When having everything is no longer enough

Yesterday I spoke to a top woman who has everything she ever wanted to achieve. Leadership position at an international company, financial independence, a rich life that others envy. Her first words were, "Gerdi, from the outside I seem heartily successful, but deep down I don't feel it. I feel I have something else to do. That there is much more to be gained in me and in life.'

These words touched me deeply because I know exactly how that feels. In 2020, I was about to sign an excellent contract. All I had to do was sign, but my whole body resisted. After 20 years of hard work in international business, I had built an impressive career. Yet I felt trapped in a golden cage of security and routine. Was I drained by my own constructed rat race, by lack of freedom, challenge and fulfillment. I had long since ceased to be the happy free Gerdi. My happiness score was a 4. And yet I stayed put. The illusion of being successful...  

The moment of recognition

There comes a time in life, a new phase of life where only material success no longer satisfies. When that next promotion, that next top project, that next milestone is no longer satisfying. When you wake up in the morning with the restless feeling of being stuck in your own created rat race. 

This is not a midlife crisis. It is, however, growth and development of you as a person into a new phase. 

Because you have evolved. You have proven that you can achieve what you want. But now you long for something deeper. For meaning. For fulfillment. For a life that is not only successful, but full, rich and of quality.

The silence between performances

Between each achievement there is that silence. A moment when you ask yourself again: Is this it?" That very silence is going to bring you a lot, provided you use it. Because it is precisely by standing still, from peace and space to survey and look at the whole again, that is where your growth lies. It is your inner wisdom that calls you to look beyond the next goal. To determine if you are still living and leading on your own course. Or whether you are distracted and chasing someone else's goals. Through new insights and perspectives recalibrate your course to enrich and achieve yourself again.

Living again from satisfaction and fulfillment from the inside out. From the moment you realize that external validation cannot fill a void that can only be filled from within. The shift to individuality and richness.

The shift that changes everything

The most successful leaders I coach are all making the same shift. From external validation to internal navigation. From work-life balancing to life-work integration. From building for others to building for yourself.

This shift begins with one crucial question: "What would I do if I knew I could not fail?

Because deep inside you already know the answer. You know what you really want to create. What impact you want to make. What your life will look like when you are fully in your individuality. Entirely in your own way. And yes, also a tad rebellious, because wayward then we are too 😊.

From survival to life

When I left my corporate career behind, I realized I had lived for years as if it was survival. My over-regulated life worked like a well-oiled machine. I was a whiz at tight scheduling, getting things done on time and looking ahead. Both business and personal. But I was racing along so fast that I didn't take time for the questions that really mattered:

• What am I actually doing this for?
• What should I really do here?
• What is my legacy?

In my sixth gear, I did a lot, achieved a lot and had successes. It has also brought me much. The flip side of our own geniuses and gifts is that we slip into it. Going on for the sake of going on. Not taking the time and not allowing ourselves to take rest and space for ourselves. Because you are used to going on, giving to get the external recognition and appreciation. The contradiction of success.

The paradox of growth

What no one tells you about success is that it is addictive, but also limiting. Each new milestone creates a new comfort zone. And comfort zones are where dreams die. Because we generally prefer to choose certainty over daring to take risks and uncertainties outside the lines.

The most leaders I follow and admire are those who have had the courage to rewrite their own definition of fulfillment and success. Who have chosen growth over security. For meaning over status. For their own future-fit leadership over conformity.

True fulfillment comes not from achieving more, but from being different. It involves a fundamental shift in how you look at yourself, how you make choices and how you live your life. And as I also describe it in my 7P Leadership and Growth System™ as a personal foundation. From how you want to live your life and a successful business that makes that possible. The start of The Lead Essentials: Life first, supported by business second.

From 'more, more, more' to 'different, better, deeper'

In the corporate world, you chase more status, more stuff, more money. But real growth requires a different "more. My definition of 'more' has changed for and through my BOLD MOVE. Not more from having, but more from:

• More impact
• More quality of life
• Greater financial independence
• More genuine connection and enrichment
• More inner peace, fulfillment and freedom

And it has given me back a different perspective and focus on my life. Being future-oriented and healthy fit in all areas: Personal, business and financial leadership & growth. After all, what is wealth worth without healthy mental and physical fitness? Without freedom of my time and financial security and independence? For me, this is the basis of Future-Fit Leadership. Strategic Leadership, investing and innovating to grow. And from there my Integral Growth System™ was developed with which I help my clients to grow integrally in personal, business and financial leadership, growth and freedom.

Future-fit living and business

What I call future-fit is creating future-proof prosperity where you stay healthy in all areas: personal, business and financial. It's not enough to be successful if you break down. Sustainable growth requires you to make your health a priority, not only in your personal life, but also in the strategic choices you make.

Your moment of choice

If you are reading this and recognize yourself, then you are ready for the next phase. Not because you have failed, but because you have grown. Because you want more than just function. Because you know there is a version of yourself that has not yet fully come to life.

The question is not whether you can do it. The question is whether you want to. And for that, you have powerful choices to make. To change to do it differently. 

The price of not choosing that you charge to yourself.

Not choosing is also a choice. It is the choice to stay in your current reality, knowing that more is possible. It is the choice to leave your potential untapped. It is the choice to look back five years from now and think, "What if I had taken the leap then? Not choosing, by the way, is totally ok. If you then also have inner peace with your choice. Because what is the cost to you if you don't choose, but it comes at the expense of your own happiness and health?

Choosing to grow means choosing uncertainty. But it also means choosing possibilities you cannot yet envision. It means choosing a life where you wake up in the morning with energy instead of fatigue. In which your work feels like an extension of who you are instead of something you do. Spending your time and energy on those people and things that really matter and where you make an impact. That's living forward and building your legacy.

Your new way forward

Transformation begins with recognition that there is more to get out of you and life. And that you want more. More of the other. Because you are ready for the next phase of your life. A transition where you are ready to redefine and begin to realize your definition of success.

The next step is to ask the tough questions:

• What do I really want to create?
• What impact do I want to make?
• What does my life look like when I am fully utilizing my potential and standing in my individuality?
• What is stopping me from showing and becoming that version of myself?

From vision to action

Vision without action is only a dream. Action without vision is meaningless. But vision with action can change the world. Starting with your world.

It is not about throwing away everything you have built. Because that is your genius value and with that you can change and achieve so much for yourself and for others. It's about integrating who you have become with who you can become. It's about creating a life and career that is fully aligned with your value(s), your mission and your potential.

Your legacy begins now

Because what you have built is impressive. But what you can still become is legendary. The question is not whether you deserve it. The question is whether you are willing to become the person who can make it happen.

Your legacy doesn't start tomorrow. It begins now. With this choice. With this recognition. With this first step toward a life where being successful and being fulfilled go hand in hand.

Are you ready for a strategic conversation about your next phase? 

Warm regards,

Gerdi 

Your freedom and success. My mission.

PS. I work with women who no longer settle for mediocrity. Women who want to raise their standards - in their lives, leadership and business. Women who are ready to choose more: more freedom, more profit, more meaning.

Make your work a legacy.
Living and doing business on your terms, with fulfillment and in freedom.

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