Activating you

Dear Team Joy,

I created Activate, because I needed (and honestly still need) Activate.

I needed Activate when I was a business analyst at McKinsey and knew my status quo was draining my life force. I learned excellence, but I craved more humanity, intentionality, and connection in my work without knowing how to grasp it.

I needed Activate when I joined my first coaching program and desperately wanted to learn the practices that would help me live with more peace. And while I gained so much from this program, it didn’t teach me how to integrate my journey towards peace with my broader ambitions in the world.

One community felt too intellectual and efficient, leaving heart and authenticity at the door. The other felt too directionless, leaving rigor and ambition as an afterthought.

This is why I centered Activate on integrity…it’s because I want both. I have learned our wellbeing comes from integrating the wisdom of our spirits and bodies with the wisdom of our minds.

And I know I’m not the only one that's seeking integration.

Activate is about harnessing the power of really showing up authentically, together. This journey is more powerful (and more possible) when we find people who are walking in the same direction, with similar values, who will encourage us to continue forward.

I wanted to create a program that asked something of me and everyone who participated. Not just the classic blood, sweat, and tears that most organizations ask of us— not just the hustle. Nor the false harmony that comes from everyone being “nice.”

A program that invited the real me to the table and is designed to bring out the real you as well.

And so I built Activate to nurture:

The power of listening. Both to ourselves and each other.

The power of opening up. Not all the way, but enough to really let the light in. To be willing to share our light with others and receive theirs in return.

The power of letting go. Letting go of the striving, contorting, and shoving. Laying down what we are forcing into existence, and picking up flow and ease in its place.

The power of challenging. Building a community that expects something of each other, that holds each other accountable, and lovingly encourages each member to grow.

The power of dreaming. Giving ourselves space to imagine how things could be and using that clarity to bring our dreams closer to reality.

The power of being seen. Taking time to see others and letting ourselves be seen.

I know Activate will be powerful because I am on this journey right alongside you. Like many of you, I also have a tendency towards workaholism, perfectionism, and self-doubt. I have obnoxiously high standards for myself that are unrealistic, not because of their vision, but because of the pace and perfection I demand of myself along the way.

I lose my way constantly - getting too caught up in the what if’s, the desire to have it all figured it out and growing too attached to my sense of how things need to be.

But I’ve found practices that allow me to come back to myself. I remind myself to reground— to go for walks, take a deep breath, journal, cook, and go outside. I begin to slow down, and come back to the place within me that isn’t filled with doubt.

I am so intent on learning how to slow down, because the truth is I love my ambition.

If I didn’t none of this would matter. I can misuse my ambition and conflate it with a desire to be seen as successful, but in its purest form my ambition is about creating things that matter to me and matter to others. It’s about living into my purpose in the best way I know how (so far). In this regard, I sense I am just beginning to understand my capacity for creation, and learning how to harness it in a way that energizes me instead of leaving me feeling drained.

So it’s my work to continue to find ways to get quiet, put aside the confusion, doubt, and fear and bring this meaningful program to life.

When I really listen to myself, I hear:

You can do it. That’s all there is. It’s possible for you. You were meant for this. Breathe.

So as I take this courageous step forward in bringing Activate to life, I invite you to come with me.

If it’s for you, it’s for you. You will know.

Activate starts October 12th, and registration closes October 6th.

Book time with me here to learn more.

Love always,

Isabel

P.S. In my last note I wrote that Activate was for "young people." I completely and unequivocally take that back. I wrote that because I felt some internal pressure to be more "niche." But I have been part of some fantastic intergenerational learning groups (shoutout Inner MBA®), and if this resonates with you, I want you there.