“If you reach this place of peace and harmony in your life, then whatever you are up to in your business will be directly impacted and will be a direct reflection of your internal state.” Sophie McClean

The concept of self-awareness may sound simple and straightforward, but most people find it difficult to practice it. The importance of practicing self-awareness is, however, critical and most especially for leaders since it determines how efficient they are in leading and winning others. This is according to our guest today, Sophie McClean, who believes that there is limitless power in self-awareness.

Sophie McLean’s mission is to contribute to the creation of a new culture for humankind, or the shift from Homo Sapiens to Homo Spiritus, as Dr. David Hawkins so beautifully wrote. Born in Algeria, educated in Morocco and France, with a professional career in the USA and UK, Sophie has led an eventful life. She has been a helicopter pilot, a teacher, a designer, a relief worker, a war refugee, a CEO, and served as a United Nations representative on The Commission on the Status of Women’s Hunger Project. She has been shot at, shipwrecked, and widowed. She has lived on a farm, a boat, a penthouse, and in an ashram.

As a wisdom teacher, Sophie has spent decades leading transformational seminars to over 80,000 people around the world, of all ethnicities, ages, religions, and social backgrounds – all engaged with the universal existential questions of “Who and what am I?” and “What is my life about?” Her seminar and podcast topics span both human and metaphysical dimensions – exposing and deconstructing the automatic ego, consciousness, freedom, love, stress, anxiety, fear, relationships, health, sex, money, ownership, leadership, spirituality, creation and evolution, the feminine and the masculine, responsibility, and making an effective, actionable difference in the world.

Sophie engages people in a rigorous review of their life and systematically questioning their conclusions on the basis that without examining our network of ideas, beliefs, social and cultural judgments, and our assumptions about the world, those are transformed into constraints. Her interest is in the nature of what it means to be human.

In today’s episode, we will be diving into the world of self-awareness to discuss the importance of stepping back and slowing down to first understand the self before stepping out to lead people. Our guest will as well be telling us why she believes that non-attachment is a great quality when it comes to effective leadership.

Listen in!

Social Media:

https://sophiemclean.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiemcmclean/

https://www.facebook.com/smc.mclean

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Thinkingconsciously / https://www.instagram.com/sophiemclean.accesstoawareness/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrZBvM6bUXstyoB1uIhIxzg?view_as=subscriber

I have always had this impulse of leading an extraordinary life. [2:37]
One of the biggest risks for me is to examine who we are as human beings and to elevate our consciousness constantly. [2:55]
I moved back to New York in 2019 and started a business called access to awareness, and I was committed to giving the gift of awareness to people. [3:44]
Everyone has that gift but has not practiced and realized that awareness is the ultimate power [4:03]
It is all about examining what your life is all about, who you are, your mission and what you want to accomplish. [4:34]
If you reach this place of peace and harmony in your life, then whatever you are up to in your business will be directly impacted and will be a direct reflection of your internal state [6:40]
Many people at the beginning of the pandemic were telling me they can’t wait to go back to the way things were before the pandemic, but now they are saying they don’t want to go back but move forward. [7:03]
That is the evolution of human consciousness from Homo Sapiens to Homo Spiritus. [7:16]
There is pain, fear, and anxiety, but the faster we dive into that shift, the quicker the pain will disappear. [8:10]
If we resist and try to hold into what we had, then the suffering becomes more intense. [8:28]
The question in my mind, which I don’t have the answer to, is how much light needs to be shone on how many things before we shift our consciousness. [10:07]
If you hold a context that it is all perfect and fall in love with reality, and you are able to dance with whatever the symphony of life is, then you will be able to weather it well. [11:01]
There are two kinetic energies in elevating self, and one is the space of love while the other one is suffering. [12:55]
The problem is, if we look at the history of humankind, we have always elevated ourselves through suffering. [13:12]
The possibility of practicing awareness as a way of being is to not go to the suffering before you are awake. [13:37]
Before the pandemic, we were so busy, and there was so much noise that we never took the time to slow down. [16:16]
Mostly with leaders, the first thing I have to do is teach them to slow down and having them see it as a pleasurable, worthwhile, useful, and life-giving distinction. [16:35]
Commercial Break [17:51]
When I started my business two years ago, I was by myself; I experienced a kind of force field where the business was pulling me to do things the way everybody else was trying to do. [19:36]
I can’t do everything like everybody else and be unique; that is by definition not possible. [20:08]
When you bring awareness and realize that there is this world of agreement and that if you start into it, you will disappear into it, then you need to stand [20:41]
The only way I am going to deal with this force field while not giving up on my business would be standing right there in my commitment and what I want to produce. [21:32]
You need to give up doubts, guilt and give up attachment [21:45]
Non- attachment is great for leadership because then you are free, which allows for self-expression, listening, communication, and risk-taking. [23:22]
The universal rule is you always reap what you sow [25:50]
If you are attached, you literally tie yourself somewhere, and you can’t move. [26:00]

Resources

The Call of the Soul [Free Course]

Your Soul’s Journey [5 Month, Live, Online deep dive]

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