🎙 61. Behind the Scenes of 👁️VISIBILITY and Intuitive Program Development

the spiritual 9-5 podcast transcript

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Episode Published on January 30, 2024

Transcript:
Intro to the intro —

This episode is about a program, called VISIBILITY. But it’s not to sell the program, because the doors are closed. It’s to tell the story and through its telling, to inspire and encourage you, dear listener, to follow the inspiration in your own life, even when you are aren’t sure what will result.

Intro music 🎶

Welcome to the Spiritual 9-5 podcast.

We are here to support you in your day to day, to help you see and know yourself a little bit deeper, and to inspire you to show up in what you are here to do whether that be your 9-5 or entrepreneurship or art or philanthropy or watching Netflix on your couch, or a combination of all of those.

I’m your host, Marie Groover. I’m the founder of two businesses that are here to inspire you to do what you came here to do, and to bring the soul back into the office. I am so excited to bring you this episode, today. 

If you haven’t, please leave the show a 5 star rating. And if this episode resonates, consider saving it and sharing it with someone you think it would resonate with too.

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I was talking to a friend/peer/mentee/mentor that I met on LinkedIn recently. And I casually mentioned 👁VISIBILITY. He was like “What is 👁VISIBILITY?” and I was like “oh, it’s a coaching program that is kind of not like any other coaching program that I’ve experienced.”

It’s a container, which is basically a telegram chat, that I drop into every single day, and deliver a short and sweet and inspiring and reflective message, an invitation for the group. And people respond or they don’t. And he was like “every weekday?” and I go, “oh no, every single day”. And his eyes went wide.

Because his reaction is such a common one, when I mention 👁VISIBILITY, I want to talk about
this program today. And what I have learned, so far, one month in to this beautiful, daily experiment.

So let’s start from the beginning. 👁VISIBILITY was an idea for a long, long time with two theories in mind.

One: If you want to be known for your work, you have to share your work. People need to know your work. People need to know that you do it. People need to know what you do. Which means you need to tell them and show them. And that’s not always easy, sometimes we need or we desire support to put ourselves into the world with our work in this way.

And two: Showing up in your work and/or sharing about it is a DAILY practice that must be cultivated. It’s easier said than done. I learned in my personal work, most especially through my business, that I have to actively make a decision every single day – sometimes first thing in the morning, but sometimes at like 4pm. I have to make the decision to show up (or not). And some days it’s easier than others. Some days I pull out the bag of tricks. And some days all the tricks in the bag are useless.

An entrepreneur friend of mine and I were lamenting about this, about the need and the desire to show up and the choice that we have to make to do so daily. And I jokingly said at that time, “What if I were to share a piece of inspiration every day, or insight into my own process of showing up, what if I were to share my bag of tricks and what I do when the bag is empty, do you think that people would buy me a coffee every month in exchange for that?”

And she was like “hell yeah Marie, I’d buy you a coffee right now.”

And I had simultaneously, for a long while, been thinking about how to create a coaching container that was more economical for the population of people who desire regular coaching and inspiration without committing to a program or a set of knowledge or a 5-figure+ price tag.

And so 👁VISIBILITY was incepted through that conversation and a culmination of thoughts up until that conversation as a daily drop in of inspiration to keep people in their work, sharing their work, and showing up for themselves and the life they want to create for a super economical price point.

👁VISIBILITY the program is about being seen and it is about sharing ourselves with the world. But at its core, this program is about deciding whether or not to show up in the life that you want to create, on a daily basis. Because that’s what it takes. So 👁VISIBILITY is a program but it’s also a practivce.

Sharing yourself with the world, sharing your work and your heart with the world, it has to be a recurrent choice for it to take. This practice is reinforcing intentionality in our day to day, by bringing a coaching container that is really different than many programs out there.

In this program, we don’t have calls. We share a Telegram group chat. Every day I drop in and I record a 5-15 minute voicenote on a topic or a source of inspiration. I usually pair it with some questions to reflect on. Sometimes people respond. Sometimes they don’t. And when folks feel called, they drop in with questions and requests for support.

In some ways, it’s kind of like having me on as a retainer, as a coach. In 👁VISIBILITY you get exclusive access to daily inspiration and to occasionally pick my brain when you want and need it, when it matters most to you.

It’s like having a personal coach in your back pocket, that you don’t feel pressured to constantly be in contact with. There is nothing that you have to do, other than receive, when you feel like it.

And we are only one month in, but it’s really really cool.

I think it’s brilliant! It’s already been such a joy to deliver on regularly. The feedback has been amazing – folks are telling me that my daily messages are so nourishing and contribute deeply to their lives and experiences, which I feel so honored to hear and I so appreciate!

Some folks listen every day. Some folks pop in and listen when they feel like it. And some people binge a few days of content at a time, do their deep journaling and they report back.

I’m so glad that I decided to launch this program – completely experimentally.

And I remember when I first started telling people that I was going to create this program and experience, I got a flood of questions that were mostly all the same. They were:

• A year? Are you really going to be able to show up every single day for a year? Are you really going to want to do that?

• Marie, you’re a projector! Your energy is limited and it shifts. Will you actually want to give this much, at such a low rate financially? Are YOU going to feel nourished or will this be an obligation?

• And then the same question but slightly different, which was “will other people want to show up for a year? That’s a really long time. That seems really intimidating.”

I had to really sit with this, because I didn’t know the answers. I just knew that I felt inspired, that I thought this offering could be useful, that people could get a lot out of this, that I would have liked to participate in something similar if it existed, that I might enjoy delivering on it, that it would be a great consolidation of my coaching efforts in 2024, as I was anticipating quite a big life change for myself or multiple life changes for myself this year (more on those big life changes later, maybe next week), and that it would hold me to a high standard of showing up for myself in my daily life.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned from coaching, and there are many things, but one thing is that when I am working with clients, my clients keep me on my toes. I am held to such a high standard, because I am responsible for holding a high standard in client containers, and my clients freaking deliver. They show up emotionally regulated and accountable, and curious. They ask hard questions. They are transparent about the pain-points in their life. They hold high standards for themselves.

And by high standards I mean: integrity – the kind of integrity that is not just walking the talk, but that is truly seeking truth and embodying love and compassion from a source that is loving and compassionate.

I work on myself regularly, not just for me – most of the time, it’s for me, yes. But I work on myself because people depend on me to show up for them.

Integrity to me is clearing up the dissonance that exists inside you and outside of you – the conflict. It is when your beliefs are aligned with your thoughts, and your feelings, and your actions, and then therefore your results. The entire loop (belief, thought, feeling, action) is clean and clear. You are aware of what’s going on inside and outside of you and you are attuned to the highest parts of yourself.

And that is the work, essentially.

A few years ago, to hold a high standard, to be this emotionally and psychologically responsible for myself and for others, to show up for others in such an integral way consistently, daily, that would have felt heavy and obligatory and hard. That would have felt like “too much” and like I might need to take breaks. But today, it feels powerful and inviting and light and natural.

And BTW it feels that way because of practice. So I remember a time when my coaching containers.. My coaching containers are all long-term now. 6-12 month commitments. I do 1 offs and I do long-term. I rarely do anything in-between, unless there is a very specific and measurable goal that we are working toward in say a one month or a three month timeframe (like, get a new job, land that promotion, identify ideal client persona, create a launch plan for X offering, etc. etc. – very specific, tight, and measurable). Otherwise, I only work with private clients in long-term commitments.

I did not use to do this. I used to only host short term coaching containers – 3-4 months. And toward the end of the container, I would notice this feeling arising in me, which was resistance. And it was resistance to showing up. It’s almost like, the energy would shift and it felt.. suddenly sticky. And I would just want it to be over. And I didn’t know why. But it was uncomfortable AF.

I got curious. I was like “what is up with this Marie?”

And I realized that at around the 3-4 month mark, that’s kind of when the inspiration wears off. The client..mmm..the client inspiration and shiny object syndrome starts to fade. If they are not seeing big external results, they lose the momentum of energy that comes from exciting new-ness and possibility of coaching. And even if they are seeing big, external results – there is a shift that takes place. And the shiny newness of the container wears away.

And this is such a natural phase in any project or relationship. You start something and in the beginning, you are riding a wave of excitement. And at some point, the excitement wears off and what I’ve learned is that, that’s when the real work begins. That’s when it gets interesting.

Because that’s when you have to start deciding do I want this or not? Am I going to show up or not? What am I made of? How far am I willing to go for this?

That’s when it gets interesting. That’s when self-sabotage really starts showing itself. That’s when the brain starts justifying. That’s when we dip into our survival mechanisms from childhood.

And if we don’t pay attention, we might get stuck. And we might continue this cycle with projects, in relationships, with coaches, over and over and over and over again, making very little real progress toward who we want to become and what we want to achieve. Though, externally it might feel like we’re making substantial progress on new projects and new achievements and different shiny things.

When the sparks wear off, that’s also when difficult conversations start to arise. And as a coach, you have to have them. The conversations that are like, “Hey. I notice this pattern. Do you notice it to? What’s that about? Let’s talk about it.” Conversations around self-sabotage, conversations that feel uncomfortable and sticky.

And I used to not want to go there. But, my clients pay me way too much money for me to not go there.

So I challenged myself – In late 2022, I asked myself if it would be possible to be with someone, deepening in relationship with them and their work and their goals for an entire year. Through the ups and downs. Through all the seasons of their life. Through the difficult moments and the light and easy moments. So, I shifted my private coaching to year-long containers to find out. I also launched my first year-long mastermind: The Quantum Sessions.

At the beginning of this year, I wrote a newsletter and I want to read it to you. And then we’ll get back to 👁VISIBILITY and we’ll get back to my learnings.

The newsletter goes like this:

Sweet friend,

I have an idea of what 2024 will present, but the truth is also that I have no material knowing of what it will actually look like.

It's both exciting and terrifying.

What I do know is that I can trust myself to show up every single day, and to lead myself and my clients through the sticky bits.

Because showing up daily and in longevity is a practice that I have cultivated over the last 3 years of running my businesses.

I know how to be with something for a really long time, and to trust in its aligned arrival.

I know how to keep showing up, despite a lack of ‘proof’ or evidence to tell me that it's all coming together.

I know what it feels like to dance with uncertainty while being excruciatingly aware of the in-between – the way it feels inside the gap of who you are today and where you are going.

And I know what it feels like to give up, to put it off, to come back, to move on.

**

👁VISIBILITY came to me (like so many of my business decisions) as a question: is it possible to show up for my clients every single day for an entire year?

And it came to me a year ago.

In 2022, I launched a year long mastermind, The Quantum Sessions as an answer to this question. We extended to 14 months together, and our closing ceremony is next week 🙏🏽.

In 2022, I shifted my private coaching to primarily support 12 month contracts – every single person who signed, requested to renew for another year together 🙌🏽.

In 2022, I decided to meet myself in the longevity of commitment – committing to show up despite the season my life, despite the way I felt (and I'm a moody bitch, nothing fluctuates like the way I feel on a daily basis), and despite the resistance to the growth edge that presents itself when you go beyond what you think is possible.

And this last year, I saw the possibilities that arise when you show up in the long game and let me tell you, it's an entirely different game.

The reward is forward momentum without nervous system malfunction or dis-regulation.

The reward is a deepening in your knowing and trusting of self.

The reward is genuine, unshakeable results – not highs and lows, nor the kind of uncertainty that brings you to your knees.

The reward is getting what you want while being rooted in who you are.

Now I have to ask you – is it possible to show up for yourself every single day for one year?

Who will you be at the end of it? How far will you go when you are that committed to yourself?

What will you feel and how deep do you already know your self-trust will be?

If you aren't sure, there is only way to find out.

Join me in 👁VISIBILITY.

I've done this before. I'm ready to do it again. And I've got your back.

Whoa. What a newsletter.

I have to say again, the doors to 👁VISIBILITY are closed. This is not a sales podcast.

I read that email because, it still holds so much truth. And it’s a cornerstone for this offering that began on January 1st, and that will run until the end of next January. We are only one month in, but for me, it’s already proven to be regenerative and transformational.

Leading 👁VISIBILITY, facilitating this program has taught me that giving unconditionally can be regenerative and nourishing.

When the people who asked me “do you really think you can show up every single day?” later checked in on me after 👁VISIBILITY had begun, I realized that of course I can show up every single day AND it doesn’t have to be a thing. I’ve been showing up every single day for a long time now.

👁VISIBILITY has felt so nourishing (to me) and so natural. It’s seamlessly integrated into my day and it feels like a natural extension of my work. It’s the place where I can pour myself into others, where I can pour my findings, my experiments, my inspiration, my work into people who are happy and excited to drink it up, because it serves as a source of inspiration for them, and a source of daily connection to their own practice and work, and to people who also care about their daily practices and work.

I’m reading this book right now – it’s called The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin. On page 361 he says,

“Whatever you choose, it’s helpful to have fellow travelers around you. They don’t have to be like you, just like-minded in some way. Creativity is contagious. When we spend time with other artistic people, we absorb and exchange a way of thinking, a way of looking at the world. This group can be called a Sangha. Each person in this relationship begins seeing with a different imaginative eye.

It doesn’t matter if the art form is the same or different from yours. It’s nourishing to be in a community of people who are enthusiastic about art, who you can have long discussions with, and with whom you can trade feedback on the work.

Being part of an artistic community can be one of the great joys of life.”

And 👁VISIBILITY is very much that. (Rick Rubin didn’t say that last line, I did).

Most of my private clients are multi-faceted, multi-passionate, high-achievers. Most of them do a lot, and have their hands in many different pots. I resonate with this because I am similar. I can’t just run one business, I need two, and some substantial side projects as well. It’s part of my way.

And in this type of way, it can be really easy to disconnect from communities because you may not have the time, or not want to make the time, or not to dedicate to a group of other folks who may or may not actually contribute back, or fully see and appreciate you in your multi-faceted wholeness.

There are many communities to be a part of when you are a little bit of everything, and it can also feel lonely and like only parts of you are seen or appreciated at any given time. And it can feel almost like you don’t fully belong anywhere. Because you belong everywhere and you belong no where.

For many of my clients, this is how they feel and because of that, finding community has always been a desire, but rarely a priority.

👁VISIBILITY is different in that way. It’s designed to fit seamlessly into your life, creating and cultivating deep levels of connection, where you can feel seen and understood and nourished in your work and in yourself – in all of you. It’s a coach in your back pocket, yes. But it’s also a community and support system to plug into, in a not overwhelming, not unnatural or forced kind of way.

And, after 30 days of 👁VISIBILITY, what I have learned is that giving is regenerative. And, that you, yes you, have something to say.

Even when you think you don’t. Even when you’re uninspired. Even when you are sick or on your period. When you are walking the talk or not walking the talk. You have something good and worthwhile to say. Something that will change someone’s day, uplift their perspective and inspire, something that will genuinely cause positive and impactful ripples in the world. And, I think it’s selfish and cruel for you to hold it in.

For 30 days I have delivered deep, insightful, beautiful, impactful, sometimes profound messages to a small community of men and women. In truth, I was never worried if I could show up or not, daily, for an extended period of time – though that worry was very much projected onto me.

I was worried, however, that I wouldn’t have anything to say.

And what I came to find was that every work that you put into the world is more than the immediate work itself. It is a culmination of your entire lived experience. And if you are human, no matter how you view your life – you are alive, and you have lived experience. And you have some pretty interesting things to share.

Perhaps, you could use some practice in how you share, in clearly sharing your messages and thoughts and words of wisdom and learnings and inspirational moments – but you’ve got some stuff to share. Maybe that’s in written word, or voicenotes to a community, or music, or art, or fashion, or technology, or a podcast, or education, or politics. Or something else, some other form of expression.

You have some things that call to you, some experiments that are interesting to you – and maybe to no one else in your immediate circle. But it’s worthwhile to listen.

I am so proud of myself for following through with this experiment.

I am so happy that those who joined are receiving nourishment and value and insight that’s helpful for them.

I 10/10 recommend that when you are inspired by a question or an experiment, just do it. Be open to magic and see what happens when you show up.

You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

I will leave you with one final message. It was something I posted on LinkedIn, inspired by content that I created for 👁VISIBILITY earlier this month.

It goes like this:

What if we looked at ourselves not like finite resources, but infinite wells of wisdom and courage and love and insight? (We are).

Giving without conditions or giving unconditionally doesn't mean that we have to give everything that we have.

Giving unconditionally doesn't mean giving entirely.

It simply means giving from a place of resource & abundance. Giving what we have more than enough of, without keeping score.

Giving what we came here to give.

If you run a business, I encourage you to examine your business & your beliefs. Whatever products or services you offer, whatever your specialities, give them plentifully & you will do well.

Being generous doesn't mean that we don't charge for our services. But it does mean that we aren't stingy with what we know. You don't become an industry expert or a thought leader by gatekeeping knowledge or expertise.

If you run a team or are on a team, if you collaborate with others at all as part of your living -- give of yourself and your expertise generously.

If you are a poet, write poems. Share them.

If you are a builder, build.

If you are a roofer and you notice a neighbor's roof needs some help, tell them! (This actually just happened to me and I paid the guy who told me about the problem ON THE SPOT to fix it, simply because he offered).

⚡️ Give what you came here to give. Not only will you find that you are resourced infinitely to do so, but you'll find that generosity is, in fact, regenerative.

Give. You'll end up getting a lot more than what you are giving out.

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Thank you so much for listening to the spiritual 9-5 podcast. I’m your host, Marie Groover and I am beyond honored that you are here. Please follow, save and rate the show. And if you can, share your favorite episode with a friend. It makes the world of a difference. 

Connect with me on LinkedIn, I would love to hear from you what you think about the show or my work – so don’t be shy. And, I’m always here to connect and support you or your business through coaching, team building and leadership development. You can find my work in the show notes. 

And until next time, big love.

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