Quote: “The struggle to grow can be found in our resistance to fear, which is our avoidance of what we fear.”

Dear aspiring, new, or active solopreneurs,

Can I please just take a moment here and encourage you? Perhaps, as you read this, we can take a big deep breath and allow ourselves to come back to reality for a moment.

Reality? Yea, that.

Reality, in the sense of a present moment that’s empty of all demands, expectations, beliefs, and even hopes of what we might want to accomplish. Sure, you can pick them back up later, but for now, I invite you to… breathe and be here.

The mind is such an interesting space, and oh, how easy it is to confuse the mind’s content as reality rather than seeing that the mind is simply the imagination at play – often not knowing that it’s playing.

Okay, take 7 seconds and take a deep breath.

1, 2, 3… 4, 5, 6, 7.

We, on our journey of sharing our hearts and loving people (Heart-based Solopreneurs), are blessed with both an opportunity and a struggle.

The Opportunity?

To “Learn, Grow, and Play”: This opportunity, which encompasses these three things, aligns with the tagline of HeartBased,io as a company: “Open up, Fear Less, Love More.”

I would like to express that, for me, at least, this opportunity is about “getting out of my own way” and allowing life to use me as a vessel to bring more love into the world. It is as though I am an instrument, perhaps a flute or a violin, and life is inviting me to be a part of a grand orchestra that plays the most beautiful love songs.

• To open up is to learn.

I find it very difficult to learn when I think I already know. And if I’m not experiencing a full-on flow of love (more love and play), then there is clearly something I don’t know. In reality, I’m fooling myself and, in my arrogance… I’m closed off to learning.

• To fear less is to grow.

I’m not saying the complete absence of fear. I’m saying… “less” fear. This is the whole point of growth. Why? Because our lack of growth, which we might also say are the problematic behaviors and patterns that hold us back, is only there because we are afraid. If I’m not growing, I’m trapped in fear; if I’m trapped in fear, it’s because I’m not open.

• To love more is to play.

My goodness, of course, this is my favorite part. There is a magic that happens when fear becomes less because when there is less fear, it makes room for more love. It’s not that we try to love more, or that we should love more. Rather, it’s a natural and effortless byproduct of being open and allowing fears to dissolve.

The Struggle?

Well, let’s look at some potential and playful opposites of “Open Up/Learn,” “Fear Less/Grow,” and “More Love/Play.”

• Being Arrogantly Closed Off

Open up and learn, or stay… “arrogantly closed off” as I hide from the real opportunity, pretending I already know things I don’t really know. Why would I do this? Because if I do open up to learn, then I have to face my fears. The struggle is not in the learning or in being open; the struggle is in the hiding and remaining closed off.

• Stagnant Paralysis

Fear less and grow, or remain… trapped in some form of stagnant paralysis that misses out on experiencing a truer and more vibrant version of yourself. If we are not growing, we are regressing. We might think we’re standing still, but it doesn’t work that way. The struggle to grow can be found in our resistance to fear, which is our avoidance of what we fear. Firstly, the invitation is to invite less fear about fear itself, to see that your fear is not an enemy; it’s there to help you make room for more love to flow.

• Isolated Loneliness & Seriousness

Invite more love and play, or… immerse myself in isolated loneliness that perceives everything as serious. My goodness, that’s a tough decision. Yet, for me, it reflects well on what happens when I’m unwilling to be open and confront my fears. The struggle of isolation lies in energetically pushing away opportunities and connections, all while pretending that there are none. Does that make sense? It’s like complaining something’s missing when, in reality, I’m pushing it away. This struggle renders life serious, bitter, resentful, and utterly devoid of something truly meaningful.

In Conclusion…

Okay, please don’t take these words as an opportunity to be hard on yourself or as another reason to judge yourself; that’s not what they are designed for, even though you have the capability of turning them into that.

If anything, maybe we can be fascinated by our capacity to push away the real opportunities we crave: to learn, grow, and play. The beauty here is that if we have the capacity to push away, then we also have the capacity to invite those things into our lives.

• If you judge your capacity to push away opportunity, then you also push away your capacity to attract opportunity. You see, it (the power to push away or to attract) is the same power, just used in different ways.

To be curious about it… is to be open.

Judgment… is to be closed.

Curiosity invites more of what you crave.

Judgment pushes away what you crave.