I don't know about you, but the push to be extraordinary is something I’ve felt the debilitating pressure of my whole life.

For me, part of it was being the oldest daughter/granddaughter in a big family, part of it was a well-meaning spiritual community I was raised in, and part of it was our collective, growing societal obsession with being seen.

All avenues seemed to scream: Make your mark! Make an impact! Be bigger! Expand! Be remarkable! Be spectacular!

That’s an awful lot of pressure. I didn’t know I could do it differently at the time.

And I buckled many times under that weight. I had severe health problems, I had a chronic attachment to narcissists, I ran out of money (literally the bank called me), I was using substances to numb my ever-growing self-loathing because I couldn’t seem to reach “Extraordinary.”

I never felt like what I did was enough, and I grew increasingly disappointed with my life (even though it looked very "successful" on the outside).

It took me years for me to see that living a quality, fulfilling, Soul-centered life was actually what I wanted - not to actually be “bigger” or better or more. I wanted ease, flexibility, and peace with how I spent my time and the energy I expended.

And I didn’t realize I could have that without the pressure to have celebrity status in a particular industry or have a million followers. I thought I had to have a BIG “platform” to make a BIG impact. And it’s just not true.

Flash forward to now:
I've done years of inner work to come back to myself, to forgive myself and others for any of my previous misunderstandings, and to get professional support of all sorts to get clear on who I am and what I desire. I've invested a lot of money, time, and energy into my process of creating the life and business I want - and I continue to. (The latter cannot be emphasized enough.)

The result? I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and one of the happiest people I know.

While I don't have the things I *thought* would make me happy (the TED talk, the books authored, the hundreds of thousands of clients).... I have the kind of life and schedule I want to have, I love my business, I make more money than I ever have before, AND I get to partner with people who are committed to taking steps forward to create their own version of fulfillment. For me, this is fully living. This is my version of an extraordinary life.

If you're struggling to find your balance with the idea that you should be more/be bigger, and you want to find your truest experience of your life, my loving thought for you is this:

Focus less on trying to BE great and focus on making your daily life great -- for you.