Over the past few weeks, I've been actively exploring a concept that's been alive in me, sparked by conversations with others and introspection. I've reached a point where I need to share it publicly and grapple with it out loud. So today we are going to do some wayfinding. Listen in as I explore the fear of success, and the challenge of creating a life that aligns with our deepest desires. It's a journey of building and receiving, of embracing the vision while navigating the uncertainties and the discomfort of living the dream.  So, buckle up and come along with me as we navigate the intricacies of wanting, building, and trusting the process of experiencing Ambition Without Compromise. MENTIONED EP. 15 Learning To Dream First (CEO Series) GEMS DROPPED “So many of us want to be more fully connected, invested in and confident in what we want. In some ways, this is the whole point of Ambition Without Compromise, which is getting to want what we want… getting to embrace it and know – in full, vivid color – what it is that we want, and not needing to look like anything else to anyone else. And as I find myself honestly, in this season of having what I want, I am a business owner stepping into the identity of someone who actually owns her time and chooses her work and pitches for what she wants, and creates opportunities for herself –no permission needed from anybody else. And the vision I had set for myself was, we're going to move to the burbs, I want it to be slow, I want more ease, I'm going to work with fewer clients, I'm going to do fewer things, I'm going to continue to make more money and I'm going to feel connected to myself, take care of myself and be able to see the people that I love and care about. I'm living that dream, so why do I keep fighting against it?” “Step into a realization or an ownership over the fact that you can actually do this. You can command your time. You can exist in spaciousness. You can feel like you're not at the behest of everybody's unspoken needs.” “When you're an overachiever or a high-achiever when you think about it, it's like my bar is so astronomical, it's like I never should be able to reach anything or close to it. And so when you do it, immediately you're like, ‘well, this bar must be too low or something must be wrong with this, like something is off.’ We can be quick to question these things and to feel discomfort.” “This is part of what can feel really uncomfortable for us with charting a course towards the life we really, really want is that there is this kind of white space, stuff I can't account for, that feels unreal, kind of unimaginable and we feel uncomfortable with that. There's a big leap that takes place in terms of what we have to learn to value and who we have to be to become comfortable with being in that in-between space. Like who am I if I'm not doing everything? “ “When we think about I want to feel more connected to this place I want to go that scares the shit out of me. Because I'm like, ‘Who am I going to be if I'm there and I'm not doing all the things I'm doing today?’ Right? But you have to be able to see it. Because you have to give yourself a reason to want to set down some of those fears, or to at least open up like okay, maybe I still have these fears, but I'm open to some exploration are all around them. So there's that. We start there.” STAY IN TOUCH Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].