Chapter 6

Unlocking the Power Centers and working with Feminine Power practices provide the foundational approach that works for women seeking to manifest and create at the level of self-actualization

There are huge opportunities for anyone providing services for self-actualizing women if they focus on their unmet needs using a Feminine Power methodology which overcomes the hidden power blocks that hold most women back.

Through my research and practical experience with more than 40,000 women, I have identified eight specific need areas that evolving women are yearning to actualize in that conventional approaches are not meeting.

Confidence – Being visible, seen, to be truly known and able to show up with authentic confidence as the most actualized version of yourself.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that confidence is the number one barrier to women claiming leadership roles or stepping forward to create their own business.

Women have a very different relationship to confidence than men do.

Women need to feel like they’re 85% certain of things and have 100% capability before they are willing to put themselves out there or offer an opinion, and as a result, they miss out on many opportunities because they underestimate their abilities and don’t get the chance to challenge themselves and grow.

Men, on the other hand, only need to feel 25% confident, and they frequently overestimate their abilities, leading to a high rate of failure—the worst thing for their confidence, which is why they’re willing to settle for only 25% and continue to overreach.

So many women have been trained to make themselves invisible and because of this, they believe, on a deep, unconscious level, that their needs don’t matter.

Lack of confidence and self-worth can be at the core of many immediate problems women will seek help with, such as their finances, relationships, and health, to name just a few.

The problem is that the old models we have for confidence come from the way leadership was traditionally portrayed in the books we read or the films and television shows we saw as we were growing up in our formative years.

Heroic leaders were most often portrayed as men who had all the answers and achieved success through knowing exactly what to do and executing a fool-proof plan.

But that approach has never really worked for women, and it isn’t even realistic for men anymore as the demands of the workplace evolve and become more complex.

As a change-maker, you can create extraordinary breakthroughs for women in their confidence and self-worth by helping them focus on their ability to create supportive networks and to begin to truly value and leverage all of the traits in themselves that researchers have identified as making women such good leaders.

Love and Relationships – Attracting and creating growth-oriented relationships.

Simply put, self-actualizing women want to experience growth in their relationships and are looking for a life partner.

They are seeking someone who shares their values and supports their dreams, and they want the kind of relationship that serves the growth and evolution of both partners.

The problem is that this orientation is very different from the way love and romantic relationships are usually portrayed in mainstream film and television, where they need drama and conflict and imbalance to keep people entertained.

Because of this, most women don’t even know how to describe what they’re yearning for, let alone know how to create it. As a change-maker, you will understand the unique problems and challenges that self-actualizing women are feeling in the area of love, allowing you to help them name and frame their needs, and then teach them the steps they must take to attract this kind of love into their lives.

Within this arena there are different areas you can specialize in, such as women over the age of 50, focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities that are unique to that time of life in attracting a life partner and create a growth-oriented relationship in the later stages of life.

Or you could specialize in helping parents develop the skills and create the framework to raise self-actualizing children in a complex, ever-changing world. Conscious parents want to raise children who are resilient, able to cope with rapid change, and stay grounded in knowing who they truly are.

There is also a career in helping women cope with relationship breakup in a transformational way. With more than 50% of marriages ending in divorce, self-actualizing women who are faced with such a breakup need support and solutions for any number of issues that can arise in that process, between emotional challenges and the complexities of navigating things like new living arrangements and shared parenting.

These careers don’t yet fully exist in the world, but millions of women have these kinds of unserved needs.

Prosperity – Expanding prosperity and livelihood. Creating a way of making money that is deeply aligned with your values. Having the resources to thrive, prosper and contribute in this life.

As you might imagine, there are lots of issues between women and money.

Most women have at least a few unhealthy beliefs about money, and are oriented to money in ways that limit their prosperity and cause them stress.

Women need support to shift their whole orientation to money and finance, which will, in turn, open up greater possibilities for success in their careers, and in having a more profound impact in their communities and in the world, as well as increased opportunities to step into positions of leadership and influence.

Mainstream financial training does not address the deeper barriers and challenges for women at this level of self-actualization. Nor does it offer the level of training that can catapult women forward on their path to their Destiny. That’s where you could come in if you feel drawn to serve women in this way.

Another group of women who need highly specialized support are the professional women who are gravitating away from their corporate lives and looking to create a new career context where they can self-actualize, and they need to quickly develop the business and marketing skills to help them create and sustain a successful business.

Again, these are services women all over the world are in need of, but there aren’t currently enough women who know how to provide those kinds of services in ways that can truly transform other women’s lives.

Creativity – Manifest the deepest desires for self-expression, fun and play.

Self-actualizing women want to express themselves. They want to write books or become artists. They sense there is value in their creativity, both in the expression of it and in the possibility of creating a career around it or supplementing their income in some way through selling, performing or exhibiting their art.

To support these women—many of whom are just discovering this impulse in themselves—there is a deep need to develop opportunities for them to self-express, and to teach them how to approach the business side in healthy and effective ways.

Spirituality – The longing to deepen connection to a higher power and have a relationship with an intelligence or energy that is bigger than yourself.

Women everywhere are experiencing a yearning to connect more deeply with a higher power of some kind. They want to have a relationship with the intelligence and energy of something bigger than themselves as a way of experiencing deeper meaning and connection.

Unfortunately, such soul-searching and spiritual pursuit is actively complicated and discouraged by our modern, always-on materialistic lifestyle, and these women need support to understand and explore that relationship with a higher source.

Women also want to be able to take some time away from their responsibilities of caring for children or aging parents or work, and just be alone in nature, feeling a deeper spiritual connection, without having to worry about their appearance—somewhere they can just be still. Unfortunately, most women find it difficult to spend time alone in natural settings without on some level fearing for their physical safety, either from wildlife or being targeted by men in some way—not at all irrational concerns.

So another needed niche is in creating spaces (even relatively small ones) where women can come and be in nature and feel completely safe, both alone and together, to get that needed break and stillness, and explore their spirituality on the path to self-actualization.

Health & Self-Care – Feeling at home in the body, being healthy, radiant, feeling vital, and having boundless energy.

Some of women’s biggest challenges center around their health. So many women have concerns about their weight, about energy, about exercise and fitness, about cancer, and about aging, and their needs are obviously not being met and they need extensive support in all kinds of specific areas.

The root cause of so many health issues for women is chronic disconnection from themselves.

You can create lasting holistic change in women’s health by creating programs and structures that teach women to overcome shame, lack and disconnection. There is an extraordinary career for you here if this is something you feel called to pursue.

Influence – Impact a greater number of people by uplifting and empowering others.

Traditional executive coaching does not address what’s going on for executive women who want to self-actualize through their work, who are navigating through career transitions, and who need support to break free from shame, lack and isolation. There is a huge opportunity here. By supporting your clients to unlock their Feminine Power Centers, they are more able to identify how and where they can have the most significant impact.

Calling – Discovering and cultivating your unique gifts and genius.

The first question is: What is one’s calling and how is it different from simply doing what you want to do? In the mainstream, there’s a lot of messaging about doing what you enjoy doing, and living your passions to find your purpose, but in my experience, that’s not where you’ll find your true purpose that will fulfill you in ways nothing else can.

For most women, at the level of self-actualization where they’re stuck right now, this question is being looked at and thought of in a way that is very two-dimensional, in the sense of “it’s me in isolation trying to figure out what my purpose is.”

But the truth is that your purpose can only be discovered in a relational context with others. That is where your own deeper gifts will be revealed and you’ll find out who is in need of what you have to offer, and you’ll be able to create solutions that enable you to give your gifts in ways that profoundly impact other people.

There are huge career opportunities for women who set up workshops, groups and gatherings where women can help one another discover their calling.

Chapter 6

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