What is Spiritual Entrepreneurship?
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I don't think there's one correct or precise definition for the term spiritual entrepreneurship. I've wanted to write about it for some time, but have hesitated as it's difficult to know what exactly to call it. So instead, I'm sharing with you the feelings of awakening – when one gets a call to live more from the world of energy and spirit. Or, for lack of a better term, spiritual entrepreneurship.
Why would I speak of this? Because, after almost 14 years consulting and advising small business owners, I've seen the effects on the personal lives and the businesses of the entrepreneurs who have felt this soulful call to change. I've sat with and helped them walk the path of change. I know the symptoms and stages. So if you're one of those entrepreneurs feeling that inner pull toward something you don't quite know, this is for you.
Sometimes I talk with a client who is feeling as if everything in her life and business is suddenly off kilter. This feeling persists for some months, and often leads the person experiencing it to a profound sense of disorientation. What she loved doing, she may not now take pleasure in doing. There’s a sense of “this doesn’t fit anymore” even though things are, on the outside, going well.
Often, this is a call to live from a deeper and more life-affirming place. It is the beginning of morphing into a spiritual entrepreneur, or maybe a better term is an entrepreneur grounded in the energetic world. Such a call to the world of energy and spirit actually does give one symptoms, as a physical illness does. While this can happen at any point in our life, it seems more common from mid-life onward. Gradually (or, sometimes suddenly) some of us entrepreneurs get a strong, knock-me-over, profound and startling experience that is psychic and emotional as much as it is physical.
A Shift in Energy That Can Feel Frightening
This change within one is a true shift in the literal energy of one's body to be more in line with our soul, and more in line with the energies of the spirit. It is frightening at first. As one lets go of expectation and feels one’s way through it, the tension and fear that something is horribly wrong eases up, and the sense of rightness grows stronger.
Not all people are called to the deep change. It is an honor, really, and reflects one’s ground, one’s solid sense of one’s self and the world. It is a movement toward living in the world of energy and insight, and seeing things from a more objective and removed perspective. However, it is extremely surprising and calls into question almost every belief one has about the world, one’s self, and how one has previously operated in this world. This shift in energy, a realignment, literally pulls one to change.
What Happens In One's Business As This Shift Occurs?
Having been through this myself and having walked dozens of entrepreneurs through this period, I've seen some of the shifts that occur in one's business.
- Decision making becomes faster, as one follows the clearest energetic path.
- As a result, focus increases and one's ability to manifest change speeds up.
- Often, the business shifts, refocuses, or rebrands
- Customers and clients will respond – some will react negatively to the feel of this more powerful presence, and some will be attracted to that energetic shift.
Self-Care During and After This Shift
Over and over again, I've seen that the best way through this time of shifting to spiritual entrepreneurship is to allow one's self time, space, and gentle self-care. Because most entrepreneurs push themselves and don't practice great self-care, this in itself becomes a big change. It might be noticed and resisted by family members who depend on you to take on a part of their own work.
- Give yourself time away, even in small chunks throughout your day.
- Understand that not everyone will react positively to your transformation and new energy.
- Get sleep
- Use your business skills to plan out the details of changes in your business – discipline yourself toward good business practices even while you explore the desires to switch things up
- Get time in nature.
You'll find that things will right themselves, get shaky, and right themselves again. Each time it will be easier to navigate the energetic changes. It can be tiring and confusing, but if you yield and follow the path, you will begin to live from an entirely different perspective. One of my clients calls walking this path of change “spiritual onion peeling.” It's a great explanation of the way spiritual entrepreneurship can feel.
I recommend Steve Taylor's The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening (that's my Amazon affiliate link). But more than reading a book, awakening to spiritual entrepreneurship means letting go of your preconceived notions about yourself and your business. I talk a little more about this in the video below.
If you would like help from me in navigating these changes, you can book a time for a quick chat and we'll see how we might work together. Be protective of yourself and your business as you change.
Spiritual entrepreneurship is unique thing…….thanks for sharing