Hey 👋

Are you knocking on shut doors? Well, there’s a very, very old saying: "A prophet is not heard in his own land.’ ... Is that you?

We humans are prone to avoiding what scares us. Equally, we like to stay in comfort, what is familiar. 

But that may not be where our salt - our message, our being - is needed most. 

To find where it is needed, you need to see closed doors as helpers, accepting them for what they are: signs that save you time by kindly telling you ‘this is not for you’. Keep walking and you’ll eventually find an open one.

But to paraphrase the Stones, that door is likely to be ‘not what you want, but what you need,’ humility takes us far.

Yes, it is daunting; we don’t know where that door leads. But dreams come true when you leave the safe harbour of home. And let’s add another cliche into this newsletter: ‘smooth seas don’t make skilled sailors’... the fear of departing is real. 

Starting somewhere new, no matter how small, is a big transition. Sometimes it requires you to walk a while on a road before you get to where you are going. Sometimes you don’t know where you are going at all.

Yet, the growth found within the journey is beyond compare. The rich motion, momentum, and experience shape our sense of self for the rest of our lives. But that requires letting go of the old.

I cant help but think of cliches today - ‘Oh what if I fail?, But darling, what if you fly?’ … ‘The journey is the destination’ … cliches keep rising in my mind as I write.

Overcoming the initial fear is where you walk into your rightful place.

This could mean a personal journey, a new job, industry, career, or even a nation. Wherever people have the openness to hear and see you for who you are. 

By all means, bang on closed doors until your fists go blue, and in some cases, locked doors are meant to be broken down, but I am talking about the quietness of being unseen and unheard... take the risk.

If you look at any leader, a hero, an inspiration, they had a time of walking out into the unknown to face whatever the world threw at them. Then one day, they reached a place where they shared their wisdom with the right audience; people who wanted what they offered. It takes courage, and after you do something courageous, you know you have it in you to do it again; eventually, others will follow.

For me, this is the kind of leadership that I look for, someone who is not afraid to walk out into the unknown and say, ‘hey, let’s go find out!’ 

Then, one day, you’ll find yourself standing amongst people who see you as new, different, and with a uniqueness that is in contrast with their own familiarity. You will be seen as exciting, valuable, authentic, and enriched by the whole experience. 

Your salt is wanted. 

So, are you sitting in your familiarity and uncontented with closed doors?

Or, what is the message you are trying to share? Where is this new land? Which direction will you take the first step? 

I found that as I took my first steps into the unknown by creating my digital marketing business, the path shows itself. Now, I write this newsletter sharing my salt with people who have the open minds to read what I write. 

This is a truly human story. For leaders, this is your unique saltiness. 

You have a spirit, a flavour, that enhances anywhere it is welcomed. So, if you’re finding the chefs around you don’t need your salt for their cooking, someone else surely does. With that, you’ll enhance what they are doing, and that’ll bring them new life and hope, which we are all looking for. 

Talk soon,

Rob

PS, have you experienced this journey already? What’s your story? Send me a reply, I’d love to hear it.