A Letter to My Younger Self

Welcome to Codavision’s first blog post! Thanks for dropping by.

I’m Lori — a business coach, leadership development expert and the founder of Codavision. When I launched my business, one of the first things I did was hire a coach of my own. I knew exactly where I wanted to be in 5 years, and I understood how important it would be to have someone mentor, guide and inspire me along the way.

This brilliant and energizing coach encouraged me to write a letter to my future self. While this activity was wildly fun and spoke to my Futuristic strength (as identified by Clifton StrengthsFinder), part of me wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the past 20 years.

For me, the future is always exciting and easy to dream about, though for many of us, it’s also important to honor, learn from and celebrate the past — which is much harder for me! That’s why I wrote the letter below, written to my very ambitious and sometimes tunnel-visioned 20-year-old self. It took me until I was 30-years-old to make a conscious decision to highlight my strengths, using Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 to explore the top 5 themes in my life.

I ran unabashedly toward them, and now my older self enjoys a more restful, intentional, peaceful, trusting and oh so much more joyful mindset.

I hope you enjoy!

“Dear Lori,

Trust that the world works with both flow and force. Call it the yin and the yang, the give and take in our world of work.

You spent decades in the “make it happen” and “force it” space, and experienced burnout. Forcing outcomes sometimes backfired with your teams and the people you served.

To honor your StrengthsFinder Strategic Theme:

Learn to trust the timing and choose to control what only you can. You’ll see active waiting does pay off, and it makes life, people and business more enjoyable. Rest assured, your goals will still be achieved.

To celebrate your Maximizer Theme:

Do not apologize for your ability to witness greatness in others. You naturally see how to move something from good to great. Run from situations that are suffering, stagnant or status quo. Give yourself permission to shine brightly, raise the energy in the room and require excellence. You have a tiger in your tank, which drives you to uncover and explore the unlimited possibilities in life. Your story and experience will lead to helping many when you keep on challenging “what is” with “what could be.”

To respect your Empathy Theme:

Don’t ever listen to anyone that tells you that you are “too sensitive” or you “need to grow thicker skin.” Your genuine empathy and understanding of people is a superpower. Your sensitivity is what makes you a great leader and why people trust you. Don’t squelch this. Understand this, and do all you can to protect and celebrate it. Most importantly, choose to empathize with yourself. Be compassionate and kind as you make mistakes, because you will make BIG ones. Forgive yourself and others more quickly.

To acknowledge your Responsibility Theme:

Know that you always will do what it takes. What it takes to achieve, what it takes to win — and what it takes to care for and nurture those around you. Let this give you peace today. You are wired for responsibility. You are wired to help. Lori, at your young age be sure to spend time having fun, be a bit crazy and let your hair down once in awhile. Find people that make you laugh, those who don’t take life so seriously. Spend time with them.

To salute your Futuristic Theme:

Spend time dreaming. It’s not frivolous for you. The more time you can spend dreaming, thinking and planning for the future, do it — it’s critical to your soul. I’m here to tell you that this is paramount for you and it works. The goals and dreams you had as a young leader have created the lifestyle and opportunities you have today. You can trust that it is the journey of dreaming in technicolor that matters for you, more than the destination.

To appreciate your Individualization Theme:

Keep seeing the best in others. Many people may tell you that someone’s potential isn’t there, but trust in your ability to help them do it their way. Keep believing. Stay curious. Help them find a better path. Encourage people to lean into your belief in them, until they believe in themselves.

Most importantly, choose to enjoy the journey! Choose to surround yourself with amazing people who believe in you, and offer you loving and brave feedback. Choose to be daring and rock the boat. Choose to step into your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses and swim in your own lane.

You got this,
Lori

My fabulous reader — if you resonate with any of the above, let’s meet! I’m all about helping leaders and entrepreneurs succeed wildly.

Email me for a discovery session where we can visit about you! We’ll talk about leadership, goal-setting and StrengthsFinder to name a few. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. I can’t wait to hear from you.