Step into your truth

Friends:

In my Episode 19 interview with keynote speaker and consultant Erin Coupe, we delve into the important topic of living authentically at midlife. Too many people arrive at midlife and find they’ve spent the first half of their lives living out someone else’s idea of what their life should be.

I certainly did, as did many of my alpha and/or overachieving friends. Most of us were wired at an early age to seek external validation, the kind that is intricately linked to money, title and status. 

Erin’s initial notion of success was also built on receiving external validation. She spent the first half of her adult life climbing the ladder at a large company, where she received a lot of praise for her communication skills, and found herself continually altering her personal style to optimize her success. Until she suddenly heard a voice in her head telling her that the track she was on felt shallow and empty. 

Rather than ignore her inner voice, as I believe many of us do, Erin set out on a journey to transform her entire life. In the initial years of that journey, she faced skepticism, opposition and fear (even from her own husband, who is now her partner). The biggest obstacle was overcoming her own negative beliefs, one of which was “I can’t make a living doing what I want”. Instead of letting it control her, Erin dissected the belief, neutralized it, and replaced it with the positive belief that would fuel her path, and she talks about how others can do what she did. Ultimately, listening to her inner voice led Erin to a life of authenticity, fulfillment and happiness. 

Maybe those obstacles and hardships we seem to inevitably encounter at the start of these journeys are the universe’s way of making you work for the life you truly deserve. In my earlier days, they were enough to scare me off the path of a new endeavor but today I know that they mean that I’m on the right path. And when I let my inner voice drown out the negative beliefs, the resistance ultimately gives way to positive acceleration.

Episode 19 is about the importance of living authentically by getting familiar with your inner voice (you might call it your intuition), and heeding it. I hope you’ll get as much out of it as I did.

All the best, Jon