How to reignite your dreams

Do you know there's more but you don't know how to get there alone?

If there's anything these pandemic times have thrust into sharp relief, it is the gap between "business as usual" and our deepest longings for ourselves. Being pulled up short made us confront things that were underneath the surface before.

Some of us found out we didn't like working at the same pace or in the same way any more. We found out something was more important to us than climbing the ladder or striving for success in the way others defined it. Some of us felt left behind and wondered what happened to our dreams.

Or maybe our concept of work shifted dramatically and we know we finally now want to do something that makes more of a contribution, both to others and ourselves, something that nourishes the heart and soul. Something we can truly be proud of.

Other people have felt a strong pull to renew, recharge and refresh their skills. One person I spoke with said she felt COVID has updated her emotional and mental state, and she now wants to be able to be right in the middle of complexity, because that's where the best stories flourish.

That's the key here -- inside your own complexity -- that's where the best stories can flourish. 

As Aristotle so famously said: "Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation." But finding that intersection alone can sometimes be like stumbling through a thick forest with only a candle for light and a wind on the horizon. It's impossible to see the wood for the trees. And you're afraid at any moment, the candle might go out...

I've often mused on the fact that physiologically we humans are created in such a way that we can't see our own faces. We need a reflective surface -- or another human being -- to see more of ourselves. If our stories are the container for our lived experience, and the sense we've made of it, then listeners are the prime ingredient for deeper meaning making. We are more when we move into discovery together, when we can offer and learn from each other's experiences and benefit from each other's resources.

As I've worked with Collective Story Harvest over the past 10 years, and especially during our last BEYOND FACILITATION session, I can visibly see the power of story -- and each of the strategic choices we make in working with -- at play:

WHAT? What story are we working with and why? How will this story contribute to deeper awareness, collective intelligence and even wisdom? What will we be able to see/do as a result? As an individual, what story is the core to what most matters to you now?  What aspects of this story will enable a team of listeners to jump start your greatest dream for your future?

HOW? How will we listen to the story? What are the themes we will choose so that both the storyteller and the listeners can understand the deeper threads and gain maximum learning from the story? What can we listen for that will help you to burst through the barriers and see the opportunities inside your current challenges?

WHO? Who will tell the story and who will listen? How can this unique combination of people serve to galvanize the deeper purpose for working with this story? If you make your intentions and needs clear, what are the unique resources we can offer to immediately boost your success?

For me, Collective Story Harvest is that ideal combination of simple, elegant and powerful. We combine two human superpowers -- storytelling and listening -- in such a way that everyone is both a contributor to, and reaps the benefits of, someone's lived experience.

Because we're working with story, these benefits are received in an embodied way. Once we've heard someone's compelling story, from a brain chemistry point of view, we've lived the experience with the storyteller. We carry it in us. 

And I've also seen -- again and again -- the power of groups working together. Group focus activates a resourceful state in the person being focused on and creates a field nature that uplifts them into new possibilities.

Knowing this, I've long wanted to apply this method to personal stories. I've wanted to work both intimately and deeply with a small group in a Mastermind setting where we can focus our attention and resources on each person in turn. I've created that now with IGNITE, an invitation only experience, both for those who want to use it as a personal launching pad and for those who want professional certification in Collective Story Harvest.

As I've spoken with people who want to join IGNITE they've said things like:

• "I have been on habitual overdrive, but it isn't serving me any longer. I feel like I've been squeezed and someone else ran away with the juice."
• "When you talked about 'standing in the doorway' and knowing a change was coming, it really resonated with me. My business is successful, but I feel like I'm curtailing my own new stories by staying at home and only working on Zoom. It's time for a change."
• "I'm so excited to be part of something new. There's so much we can learn from each other. I want to be clear on my own story, and really be vulnerable to what's there and what's possible. I want something that will take me beyond where I'm at!"
• "I work with high level managers, holding the space for some edgy conversations. I've been looking for the place where I can bring my own vulnerability and questions and where I can learn some new ways to host the story I'm trying to bring to life in my work."

If this sounds like you -- and you're ready for a springboard into the next greatest vision of your future -- check out IGNITE and jump on a Discovery Call with me: www.getsoaring.com/IGNITE