Six months ago my business coach gave me a ginormous challenge: Crystallize the Brilliance of a national association, one that has major strategic significance to my business and was in need of a messaging reinvention.
When he first mentioned it, my eyes widened and I instinctively shook my head indicating that no way in HELL could I tackle that initiative. It was far too big. Too much content to digest. Too much history. Too complicated. From my perspective, it was just too daunting. He gently reminded me that, if I could make it happen, it would be a massive win for my practice. I had Crystallized many others before, some of which have been equally complex, so part of me definitely saw it as a challenge.
Last October, in the height of the speaking season and literally days before I drove my jampacked Mazda 3 from Minnesota to California, I decided to run the idea by the CEO of the organization during a lunch we previously scheduled. Thankfully, she was interested in my Crystallization work and thought it would be a perfect fit for what their vision was for the future.
When I got settled in my new west coast home and delivered the last of my 2022 speeches, I tackled this Mount Everest of Crystallization. Before I started, I reminded myself about the power of The Crystallization Process I created, one that is grounded in trust and receptivity. I prayed hard that day, asking for guidance and support to help me design the perfect spiritprint of this organization I held so dear. And, as always, the process worked. The result was a gorgeous, intuitive, memorable model worthy of them. 💎 I was positively giddy with anticipation.
During the final week of the year, I hosted our virtual MasterMind of Two to reveal the model I designed and work the wobble. It was a spirited, challenging, collaborative, and ultimately incredibly satisfying experience. After we completed the model, my client brought in her marketing team to review what we had co-created, inviting them to contribute their thoughts and ideas in order to polish it to perfection. One of the team members said, after hearing my brief description of the model of their Brilliance, that what I delivered in a few minutes was clearer, more compelling, and more valuable than an incredibly expensive marketing initiative they had hired out years prior. WOO! Great news! I’m competing * and winning * against the big guns. I gotta admit -- that felt REEEEEEAL good.
A few days later, I got a delightful email from another marketing team member sharing her positive feedback on the work we did together. What a gift it was to know that the Crystallization had made such a positive impact on the organization and her role within it! Imagine having such an effect on an organization that the team members felt more confident and invigorated in what they do! That they actually WANT to work on growing an organization. What a gift. 🙏
The lesson I got from this experience was this: when you are crystal clear on your Brilliance (like I am as a Crystallizer and Strategic Co-creator), you can lean into that clarity to do the things that scare you. Climb the mountain. Do what others will not. Be brave. Bold. Badass. You’ll find that what seems on the surface to be terrifying is really an opportunity waiting for you to shine brighter than you ever have before. ☀️
Do the scary thing. Be courageous. Then watch the magic unfold.