Heal to Lead

11An Awakening

FROM AN EXTRINSIC point of view, there are reflective points in our lives that force us into the light of waking up from the status quo of our existence. We know that real change is needed when we encounter our own resistance to others’ objectivity or when difficulties pile up to the point where we believe we might never know the feeling of ease.

The universe has a way of offering us exactly what we need to see our entire world differently. The moment you lift your gaze and it hits you that none of your perceived experience is real—that's the ethos of awakening. Your priorities change. What you lend your attention to, the way you leverage your resources, and how you live on a day-to-day basis shift in a way that is dramatic and simultaneously subtle.

Unemployable

In 2016, I was taking part in an MBA-style program offered by Goldman Sachs. As I worked on the growth plan for my marketing agency, I found myself wondering if anyone else felt like me: burned out and unhappy. During the program, a couple of coincidental discussions about merging or being acquired had surfaced with other agency owners. One was with another cohort member and the other was with the founder of the leading social impact agency. As I explored the pros and cons of each, a third option for acquisition presented itself.

I loved my team and the impact that our work had in the world—both for clients and within our local community where we volunteered as a group—but I was deeply unwell. Even ...