Up to this point, our conversation has been a bit abstract, has it not?

But, because you are a high performer, it’s important to you to be have something concrete so that you may be able to take action. The rest of the episode today is simply about realization and choice.

Are you in a place today that you are growing into your new role or growing out of your previous?

Perhaps you are even in a place that you are ready for a completely new crown- ready to accept one that will become the foundation of the next version you will become. Here’s how you can practically do it

1. Spend time in a journal.  Active Imagination exercise by Carl Jung.
   
2. Get clear about where you want to go and when you want to be there.
   
3. Give yourself resources.
   
4. Create an action plan.
   
5. Take step 1. Literally, that’s it.   Take the single largest step you can take in the direction you know you want to go.

To learn more, tune in to the Shiftwork Podcast episode 11 here.

Time to Take Off the Crown

If I were to ask you to describe a crown, designed specifically for you, made of the memoirs and trinkets from your life, what would it look like? Would it be gold, grand and glorious? Would it be a crown of thorns much like we imagine Jesus wearing? Is the crown that we wear representative of the life we are living? Or the life we want to be living?

I think often about the many different “hats” that I currently wear and that I have previously worn. These hats are often indicative of the identity I have surrounding a specific role in my life. My question is very simple, does the crown serve you today?

I am guessing that you, like many of your entrepreneur peers, are quite proud of the crown you wear today. It’s probably cobbled together a bit from some of your wins, or your trophies. It likely has some scratches and some scars from some of the battles you have fought and won (or maybe lost) along the way.

How do you know when it is time to take the crown off altogether and trade it in for a new one?

Think back to your first REAL car, the one you chose for yourself and finally paid for yourself. Im guessing that you babied that thing initially, car washes frequently, perhaps even wouldn’t even eat in the car.

But what happened after 4 or 5 years?  No matter how many oil changes, new sets of tires, or even stereo upgrades, it was time to trade it in for a new car.

The problem in our entrepreneurial life is that we get too comfortable, finding the ways of the past to be the easiest and most familiar. But on the growth path, when you are making strides to be the next version of yourself, you have to take the old crown off and put it away.

It’s no longer you, it no longer serves you and needs to be replaced with the future version of your crown- one that is shiny and new that you can grow into.

Is it time for an upgrade to your crown?

Trading in for a New Model

I can think back in my life about many of the physical and metaphorical hats I have worn. There was the headgear when I was a high school wrestler, the “study cap” in college, my flight cap as an Air Force officer. But none likely defined me as much as my flight helmet.

I loved that thing and remember the day I got fitted for it like it was yesterday. The help fit perfectly, the plastic oxygen mask being trimmed to fit my face, and the shiny visor that was straight out of the movies. There was no way NOT to feel like a bad ass.

It was a symbol of the identity that I had become, I was now in the tribe and in just a few short days that oxygen hose would be plugged in.

The sensation of putting that helmet on for real the first time met and exceed every expectation I could have imagined.

The power of the engine turning at a slow hum, and the smell of JP8 surrounding the air.

Soon I would be pushing the throttle up and taking this airplane for a joyride.

At some point there would also be a last day I would put that helmet on. It sits on the shelf now, getting dusted off on occasion usually when my kids ask if they can put it on.

When I put it back on my head I am immediately transported back to a time of excitement and extreme fulfillment and purpose in my life. But my new crown is even more powerful. My crown now isn’t as flashy, and is frankly a bit more of a metaphor.

The crown now is about how I lead teams, build businesses and become a future version of myself that is even more prepared to continue a high growth trajectory.