Lately, I’ve been having some powerful conversations with my friend Pamelah Landers about what she calls “Plutonian” work. Pluto, the god of the underworld, symbolizes going deep and digging under the surface to find hidden riches and emerge transformed. 

This concept tends to hit home for those in my circle and the people I support. We know that transformation generally requires navigating these underworlds to get to the other side of something.

One of the key tools for doing Plutonian work is telling secrets. Our secrets are what keep things buried, so exposing them and bringing them to light is what frees us and gives us back our power. 

Commonly, these are family secrets, especially around sex and money, but over the years I’ve noticed four pernicious secrets that are unique to change-agents. While these aren’t exhaustive, they are incredibly common and we usually don’t even know we’re harboring them!

The Four Secrets

1. The “Flawed Self” Secret

Many of us believe we’re somehow flawed, not enough or too much. Underneath this often lies secret fears about our lack of worth and value. If we don’t have worth or value, what good are we to society? So foundationally, there’s often so underneath the secret that we’re not wanted or needed – the belonging wound.

To hide these secrets and overcome these wounds, we tend to rely on our smarts and competencies to develop skills that people need, thus proving our worth and value, so we carve out a place in this world. 

Exposing this secret is crucial to answering your life’s calling because your calling requires your true essence, not just your competence.

2. The “Merlin” Secret

Many of us are highly intuitive, but until we embrace our intuition we often dismiss the insights that come from our intuition.

Embracing and understanding our intuition and integrating it into our daily lives and business unlocks vast resources that live beyond logic. It’s essential to accessing our life’s true work and telling a new story for our people and humanity at large. 

Blending our wizardry with everyday life opens up whole new expressions of wisdom and power. Plus, wielding it with benevolent mischief is a ton of fun!

3. The “I Am The One” Secret

The people I serve are “the ones” to bring their unique message or consciousness to the world, and on some fundamental level, they know it. This knowing comes with the responsibility to deliver the work they are here to bring. 

It can be difficult to lay claim to this knowledge because our culture (and thousands of years of evolution) tells us not to stick out if we want to belong, which can lead to fears of rejection. In business, that triggers fears of loss of income. 

The other challenge is claiming this “I Am The One” truth without inflating our egos! But when we expose this secret as a simple fact, and it doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone else, you’re free. That’s when you can stand in your authority as the steward of a new consciousness that wants to emerge, while staying grounded and humble.

4. The “Disruptor” Secret

I find this to be the most pernicious secret. The one kind-hearted change-agents often don’t like to recognize or embrace.

Transformation is disruptive. It disrupts what’s been to make room for what wants to emerge. So if you’re a leader whose work is transformative in nature, you are a disruptor.

That’s true even if you’re not focused on disrupting things, but instead focused on introducing new paradigms that make old solutions obsolete. This role can be uncomfortable because it challenges the status quo and threatens old structures, patterns and systems. 

When we don’t own this secret, there’s almost always a subtle apology lurking in our work that we don’t even recognize. It touches everything – our leadership, marketing, messaging, service delivery, what we charge, and our willingness to be the messenger we’re here to be… just to name a few. 

This subtle, silent apology says “I’m sorry I’m going to disrupt your world, because I know it might hurt.” Sure, you know that the liberation they experience as a result might be glorious, but change can be uncomfortable and hard.

I’ve climbed to the top of half dome in Yosemite more than once, and it’s a bitch of a climb! It’s a 16 mile round trip hike with an elevation climb of 8,839 feet in one day… but there’s nothing quite like sitting on top of that slab of granite taking in the views of all of Yosemite. It’s grueling and it’s amazing – and every guide book will tell you it’s both. 

That’s why the antidote to this one is to not pretend that change can be challenging, but to advertise that it is… and that the benefit is amazing. 

Reflecting on Your Secrets

As you can see, secrets aren’t just things you hide from others – they’re also truths you hide from yourself.

Think about the four secrets: feeling flawed and unwelcome, being an intuitive wizard, being The One to bring a unique message, and being a disruptor…

Which of these secrets have you harbored or continue to harbor? How do they show up in your business and life? What are they costing you, your calling and the people you’re here to serve?

Exposing these secrets isn’t always easy, but it is liberating. Telling these secrets and laying claim to your role in this world frees you up… and that’s a big part of stepping fully into your work and calling.