Are you scared to come alive?

Tonight I want to share a story Debbie Ford posted on her Facebook page.

It fits in nicely with the process I have been going through.

I just arrived home after a magnificent week on tour doing screenings of The Shadow Effect movie and lecturing on my new book The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse. As I was reflecting on all the extraordinary people I met, one woman's story stuck in my mind. She came up to me with tears in her eyes telling me how much she loved me and loved my work and how she's read every newsletter that I've ever written for the last nine years. I was so struck by her. Her tears were not just tears of joy. They were tears of deep sadness as she told me about her best friend whom she had turned on to my work five years ago who is now living the life of her dreams in a new career, having shed 30 or 40 pounds, and in a recent marriage. She told me that her friend had come and done The Shadow Process Workshop and then had gone through my trainings. She talked about how she envies her friend's growth and wishes she too could have grown that much. So I asked her the obvious question. Why hadn't she come to The Shadow Process or done one of my trainings? With these little puppy-dog eyes, she said, "Because I'm too scared." At first I was shocked but then I felt deep compassion for her. I never really think that people don't come to do The Shadow Process or one of my trainings because they're scared. in that moment, I realized that is true for many. I felt the need to press her so I asked her, "Aren't you scared of having another five years go by and watching your best friend grow and evolve while you stay stuck where you are?" She began sobbing into tears as she realized that this indeed was her greatest fear.


I share this story with you realizing that many of you are scared. But that is just the trick of the ego. It's the mechanism that keeps you stuck in the past and repeating the same monotonous self-defeating patterns over and over again. It's the voice of our wounds, of our heartache and of our deep resignation and hopelessness that it won't work for us or that we can't do it.


It makes me want to cry because I know that if that voice wins, you will go to your grave never having lived your full potential and shared your gift with the world. This young woman deserves it. And you deserve it. We need you. We need your greatness. We need your unique perspective. We need your special gifts. And confronting your shadow is the fastest and easiest way to reclaim your power, and step into the person your soul longs to be. So if you're thinking about doing one of my programs or really any program with a therapist, Weight Watchers, a 12-step group, etc., and you feel scared, just reach out, grab someone's hand and allow them to support you in moving toward your evolutionary edge. Don't let your fear win. Love it. Hug it. Understand that it's a 3-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old stuck inside of you. And trust the part of you that wants to grow because you will never be happy and fulfilled until you do.


Your Weekly Shadow Work


(1) Take a few minutes and think about your future. And when you feel quiet, ask yourself this question. Are you more scared to stay the same or to do the work to reinvent yourself?


(2) Choose to come alive. Enroll in something this week. Come to The Shadow Process, train to become one of our amazing coaches, participate in The Shadow Effect Interactive online workshop with Hay House, hire one of my amazing coaches, go back to school. Do something that will stretch you, anything that's been calling to you.

Your time is now.


With love and respect,


Debbie Ford