#14–Who would you be, if you'd nothing to prove?If you knew you had nothing to prove,what would you wear to work?How would you speak up in meetings?What would you say when you wanted to say no?Or to say yes?What would you say to a prospect, when they...

#13–On the other side of the need to prove––2When you don't feel the need to prove, you learn with an open mind and heart. I've experienced this today.While I'm figuring out what I do next, I've taken a retail job demonstrating coffee machines at a d...

#12–On the other side of the need to proveSince I can remember until a couple weeks ago, the Ghost of Compulsive Need to Prove has shaped my behavior.When I was four, my parents left me with some friends for a day. The family of four took me with the...

#11–What my father saidOne of the readers of this email series, a well-known and highly influential author, is urging me to try to make money off of my writing.She asked me to explore my internal blocks: why do I assume that it's impossible to create...

#10–Pain is the messengerIn February of 2024, I opened my metaphorical purse and started paying for courses and programs to learn how to grow my business.I told myself that I'd always been a "subject matter expert" but my business acumen was mediocre...

#9–Shrinking down and puffing up, two sides of the same coinYou already know this: your ego's only job is to keep you from dying. Sometimes, it goes the "who do you think you're talking to?" route. Other times, it thinks it's safer to just make you i...

#8–Codependency, shame, and the secrets we keepGrowing up in a codependent family, I learned three fundamental patterns:I'm responsible for everyone's emotionsSomeone else is always responsible for my feelingsThere are no clear boundaries between me...

#7–The Ghost of Misplaced Shame, the Ghost of Isolation's cronyShame hates company and ghosts disappear in the daylight.That's why the Ghost of Misplaced Shame and the Ghost of Isolation work together. Because they know that if you told your truth, y...

#5––Time indifferenceWe, compulsive underearners have a strange relationship with time. It's almost like we don't believe in it. Or we don't believe that it passes, at least for us.When we think about the future, we believe anything is possible: I'll...

#4––The danger of "I know"I know/I don't know.I've spent my whole life pursuing knowledge. Saying––and thinking––, "I know" was my badge of honor.Whenever I don't know something I'm "supposed" to know, I feel unsure, queasy (I wrote this sentence in...