If you don't know Ishita Gupta of Fear.less Magazine, you must. She's a warm, sharp, intuitive, wise, well-traveled soul who I had the great pleasure of finally catching up with over coffee last week at an adorable place called The Bean in NYC.
She used to work with Seth Godin and The Domino Project as “Head of Hoopla and Media,” and now runs her own coaching biz and fear.less magazine full time. We got really excited this weekend talking about all the inspiring projects we're working on -- specifically how exhilarating it feels to channel big dreams AND how we deal with the massive fears that come right along with them.
Below is a post Ishita recently sent to her Fear.less list — I knew instantly that I had to share it with all of you. Enjoy :)
Get Unstuck and Unlock Your Potential -- by Ishita Gupta
Some things in life you can let pass you by: the movie, the birthday, the business deal.
But other things if gone unchecked, may kill you. You'll end up in a life you didn't ask for, a career you don't enjoy, with a restlessness that keeps you up at night.
I know. That used to be me.
I was trying to chart my own path and "figure out" life, all while living someone else's vision of it. I hung on to the well-intentioned, but wrong advice of family and friends, and expectations hung over my head. Yecch. I was too scared to choose wrong and I didn't want to disappoint anyone. More importantly, I didn't know how to choose. So I sat for months in what felt like uncertainty wrapped in barbed wire. Prickly. Painful.
And the reason I had such a heavy heart was because since I was a kid, I'd known I was here for a reason. I knew I had a purpose bigger than just myself and I felt it I beyond a shadow of a doubt. But on my way to find that purpose, I got lost.
Still, I knew that my impact on the world could not end with me, eating Cheerios in my pajamas, in the middle of an existential crisis. So I made a decision right there to start living MY life. My vision of what could be. I stopped listening to other people and started finally listening to my intuition. At that moment, the instant I recognized my potential coursing through my veins, I unleashed what had been brewing inside. It brought resources to me so personal they felt wrong, and my life changed at such warp speed I didn't know if it was real.
I got into a coveted MBA program with one of the top business leaders in the world on an honest application, a prayer, and zero business experience. I landed a job with my idol photographer. I launched the magazine I'd dreamt about for years. I built relationships with people who've enriched my personal and business life. I'm building a business where I feel strengthened, fulfilled and that helps others. My friends are people I respect and who do breathtaking, important work. I've given up explaining it because it all sounds ridiculous. And it is. It is unbelievable, exhilarating, delightful, and ridiculous.
More than anything, it's terrifying. Hold-on-tight scary. I've cried, battled, quit, started, quit again, failed, been mortified, cringed and wanted to drop into a hole in the ground more times in the last four years than in my entire life. There's been an enormous amount of fear that has forced me out of my comfort zone and many moments where I've called people to say, "I can't do this anymore. Not for one more second." And then I did it for three more years and counting. I still have moments like this all the time.
I'm not telling this to scare you, but so you'll look up, see what's possible and run to the things that call out to you. And if you are scared, you should run faster.
Because when you're moving toward your soul's calling, expect MONSTER-sized
Your potential is your essence, the deepest part of you. It is the magic of potential that helped me change my life and it will do the same for you. You cannot let it slip away. You cannot leave here with the music still inside you. Because it's possible for you to start creating your most exhilarating life right now - right this moment with the same magic I used - it's just waiting for you to unlock it. You CAN build your best life - the one where you grow beyond what feels possible, where you face your fears, where you share with us your gifts and the stuff still inside of you. Will you share it with us already?
I hope so. Because it's no coincidence that potential starts with the word POTENT.
It WILL change your life, but it doesn't unleash itself.
Ishita and I would love to hear in the comments: Where do you have room to unleash some untapped potential in your life?
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Update on Al's Survey
If you recall from the last post, I asked if the LAC community would be wiling to help out a long-time reader who reached out to me recently.
Bottom line: You are all ROCK STARS!! We helped Al add 173 responses last week. To recap -- he's writing a book on career advancement (his big, scary, hairy goal) and wants 1,000 survey responses to have a viable study. He was at 486, and now with our help he is at 659.
AND...I know we can help him do even better!! Click here to take the 5-minute survey if you haven't already. I'd love to make Al's week...if not month :D
Sports-Related Social Media Internship
Speaking of helping readers out, my friend David Geier is looking for an intern to help grow his sports medicine media company. If you're not interested but you know someone who might be, please pass this along!
A short description of what he's looking for (full post here):
Are you a sports fan with an interest in marketing or public relations? Or do you want to help build a growing media and social media enterprise? I am looking for an intern to help me grow the blog, my sports medicine column, The Dr. David Geier Show, and other media opportunities. For those of you who like sports, social media, and marketing, it will be fun and rewarding! If you are interested, read the full the job description for more details! Click here to submit an application.