I’m sharing two tools, often overlooked, that may help you get unstuck.
If you need extra support, you can sign up for a 25-minute complimentary assessment of your current situation, why you are stuck, and what can help you get the career and life you desire.
If you want to take advantage of this session, email me with a few lines about your current situation, your main desires, and your challenges. I’ll follow-up to schedule a time to talk.
If you are curious about the work I do, below is a sample based on my clients’ sessions today.
Today, I helped…
my client who works in HR for Accenture, discover her purpose & vision for her next career in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice.
➤ She left the session lit up and excited about some tangible action steps to take in the next few months.
my client who is Senior Director in Product Marketing for a tech company uncover her natural leadership style, why it clashes with her boss’s, and what to do about it at her next meeting.
➤ She left the session finally understanding the strengths of her leadership style, why her manager does not see and value them (as they are different than his), and what to do to address it.
my client, Senior Product Designer, successful, smart and a high achiever who tends to repress her emotions which causes her stress and fatigue at work and life. We did a powerful process to help her learn to welcome her emotions more, and use them as a leveraging tool in her career/life, instead of a hindrance.
➤ She left the session with some internal shifts and practices to welcome/leverage her emotions instead of repressing them.
This morning, I felt some resistance to “work.” My mind was telling me “It’s Monday. You should go and work at your desk. This is the way workdays are supposed to be.”
My body wanted to stay in bed. Instead of fighting it, I reluctantly surrendered to it, while judging myself as “lazy” and “unproductive.”
Then, I started to journal.
And then I got inspired to watch a training video from my bed, so I brought my laptop. I felt a surge of inspiration again.
Then, I said, “what about I wrote this LinkedIn post.”
And then, I emailed my assistant.
And now, I’m feeling motivated to take on other tasks…that I was resisting earlier.
…all from bed.
It’s 2pm. I’ve not eaten yet. (It’s probably time now!) But I’m being productive and inspired… from my bed and in my PJs.
I found my inspiration from my bed.
If I had forced myself to do my usual Monday routine and go to my desk, I would probably not have accomplished as much as I did. I would probably still be beating myself up for not being productive.
Why am I sharing this?
Well, it is extremely hard to take action and be productive from a place of “should.” It is actually the most counterproductive thing to do.
Yet, many of us do it. We are trained to follow the “shoulds” and the “rules.”
– What work is supposed to look like.
– What Monday and a workday are supposed to be
– What “being productive” is supposed to look like.
Society and the work culture make the rules and we follow them, without realizing that maybe there are other ways, that don’t fit the box and that work better for us.
And then, we wonder why we are unproductive, and we judge ourselves as “lazy.”
It takes courage to challenge and break away from the “shoulds” to listen to your natural energy flow.
But, on the other side of it, there is inspiration, creativity, joy, and YOUR authentic contribution to the world.
You don’t create from a place of “shoulds.” You create from a place of freedom from the shoulds, inspiration, and aliveness.
Do you give yourself permission to challenge and break away from the “shoulds” to listen to your natural energy flow?
What is a “should” you can challenge today?
Even if you have a job you need to go to or a schedule you need to follow, there is always a place where you can find freedom from the “shoulds.”
(I’m sharing this post I wrote in 2020 as it may help you or people you know who are facing a layoff.)
As I was losing my job, I was also losing my Visa to stay in the U.S.
I wanted to stay in California and change careers to pursue my passion.
It was time.
I kept hearing voices telling me otherwise.
An HR person told me that “I had to choose. I could not have both: staying in California and changing careers.”
My heart was screaming at me: “no, I cannot choose. I’m not buying this. I think I can have both and I will.”
People were telling me: “What about you stay in the field of User Experience for now. It will be easier to stay in the US.”
I knew in my heart that this was not my path.
Despite the fears, despite the shoulds, despite the voices—internal and external—telling me otherwise…
…I chose the path of my heart and I forged ahead.
I went back to school to study coaching and psychology.
Two years later, I started my business to do what I love the most: helping executives, managers, and high-achieving professionals stuck in a career they no longer love, discover and create meaningful work that reignites their passion and makes a difference.
Ten years later, my business is thriving, I work with clients I love, I’m excited about my work… and I’m doing it from California!
If it was not for the layoff, I would not be where I am now.
Looking back, I see that the layoff was a blessing in disguise to help me on my path.
Are you facing a crisis that is trying to tell you something? Are you listening?
I’m where I am now because I listened and I did not choose the path of fear; I did not let the fears—inside and outside—stop me.
I followed my intuition and it led me to where I am now.
One step at a time. One day at a time. One victory over fear at a time.
This is what I tell my clients every time, to choose the path of intuition over the path of fear.
To do the work you truly love, you need to choose the path of your intuition.
Which path are you choosing, Isabelle?
the path of fear?
or the path of your true desire?
If you are ready to choose the latter but are scared and need help clarifying your next meaningful career, I’d love to help.
I have a few spots available for my 1:1 coaching programs:
Roadmap to the Career You Love & Land the Career You Love
Elevate Your Purposeful Work & Life
Enneagram Discovery & Transformation
I’m offering a special discount or a Bonus Enneagram Session if you sign up by December 20.
If you are interested, email me. I’ll follow up with a few questions to make sure this is a good fit. If so, we will set up a time to chat.
If you love your work but know people (spouse, friends, relatives, coworkers) who don’t, please share this email with them.
Isabelle
Erik started where you are now.
“Working with Isabelle has quite literally been life-changing. After a 23-year career in Project/Product Management, I was burnt out and didn’t know what to do next. I wanted to find a new career direction but didn’t have the first clue how to do so. During my first consultation call with Isabelle, she just reached me on a deep personal level I was not expecting.
Over a 4-month period, I completed a group course with Isabelle that allowed me to discover my ‘authentic self’ and truly discover what work I’m passionate about and what values drive me. Long story short, Isabelle’s course helped me see bad behaviors I had been perpetuating for years, and learn to appreciate the things that motivate/drive me. With Isabelle’s guidance and wisdom, I am now on the path to the career of my dreams that I’m excited to have for the next 25 years.
To say Isabelle’s work is life-changing is an understatement!”
~ Erik Z., Oakland, California.
Want to become a success story like Erik? Email me here and we’ll connect.
I share personal stories about self-limiting patterns that used to hinder my success in relationships, life, and work.
I reveal how the Enneagram has helped me significantly transform these self-limiting patterns and beliefs and transform my relationships, my confidence, my career, and my business.
When used well, the Enneagramis one of the most powerful and precise tools of personal and professional transformation I know. In combination with coaching and other modalities such as shadow and part work, the Enneagram will help you:
Identify and move past your main self-limiting patterns in the way of actualizing your career goals.
Improve your personal and professional relationships.
Increase your self-esteem and confidence.
And much more.
This is why I often use it with my clients to help them move past their self-limiting patterns stopping them from reaching their career and life goals.
Isabelle
> > If you understand French, I encourage you to listen to my interview (Base 4) and to the interviews of the eight other types. You will learn a lot about yourself and the people in your life.
>> If you want to discover your Enneagram type, the self-limiting patterns holding you back, and how to move past them, you can do an Enneagram Typing Interview with me. I have a few spots available for those before July 22, when I’m taking my summer vacation in France, Email me if you want to learn more.
making a difference in the lives or careers of your employees, students, patients, or clients
supporting the environment, diversity & inclusion, health, art, architecture, children’s education, girls and women’s empowerment, real estate, or anything else.
But have you considered that…
being an amazing spouse, a good parent, or grandparent that leaves a legacy in your children and grandchildren’s life,
or bringing happiness and joy to your circle of friends and family
could also be part of your purpose?
What ifBOTH categories were an integral part of your purpose or “sacred work” as my colleague Beverley Barnes calls it?
Your purpose–what brings meaning to your life–, can take many forms. And some of its forms are all too often ignored.
For many of my clients, whatever their gender identity is, being a good parent or a good partner, is as important to them as making a difference in the world with their work.
Career and purpose coaching need to be holistic to make a true difference in people’s lives and ensure fulfillment at ALL levels, not just at the professional level disconnected from the rest.
It is also the reason why in the past eight months, I have been quieter and not sharing as much. I’ve been putting attention to another important part of my purpose and sacred work while continuing to serve my 1:1 clients.
As you probably know, a BIG part of my purpose is to help high-achieving leaders discover the work that reignites their passion and makes a difference.
Well, I recently realized that there is another part of my purpose that is as important. This is being an amazing partner and deepening the relationships with my loved ones.
I had always known it was important to me, but I had never considered it part of my purpose. So, I would spend a lot of time on this part of my life, but I would dismiss it as outside the scope of my purpose or my “work.” I would feel some kind of guilt that I would spend so much time on it at the expense of what is supposed to be “real work and purpose in the world.”
In the past few months, I realized that being an amazing partner is an integral part of my purpose and calling. It is not outside of it. It is IT. When I spend time and energy on it, I’m actually living my purposeand doing my sacred work in the world.
Do you know what are the components of your purpose and your “sacred work’?
Do you dismiss anything that does not look like what society tells you should be “work” or “purpose”?
Do you hold a holistic view of your purpose?
I’d love to hear your insights. Comment below and let me know.
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