Episode 80: Why You Need An Intuitive Coach

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DISCLAIMER

Some links included in this description may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission, however there is no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting Mountain Practice Journeys so I can continue to provide you with free content!

Links to other websites, products, and services do not endorse or guarantee the services, products, or information contained at the other sites. The information, products, resources, materials, services, and documents found here are not intended to be a substitute for legal, financial, or other professional advice, nor does their use establish a professional relationship between you and Cindy Norton or Mountain Practice Journeys.

INTRO

You’re listening to the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast: a comfy, cozy place for private practice introverts, highly sensitive therapists, and solopreneurs who help and heal.

This is the place for practical, nature-based, magickal support for your business and life.

MAIN

Hello there, and welcome back to the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast! I’m your host, Cindy. Here in Episode 80 I’m going to talk about why you need an intuitive coach.

Let me start by asking you a few questions…

When you began your business, did you ever wish that you had an expert on speed dial that you could ask questions of 24/7?

Did you just want to know the right answer for everything?

Did you just want someone to tell you what to do so that you could do everything the “right” way and not have to make any mistakes?

If you answered yes to these questions, you’re not alone. That was me too when I began my business.

Be aware that some business coaches will tell you that they have the right answer for you, when actually it’s only the right answer for them (and maybe a small number of people who are the exact same human beings as they are in every single way).

How many of you have joined programs because of guarantees or because there were some big income numbers thrown out there in the sales copy?

When you finish up the program and have not met your goals, there must be something wrong with you, right? You just didn’t work hard enough, or you didn’t follow the exact formula to success, or maybe you just weren’t meant to have your own business. I mean, other people in the program appeared to be successful, so it must be you.

So you accept that and end up feeling bad about yourself, thinking “why can everyone else do this, but not me?”

And if you go back and read the fine print of the legal agreement you signed, there are no guarantees, and the coach is not responsible for any outcomes.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this – and I would go as far as saying that if you don’t see this in the fine print, you should be extremely suspicious.

I absolutely have this in the fine print of my agreement – but the difference is that it doesn’t only live and hide within the fine print.

I’m sharing far and wide that I make no guarantees and that I’m not responsible for any outcomes in your business – because I recognize and accept that I have absolutely no control over that.

In all honesty, I can be doing everything “right” in my own business and I still don’t always reach the outcomes that I want. So how could I guarantee this for someone else who’s actions I literally do not control?

It would be like a therapist guaranteeing that a client be cured of their presenting concern, or guaranteeing that all clinical goals will be met within 6 months.

Coaching that promises results is the exact same thing, except instead of using the cure for a presenting concern as bait, a certain income or a certain level of success is guaranteed.

Have you ever bought a course, attended a workshop, or hired a coach and wondered why it didn’t work out for you the way you had hoped? There are lots of reasons why this could have happened, and I’m not going to dig into them all, but one reason could be that you were not aligned with what was being offered in the way it was being offered.

You are not a failure because of this. Unless you happen to be lucky enough to find a course, program, mentor, or coach who is very similar to you, you may not get the support you need, in the way that you need it.

This brings me into my topic today. I’m not saying that you have to seek out support from people who are your clone, as there’s lots to be learned from different perspectives and different points of view. But there can be situations where there’s just too many things that are not aligning.

I am, by no means, where I want to be in this regard – but I’m working on it, and I will forever be working on it. I will never arrive. And if you’ve found a coach that believes that about themselves – you my want to reconsider working with them. This isn’t to say that a coach can’t be confident in their abilities. You actually want to look for a confident coach. But use your intuition and trust your gut if something feels off, or if you’re getting an air of “I know everything, and I have arrived, so do what I say and you’ll be successful.”

Over the years I have been educating myself in many different areas of study. Areas that help to explain people, our nuances, and how we are designed. I’ve studied Astrology, Human Design, the Enneagram, Attachment, Introversion, High Sensitivity, Sacred Money Archetypes, countless personality typing systems, and so on, just so I can better understand how we are all wired differently. And these studies have given me a very deep appreciation for our differences.

I’ll be the first to admit that in the past I have coached people in a way that was based on my own experience and I believed that if something worked for me, that it could work for them too. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but I still had a lot to learn. I began to see things differently as I was looking outside of myself for support and advice around my business and was finding that certain things did not work for me, yet they were working so well for others. And I began thinking that there must be something wrong with me, and that I may not be cut out for business.

But the truth is that we are all so very different. Our businesses are not cookie cutters. I mean, there are cookie cutter businesses out there, but for my audience I believe that we are a little bit different. We have unique businesses. For many of us, our businesses are who we are. And I’m not talking about this in an unhealthy way where your business is your entire life and there is no separation. I’m talking about this in the way that we put ourselves into our businesses.

Our businesses come from our heart and soul. Our businesses pour out of us. We are actively creating them and bringing them to life with our imagination and desires. The majority of my business is me showing up as myself. My business is who I am, a culmination of my knowledge, experience, intuition, expression, imagination, and desires.

And this pure expression cannot be systematized or put into a formula. This is the point that I’m getting to – when you try to tie all of this unique, inherent, and personalized wisdom up into a neat little package to be mass produced and sold as the secret to success it loses all its magick. When you try to find the just-right step-by-step program or formula for your business, I believe that you are diluting your brightest potential.

I believe that there is a place for programs and formulas, and I also believe that so many entrepreneurs have all but extinguished their unique light, and diluted the medicine that they are meant to provide to the world, by trying too hard to fit themselves into a formula for success.

So, why do you need an intuitive coach? Too many coaches work from a one size fits all approach. An online summit worked for them, so they tell you to do an online summit. You say that you’re not interested. Then they try to convince you that you need to do an online summit because it worked for them, remember? Then you say that an online summit doesn’t feel aligned with how you want to run your business. Then they say that you have to be willing to make yourself uncomfortable and take risks if you want to get ahead. And while that statement isn’t entirely false, trust your gut when you feel as though you are not being honored and respected.

And, in this example, you can replace “online summit” with whatever marketing technique that you want.

It is possible to follow someone else’s formula for success and achieve that type of success for yourself. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

I understand that each coach has their style. And this style is based upon their own unique perspective, personality, and life experience.

But where the problem comes in is when a coach doesn’t listen to their clients, and isn’t able to see past their own limitations and conditioning.

An intuitive coach wants to help you connect to your own intuition. Let me say that again, because it’s important: An intuitive coach wants to help you connect to your own intuition.

I whole heartedly believe that all the answers to your questions lie within you. My job as a coach is to bring you back home to yourself and to your inherent knowing and power.

I want to take a minute to talk about how this shows up in my coaching within Forestmind. I don’t have an agenda. I don’t have a five step formula to success. I listen to each person and respond. I respond to their questions, worries, and concerns. I also celebrate with them and become their biggest fan.

Within Forestmind I create space. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for anytime at all, you know that I love space. It’s within that space that the members can hear their own voices. Not my voice, but the voices of their souls. I may be in the role of coach, but my actual role is helping the members to discover themselves.

This isn’t to say that I never share tools, formulas, or steps. But I only do this when appropriate. I’ll share exactly how I’ve done something in my business. Every single step. But I then check in to see if this resonates, or if it needs to be tweaked for the specific person. I don’t say “this is how YOU do it.” I instead say, “this is how I do it.” And they can then let it soak in and see what elements they may want to use, or not use, so that it works for them.

I know that I’ve poo-pooed on a lot of systems and formulas today. And that wasn’t really my intention, as these things do work well for some people. But that’s not who I’m talking to today. I’m talking to all of you who it didn’t work for. Who felt out of place, and like there was something wrong with you because the so-called shoe didn’t fit.

I’m talking to those of you who felt like something was off when you tried to do something someone else’s way. To those of you who have been feeling a pull to do things your own way. To do things a bit differently. But who are scared because you can’t find an example of a program, formula, or system for how you want to do things.

Did you know that you can trust your gut, follow your heart, and create whatever you want anyway? Bring something completely brand new into existence. Give yourself permission to release your magick and your healing, however it is showing itself to you. Trust me, the world really does need it.

And before I leave this topic today, I know that the title of this episode implies that you need a coach. That’s not what I mean. You don’t need a coach. And don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. You have everything that you need inside of you. What I am saying is that if you want the support of a coach, make sure that you are choosing an intuitive coach who will bring out the best in you. You know, the things that are already inside of you.

If the coach is trying to sell you their formula, or their experience, as the “solution” or the be-all end-all, then you are just going to be led further away from yourself. The coach should be helping you to discover what it is that lights you up inside and use that as the guide.

I can’t say this enough – please trust yourself and honor your knowing and your inherent wisdom.

So, I hope this episode has been helpful to you, and has given you a boost of confidence, as well as allowed you to begin trusting yourself a bit more.

Before we go into the card pull, I want to take a moment to invite you to join me in Forestmind, my small-group mastermind for introverted and highly-sensitive solopreneurs.

This is a genuine and sincere invitation. I don’t have a complicated sales funnel that hits on all of your pain points and then goes into expertly explaining away all of your objections.

Remember what I said earlier, you don’t need a coach or a program. But Forestmind is here if you are feeling a resonance with what I’m sharing and a genuine desire to join.

Forestmind is for all the things you can’t google. Want to create a bomb-ass sales funnel? There’s a plethora of free information about this online. Want to learn how to amp up your SEO? All the information you need is at your fingertips – for free. I could go on and on, but you get my point. It’s not more information that you need. It’s the support and community that gives you the encouragement to act on and follow through with the wonderful alchemical mixture of the knowledge that you’ve collected and your inner knowing.

Like I said, Forestmind is for all the things you can’t get with google – a nurturing community, genuine support, and heartfelt connection.

Forestmind is about connecting with yourself, developing your relationship with yourself, learning to trust yourself and all your infinite wisdom and knowing – so that you no longer give your power away by looking outside of yourself.

Forestmind is a year-long experience that opens twice a year (in February and August), provided that spots are available, as members have the option to stay longer than a year. I will likely have up to 4 members graduating in January. I’m sad to see them go, and I’m also beyond grateful for our beautiful time spent together.

I am currently accepting applications for those who would like to join the community on February 1st. Applications will be open until mid-January, but be sure to apply early to secure your spot.

Forestmind membership is currently being capped at only 6 members to ensure a cozy, safe, and pleasant experience. So if you are someone like me who prefers very small groups that foster supportive growth, I’ve curated this space just for you.

Head on over to mountainpracticejourneys.com/forestmind or to the show notes to learn more and apply.

ACORN (Tarot Card Pull)

Welcome to the acorn segment. With each solo episode I’ll be drawing a tarot card to help provide some magickal inspiration and insight.

The card for this episode is the Nine of Swords.

I’ll describe the card for those of you who may not be familiar. The Nine of Swords has a black background and shows a person sitting up in bed with their hands covering their face. It looks as if they have awoken from a nightmare. There are nine swords that hang horizontally on the wall.

This is a card about anxiety, depression, fears, worries, nightmares, and your shadow side. Maybe negative thoughts are getting the best of you. Or you haven’t been sleeping very well due to worry and anxiety. This card is a sign to be aware of how much attention and power that you are giving to your worry, anxiety, and worst-case scenario thinking. This card is also calling on you to stand up to your inner critic.

The good news is that most of what you are experiencing is in your head, and isn’t the complete reality of the situation. This card invites you to take another perspective and look at what is going well. And, if you are having trouble with this, reach out to a trusted friend or your therapist so that they can help you to see beyond your worry.

I’ll post a picture of the card along with the message today on my instagram @mountainpracticejourneys so head on over and let me know if this message resonates with you at this time.

THANKS

Thank you so much for joining me today. This episode concludes Season 8 of the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast. This episode also marks two full years of the podcast. As I move into year 3 I’ll be making a few updates so be sure to tune into the Year 3 Trailer episode that I’ll publish soon to hear more about what to expect. I can’t wait to return for Season 9 and bring you more episodes filled with helpful musings and inspiring guests.

OUTRO

I’m truly grateful that you choose to join me here for practical, nature-based, magickal support for your business and life. For more inspiration and to see what I’m up to, join me over on instagram @mountainpracticejourneys If you’re enjoying yourself here, please head over to Apple Podcasts and hit those 5 stars and I’ll be over the moon. And if you’d like to work with me, join me in Forestmind, my cozy, small-group mastermind for private practice introverts, highly sensitive therapists, and solopreneurs who help and heal. May the forest be with you.