I have a New Site! Pinch Me . . . .

I thought it might be fun to share with you the evolution of this website – the real behind the scenes story.
 
It all started when I created the Soul’s Calling Roadmap – a visual and fun representation of the steps you take when you shift from letting your ego lead in your life to letting your soul lead.  
 
This tool describes the process of renewal using the metaphor of leaving an erupting volcano, being disoriented on the beach and finally choosing a boat and leaving on a voyage of discovery.  The roadmap touches my soul and represents the core of what I do with my clients.  When I created it, I suddenly had a “thing” that I offered – which is sometimes hard to define when you’re a soul-inspired Life Coach.
 
I was encouraged to re-brand. 
 
So I did.  I had a designer and my web-guy create a whole new site with the roadmap and me central to the site.  I took the picture below – with the roadmap as a backdrop (during the 2 weeks that my hair wasn’t in braids) and started using it everywhere.

But I couldn’t finish the site.
 
My old site was no longer me, and something was stopping me from going ahead with the new site.
 
So I was stuck and I didn’t know why.
 
I could have told myself to grit my teeth, that this was just resistance.  I could have powered through to just get it done.
 
But I didn’t. 
 
I lived in that place of limbo for about 18 months.  I was on the BEACH of my roadmap, trying to figure out my truth so that I could leave behind what no longer served me. 
 
And then last November I went to California to run my See Your Soul Self Retreat, and I had clarity.  I think that when you’re in a group whose intention is to connect to soul – you connect – even when you’re facilitating.
 
I discovered my own truth and knew then why I couldn’t complete the re-design of bevbarnes dot com.
 
Something new wanted to be born, and it was pushing me to birth it and resisting a mere re-design.
 
Let me explain -
 
Conventional wisdom says that you SHOULD use your own name as your site – that you’ll regret not using it when you change directions – which you will. 
 
I’ve  followed those rules for the last eight years since I’ve been on-line.  My business has been my name.
 
But it never felt right.
 
I always felt like I had fused my business identity with my personal identity.
 
I began to feel like me and my business were one and the same.
 
Putting my business “out there” meant that I was putting me “out there”.  It felt really, really uncomfortable because that’s not authentic for me. I’m not an “out there” kind of person.  I’m naturally a little reserved.
 
I began to hate my business because it seemed like becoming a Life Coach meant that I had to buy into celebrity culture, become a celebrity – which is not appealing to me in any way shape or form. 

I was trying to be someone that I’m not.
 
Life Coaches are the ultimate representation of – the Brand is YOU.  On one hand, you have to be fully yourself and share that, to attract the people who will hire you.  However, if you’re an empath – which most Life Coaches are – and you’ve been in hiding – making your way through the world using your spider senses and being invisible, then dropping the invisibility cloak is terrifying and really uncomfortable.
 
Let me be clear here.
 
You’ve had benefits from hiding. 
 
It’s not all suffering when you hide.  It’s a choice.  You don’t get attacked or criticized.  You don’t have to feel bad – especially when you feel intensely.  Why would a super-feeler put herself “out there” to be criticized, shunned or shamed?
 
That’s why I think that so many Life Coaches get stuck NOT doing what they know they’re here to do.  They’re afraid of being criticized and rejected. So their super-powers get relegated to a side-dish or the soft skill that helps them to do their "job" -  strategy, analysis or administrating. They end up feeling underutilized which is painful, exhausting and demoralizing.
 
And then there’s culture. 
 
Maybe that’s my born in England, immigrant, Canadian upbringing.  I find it SO hard to keep telling people about ME – what I’m doing, what I’m wearing, what I’m eating, what I’m watching, who I’m loving.  I didn’t even tell my mother that I wrote a book – until it was finished!
 
Let’s just say that the celebrity/fame aspect of running a business, constantly promoting yourself so that people will hire you, rubs me the wrong way.  There is nothing wrong with drawing attention to yourself, if that’s who you are, but when you’re not that – what then?

What do you do when you need to be known for people to hire you?
 
For the past 8 years, I’ve been resisting really putting myself  “out there” in a big way.
 
You might find that hard to believe because I’m on Facebook, I have a newsletter that goes out regularly, I created a private FB group.  People in parts of the coaching community have heard of me.
 
But I’ve been blocked from any real promotion of my business because of one reason: I thought that my business was ME.
 
And it’s not.
 
It has it’s own trajectory and I’m just guiding it.
 
That’s why the first “new” website, never saw the light of day.  It didn’t represent my truth.
 
My truth is – I am not my business.
 
I have a business.
 
I am not my business.
 
And so, I decided to call my business something else, that isn’t my name, that I have no problem promoting,
 
The Soul’s Calling Academy.
 
OMG!
 
The name describes what we do!
 
I can work in my business and on my business but I am NOT my business.
 
There’s a separation between who I am and what I do.
 
Relief.  No more struggle.
 
Now I know why I would have a Facebook business page as well as a personal page.  I mean why would I have both if I said the same things on each page and the business was me?
 
Today, I’m introducing the Soul’s Calling Academy to you!
 
Our mission is to help healers, guides, teachers and leaders to rise up and claim their genius and create the work they were born to do.
 
Why?  Because the world needs you now.  Because you were born for these times.
 
We do training and mentoring, and we’re adding new offerings on a regular basis. 
 
Here are 2 nuggets of wisdom that I’ve learned and want to share with you:
 
-  When you really believe that what you do is needed by the world, it is your ego that stops you from sharing it, not your soul.
 
-  You CAN find a way that is right for you to get your message into the hands of the people that need it. 
 
 
Keep on listening to your truth.

Big love, 

Bev