Be Here Now.
Reflection, human connection, and the role of AI.
Yep, that's me, looking out onto the island of Evia over the Euboean Gulf in Greece.
I was at such peace reflecting after a session at my coaching conference with Radiance Partners. What a gift it was to have been able to attend.
When my friend shared this image she snapped of me, it reminded me of when I was first starting to promote myself as a coach around five years ago.
I had hired someone to build my website for me. The hero image they chose for the first draft was of a woman from the back, arms outstretched, overlooking a mountain. She looked enough like me, and I got the feeling that the image was conveying, but knew it wasn't me.
Fast forward and here I am sitting in a spot that creates a similar moment and feeling. And it's actually me. What a wild experience to have this moment of deep reflection captured, my own hero image, to fully embody the feeling for myself and reflect on how far I have come as a coach and in my business.
The business of building a business can begin to overshadow the reason we started it. I think this has always been the case, and now, in the world of social media, technology, and AI that we are living in, it is even more so.
So much of what we do as entrepreneurs has nothing to do with what made us an entrepreneur to begin with. We're expected to become marketers, content creators, website designers, social media strategists, and now, increasingly, students of AI.
We spend so much time creating a digital version of ourselves, trying to be visible, relevant, and discoverable, that we can slowly become disconnected from the actual work we love.
Technology can facilitate connection, but the nuance, energy, presence, and feeling of being with another person, that is what keeps human connection such an important part of our daily lives. So many examples of this were discussed throughout our week-long retreat.
Another topic that circulated all week, though it wasn't a scheduled talk, was the insecurity that can come with putting yourself out there. That is another point that can get solopreneurs and entrepreneurs caught up and distracted from the reason they set out to share their gifts.
I came home from my trip recognizing the struggle that so many of us share at some level, and something else too, a calm confidence in being grounded enough in who I am to know the value I bring.
That is what my friend caught in that photo. Could I take time to judge the image, wish I was sitting a bit taller, my waist a bit thinner, that I'd worn a different outfit? Sure I could. Or I could do what I choose instead, and reflect on what that moment actually was.
A week spent with people, not screens, in real conversation.
Existing in a digital world is a requirement now, it's how people find us. But the deep need for human connection is where the work actually happens, and it's where I feel most like me.
