PURPOSESCAPING w/Amanda Miller Littlejohn | Personal Branding Self Actualization Through the Seasons

If you tried something in the past and it didn’t work - i.e. you tried to charge for your services and got rejected, you went up on your prices and got ignored, you pitched the media and got ghosted - what are you making that mean about you?

And how are you letting it impact how you move forward today?

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Experiencing a failure doesn’t make you a failure. So don’t let a past failure or season of failure DEFINE you.

You tried it. It didn’t work *that* time. It happens.

Try something else.

Don’t let what didn’t work cripple you forever.

Don’t define yourself by the failure, just find a winning strategy and try again.

***

To answer the call is to live beyond your means, and accept an invitation to go higher up in your own evolution. In Purposescaping, I teach a principle called “spiraling up” which means taking everything you’ve learned about yourself on one level and refining it so you have an even more narrow, more focused iteration of your calling on the next level. Imagine a pyramid that gets narrower and narrower as you approach the top. That’s the path to your purpose. And as you spiral up to each subsequent level, the levels get more focused.

You “spiral up” enough times over the course of your life and you find yourself walking in a version of your purpose that only you can occupy.

But the first step of getting to that hyper-focused version of the purpose that was designed specifically for you and only you is essentially a faith walk. It’s answering a call when you’re not sure where the call is leading you - where the journey is taking you, whether this crazy idea of yours is going to work or not.

I can’t tell you whether anything you do or anything you try will work. But I can tell you that a part of the journey to clearing a pathway to what you were meant to do with your life comes in large part from acting, moving, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, refining, recrafting, eliminating the excess, and pruning away the branches that are dead and stalling your future growth.

Remember:  your next level was already promised to you. How do you know? You know it was promised to you and only you because the call keeps calling you and only you. No one else can hear your call. No one else can see your path with the clarity you see it. But nobody else can validate it for you. No one else can confirm it. No one else can tell you they see what you see.

And I believe you see it. You just may not be allowing yourself to answer it by taking that first step because it feels almost like a mirage. You’re afraid you’re stepping out over a cliff into nothingness because you have no proof there’s solid ground to support your next step. You’re trying to live within your means by sticking to what you know.

And yet the call keeps calling, daring you to evolve.

***

It's okay to let go of a season, even if that season has served you. This is an episode about obedience.

Purposescaping is largely about learning how to read the signs and answer the call for your life. But what happens when you hear the call for something different but you ignore it because

• a.) you're comfortable where you are and don't want to be inconvenienced by the unknown. You don't want to be a beginner again.
• b.) you're proud of the level you're on. You worked hard to get there, and it feels like you'll be "throwing away" all the hard work it took to arrive.

Well, I'm here to share that even when the season you're in has served you well, it's okay to let go of it if you're being called to something higher.

Here are 5 signs you're in an expired season and it's time for you to let go.

1.  You're coasting. For me, I've literally said to myself "I'm coasting off of a past version of myself...." I know I'm in an expired season when I'm not working hard to grow. I'm not innovating. I'm not looking for new solutions. I'm just coasting off of what's worked in the past. And yes that yields some good stuff. Yes, that will yield revenue even, but it's nowhere near what I could have if I let go of what feels comfortable and lean into what's beckoning me.
   
2. You have no questions because there's nothing new to learn. If you are no longer looking for new ways to grow because you're being stretched, you've likely stayed on this level too long.
   
3. You're bored. You're bored because you've outgrown an old version of yourself. That old self may have served you quite well, made you a lot of money, won you accolades in an industry you don't care about anymore. But if you're feeling antsy and wondering "what's next?" you already know this season has expired.
   
4. You're unimpressed with yourself. This is true for so many of my clients. Like them, you are so impressive to other people - you look like a success to other people but you don't FEEL like a success to yourself because you know you've yet to scratch the surface of your capabilities. You're doing what you can do, but not what you were born to do, and even if you can't put their finger on what you ultimately should be doing, you know that there's got to be more than this.
   
5. Thinking about your next level gives you anxiety. You're scared to answer the call because you're low-key afraid of your own power. You have never put it in 5th gear before and that unknown realm frightens you. What if you can't hack it on the next level? What if there's more to do and learn than you anticipated and you're not up for the challenge? If you're having thoughts like this, you already know. You're in an expired season.
   

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WINTER - the last season and final grandmother episode. I have really enjoyed basking in my grandmother's wisdom and letting her warm voice wash over me. I hope you've enjoyed listening to her, too.

Here are my key takeaways from the winter season:

1. Winter is about DECISIONS. Decisions are necessary if you want to move with purpose. You need a season of evaluation and assessment so you know whether your efforts are yielding fruit, and if you should change your methods.
   
2. The first type of decision to make is about the crops. Do you want to take the "crops" of your past into the spring planting season? Do you want to increase the amount you plant? Do you need to move your crops to different parts of the field? Or do you want to try something new altogether?
   
3. The next type of decision to make is about machinery. During the busy seasons of growth and harvest, you may have experienced mechanical breakdowns, or observed parts that need to be replaced. Now is the time to make those replacements and upgrades. Note - you may have OUTGROWN the machinery of this season and can't take it with you into the spring. So now's the time to evaluate whether the machinery you have still fits the type of job you have to do and if not, where will you upgrade and with what? Whew! That's a WORD. Where do YOU need to upgrade?
   
4. Rest is not really rest. It's like taking vitamins that are necessary for optimal growth.
   
5. Winter is a season for "plowing under" - turning the ground over to give it air, refresh it and bring stagnant soil up to the surface. What aspects of your life and purpose do you need to plow under, bring to the surface, and potentially give new life?
   
6. Winter is NECESSARY. The soil needs a break. You need a break. You cannot bloom year-round.

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Another grandmother episode! I just love hearing from her about her experiences on a farm and this metaphor we can use for our own purpose.

Here are my key takeaways from the fall harvest season:

1. Crop rotation is key. You can't plant the same thing over and over on the same plot of land. You can't do the same thing over and over as it pertains to your goals, dreams and purpose - you have to explore the different facets of yourself, stretch yourself and learn more about how you tick. Time changes all things - even you.
   
2. There is no specific deadline to harvest your crop, but you don't have forever. Even though you've put in the hard work to plant and grow and protect your crop from predators, you can't leave it in the ground forever. You have to put it to use before it expires.
   
3. Just as there are threats to growth, there are threats to fully grown harvests. Practically speaking, I see aging and time as my own personal threats because I know I won't always have the energy and youth to do many of the things I dream up as this version of myself. Another practical threat to a harvest could be physical health, available free time or financial resources to commit to exploring your purpose.
   
4. Don't rest on your harvest (laurels). Be present to your success, but always keep an eye toward the future and use any season as success to look for clues about what you may want to do in the future.

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As my grandmother shared, summer is a season of rapid growth and maturation, but it's also a season of threats.

Whether you're navigating drought, insects, weeds, or other pests you can expect predators to come when you're growing something good. So instead of giving up when threats emerge, understand they'll be attracted to what you're growing and prepare yourself.

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For today’s episode, I want to do a more thorough breakdown of the seasons so you have an overview of the Purposescaping concept.

Purposescaping teaches self-actualization through the seasons. It's all about clearing a pathway to your purpose. That language is intentional - we're clearing a path to something that has been there all along. It may be overgrown, it may be hidden, but the path is there. The purpose is there. I believe that wholeheartedly.

I consider it one of the great fortunes of my life to still have my 90-year-old grandmother Etheldra K. Miller. She has been a kindred spirit since my childhood when I would spend summers with her at her home in southeastern Georgia.

While I didn’t know it then, I was unwittingly soaking up a way of life and understanding of nature that underlies the Purposescaping philosophy. While many of the ideas I’ve stumbled upon in recent years seemed novel to me upon discovery, I realize now they’re actually principles the farmers and educators in my family have lived by for generations.

I had the fortune and honor then, to interview my grandmother in person at her home in the fall of 2019. As I was starting to put scaffolding around the Purposescaping framework, I wanting to hear directly from her how the concept of self-actualization through the seasons directly corresponded to the seasonal activities she remembered from farming.

I believe nature holds all the answers we seek if we’re open enough to see how she speaks to us. In this short series of episodes, you’ll hear a breakdown of the four seasons in my grandmother’s words and my own interpretation of how farming or cultivation of any kind is a vivid metaphor for clearing a pathway to your purpose.

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We all have a different recipe that allows us to grow and thrive. A part of Purposescaping - just like landscaping - is getting clear on what growing conditions YOU specifically need to be your best.

Just like plants come with care instructions - one may need full sunlight and regular water, while another requires moderate shade and for you to keep the soil dry - if you fail to follow the instructions you notice the plant starts to talk back to you.

It may wilt or droop, its colors may fade, and eventually, it may wither and die. 

Yet when a plant's optimal growing conditions are met, it thrives and you almost have to prune it back to contain the growth.

Why would we be any different? Human beings as living things, all have a unique imprint we came to earth with - one unlike anyone else’s. We all have an optimal set of growing conditions that, when met, allow us to thrive. Yet many of us fail to examine our own ideal growing criteria and assume we need the same thing as the next person.

Not true.

How can you understand your own optimal growing criteria? 

Here are a few questions to help you figure it out.

• Is there a practice you used to have earlier in your life that you really enjoyed? What happened to it?
• What season of the year do you blossom in?
• What ingredients do you need to be your best?
• What’s your rhythm for productivity?
• How can you tell you need to rest?
• How much engagement do you need? How much solitude?
• When you feel most at peace, what have you generally been doing?
• When you feel most productive, what have you been doing? What are the common denominators?
• When you find yourself least susceptible to stress, what supports do you have in place?
• When you feel most joyful, what is usually always involved?

Purposescaping - the art of clearing a path to your purpose - is about radical self-discovery. You probably study the needs of others who you care about the most. Now it's time to do a deep dive on yourself and what you need to be your absolute best.

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It took me a long time to learn that just as there are seasons in nature, there are seasons of purpose. 

If you think about winter, spring, summer, and fall - it's easy to see what's happening in nature during any given season. The ground rests in winter, blossoms to life during spring, matures during summer, and finally generates a harvest during the fall before fading away and settling in for another period of rest. 

Most of us don't question the changes happening on the trees and with animals - we've come to expect those changes, and even may say things like "everything in its season..." 

But when it comes to our own lives, careers, relationships, and businesses - I've noticed we aren't generally so understanding. One mantra I took up a few years ago was "no flower blooms year-round..." and in the same vein, I recently read this powerful quote on Instagram which was attributed to Maya Angelou - "every storm runs out of rain..." 

The same is true for us. 

You actually NEED those other seasons to make the harvest all it could be. They're not just "nice to haves" - they're necessities. 

For many people, the year 2020 has presented challenges and opportunities to prioritize rest and reflection. Think about it - so many people reported feeling burnt out prior to the coronavirus pandemic, why? Because they had likely been pushing themselves to stay in a. growth and harvest season when their bodies, minds, and spirits needed to stop and rest. And nature has a way of course correcting.

So I want you to think of seasons in an abstract way. A season doesn't have to last 3 months - one season in your business may last one month, while a season in your marriage may last 2 years - but the idea is to zero in on the cadence that is naturally occurring in whatever part of your life you choose to focus on.

Instead of considering yourself behind in one aspect of your life, or beating yourself up as we high achievers are prone to do when you haven't been able to do more, or nothing seems to be "happening" - consider that you may be in a season of reflection and rest instead of a season of creativity and planting. Or you may be in a season of steady maturation and growth that will set you up for that incredible season of harvest.

Wherever you are, remember it's a necessary phase in the cycle - no season is wasted.

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