Issue 22 | Bloom with Ruth Penfold-Brown

Hello beautiful human

Thank you for being here. Those who have been with me for a while will know we just completed some renovations at home. And boy oh boy it’s good to be home! And I mean that in every sense. It’s been a while since I was in a space that felt truly mine in this way, probably since I left London in January 2022.?

Side note: the majority of my possessions are still sitting in a shipping container somewhere haha, so it's been a brilliant moment of letting go of control and just being okay with what is.

I remember just before I met my husband Devon (online, if your new here, COVID romance him US, me UK, July 2020), in the first lockdown, I walked the streets of my neighbourhood and I just had this feeling like the chapter had closed.?

I had no idea what was coming, or how big the shift would be, but I knew something was.?

Our intuition knows stuff long before we do.

When I met him, my intuition said yes. His said yes too. But our brains had some catching up to do. Every step of the way was a new challenge or problem to figure out, moving, visas, driving and so on… you name it, we lived it. We weren’t ready for any of it, but we faced it all.?

We continue to figure things out today.?

Why am I sharing this...??

Because my guess is that if you are in the market for something to change, your intuition already knows what’s up.

That change might be your career, but it might be somewhere else. What I love about Bloom is that it supports you to graduate with an operating system that will support you whatever changes you end up making.?

But I’ll let you into a secret… once you change something, the Universe generally gets the smoke signal to start its work to move you to where you want to be.?

If there's a chance that might be your career, then I'm even more excited that you are reading this, because there are four stages of career development to be aware of.

Stage 1 - Execution mode

This is where most of us start out, in a role where we are being told the activities we need to do, and our pay is very much linked to time spent at work. We can learn a lot in this era of time, and the discipline I learnt in those years have served me a lifetime.?

Stage 2 - Enablement mode

Your value shift when you become someone who enables projects to happen and people to come together. You might be leading others, you might not be. You are still rewarded for time spent, but that value increases. You will spend more time in meetings, and need to become validated when delivering through others vs self.?

Stage 3 - Expansion mode

When you hit expansion, the biggest skill you’ve learnt is communication, whether it is your value or simply a strategy. You have more responsibility, budget and are held accountable for results. Your time is spent differently, and it might feel like you spend more time in meetings.?

Stage 4 - Elevation mode

The final level is all about creativity, and your ability to visualise, conceptualise and deliver a strategy that delivers value. You inspire magic and self belief in others and they rally behind your mission. You hours of work shift to more thinking time, and activities that encourage courage and creativity.?

So my simple question to you all is this… are you in the stage you want to be in right now…??

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” ― Marissa Mayer

Okay, you're thinking, I think something needs to change...

Then if you’re up for it, I’d like to work with you over the next few months and be your guide as you envision, bring-to-life, and step into a career that accomplishes 5 major goals.

1. Has you operating in your zone of genius.

2. Has you showing up and communicating confidently and authentically.

3. Has you continuously stepping into your new potential and getting paid what you’re worth

4. Gives you the balance that’s best for you and your people.

5. Allows you to? be an inspiration to other women in every area of your life.?

Hop on the waitlist?here?and you will be first to know as soon as the doors open this October.

Big love, Ruth

Ps. If you'd like to start getting a weekly newsletter from me rather than waiting for a whoooole month, you can sign up?here.

?? In case you missed it, the Bloom podcast launched in August ??

The goal of this podcast is to inspire and support you to build the tools to do that in a way that feels truly authentic to you and one where you truly thrive.

This month we have had:

1. Jo Dalton talking about growing in confidence in her career and supporting other women
2. Sophie Theen FCIPD talking about building confidence at the C-Suite and sharing goodness about her own path
3. Abi Williams talking about authenticity and being prepared to go against the status quo
4. Patricia (Parra) Hadden talking about setting a new bar and way of being for women in the workplace

I would be so grateful if anyone who listens might follow, rate and support this little pod of mine! Find it on Apple: https://lnkd.in/gMND_Sw4 and Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gkWPy_yX and let me know what you think ??

I was recently lucky enough to be invited by Katrina Collier with her brilliant 'Beyond the Damage of Words' podcast. You can find the interview below.

My message to you all is this... Whatever the circumstances of your life right now, you can change it.

I went from being controlled in a relationship, to taking back my power and setting myself free. In the 13 years that have followed, I have learned and unlearned myself a thousand times.

My life and career have shifted beyond what I could ever have imagined back then, which is what makes me so determined to support others to reclaim themselves, their authenticity and craft their life and career on their own terms.

There’s a great quote on boundaries I love:

"Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously." – Prentis Hemphil

Overworking creeps up and before you know it, you are burning out. It builds up incrementally, but can also easily creep up without you even realising it. These are the five stages of burnout we cover in Bloom ??

Stage 1: You feel like you need to prove yourself

At first this feels like being motivated to do great work, especially if you are starting in a new role. As long as the feeling continues, you set a precedent for overworking, and then keep giving more.

Stage 2: You begin to neglect your own needs

The slippery slope begins, and you start to make trade offs with your own needs vs others. This won’t feel like a big deal at first, sacrificing a trip to the gym here, getting up a little earlier there… but before you know it, it creeps up.

Stage 3: You step away from your values

This might start as a feeling like something is off. We might not know what our values are explicitly, but our nervous system will notice when we step away from them. Each thing that you do that feels out of alignment with you adds up, and sometimes we can feel a sense of resentment about it.

Stage 4: You withdraw from your social life

Another creeper I am afraid. At first withdrawing will feel good, likely because you will be creating some space for you - perhaps to do more of stage 1 haha. Regardless, once we start to say no, it becomes a habit that is hard to break out of.

Stage 5: You feel depressed, lost and exhausted

The final stage takes a while to figure out when it hits us, because we are so overwhelmed and exhausted. We really might not know what is wrong at first and we might blame other things around us. The only remedy to this is to create some space, some time for you. If you can do that, you may then create the space to figure out what isn’t working for you.

With burnout, by learning who I really am and to see the signs sooner, I learnt how to make better choices. I developed a sustainable way of being and I learnt how to thrive in all seasons. Even the gnarly ones.

Here’s what I learnt: Your experience of work will ultimately come down to the emotions that you feel and your ability to control and make sense of them.

In every situation that feels bad, there is usually a slice of good available. There is a learning there to be had. We can’t control many of the things that happen around us, so rather than focusing on those, focus on the things that you can.

And that is you. Beautiful you. Smart, strong, capable you.

Rooting for you always ??