hey, caramel apple.

i was watching the most recent episode of ted lasso today, and ted had hung up a new “believe” poster in the coaches’ office for the women’s team he now coaches

he kept saying he wasn’t sure if that’s where it should go

assistant coach alice ended up moving it to the locker room, and the team wasn’t feeling it

the episode had begun with a small clip of each featured member facing some tough decision or circumstance of life —

from an unexpected rent hike to a car that won’t start, to a last minute text from a no-show co-parent that meant the kids would go to practice with mom today

each clip ended with that person saying some version of “well, shit”

and in the locker room it was those “well shit” moments that each member cited as the problem

not their BELIEF

because they BELIEVED in themselves, boatloads

it was their circumstances that made them feel defeated

in the episode, coach alice applied the ”yes and” mindset popular in improv that coaches ted + beard had taught her, by adding a post-it to the poster that said “and win”

believe, and win

her point, maybe, that sure — belief only goes so far

it’s what you DO with the belief that matters

and THAT was what ended up motivating the team

as i was watching though, another perspective surfaced for me, around WHAT it is you’re believing IN

because maybe you don’t need help believing that you can DO the damn thing

maybe what you need help believing is that you can HANDLE the damn things that get in the way of you doing the damn thing

you can SURVIVE the rent hikes, busted cars + last-minute obstacles

you can FIGURE ALTERNATE PLANS out

you can WEATHER THE STORMS that threaten to blow you off course

i often talk about how leaping isn’t a one-and-done affair

how folks will try to simplify a situation by insisting that you just need to take the leap, without recognizing that you already HAVE taken a leap

and another one. and another one

especially as a small business owner or solopreneur, you’ve already leapt plenty

if one big leap of belief were all it took, you’d have long since reached all your bright biz goals

no, the real meat + magic comes AFTER the leap

before leaping again

in the middle of the next one

it’s all one massive leap made up of a bajillion smaller ones, and insinuating that you just don’t have enough faith is insulting at best + toxic at worst

because i know you believe in your dream, your mission, your magic + your art

what you may be struggling with is believing that you can hang tough, keep leaping, keep holding strong as the tides rise harder + fall faster

you may wonder sometimes if you have it in you to keep navigating the obstacles that continue to be set before you

and i just want to tell you that i believe in YOU

i believe that you CAN weather the storms

i believe that you can CHANGE COURSE, too

i believe that you are SO MUCH MORE brilliant + powerful than you often remember

and i believe that you hold worlds of wisdom within you

if you’d like to start taking that wisdom seriously, let’s talk —

you can book a free possibilities chat with me here

or you can dive gently in by attending the “say NO without spiraling” workshop experience i’m cohosting with billie smith next wednesday, september 23, from 6-8pm ET

grab your ticket here: bit.ly/nospirals

xxoo, cc