Hi, I’m Louise. I’m a being that works and loves and lives. I’ve spent a lot of years trying really hard to fit in and not saying what I really think. I still do it a lot, out of habit.
I’ve been running my own business for nearly 10 years now, and I can tell you that fitting in kept me ‘safe’, but also left out a lot of me & what makes me who I am.
It’s scary to go my own way and, worse, speak up about it! So that’s the sense in which I’m reluctant. But life gets better when I move and act with integrity and I’ve also got a lot more interested in how I’m showing up in the world, rather than just what I’m trying to achieve.
When I retrained as a coach I decided to go for it: to embrace being a business owner and make my own rules wherever I can. Also to talk about it and normalise making work & life fit around us instead of the other way around. I named my business ‘Rebel with Purpose’ because what I want for myself and the women I work with is for us to do just that. And I believe the more we do it, the more good stuff we’ll be contributing to the world.
My own way to rebel is to take care over how I move and act so I’m enjoying the journey, along with those around me. What if we do could more of what we love, and do it with more love? So I also claim the label ‘rebel’, because kindness, self care and doing what we love can all be acts of rebellion. Not all acts of rebellion are large and noisy and it’s taken me a long time to claim that.
What’s your flavour of being authentic, of being yourself?
Part of my reason to share is to do my small part to normalise being vulnerable and sharing self-exploration. Part of my mission is to welcome what makes each of us unique and find ways to bring that to the world … rather than silencing parts of ourselves to ‘fit in’.
I’d love to hear from anyone reading – yes I want to be read & listened to, also I’m curious to hear about how you live, work and show up in the world. I hope my sharing sparks something for others, that’s a large part of my motivation and it would light me up to hear about what it sparks for you.
Housekeeping note: I also reserve the right to ignore or block comments and conversation that I believe is harming more than it’s helping. As I’m the guardian of this online space, these are my decisions to make.