094 - Are You A Leader or Are You Following the Crowd?

Hey Guys! Nicole Gabriel here! Happy April! I was sitting here on Easter Sunday and just enjoying the sunshine and a wonderful macadamia nut cashew nut milk mocha latte (seriously ,that’s a mouth full!) and decided now was a good time for a podcast. I was thinking about leaders verses followers and how those little plateaus in life are a great time to reflect and that means it’s also a great time to write!

I found this quote the other day that I wanted to share…I’m not sure who the author is, but I think this quote is fitting for the times we are in now.

“When you follow the crowd you loose yourself, but when you follow your spirit you will loose the crowd. Eventually your spirit tribe will appear, but do not fear the process of solitude. Embrace and trust the process.”

Does this sound a bit like you at the moment? I know it does me. There is such a massive shift happening on the planet right now. I’ve been telling people for a long time that it’s quite biblical. Of course some in my inner circle have mocked me and not seen things the same way I do. But, when you are intuitive and connected to something greater than yourself and without any doubt in your mind you just know what you know, then you have to step away from the crowd and honor what is in front of you. There is a god-given talent that is ready to shine!

If you are also like me, perhaps you’ve surrounded yourself with a tribe of like-minded people and you are now realizing that you aren’t as alike as you originally thought. You know, I’ve taken a broad reaching journey into self discovery for well into two decades now and there is one thing for sure I can say…You can’t hold onto anything too long that just wasn’t meant to be!

There are spiritual and life plateaus that happen where you can re-group and find peace and reflect on the past and plan for the future, but then change happens again. For me, change has been sweeping through my life longer than it hasn’t. I’ve always had the attitude that I will just get through this change and we will see what is on the other side, but fact is - there’s always another change there waiting. As they say, the only constant in life is change.

Someone once told me that two of the greatest topics to speak on are leadership and change. But, I suppose that depends on your audience. Leadership may not be necessarily something you speak on but something you represent. And, it’s change that generally has us digging deep into self to find a new solutions to whatever challenge is accompanying the change. So in essence these topics go hand in hand - change perhaps leads to us having the ability to step up into a leadership role…once we’ve mastered the change. And in this case, perhaps leadership has more to do with attaining certain levels of self-mastery and perhaps becoming a person of balance. While, authenticity and integrity can likely be found the other side of the journey done with heart.  

On the topic of writing a book…perhaps it’s a change that has you stepping up to the idea of writing and as such, this means you are ready to step into some level of self-mastery and leadership. You’ve likely gained knowledgeable experience on your life journey and now you are prepared to package it and share it with others. When you step up to write a book you’ve likely acknowledged your personal rhythm or gifts now can no longer follow the crowd. There doesn’t even have to be negative judgement, you’ve just simply acknowledged where there is room for self-improvement and an opportunity to step up.

We’ve all been asked to quiet down over the last year. I do believe a certain level of silence is required to bloom in many areas of life. In this place of silence, on whatever level you’ve experienced, perhaps you’ve been gifted with the ability to find more of your personal truth. I found this quote today by Albert Einstein that you might like. It’s pretty relevant here:

“I think 99 times and find nothing; I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.” — Albert Einstein

There are so many gifts that can be found in this down time. I was just reading a story shared on Facebook. It was written by an African American woman. Her name is Carol Swain. She tells her story about how she grew up dirt poor in rural Virginia and dropped out of school in the eight grade and had three children by the time she was 20…and how she is now a tenured award-winning professor of political science at an Ivy League University. She shared her story and her beliefs on diversity. She talks about poisonous ideas being pushed on the topic today. Since we hit on this subject in the last podcast, I thought I’d mention her and you can look her up. Her Facebook page is Conversations with Dr. Carol Swain. A smart lady that came through diversity and change and stepped into her leadership shoes. I’m always so inspired by amazing people that stop at nothing and step up and into leadership roles.

We’ve all come through something and we’ve all had moments and plateaus of clarity somewhere along the way. I find it is within these plateaus where I often find the urge to make a change or maybe to write. I stop and ask myself…”now?”….is now the time jump in? Have I completed living that chapter?  And, am I now at a final plateau where I’ve reached a certain level of understanding where I can convey what I’ve learned…or where I’ve been inspired…or maybe even why I’m angry enough to showcase my story for the sake of inspiring others by the gift of my words?

You see, once you become a writer you now become aware that you are living your story. But, is this the life intermission where it gets captured? I know there are multiple books in me awaiting birth, but I am also aware of where I am trying to go personally and professionally. So I next ask, will the book I write now take me closer to my end point goals? This is really important to ask as someone thinking about becoming an author.

Before you write any book I want you to sit down and identify a plan and then ask if the book you could write now will align you. If my goal is to one day have a yoga studio or a vegan bakery in a rural mountain or beach town (which I’d love to do by the way) then perhaps I shouldn’t write the story of overcoming adversity unless of course it relates… Maybe I should be gathering some of my favorite recipes and enhancing my practice. There is a certain level of inspiration that must push through you in such a compulsive way to birth a book. Your passion for your subject must be great. But your best result is when your business plan also aligns with your passion. This is kinda like the perfect storm as an author…having a purposeful agenda driven by passion!

If you’re like me, this global down time has you thinking about all of the things you have or haven’t done in your life and what comes next. Perhaps you’re thinking about when and where you step up and how this looks. The concept of leadership is rapidly changing in front of our eyes these days. Many leaders in the spot light have seemingly failed humanity. But, true leadership starts with the self.

I was chatting with a client that has now become a friend and we were talking about how a speaker takes the stage with their message. I was saying to her that I haven’t given myself more presence on the stage because I was never real clear what people really wanted to hear. She told me what I already knew…she told me I have the thinking all wrong. She said it isn’t about what they want to hear but rather what you need to say. I have always felt this but hearing from a 70-year old woman with many years in the business brought home the point that we are put on this planet for a reason and when we get to the stage representing those reasons then we are simply allowing our gifts to shine through. I like to believe we are simply the vehicle for our creator to do his hand work.

We also talked about the speaker high and the speaker low. Many times speakers talk about how they are exhausted after giving a high-energy speech. From all of the energy work I have done, this can also mean that perhaps they are out of alignment. When you are doing anything from the heart you will likely feel invigorated and alive. If it’s a lot of work perhaps you are off topic. My years of metaphysical practices have taught me that to get aligned with your god source obstacles must be broken!

When you re stepping away from the crowd (or even a person) perhaps you have realized they were the very obstacle in the way of you achieving a certain level of self mastery. Some of my book clients have really stayed solid in self during this down time and have managed to write and publish a book. They have prepared themselves to step up as a leader with a new image, a new book, a new message, and a new presentation. How the world receives them will be fun to watch. One thing is for sure, they have stepped up their game by writing and publishing a book.

Today much of the world will celebrate easter and the idea of resurrection. The idea of resurrection as a topic is about restoring life. I like to think that an author of a book is doing much of the same to their personal and professional life when they take the dive into writing and publishing a book. A book can resuscitate a stale career, highlight your expertise, bring light to a passion, and so much more. With that all being said, I dare you to write a book and step into your leadership shoes!

May you have a wonderful holiday today - I’m back to my complicated yet delicious latte!

Wishing you peace, love, and light