Somewhere along her journey, she began to believe that her intuition was wrong and could not be trusted. Often, when she would share her ideas – whether socially, academically or in the workplace – others would find her way of thinking too confusing, inappropriate or unnecessarily complex. There always seemed to be a simpler way of accomplishing the ideas that she proposed.

Without consciously realizing it, she began to believe that if she were authentic, she would be misunderstood. So, she held back her ideas, and often followed when she could have led. From her drab fashion sense to her preferred free spirited and sometimes silly way of being, she felt as though how she wanted to be in the world was deemed “wrong.” Eventually, she stopped trusting herself to know what “right” looked like, so she looked to other people as examples.

She watched authority figures, and anyone who appeared confident or who seemed successful in areas where she felt weak. Everyone became unwitting mentors of what “right” behavior looked like. In her mind, these mentors seemed to know how to act appropriately and be accepted as they were, how to dress fashionably with confidence, and what to say at the right time, as well as how to say it. They knew how to be heard and understood with others embracing their ideas without resistance. These mentors seemed to know how to achieve the success that she wanted for herself. They didn’t seem to struggle with exerting confidence, sharing their ideas, or wielding their influence.

Unbeknownst to her, she had set about a mission to acquire as much knowledge as she could.

If she couldn’t be right within herself, she would amass enough knowledge to appear right and have the right answers whenever called upon.

She applied what she observed from her mentors and strived to put on their ways of being right. She wrapped her value in the ability to be exceptionally good at everything she did, but she did not translate her value into her business pricing to avoid the risk of rejection. She feared being exposed as inadequate, to not measuring up, to being as wrong as she felt inside.

In her business, she accumulated raving clients who loved her work and undoubtedly appreciated the low price they paid for the excellence she provided. She often danced on the brink of overwhelm – accepting multiple, simultaneous projects in order to earn sufficient income. Yet, she prided herself on the ability to continually exceed her clients’ expectations without showing how overworked she really was.

Despite her fears, a persistent desire to elevate and expand her business gnawed at her and kept her from getting comfortable.

Her vast dreams called to her incessantly – begging her to take steps to propel herself forward.

She responded by striving to acquire more skills and more knowledge. Ultimately, her greatness was being strategically developed and her standard of excellence forged with consistency and resilience; yet she sold access to her knowledge and her experience for far less than it was worth.

One day, a new client came along who told her that her services were severely under-priced for the value she brought to their project. The client stated a specific dollar amount that would have been willingly paid. She shuddered under the weight of the realization that she had left 90% of unrealized profit on the table – completely due to fear.

She remembered a quote by Joseph Campbell who said

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

She decided it was time for real change; she must enter the cave. She must go into the darkness where disappointment, sadness, shame, guilt, fear of rejection, fear of failure and a host of other fears reside.

The new client had shown her that on the other side of fear was the next level that she desired and the ability to achieve more of her dreams. It was the revelation that she needed. She is now bravely pursing her inner healing, purging her mindset of limiting beliefs, and accepting herself entirely. And, she is finally bringing her business pricing into alignment with her value.

She is me… and I have entered the cave to bring out all of my hidden treasures.