Becoming your next level self is not supposed to be easy…

A few years ago I was doing the “future visioning” exercises I teach clients in the Capacity Shift™ program and I had an unsettling realization: I had a BIG vision for my life and my business–Oprah-level big. But when I looked at who I needed to be and what I needed to embody at that level of my success, there was a glaring misalignment. 

You can’t have a ten gallon life if you currently only bring the capacity of a pint to the table. Abundance flows towards alignment and diverts away from a container not big enough to hold it. When you expand your capacity to meet your future-level self your goals start to happen, things not only is there more ease but there’s also more abundance, because now you can HOLD MORE.

One of the things that became clear was this: even though I’ve got immense capacity, based on where I want to go next, there was now a whole other level of capacity expansion for me to do. That’s always how it’s going to be. Every next level of you requires more capacity.

One of the big capacity expansion lessons I’ve learned in the last several years has come through learning how to uplevel and manage my teams.

When I say “team” I mean ALL the “teams” that boost you up as you go to your next level. The help you get at home to manage your life (cleaning service, personal assistant, repair person, chef, meal delivery service, your kids doing their own laundry etc…) AND teams at work (whether that be your own business’ supporters, employees and contractors or the teams you work with at your job). 

I’ve had to grow a lot in my management skills (Embodiment Capacity) because a next-level team requires a next-level leader within me to show up. And team management is NOT something that comes naturally and easily at first to most CEO’s. It certainly didn’t come naturally to me. It’s hard earned and I am still learning. Honestly, I think I will always be learning this.

One BIG capacity lesson I learned this year? 10 gallon capacity people shouldn’t f$ck with pint-sized capacity folks. 

One bad habit I had to reckon with was my tendency to hold on to people for too long who don’t have the capacity to be professional. I tend to be a little bit “too understanding” because I have the capacity to do so. Except, then all I’m getting from them in return is a pint of capacity, when I’m giving ten gallons. 

There’s an amazing line in the Tobe Nwigwe song “Bozos” where he says “Loyalty can cost you buoyancy when it’s connected to people who’re drowning.” That was a huge lesson I learned this year– I need to fire people faster.

I also realized I needed to hire even more help at home. The “don’t be a diva, you can do this by yourself” side of me reared her head but when you’re growing your Structural Capacity you have to think like the next-level version of you, not the current one. 

I realized my next-level CEO self would hire a cook so I could stay on track with my health and fitness goals while getting busier this year. So I did. I also increased weekly hours for my personal assistant. Both of these choices were investments that stretched me financially, yes, but they also freed me up to focus on bigger things.

As a result, I’ve had the time and space to book more speaking engagements (virtually) and pitch some pretty big deals to some large corporations and organizations. These deals are taking my company to its next level of impact.

I have felt WAY out of my comfort zone expanding my capacity to be a better CEO to my teams,, but it’s exactly what the process of expanding your Structural & Embodiment Capacities looks like! Like my friend Ty Johnson Anderson likes to say “you’re on the right path, the road is just a little bumpy in this particular stretch.”

Are you ready to grow into your next level self? Ready to do work that’s going to make a real difference instead of continuing to try everything that isn’t working for you?

You’re who Capacity Shift™ was meant for! In Shift, you learn exactly where your capacity deficits are, how to expand your capacity to remove the blockages holding you back and see some real momentum in your business, career and life.

You can learn more about it here.