In This Episode:

* How coach & strategist Valerie Black led herself through a year of ups & downs* The practices she uses to find her center and stay present—so she doesn’t end up “future-tripping”* What she did to hold boundaries around her work as clients started to come back* The question she’s asking to find direction for the next phase of her work

I used to live in Astoria, Oregon.

That’s where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean—the northwest corner of the state and the home of the Tribes of the Chinookan people.

Every day, I’d walk along the river several times and just watch the water flow.

Because we were so close to the mouth, the river actually experienced considerable tides. Throughout the day, the height of the river might change anywhere from 6-10 feet.

Not only did the level of the water change dramatically throughout the day, it would appear that the flow of the river reversed.

When the tide was out, the river flowed as you would expect—toward the ocean.

When the tide was coming in, it looked like the river flowed backwards toward Portland.

It was wild.

Of course, under the surface of the rising tide, the Columbia River continued its journey toward the Pacific. The river never actually changed course—just the water on the surface.

Life and work can create a similar illusion.

It can feel like half of the time we’re moving forward…

…and half of the time we’re being pushed backwards by forces outside of our control.

But under the surface, we’re still growing, adapting, emerging. We’re continuing our journey.

When you’re building a business, you’ll inevitably experience ups and downs, ebbs and flows.

When things are bad, it can feel like every success you’ve ever experienced is being washed away by failure.

But, of course, the truth is that we’re always learning and moving forward.

As we continue our series on leading yourself and examining the practices that small business owners used to navigate this wild year, I’m thrilled to introduce you to coach and founder of The Change Agency, Valerie Black.

I met Valerie at this time last year and was immediately struck by her mix of gentleness and tenacity. She is both strategic and intuitive, open-hearted and strong-willed—not that any of those things are mutually exclusive, of course!

Valerie has had a year of ebbs and flows, as she put it.

And I wanted to capture her story and learn more about the self-care practices that saw her through this year.

Now, let’s find out what works for Valerie Black!