My last day at Sounds True will be this coming Weds (July 6th). My time at this company really has been a journey. As I'm winding down/preparing for my exit interview, it's been helpful to take a moment and reflect on the process of letting go.
6 Lessons in Learning to Let Go
1. The Universe will ALWAYS meet you where You Are: This last month has been about cultivating faith and trust. Knowing that I don't (as in the personality that is Maria Vandenburg) need to do anything other than know I'm being guided into what's next. This created a sense of freedom and surrender. Although I was (and am still), quite heart broken to be letting Sounds True go; I always knew and trusted there was more for me.
2. The Importance of Honoring Ones' Boundaries: This was key for me. What are my yes's and what are my no's? It seems life will always serve up multiple needs. The lesson for me has been in learning to cultivate and honor my own needs (and realize they matter). While at the same time, providing dedicated, ethical service to the standard of excellence which I set for myself, and give the best I can to meet the needs of my employer. That's a whole heck of a lot of words for: always do my best (agreemment number 4... thank you, Don Miguel Luis 😇)
3. Learning it's not Selfish to know Your Worth. If I had to boil down my time at Sounds True it would be this, I know my energy is a gift and a way I am of service to this planet, and I deeply believe in the value of that gift.
4. When one Door Closes another one Opens (or in my particular case, multiple). I had to take the leap of faith and realize that what I long to be doing wasn't currently available to me (and might not ever be). I had to brave enough to let go and trust that the right opportunity would make itself available. This is cliched terminology I know, but in my case it was true. Only by having the strength and faith to let go, did the next thing open up.
5. Letting Go doesn't necessarily mean a Complete Exit, but it does mean a Shift. The InnerMBA has always been the program at Sounds True that has been the nearest and dearest to my heart. For YEARS (literally I wrote an expression of interest while I was part of the inaugural program a few years ago), I have dreamed about being a student as well as helping to orchestrate the program on the backend. I have had to let the working behind the scenes aspect go, but I am delighted to say that I will still have the opportunity to participate in the third cohort in the fall.
6. Nothing is Personal. There were quite a few times where I was working through something within myself, what I had to keep remembering is that although I might be inventing a story about how my interpretation of something is personal, it's actually not.
And to come full circle, I really have been grateful for the whole experience (even the struggles). Working at Sounds True has been the first time in my professional career that I have been paid (to the extent that I could live off of it) to support a company I love. Believing in the product and services, strongly identifying with the values, vision and mission is important to me. My time there has really shown me the gift in that, but also the gift in working with so many other beautiful souls who are just as passionate about "waking up the world" as I am.
Reality hasn't really fully landed that I will no longer be an employee by the end of the week, but the writing of this entry is helping. Despite the moments of heartbreak while navigating my own personal journey, I will always be grateful for my time there. The incredible programs I was a part of helping to launch, the amazing teams and people I had the chance to work with, and the ability to feel like I am truly being of service (one of my primary love languages, that and quality time) is something I will always treasure for the rest of my life. Thank you for everything this past year, Sounds True, and should the right opportunity ever present itself, it would be a joy to return in the years to come.
Interested in learning more about my personal journey?
You can purchase my first book Crown Jewels: The Akasha Records (Book One) here:
You can out more about the The Akasha Records Journey (embodiment course here)