September 6, 2022, Dina Marie Weineck

 

My heart is SO FULL right now – it is dancing the cha-cha-cha right now. This past week, something I’ve quietly been working on over the summer with my wonderful colleague, Sandra Janke, came to a culmination. And that is: Sandra’s festival, “Letting Go – Grow yourself and leave YOUR mark on the world”.

The festival was deeply insightful and moving. Sandra curated, facilitated, and hosted the festival. I ran operations, production, and part of the communication – AND coached at the festival.

We had over 80 registrations, 13 workshops and keynote speakers, 12 experts (including yours, truly), and two days packed with this exploration:

 

If we were 10x as brave, what would we let go of?

 

We even wrote a break-up letter at the end of the second day. I broke up with the approval and validation-seeking part of me. It was a cathartic experience.

Here is the thing: This has been a major part of how I’ve spent my summer and YET, I never once mentioned any of it in public.

Why? Because I had held onto a limited version of my mission. I feared I’d be seen as “less than” if I shared about a part of my business that is not straight coaching.

 

Finally, I let go of that.

 

I broke up with something else: to take my Self and business too seriously all the time. And this is a HUGE one for me. Over the weekend, this has changed everything, including how I relate to my mission and vision. After the festival, I revisited my mission which I had, lately, felt painfully disconnected from.

My mission is to support creatives, leaders, and digital nomads in revealing and realizing bold possibilities. My vision is that their innovative thoughts and actions lead to sustainable, structural, societal changes that uplift and unite us as a community…

...and that we do that without any one individual becoming the sacrificial lamb of that change. That applies to the micro and macro level. I am invested in helping clients create massive impact without suffering along the way. Hard work and impactful work does NOT have to lead to burnout.

 

On a macro level, I don’t think wellness and mindfulness is a privilege reserved for only those born with privileges. When the tide rises, and we do so consciously, inclusively, and equitably, everybody rises.

The fear of hiding aspects of my life and business out of fear of being seen as “less than”, or not as good a coach, or as erratic, or whatever, let me to seeing my vision as not as big as it is.

I needed to let go of a previously subconscious belief that this mission is something I must and can only accomplish through straight coaching.

 

Cue the playfulness (and don’t think for a moment that I am giving up on coaching, I am about to supercharge how I serve my clients):

Growing up, I was in the spotlight nearly every weekend for 11 years: I was a musical theater actress. You can read about what these characters have taught me on my website.

Later in life, I managed front of house for a concert hall for three years. Then, I went into arts admin. All the while, I LOVED the stage. I loved the experience that a good and passionate handle on production, operations, and communication can create. Throughout these years, whether it was on stage, front of house, as a fundraiser, community engagement manager, or resident advisor, I was leading by coaching my team:

 

I asked about their dreams, their purpose, and their WHY. I truly cared about my teams’, customers’, residents’, etc. dreams and journeys. And I loved offering a new perspective. I always saw the bigger picture and strove to provide opportunities and mindset shifts to make that happen. In coaching as much as in operations.

Somehow, all the while having a BLAST producing and operating this festival – running the damned show – I felt funny about sharing all of this fun with you!

Then, last week it hit me! Coaching is very operational in and of itself:

I help my coaching clients create a literal production of their LIFE, using all the things that they LOVE and adding what they used to love as a child back into the equation. And vice versa, I used every bit of my coaching brain as I supported Sandra in realizing this festival.

 

Hello?! Ought to be walking the talk myself, don’t I? And I have, actually. No need to hold back on that.

Why am I sharing all of this with you, dear reader? Here is why:

When we let go of shoulds, restrictions, and even well-thought-out ideas of how we can realize our missions, a few things happen:

• We get to give ourselves permission to be playful again, a vital ingredient to growing the business.
• We begin to see more potential business opportunities, merely by changing our perspective.
• Diversifying our income streams suddenly becomes a walk through the park.

 

That playfulness SHOWS: and draws in more clients, more positive responses to your invitations, biz opportunities, and acts of love and kindness.

 

I let go of validation, approval, and a narrow lens on my mission this past week. It was like a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual cleansing. Or the difference between typing with versus without the right prescription glasses:

After letting go, I now see clearly my path forward.

Wanna hear something funny? I never actually had a proper farewell from acting on stage. When I gave my last performance, due to reasons beyond my control, I did not know it was going to be my last. In over a decade after my last performance, I never felt like I’d gotten closure on this chapter of my life. Finally, on Friday, I wrote a breakup letter to the stage, giving myself closure.

Less than 24 hours later, I woke up full of ideas about how I can add the perspective of production and operations back into my Professional Coaching Business…henceforth replicating that unique feeling of being on stage while coaching. I know in my heart, that this playfulness is what is going to catapult me to the next level in how I serve my coaching clients AND in my business AND personal growth.

Last night? I received two HUGE collaboration opportunities within two hours. I was already in my PJs at that point.

But it isn’t just playfulness. It is having the courage to let go of the things that are holding us back and the things we love…to help transform them into something new, playful, exciting, and prosperous.

If you were to break up with one part of yourself that is holding you back or no longer feels aligned, what would that be? Tell me in your reply.

Of course, we wrote that breakup letter to this soundtrack.

 

In playful gratitude to Sandra who has helped me reconnect with such a vital part of myself, my zone of genius, and playfulness,

Dina

 

P.S While most of Sandra's offerings are in German, she is just as powerful a coach in English as she is in German. If you’d like to connect with her to explore an individual coaching journey with her, you may do so at kontakt@sandrajanke.com.