I have another inspiring new client, this one with beautiful goals around inclusion, acceptance, and love. We’re working on pulling their thousand strings into one focused cord that leads to their legacy, their biggest dream, the macro of macros. In this case it might be a foundation, or a scholarship, for example.
Surprisingly (coach, coach thyself!), I had never asked myself the legacy question, and am only now really realizing the focusing power of it: The aperture on my future has gone from exposing a thousand things to only one. This makes every step I take with my business clear and direct. (I love this so much—and discovered it by taking the time to do Morning Pages* to ‘Tidy Up’** my mind, and my focus.)
The question I asked them, and am now asking myself is: “You’re being interviewed by Anderson Cooper—why?” Well, he’s asking me about the thousands of people-who-identify-as-female the Imperfect Network has helped move beyond their challenges, and launch and build important, life-changing projects and businesses. I’m excited to tell him our network has helped millions of people all over the world get the supports they needed to end their trauma of poverty, resolve their addictive patterns, and break the negative cycles in their lives. People who felt less-than, minoritized, and marginalized now feel validated and engaged.
Back to the present; the it-was-all-a-dream waves wash over the image of me and Anderson Cooper. And I make my big statement:
The Imperfect Network’s legacy will be a full-service network of healers, therapists, coaches, bookkeepers, financial advisors, mentors, and other providers to help support people-who-identify-as-women out of abuse, addiction, poverty, and mental illness, and into emancipation and self-confidence. We’ll support them as they build their own businesses which in turn support others. The network will empower them to break barriers and forge paths, easing change-making for everyone in their wake.
I’ve been there: I’ve had debilitating issues with mental illness, abuse, addiction, and poverty. I’ve had the good fortune of finding life-saving supports and resources, some free of cost, thankfully. And last year, when I received a small settlement, I invested in a business coach for six months—which is the only reason The Imperfect Network exists. So this is me paying that forward, offering this same opportunity to others who might also be transformed by it.
An imperfect network of support systems and resources; partnering and collaborating with trauma therapists, addictions support services, healers of all kinds, and business development services. Truly holistic.
If you think you might like to be part of this network, please reach out to me—I’d love to hear from you. If you’ve done something similar, again, please reach out: I’ll need all the advice and support I can get!
I’m also seeking financial support for this goal, so if you have any thoughts on sponsorships, donors, grants, or other funding sources, please share those too. (I’m in Canada, and intend to offer these services all over the world.)
* Morning pages are originally from Julia Cameron’s inspiring book, ‘The Artist’s Way.’ Jacq Fisch strongly recommends them, and I’m finding that taking the time to brain-dump and dream with pen and paper first thing in the morning, before anyone else’s words or ideas seep in, is a game-changer.
** ‘Tidy up’ was the prompt I got that morning from my new fave app, Oblique Strategies. (There’s also a card deck.) The prompts can be used to stir creativity—and to give a new perspective on something—anything. I’ve taken to using one every day, just to feel a shift. Today’s is ‘Towards the insignificant’—at which I balked at first, because, what?? Why waste time on insignificance? And yet, it allowed me to see how stressed I’ve been about making sure everything I do ‘matters.’ Phew. Played dance music on the long dog walk this morning instead of an informative podcast or healing meditation, and had a blast, shaking my ass in vineyards and hand-dancing along suburban streets.
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