The Price of Authenticity - What is Your Soul Worth?

Has there ever been a time in your career where you were asked to compromise an important part of yourself? A time where you were asked to be someone that wasn't authentically you? A time you have been asked to "tone down" a certain part of your essential self? My guess is yes but my question is how did you handle it?

I recently signed a contract to do some training for an organization that I was really excited about. We were getting ready to go live and they asked if they could edit my bio. One of the phrases that has always been in my bio was actually given to me by a client. It says, “Cassi’s success in the business world coupled with her deep spiritual connection and intuition is a rare combination of intellect and heart". I have actually always loved that statement as I believe it captures the essence of my work. When I asked why they wanted to take this out, the CEO said she was afraid I might offend some of their clients with the word "Spiritual".

At first I said, "sure, take it out". But then the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became. My head said, it’s just a word, no big deal, take it out. But my soul said otherwise. My soul said, the reason you are good at what you do is because you know what makes you strong. You know what makes you stand-out. You know what allows you to connect to others in a deep way. And that is captured in that statement.

One of the first things I do when I work with clients is to help them discover their unique leadership style; the brand of their Spirit. You can’t lead powerfully if you don’t know who you are and more importantly, you won’t enjoy it. I believe leadership is a calling – a yearning of the soul to step up and serve. And serve in a way that only you can.

So as hard as it was, I voided the contract and walked away. I left a lot of money on the table, but I got to leave with my soul.

• What do you feel so strongly about that would cause you to walk away from doing the work you love?

• What part of your leadership brand makes you so powerful and unique that you wouldn’t alter it for anyone?

• As a leader, what part of yourself are you willing to amplify so that you may become more of who you are – ultimately allowing you to serve others in a bigger way?

And lastly, does your soul have a price and if so, what is it? Every time I’ve walked away from a job that no longer aligned with my soul, I’ve been rewarded. It’s scary as hell and yet it’s never felt so good.

May you be inspired to live and lead authentically, powerfully & soulfully...