What do you do?

As a woman who has been actively engaged in the Chicagoland networking community for going on 15 years now, I used to love this question. 

I used to live for this question. 

I worked painstakingly as my business evolved to craft a brilliant "60 second commercial" that would capture the attention of a room full of other networkers who had likely tuned out of 90% of the introductions they heard that day.



Over the past 6 months or so, I have grown to kind of hate this question. I feel like the latest evolution of my business has become positively schizophrenic. When affronted with this question of late, I always start with "Oh my gosh, I do A LOT" and then I rattle through a high level description of the myriad of pies I currently have fingers in, from my full time day job gig (which I hate talking about because I've been questing to get out from under it for the past 10 years or so) to my various side gigs which felt so aligned to me at one point but now feel completely disconnected.

Probably like many of you who are reading this, I have become a lifetime student of personal development. From Napoleon Hill to Tony Robbins, to the latest weekend conference to help me uplevel my skills in one area or another, I'm constantly trying to improve my brain, and myself. Often, as they say with success, the path isn't as straight or linear as one might expect or hope.

Also, probably like many of you reading this, I'm trying to figure out what comes next for me. Knowing I'm meant for something so much bigger than what I'm currently doing. Believing that I am destined to make a significant impact on the world, and eager to start doing that. Dreaming of a life on my own terms.

With my extreme penchant for making real connections with people and loving to hear their stories, going forward for myself, I'm going to change my language at upcoming networking events and new interaction opportunities (I'm sure some of you see where this is going) from "What do you do?" to "What are you excited about right now?". 

If you happen to be in a great place in your life and business, this may prompt you to share why you are so passionate about your work and what makes you excited about it and brilliant at it. 

If you're not in that place, maybe you're completely bored or burnt out in your current position, it leaves you wide open to talk about anything in your life that turns you on. Maybe that's your kids, or your spouse, or your garden, or your favorite sports team, or an upcoming vacation, or a crazy home improvement project... the list is endless and certainly starts a more fun and engaging conversation than "I'm an accountant".

Today, I'm really excited about being a light that shines on women that illuminates their brilliance and reminds them of their true genius. 

You know how we all have that mean voice inside our heads that tells us all kinds of lies about how we're too much of this or not enough of that? Imagine the cartoon with the devil and the angel, that voice, the one we've all tuned in to, is the devil. I help women to tune in and turn up the volume on the voice of the angel. The one that not only tells you that you're pretty, and you're smart, and you're enough, but what your true genius is, your gift, the thing that you were put on this earth to share with the world. 

Yeah... that's what I do. 

How about you? What are you excited about right now? I'd really love to hear about it in the comments below.