4th and 5th Keys

4th and 5th Keys

I’ve been sharing my 7 Keys to Harnessing the Deep Flow of Your Heart and Soul. 

So far, we have:

  1. Creativity—the real deep flow of your heat and soul

  2. Compassion—the heart resonance that drives your passion

  3. Commitment—the act by which all manner of miracles can happen

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photo by Jan Kepley

Today I’ll add

  • Courage

  • Clarity

I already gave “courage” as the 5th key, while bringing in Liz Gilbert’s fabulous book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear—I hope you’ve picked it up and had a look or a listen. Wonderful, isn’t it!

I’m going to take writer’s prerogative, and change courage to step #4. Here’s why:

Unfortunately, most of us wait for clarity before we summon up our courage and take action. But guess what… as Women’s Entrepreneurial Academy CEO Sage Lavine says in her infinite wisdom, “action breeds clarity.” It’s actually the other way ’round. When you summon your courage and take action first, clarity will follow.

Yes, that often means learning through stumbling, although sometimes it’s learning by surges of adrenaline, excitement and relief, as I felt on Monday after giving a 20-minute talk about my life coaching to a local PEO chapter. Whether the action you take produces the results you want or not, you are left with useful evidence about what you will try next!

And by the way, the PEO ladies were lovely—they received me with enthusiasm, participated in an exercise when I asked, and even showed interest in my books. I’m grateful for the warm reception—I would come back and speak to them anytime! That action produced very positive clarity!

Coach’s Challenge: Dig in to the 4th and 5th keys this week. Pick an area of your life: somewhere you’ve been waffling, putting off a decision, and procrastinating on taking action. Choose an action, even it you aren’t sure it’s the “right” one. Summon your courage and do it. Once you’ve done it, look for whatever clarity it brings you. You are now 2 steps ahead of where you started! Congratulations! Leave a comment below to let me know how it goes.

Lindy MacLaine of lindymaclaine.com is a Life Purpose and Creativity Coach whose messages empower and inspire those in the second bloom of life to reclaim their dreams, reignite their passions and rekindle their joy.

She is the author of the fantasy adventure series Piper Pan and Her Merry Band, for those ages 9-109 who loved the Neverland and who long for adventures that matter.