Expanding Your Circle

Expanding your “Circle” makes your life richer and more meaningful.  You can’t permanently settle for the life you currently have without the risk of losing some of your aliveness.  So, how do you grow your “Circle”?

Today, I will introduce you to the four big life challenges you must master to grow your “Circle”.  We will spend the remainder of the year exploring them.  Feel free to read along with me in The Circle Blueprint. You may also choose to take the free online assessment if you have not done so, and to purchase the four workbooks that provide you with all the exercises necessary to cultivate skill in each area.  All of these resources are available on Amazon.

Independence.  The first, and perhaps the most challenging, life skill needed by the majority of people is to shift the focus of your attention from gaining the approval and acceptance of others to observing and expressing your uniqueness.  From childhood you likely have been trained to get along to get ahead.  In the process, you have hidden much of that which is most special about who you are.  Until you come to hear and utilize you own voice, your “Circle” will be severely limited.

Power.  Once you master Independence, you are positioned to discover your unique power.  It is my belief that each one of us has been given some gift that is meant to be the foundation for our work.  If you are gifted to be a teacher, you should teach. If you are gifted to play the guitar, you should be a musician.  Too many of us have been taught to be practical, to get a job that can support your needs regardless of how well or poorly it fits your gift.  As a result, we are bored and unfulfilled, having missed the thing for which we have true passion and talent.

Humility.  When you discover your power, it is easy to become so enamored with yourself that you become arrogant and prideful.  Hubris is often the factor that hobbles the effectiveness of even the most talented person.  There is a pseudo-humility in those who have not yet discovered their power that mimics the real thing.  Mastering humility only becomes a challenge when you are first filled with knowledge of your greatness.  Until you master humility, your leadership will be greatly limited.

Purpose.  When you succeed in mastering the first three skills, you likely will have become quite successful.  You  might be tempted to use that success to make your personal life more comfortable, even to the point of excess.  You will only find your full greatness and fulfillment when you discover your unique contribution to the world around you, even if it requires personal sacrifice.  It is often in sacrificing your comfort and ease that you rise to your best self.

This is the journey we are exploring together.  You can join wherever you are in your life.  Let’s learn from each other.