I belong to a professional network of leaders in the transformation world and I was recently at our biannual meeting. Our theme was “Humanity Rising.”

One of the things that struck me was that even in a room full of recognized leaders in the field of transformation there was a tremendous amount of existential angst about the tremendous breakdown of so much of the fabric of society.

The proverbial “what can I do in the face of this?” question was palpable in the room – a feeling I think is palpable across the globe.

If you’re a leader who is committed and called to be a liberator for people and systems…
You have to go to the depths, because that’s where the work of liberation is done.
That means going to the places in people and systems that keep them bound. It’s going underneath the layers that we use to hide our secrets and shame, so the light of truth can shine on them…
Because that’s what frees up energy, and when you free up energy, you free up people.

If you’re a leader who is committed and called to be a liberator for people and systems…
You have to go to the depths, because that’s where the work of liberation is done.
That means going to the places in people and systems that keep them bound. It’s going underneath the layers that we use to hide our secrets and shame, so the light of truth can shine on them…
Because that’s what frees up energy, and when you free up energy, you free up people.

Leaders in the “conscious business” world love to dog on the BS bait-and-switch tactics often used in traditional marketing…

But there’s a bait and switch I see many of us doing as well:

Hiding our Sword of Truth behind a paywall.

I bet you wield your sword of truth with fierceness and love when you’re serving your clients, right?

The question is this: can that same sword be seen and experienced in your marketing…

Or is it obscured or completely hidden?

In last week’s message, I talked about showing up as a leader for your clients. It’s a big theme in my life right now and by the response to the message it seems you have that call as well.
If there’s anything I’ve learned (and have to keep re-learning), it’s that if you step into a leadership role for your people – and want to be highly paid for that work…

I was feeling really stuck the other day, working hard and getting nowhere…

So I finally took a break and meditated.

I tuned into my inner guidance and the message came immediately…

“Jeffrey, you have to lead your tribe.”

I immediately saw that I’d been focused on “figuring things out” and “getting it right” for a project I was working on. 

It’s a recipe for stuckness and a lot of crappy mental chatter – and it isn’t leading.

In our tribe, one of the primary wounds that we share is one of not feeling that we belong – feeling like an outlier or outsider.
But to bring our work to the world, we seek to ‘fit in’…
But it never works because we don’t belong to ourselves when we do that.

I recently saw a ‘confessional video’ on Facebook by a friend and colleague I love and respect in a big way.
The confessional was that he’s called to something bigger.
For him, it’s working with world-level leaders doing civilization, societal, world-level change…

The return journey home on the hero’s journey is strange.
So much of what used to work to fuel your life just doesn’t anymore.
The return journey calls you to step across a threshold of identity where you drop much of who you thought you were to become the person you’re called to be…
A more honest, true, version of yourself, no longer confined by your old conditioning.
And one of our deepest fears when we really commit to this kind of radical transformation is that we’ll be alone…

Over the holidays one of our community members reached out to wish me a Happy New Year (Happy New Year, BTW!).
He shared that he recently moved back to Saigon, Vietnam, after many years in the west, and named his place “The House of Belonging & Liberation.” He’s building it as a hub for colleagues and peers in Vietnam who need connection and community to create and collaborate.

I hope you’ve had a beautiful holiday season, and welcome to 2024!
For so many, I know that 2023 was tough. Most of us can be too damn hard on ourselves, so whether or not you feel accomplished about this past year, you got here. Congratulations.
And now onto 2024!
Here’s what’s on my mind and in my heart for this coming year…

Whether you celebrated or are celebrating Hanukkah, the Solstice, Christmas, or Kwanza, I send you blessings of connection, joy, and hope this season.
Earlier this week, my family went to the Descanso Gardens “Enchanted Forest” – a beautiful arboretum decorated with different light exhibits throughout (pic below). One of the things I love most about this season (besides the family and food) is the lights – they’re so enchanting!