…..There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine….And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
~Marianne Williamson (post and full quote here)
Recently a friend and client challenged me to :
“begin a post series about YOU Letting the Light Shine in for others. No apologies. Find the light and pass it on.”
They went on :
“I see you as the beachcomber, cherishing the unusual discovery – ‘interesting people’, future leaders, individuals of potential cultural significance… I want to read more about how you do this…and what will it become???!!!”
Phew.. amazing to receive such affirmation and acknowledgement, and also challenging.
Why challenging ? Ironically, while my passion and purpose is to support others to shine, to be unapologetic about their own unique genius and express it boldly and loudly to the world, somehow I cringe about doing this myself.
Still, I remind myself that my absolute favourite quote is from Marianne Williamson, and as I look at the excerpt above, I know writing about what I bring, what I do, how I do it, is in service of others, so I take a deep breath and write.
This may be the first in a series, let us see how things flow ! For today, a first post.
The power of being supported
In “You can’t read the label”, I guided :
“I strongly encourage you to bring in some outside perspective to challenge your thinking, as the reality is that we typically can’t “think outside the box” when we are in the box already”
Providing outside perspective in a supportive and deep listening way is what I do for others. Being in that space is where I feel most “on purpose” in life, living my “Ikigai”, and I know I am so fortunate to have created for myself that what I love to do so much is what I do as my profession.
I roam around the world, sometimes seemingly at random, talking to interesting people. I listen to them deeply, with absolute presence. Where they are open to it, I can then work with them to support them in letting their light shine. It might be one conversation, it might be for years in a relationship that shifts and flows over time.
Today I’ll give an example from someone who gave me their own perspective, and experience of being supported by me. What I capture most of all from this is the power of being supported. The way they describe it feels very much how I feel I support others.
So, on March 27th, an article, Designs on the world, was published in the Herald featuring Maeve Gillies, who I’ve known as a Globalscot and friend for quite some time, and who I’ve also been mentoring for a few months now.
The next day, Maeve and I were talking and she talked about the power of having me to support her on the journey in recent months. I felt there would be power in sharing this with a wider audience so asked her to give me her thoughts :
“As a full time creative entrepreneur and dedicated mother of two preschool children, I’ve been navigating a transatlantic family move to Scotland after 15 years in New York, while continuing to work on two time zones, developing new businesses and supporting high growth potential companies of cultural significance as a member of the GlobalScot network.
Entrepreneurs can forget to be supported. New mothers don’t get many opportunities to be supported. Tom’s mentorship, professional support and encouragement has been priceless. He defines excellence in this role – listening, reflecting, challenging, energising and targeting my creative worth at a pivotal career moment, to today where I feel poised to achieve my ambitions by simply being myself.”
So first, there is power in being supported, and often all one has to do is ask. Second, know what type of support you need, and/or trust the person who is supporting you in that they have experience in this and will guide you and give you what you need, integrating years of experience and a variety of skills to do this seamlessly and in flow.