A New Path Forward for High Performing Leaders
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I heard Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret, say:
“You can’t think of the way things are and expect change.”
We are the authors of our own life script and on the days that feel really hard it’s time to get a new pen, a new journal to lean on your two superpowers: Awareness and Imagination.
Winners - and we all want to be winner - aren’t the ones who cling to the old normal.
They’re the ones who design for a new reality.
To many of us rely on our routines--rinsing and repeating our days, knowing that we want to change, but still linger in sameness.
Let me share a story by Price Pritchett, author of the book You2.
A fly is trapped inside a room, frantically buzzing against a closed window. Over and over again and fixated, it throws its tiny body at the glass. It’s working hard. It’s trying. It’s giving everything it has.
The fly is not getting anywhere.
Right behind the fly, just 180 degrees in the opposite direction, is an open door—a clear, effortless path to freedom. But the fly can’t see it. It’s stuck on the one solution it already knows.
It’s operating on default: push more, try again, work harder.
This story perfectly captures the essence of Human A-I™ — my coaching methodology powered by Awareness & Imagination.
Most of us don’t slow down long enough to see what’s really happening right now. We don't slow down to then ask: 'What else is possible?' Self observation is the art awareness.
“Awareness is the ability to step back and see the window, the door, the room — the entire environment — not just the one solution right in front of you.”
Most of us say we are self-aware. But the research says something else. 80% of us claim to be self-aware, but in reality only 1 in 10 of us are self-aware. Ouch.
With deeper awareness our brain can then tap deeper into our imagination.
“Imagination is what allows us to turn 180 degrees, to consider something new, to try the unconventional approach, to make the leap that looks impossible.”
You first have to see (awareness) to imagine a better path forward. This is where I see most people get stuck.
When stuck — like the fly — you rely on what you already know. Hard work alone doesn’t create your breakthroughs. You know you are stuck with these thoughts:
I don't know how.
That will take too long.
That feels overwhelming.
I've tried that.
I just can't.
These patterns show up often in high achievers who push past their limits and eventually hit a wall. Hard work by itself does not open the door. Breakthroughs happen when you let go of resistance to allow yourself to expand your awareness — and imagine a new possibility.
So let's stop thinking about the way things are. Let's make the decision and do the work to shift 180°.
You don’t need the whole new plan today. You need to see the proverbial door — and be willing to turn.
Answer these three powerful questions to inspire a new path.
What 'window' am I currently banging against?
Where am I working harder instead of differently?
What goal, challenge, or pattern feels exhausting, repetitive, or stuck?
(Awareness begins with recognition and clarity.)
What assumptions am I making about this situation/goal that might not be true?
What am I believing about myself, others, timing, resources, or what’s possible?
What if one of those assumptions simply isn’t real?
(For anything to be 'true' it must be something that can be proven in a court of law. Think on that! All else is a thought about a circumstance.)
If I turned 180° — what’s one bold, unconventional, or previously dismissed possibility I could (re)consider?
What idea has been whispering in the background?
What move feels a little daring, energizing, or even illogical — but right?
(This is Imagination: where breakthrough lives.)
I’m beginning my 2025 review, and what I’m now more aware of is that 2025 was the year of making bold asks. Lots of asks. Stepping up to ask and not being attached to the outcome. In a year full of asks, I had very few no’s.
I would never have imagined it before I shifted my perspective around wanting an outcome to believing that everything I want is possible if I ask for what I need.
And those no’s...I barely remember them.
Stop buzzing at the same window.
And just before you grab for hammer to break the window, know that there is always an easier path forward if you are open to looking for a new path.
And when you having trouble finding it, make a bold ask by asking for help.
Helping leaders pause. Look up from the noise and discover the open door waiting for them.
If you’re ready to activate Human A-I™, I’d love to support you. Invite me to your next ESG meeting, conference, or team offsite — or let’s work together 1:1 to unlock what’s waiting for you.
