hey, shredded cheddar.

so, this might ruffle some feathers

but ima say it anyway because it might just help you spread those feathered wings + fly:

you’re not looking for answers

every time you hop on a coaching call or pick up the phone to call a friend, and you say some version of:

“and i just don’t know what to do” —

i’ll be uncharacteristically reserved here + say maybe something like 78.273854% of the time, you’re not looking for answers at all

what you’re looking for is permission. approval. someone to say “you know what, you’re RIGHT. that’s exactly what you should do”

but NOT in a “just tell me what i want to hear” kind of way. you want to be HEARD

you want your ideas CONSIDERED

and you want someone else in this wild freaking world to GET IT + GET YOU

the truth is, most of the time you already know what to do, deep down. you might not have allowed yourself to see it yet, but if we do a little digging, it’s probably there

whatever it is, it’s probably NOT what everyone else says you should do

and it’s certainly not what the experts say, is it?

and THAT gets you doubting yourself — even when you’re a confident badass baller in all you do, like you

because in spite of that confidence, you’ve become utterly haunted by the spectre of “what if i’m wrong?”

“what if this ISN’T the right move — for me, for my business, for my clients or family?”

as a small biz owner who works with + serves others, there are SO. MANY. LIVES. wrapped up in your choices

it’s not just a matter of risking the consequences for yourself — but this risk could affect all of them, too

and damn, can that get HEAVY

there can be a lot of fear around trusting yourself + your inner wisdom… ESPECIALLY in business

ESPECIALLY when there’s more than just YOUR wellbeing at stake

(and isn’t there always?)

and i know you may not want to hear this, but conquering that — is only the beginning

the real work comes in CONTINUING to maintain that trust in yourself in the face of all the what ifs + all the voices contradicting you —

calling you naive, impractical or unprofessional for daring to put your own insight on par with theirs

it comes in staying stood there, open + vulnerable to all the judgment reserved for anyone so bold as to challenge the status quo + live a life unmartyred, unfettered + whole

after you’ve learned how to connect to the deep wisdom within you + the divine guidance around you…

after you’ve committed to + created practices that help you cultivate + nurture it…

after you’ve decided that you’re done outsourcing your power to experts + others who can’t or won’t support you in a path that’s paved with YOU, specifically, in mind

then comes the continuing, the being, the practice in action

then comes the need to fortify

until the external world we live in starts to value this way of being, you’re going to need to support yourself with not just the skills + practices —

but also with the SPACE for ongoing integration + exploration, held by the fiercest cheerleader you know (that’s me!), in community with others on the same path

enter… the UPRISING inner sanctum

a sanctum member since its start, stephanie zhong is a brilliant brand alchemist + human design leadership coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs, coaches + leaders turn their brilliance into a movement-worthy message that grows their visibility + impact

*the front page of stephaniezhong.com — go check it out!*

she knows what she’s doing, and she knows it

and she’s ALL ABOUT doubling down on what makes you different

and yet… it’s not always easy to DO that, in practice, when the biz stakes are high

especially in those times when finances are tight + every decision feels make-or-literal-break

the other day we were in a “monthly20” (a short 1:1 with me that sanctum members can schedule every month)

after grappling for quite a while now with how she wanted to step into the next era of impact in her business, it all finally clicked into place for her a few months ago

that clarity, especially after such a long time searching for it, was powerful, steph immediately started doing the work to bring it to life

but life… had other plans

her family's finances began to shrink as their personal expenses rose

suddenly, very real scarcity made her epic vision feel impossible

real + perceived scarcity is one of the biggest reasons brilliant people waver in their commitment to trusting themselves in their high stakes business decisions

no matter how much work you may have done on scarcity MINDSET, it’s not the same thing as navigating actual, present, current scarcity of resources

and you can’t mindset your way out of that box

something like this can effectively knock you back to the decisionmaking drawing board again, because you feel like you have no other choice

that’s where steph had found herself — reconsidering her decision, wondering if it would be safer or smarter to choose differently

she knew it didn’t LOOK like the wisest choice to spend money, even on her business, when finances were already stretched so thin

there’d been a part of her that felt like the only way to keep the lights on was to lock into hustle mode, defer her big biz vision, and play it safe… for now

but deep down, she KNEW that wasn’t the answer

she had already done the work of tuning in and trusting her intuition, experience + expertise, as well as consulting with her life partner + her accountant — both of whom she had discerned as being important other voices to consider

and after doing her due diligence now, she came to the conclusion that investing in herself + her business was STILL the right move for her, right now

this is where the need for support, to continue + fortify, comes into play

when we need to stand on business for ourselves in the face of conventional wisdom, other peoples’ opinions, and generations worth of judgment + old stories, it can be invaluable to have someone there to help tune out the noise + amplify the strength of your conviction

as stephanie told me what she wanted guidance around in our session, she almost put forth several potent, powerful questions

how do i come from a place of expansiveness?
how do i BE financially aligned + fierce?
how do i stay out of strategies driven from fear?

but what she landed on was a gut-check for the decision she already knew she wanted to make

SHE KNEW WHAT she wanted to do (take $20k out of her own retirement fund, penalties be damned)

SHE KNEW WHY she wanted to do it (to have spaciousness in which to create the next era of her business, as well as the experience of betting on herself in this very big way)

SHE KNEW WHAT doing it would ALLOW her to do (be able to act on plans she couldn’t tend to over the summer + get the support she needed to do it well)

SHE KNEW WHAT doing it would ALLOW HER NOT to have to do (take on more clients at the expense of her vision)

and SHE KNEW WHAT was HOLDING HER BACK from doing it (a multitude of real fears + worries)

she didn’t need to know what to do. she needed to feel confident that she was making the right decision… not just the one she WANTED to be right

what she got was a confident YES to, in her words: go create, from your full, expansive self. do it with others

BECAUSE SHE ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER

we use oracle + tarot cards in the sanctum to open up insight + perspective around our queries, and the process provides space for affirmation on a deeper, more spiritual level than traditional coaching alone

oracle cards help open up perspective in our work

instead of accepting that savvy business decisions regularly run counter to values-aligned, spiritually-resonant ones, in the UPRISING inner sanctum we champion decisions that speak to both spirit AND strategy

in less than 30 minutes together, stephanie was able to tune out the noise of worry + what if, tune into her own powerful wisdom, and confidently make a highly aligned high stakes decision in her business

membership in the inner sanctum is open through the end of the month, and then doors will close until january

anything here pique your curiosity?

explore the sanctum at thriveandbloom.com/innersanctum
claim your VIP invite to a FREE full-length sanctum sample session group call ➡️ just hit reply + ask for it!

xxoo, cc

pssst... not interested in hearing about the UPRISING inner sanctum + the value of self-trust + values-aligned community in personal + professional growth? click here + i’ll leave you off the list for sanctum-related emails sent this month

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