playing small

Jul 21

Written By JC

You can be having success.
You can dream big.
You can be confident.

And you can still be playing small.

The thing is, no one will know you’re limiting your Self because it’s happening within.

The outside can’t see the internal dialogue or fear that is keeping you from achieving even more—fulfilling more of your Authentic Life.

You might not even be aware of the internal dialogue or fear that is keeping you from achieving even more—fulfilling more of your Authentic Life.

I know this because I recently realized I was playing small.

There was an aspect of my Authentic Life that I told my Self that I wanted, shared the vision with a few friends, and even included it on my vision board at the beginning of the year—a house in Sedona, AZ.

I eventually realized that I was not matching that external energy internally, which is the energy that matters the most. Internally, I was comfortable just waiting and seeing if my vision would come to be, and if I’m being honest, I think the home scared me.

A house in Sedona would cost more than our family’s house in Indiana.
Would I be able to hold the retreats I envision?
Would we be able to rent it out on VRBO and Airbnb to cover most of the annual costs?
How much would it cost to furnish the way I want to and make it a health-focused house?
How would I come up with the down payment?

Fear runs through all of those legitimate concerns, which are really excuses—Resistance, as Steven Pressfield would say.

Not actively pursuing the purchase of a Sedona house was me playing small.

Once I recognized this, I made changes internally, which led to some more external changes that will make the Sedona house a reality sooner than I probably believe it could be.

I reallocated monthly savings into our joint investment account to either have the down payment or to borrow against our investments for the down payment.

I rolled my IRA into my solo-401(k) for another option to be able to borrow against my 401(k) for the down payment.

I set up a Zillow list of properties to follow, and I receive daily emails with houses in Sedona.

I began planning my first retreat for 2027 and will plan on renting a house for the experience so I can begin hosting retreats before I actually have my house—signaling to the Universe that I’m serious.

I know how this works, and I will not be surprised if I have a house in 2028 to host retreats—I don’t know the how yet, but I know that it will all work out. I can’t help but think about one of my favorite quotes from The Alchemist that I recently wrote in a Daily Note: “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

The Universe rewards those who play big in alignment with their Authentic Life.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

Some ways I might be able to help you live your Authentic Life:

🤝 One-on-Ones Let's hop on Zoom to do a guided meditation, a creative brainstorming session, or an overcoming an obstacle session.

💸 AlignedLife+ A unique relationship offered at Santiago that combines life planning, financial planning and advice, and ongoing coaching to help you discover your authentic life, design a plan to bring that life to your reality, and support to help you evolve with the evolution of your authentic life. Learn more here.

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