The first few years I knew a CEO named John, I experienced him as a guarded, angry man.
But to find healing, he was committed to “peeling the onion” in forums and retreats. Now, as he looks back, he sees three important shifts that connected him with his passion and purpose.
The first came at a retreat after he had a very rude awakening.
“I realized that I was out of integrity,” he said. “To put it plainly, that I did not speak my truth. I lied and manipulated people.”
John says he had to learn how to step out of pride and into humility. That changed so much for him. “I learned to lower my guard and step into intimacy in my relationships.”
The second shift helped him shed a powerful self-limiting belief that he was not creative.
“The facilitator challenged me on that. Then he helped me fundamentally reframe my assumptions.” A new connection to his playful side empowered him to express himself in ways he hadn’t before, especially in his photography.
The biggest shift occurred in how he thought about his work.
“A core question at a retreat was, ‘Do you wake up every day and love what you do?’ I couldn’t bring myself to answer that,” he said.
With the help of others, John began to implement important changes. One was to develop a deeper sense of curiosity and to look at things in a much deeper way. The second was shifting from serving self to serving others.
“That opened my life to fulfillment and joy,” he said.
John’s transformation has been truly beautiful to observe. And it continues to lead him in new directions. He published two books that feature his art and photography.
And he was inspired to leave his CEO position to facilitate retreats and coach others in their journeys to joy. John’s example inspires me, too.