about who I am and what I do. — Bev
Dwane AICI CIP, 
What you’ve sent me is so darn perfect it hurts! It’s a sheer pleasure to work with someone
who writes as beautifully as you do — and in “my” voice. — Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D,
You have a real gift for words. You’re really, really good at it. — Sherry Essig,
Why life is like high school
You don’t want to admit it, but it’s true.
Life repeats high school.
The dramas, the cliques, the weird ways that relationships form and fall painfully apart … it’s just like high school. But no one wants to go there because (a) it seems really weird to be reliving high school when you’re decades past graduation, and (b) how awful would it be to admit it and then have to deal with it?!
It’s a tiny bit of an exaggeration, perhaps. And yet, seriously, haven’t you sometimes thought … wow. I don’t know what just happened, but yikes it sure felt like high school!
I know my corporate career was filled with moments like that. I certainly know a helluva lot of my personal life has been filled with moments like that!
So, what’s it about? Why is life like high school?
My opinion: it’s because we mostly never grow up. And that not-growing-up syndrome keeps creating the emotional dramas and interpersonal political messes.
There are plenty of perfectly good reasons for this. I’m not trying to say that anyone is staying emotionally or spiritually immature on purpose, or out of some sort of bad intent.
After all, society rewards drama – just look at the media!
Office politics, a highly-evolved (or maybe devolved!) form of drama, allows one group of people to believe that they’re succeeding, and provides another group with all sorts of things to complain about – and feel morally superior about.
Family dynamics – do I even need to go there?
It all sounds like high school to me…
I co-facilitate a women’s group with my friend and business partner Jon Hansen. One of the amazing women in our current group said several times in the last session, “I feel like I’m growing up!” She’s stepping into her own wholeness, realizing who she really is. And in that, she’s starting to see how her behavior patterns haven’t supported her – and haven’t been what she’d now call grown up.
It’s allowing her to look, open-eyed and honestly, at what’s really calling to her. What’s really true for her. What she really wants.
And that means that she’s not just following what she believes is expected of her, but instead is setting clear intentions, making deep commitments, and stepping into a life that’s vibrant, alive with possibility and realness.
(With deep gratitude, Jon and I are humbled, awed, and inspired by these women, and by the group space that we share with them.)
This maturing process is interesting to experience, to be sure. Some of my own turning points have been shocking and painful, like being dropped into icewater.
And I’d not change a moment of it. The price is small when I recognize that what I’m experiencing – living – as a result is real freedom. (Imagine that!)
I think the women in our group program agree with me.
Posted under The internal message.
Tags: Credibility