Audacity enables us to connect with our authentic forms of self expression and stretch our abilities  to contribute from our zone of genius. It is really only in recent years that I realized how much of my potential was being repressed because of my unwillingness to stand up for my purpose.

 

For most of my life I unconsciously repressed any urge to stand up for what was important to me. I had learned to stay away from the feelings that might signal a transgression of my boundaries or a challenge to my self image, feeling awkward when my contributions were celebrated by others and somehow striving to go unnoticed. I started to build audacity when I left my job in corporate the USA in 2007, sold everything I owned and moved to India to work with rural communities. But for many years I still grappled with this question: How can I find my authentic voice and build genuine audacity to stand up for my purpose in life without falling in the trap of building my ego?

 

Since then I have been building the muscle of audacity through increasingly bold leaps of faith. When I graduated from my masters, I swam upstream by taking a job in the Costa Rican government because I wanted to move home. Two years later I rejected an attractive promotion to accept a worse paid position in much more challenging environment to leading the government’s innovation policy. Four years later I left the stability of government to build a way to support others on their transformative journeys. At every step much esteemed advisors argued in favor of other options safer options, but I am glad I stayed true to my inner voice.

 

It has been only recently that I have leaned into the discomfort of putting my name, purpose and message out there in a way that has made it easier to reach people who I feel called to serve. Everyday continues to present opportunities to explore audacity that enables me to step into service.