So what is the real problem?

(The Sacred Business Manifesto Part IV)

Back to Part III

I’ve been describing some of the typical ways taking a fragmented approach to life and business can play out for an entrepreneur, but there are many more symptoms or warning signs that one might be stuck in this way of being.

Maybe it's …

… Looking at the calendar and feeling dread as you recognize that your days are full of commitments and obligations to things that you don’t want to do.

… Waking up with a lack of energy or “zest” to get yourself dressed and ready to meet the day powerfully.

… Feeling a lack of clarity in your goals. Maybe you find yourself going back to your planning docs every month and constantly rewriting the plan, taking things in a different direction. Maybe you don’t even have a plan.

… Or experiencing high levels of stress and burnout because the things you think you should be focusing on simply aren’t working anymore (or never were).

When you don't have the elevation to see what’s really happening here, you’ll try anything to try to set things right.

Things like …

… Going on retreat.

… Simply “doubling down” and “working harder” to try to grind out better profits.

… Taking business and marketing courses that promise the one thing that's going to make it all better. 

… Or trying to scale your business to solve an inside problem by buying into the idea that when you finally hit that seven-figure mark, things are going to feel different, and you’ll have finally “arrived” at some meaningful marker of “success” as defined by the world.

In the online business world, there is so much enticing but misguided information about how you should approach growing your business. Chances are you’ve been told the keys to your success lie in growing your group program, scaling your paid social media ads, or hiring a virtual assistant who is going to make your life so much easier.

Sound about right? 

It’s so easy to be swayed or charmed by the “next big idea” that you are led to believe is going to make all the difference in your business. You see your peers, colleagues, and other people on the internet making moves, and it’s easy to think that you should follow in their footsteps, especially if they appear to be showing the external signs of success with their efforts. 

But we each have our own unique path we are meant to follow. If you look toward others for inspiration, that’s fine, but if you disconnect from your own inner compass, thinking someone else has all the answers that you need, then you disconnect from your own power and inner wisdom.

It’s all too common that entrepreneurs will get one thing working, and rather than doubling down on what they’ve created, they immediately hop to something else because they lack the focus or vision to stay the course. And in many cases, their “one thing” is based in an opportunistic way of thinking rather than being aligned with their true calling or purpose (the Sacred). 

They become addicted to the dopamine rush, always seeking the “thrill of the new.”

Many business owners are being held back by staying in this pattern or cycle. 

They continue to build their business on quicksand, chasing butterflies, throwing spaghetti at the wall, and remaining lost in the fog. 

And absolutely juggling way too many balls to create any sort of meaningful traction. 

But here’s the thing:

Carolina and I believe that in order to get to the true next level in a sustainable way, you will be required to make a sacrifice.    

There’s an old tale about the Chinese bamboo tree. According to legend, the Chinese bamboo tree takes five years to grow. During the first four years, it barely grows at all, staying underground and seemingly doing nothing. It is only in the fifth year that the bamboo tree suddenly shoots up, growing as much as 80 feet in just six weeks. 

It is a remarkable feat of patience, perseverance, and trust.

So, what can we learn from the Chinese bamboo tree? 

First, we can learn that things take time and that we cannot rush them. 

Just like the bamboo tree needs four years to lay down a strong foundation before it can grow, we need to be patient with ourselves and our goals. 

We may not see progress for a while, but that does not mean we are not making progress.

Second, we can learn that patience requires trust. 

The bamboo tree must trust that it's growing, even when its growth is invisible to the naked eye. 

Similarly, we must trust that our efforts will pay off in the end, even when we cannot see the results yet. 

We must trust the process and believe that our hard work will be rewarded.

Finally, we can learn that patience leads to unexpected rewards. The Chinese bamboo tree grows so quickly in the fifth year that it is often called a "miracle plant". 

But the truth is, it is not a miracle at all — it's the result of years of patient, steady growth. 

When we exercise patience, we may not immediately see the results we want, but eventually, we will see the fruits of our labor. And often, those fruits will be more abundant and sweeter than we ever imagined.

Patience is a powerful and necessary virtue that can lead to unexpected rewards if we are willing to cultivate it. 

Just like the Chinese bamboo tree, we may not see progress for a while, but if we trust the process and have faith, we will eventually see the results we desire. 

And it’s important to bring attention to the fact that time alone is not enough. You’ve really got to have the faith to stay the course when it doesn’t look like anything is happening. 

What many entrepreneurs do is more akin to saying, “It’s not growing yet; I guess this location is bad, so let me dig it up and move my bamboo tree somewhere else.” 

Avoid that impulse, and resist the urge to “touch it” prematurely. 

Instead, decide to go all in and shift your focus and take a single-pointed plunge to a core commitment to the path of the heart and your soul’s calling. 

This is when everything begins to shift.

When you decide that you are going to live the life of your dreams and you really go for it with the whole of your being. 

Because everything is connected, it's not about your business only.

It's knowing that your business will support the life you so deeply desire to intentionally create, and knowing that you give everything you have to what is unfolding in front of you even when it might feel like it’s defying logic or what your head is telling you to do. 

This quote by one of my mentors, Michael Singer, really speaks to the experience:

"My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself — because it was."

I sought out Michael as a teacher for this exact reason. He was a man who achieved “everything” in every sense measurable in traditional business. Yet, by his own admission, he never aimed to create anything; he simply sought to serve what was unfolding through him. He was operating from a state of connection that allowed him to follow an internal guidance system built on a deep trust in life.

We call this the Love-Led Leap. But it’s really got to be something that’s worth it. 

Prior to taking the Love-Led Leap, the entrepreneur’s path is characterized by chasing this “thrill of the new” by staying in a constant state of creation born of lack of confidence, and a compulsive need to hedge their bets. This is just another way of describing taking a fragmented approach. 

After taking the Love-Led Leap, the thrill comes instead from a deep sense of connection and absolute faith in one’s path forward. It’s an alignment with a higher calling that has become undeniable after spending time in stillness, cultivating deep desire and strong intention.

This quote from the great mystic and Spanish nun, Teresa of Ávila, says it all:

"The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to love."

When you take the leap, your business becomes a representation of the Sacred, and your life begins to feel simple, expansive, and delicious.

✔️ You trust your path, and you have a deep sense of confidence. You know exactly where you are going and that the only way there is through the resistance that is likely still arising as you take on greater and greater challenges.

✔️ ​​You experience a sense of liberation and joy as you glance at your calendar, filled with meaningful commitments that align with your passions and purpose.

✔️ You wake up energized and enthusiastic, ready to embrace each day with vitality and purpose, effortlessly embodying your authentic self in every moment.

✔️ You possess utter clarity in your goals, effortlessly navigating your path forward with a well-defined plan that remains steadfast, guiding you toward success with precision and purpose.

✔️ You experience deep inner peace, effortlessly managing your energy and avoiding burnout as you align with strategies that resonate deeply, leading to sustainable success and fulfillment. 

✔️ You no longer feel a need for external validation, as your inner guidance system has become crystal clear. You are able to self-sustain on this knowing, and your loyalty to creating your Sacred Business. 

This becomes enough.

✔️ You don’t need people to agree with you, or to even like you. In fact, they might even look at you like you are crazy as you lean into your highest vision of possibility for your life and business.

And you are completely OK with this, because you know deep inside that everything that is happening has been placed here in your life experience to take you where you want to go. 

You take on your work with a renewed sense of purpose and all the love of your heart supporting you. 

But you can’t arrive at this moment of clarity if you keep looking at things through a fragmented lens. As hard as you try, and even as external signs of success may appear, this old way of operating is an illusory path. It will never lead to the results that you deeply desire in your heart.