To grow your business, grow yourself.

Yesterday I had lunch with an O-Type (curious, dot-connecting) solopreneur friend who was wrestling with what to do. I asked her, "Let's step back for a minute. Who are you? The answer to that question informs everything else."

She froze for a second, and then her eyes misted with unshed tears. "I have no idea how to answer that," she whispered. (oh hello, midlife crisis)

---

In my conversations with OType founders and solopreneurs, they all have one question:

"What should I do?"

I understand where the obsession with action comes from. We need to make money and feel a sense of real progress. This liminal uncertainty space can be panic-inducing! Just point us in the right direction and BAM, we're all over it.

If you're in this stuck space, you might be:

? Dazzled by too many possibilities

? Lacking confidence to make a big jump

? Trying the same thing over and over expecting different results

? Not gaining market traction and not knowing why

? Having tensions or misalignment with your team

? Unclear how to prioritize

? Feeling overwhelmed by a big vision

? Getting contradictory advice

? Having a noisy inner critic

If feeling stuck is unusual for you, then sure, then “what” is a valid question. Let's meet on a Power Hour call or Explorer weekend and we'll work through it.

But for most O-Types, it's not that simple and there's no silver bullet. We have to dig deeper.

Shift from doing to being

Simon Sinek popularized "start with why." But I've found that Why can be wickedly hard to answer honestly and authentically unless you start with who.

Starting with Who starts with you. Who are you really, underneath appearances and what you do for a living? What drives you? What brings you alive? What will you say "no" to so that you can stay connected to that inner, flowing source of your true power?

The most impactful founders in the world don't waffle around and ask everyone else's opinions. They bend the world to the force of their vision... which emerges from a deep knowledge of who they are and what they stand for.

“Steve has a reality distortion field. In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything.” ―?Walter Isaacson on Steve Jobs

The one thing

If you were to ask me, "Hey Jen, what's the single most important thing to work on to activate the potential I know I have within me," I'd respond, "grow wings."

No, seriously. It's not easy, but it's doable. Have you heard of adult development theory? There are five stages that adults can (but don't usually) move through. The most significant shift is when we evolve from "socialized mind" — being overly influenced by the world and its programming — to "self-authoring mind" — being your own authority.

More than simply learning new skills, the evolution to self-authorship is transformational. It's an expanded understanding of ourselves, an appreciation of our strengths and limits, and a liberation from should's, expectations, opinions and programming.

In this place of inner freedom, we can tap into the wellspring of authenticity to make the impact we were born to make.

?? Our vision becomes clear.

?? Confidence increases.

?? Decisions are made better and faster.

?? We lean into what brings us alive, and say no to or delegate the rest.

?? Burnout and overwhelm decrease.

?? The inner voice shifts from critic to cheerleader.

?? We're better at picking team members who are both aligned and complementary. (Say what you will about Musk's and Jobs' people leadership; they don't pretend to be someone they're not, and the people who work for them have thick enough skins to handle it.)

Instead of being that airplane endlessly taxiing the runway in circles, we've gained lift-off, momentum and altitude.

Self-authorship gives us wings.

—-

Want to know your level of self-authorship? Check out the free mini-assessment here!

To grow your own wings within a cozy group of like-minded curious, dot-connecting founders and solopreneurs, check out my new Self-Authored! transformation program . Summer's a great time to do this work.