A Call For MORE Renaissance Women: To all the multi-hyphenates
My all time favorite advice came from Grandma Bushka who told me, “Never let anybody tell you who you are!”
My inner rebel always loved it when she told me this, as we sat down to another spiked hot cocoa.
But in this world of perfectionism, Zoom filters, and curated Instagram feeds, it's tough to acknowledge that many of us are multi-hyphenated, quirky, and idiosyncratic creatures who don’t fit into one easily-defined box.
Your uniqueness may seem to be in direct opposition to your equally true, very human need to be accepted and feel included and appreciated for who you are.
As a coach, teacher, writer, activist, and artist, I’ve been told many times that I’d be more successful if I would just “tone it down, specialize, or pick a super small niche to write and coach to.
I have tried, to no avail, as picking “one thing” to be feels like wearing a tight, itchy wool sweater.
It always felt wrong, just off.
The pressure is all around us.
Define yourself by how you eat, how much you weigh, how you look.
You are your politics.
Define yourself by what you teach (and only one thing, please).
In my 20-ish years of being a coach and pro-creative, I’ve seen this focus on specialization lead to fragmentation, both personally, within ourselves, and professionally, in that we feel like we’re only supposed to do, teach, or BE one thing.
The hyper-focus kills off the richness, subtly, and wide array of tools that we all have to offer!
When you go out for a fine dining experience, do you want a one-note meal of only bread or just salad greens?
No.
For truly memorable, inspiring feasts, we go to master chefs who have learned to blend and mix a large range of ingredients.
We want the full meal:
The world wants multi-talented people like you to step up and share your gifts. The world needs more Renaissance Women.
Not only do people crave new experiences like a fabulous meal, people need new ideas and solutions for the problems we are facing. And those new ideas and unique solutions? They come from people who have spent time in many areas of study, work, and creative life.
Over the years, I began to see a way to integrate and blend experience, skills, strengths, and a wide array of knowledge in a singular, powerful body of work:
I was a vegan health coach for years after our film Super Size Me came out. But then I realized that the plant-based diet was too restrictive for most people, and even dangerous for some of us. (I’m still healing the impact of chronic anemia)
After 10 years of health coaching, I saw that focusing on people’s eating and food choices wasn’t serving people in the best ways possible, and that people wanted more. It was like putting a bandaid on a pinched nerve. It wasn’t providing the deeper levels of healing and life satisfaction my clients desired.
So I started adding tools and teachings that I was exploring in my own life:
Positive Psychology became a foundational aspect of my work with clients. Finally, I could help women understand and stop the Imposter Syndrome that plagued their minds with Growth Mindset tools and strategies. Mastering the art of post-traumatic growth became a cornerstone of every client’s success plan.
I started teaching Embody dance classes to my retreats and group courses, after seeing that connecting with our physical selves was profoundly healing. It also had the bonus side-effect of growing our confidence, self-love and intuition, and reducing stress.
Then, after years of hiding it from the world, I finally declared myself an Artist. I had believed that because I didn’t go to art school, and didn’t make my living selling paintings, I wasn’t really an artist. I began to teach watercolor to my clients and retreats, sell paintings, and developed a regular studio practice.
Every step of the way, with each skill, passion, and healing I experienced, the fears and lack of clarity have dissipated.
For the last five years, I’ve helped clients from CEOs, Sales Managers, to MDs and PhDs to look at their array of passions, strengths, and creative desires. For each woman, the path is different but the outcomes are all the same:
more joy as they spend time doing things they love, making themselves a priority
better health and energy as they feel excited to get up and experience the day rather than dread it
bigger bonuses as they reach their benchmarks and quarterly goals, with their focus and productivity higher
happier family and intimate relationships as they are truly present and engaged with their loved ones
more peace and ease in their lives as their boundaries are better and they feel more supported in life
As we allow ourselves to explore more of our passions, and integrate all our tools, we grow in every area of our lives.
Every step of the way, with each piece of ourselves that we gather and connect, like a beautiful jigsaw puzzle, we become whole, and the self-doubt grows quiet, more faint.
True confidence requires that we own all parts of ourselves. When we begin to celebrate all of our sides, we finally feel seen, known, and content.
We know ourselves as the whole beings we are.
Integrating all of these pieces and aspects, passions, and skills is the most profound path to self-satisfaction and personal success I can teach.
I believe our world needs more Renaissance Women who own and utilize their many talents, skills, and abilities. And I’ll just bet you are one, too.
As a coach I help achievement-oriented women do this:
How to integrate your strengths, skills, and passions into a cohesive life and work strategy
Mastering Change (it’s safe to evolve, how to know which risks are worth it)
Success Energetics + Habits
Community is KEY
Growth Mindset (end perfectionism and welcome your evolution)
There’s nothing I love more than witnessing a women reclaim her full self, from her dark secrets, to her proud moments, and totally integrate into a new, stronger version of who she truly is.
See, my coaching isn’t about changing who you are.
It’s about owning and sharing all of who you truly are.
It’s not a simple, clean path to integration.
There is messy, tough stuff along the way.
There will still be moments of self-doubt. (I still have them, they’re just fleeting and expected.)
AND there are practices, habits, and community to help us get unstuck and onto our path of creative leadership.
So that we can keep on building this life, sharing this work, and helping each other to grow, heal, achieve, and create lives and work that matters.
This is about sharing yourself, your perspective, and the experiences that have made you who you are, in a unique, gorgeous, never-to-be-seen again package that is YOU, and is ever-changing.
I’d love to see how I can help you. If you're curious, don't be shy. We will just talk. And I'm fun and nice to talk to. I promise.
