Sovereign vs Child...
Who is really in your CEO seat?
I have been secretly (okay not so secretly) indulging in the spin off series of the Karate Kid on Netflix ‘Cobra Kai’ and HOLY MOLY talk about a bunch of children playing “adults”!
As a recovering child doing business, to an adult (Sovereign) doing business (okay, sometimes I go back to my child in business status if I’m to be completely honest), it was so plain to see in this form of “entertainment/entrainment” how letting your child archetype rule the roost is going to cause a shit load of chaos. Becoming a true CEO in your business requires you to put your child in it’s place (and we’ll get to that soon).
The basic plot of Cobra Kai is this: Old karate rivals, pick up their old rivalry in adulthood and start to teach their young ones their same old habits and beliefs. So guess what?! Not surprisingly the young ones now have a rivalry born from their elders.
What struck me as hilarious is that nearly all the main characters of the story are stuck in their Child. Complaining about things being fair, holding on to grudges, perpetuating old beliefs (ie. no growth or maturation)…
AND IT’S ADDICTIVE WATCHING!!
Why?! Because it touches the old story of good vs bad. Heroism. Vendettas. It’s Western and (dare I say it) christian influenced nostalgia.
Which doesn’t make it TRUE.
{In fact entertainment/entrainment – is exactly trying to do that – unconsciously train you to think it’s true. Be careful what you watch, or watch with absolute awareness and open eyes! }
So, how does Cobra Kai teach us about what NOT to do in business?
Well, firstly the correct position of the child in your business:
The only job your child has in your life and in your business is the ability to dream and have fun! NOTHING ELSE.
Because of your child’s obsession with possession, fairness, entitlement, if you let it call all the shots, you’ll get NOWHERE in business:
- To grow your business you need to let go (the opposite of possess) – from your beliefs, to how you have “always” done things, to sometimes even the whole structure of your business. This is adaptability and this trait alone shows a certain level of maturation and resilience.
- To grow your business you need to be ready to let go of the concept of (childish) fairness. It’s a highly emotive and subjective thing. You can’t please everyone.
This is particularly hard for soulful empathic women who feel the need for fairness, but more often than not, it’s from a wound of injustice from the past that hasn’t been attended to.
The most significant area that “Fairness” affects is your pricing. Another is your ability to stand firm in your boundaries and standards of practice.
- To grow your business you need to let go of entitlement. OOOOH this is a biggy for me! When I grew up, I believed everything would be given to me on a silver platter. But that’s far from the truth. What I have learnt is the most rewarding things have been what I have worked for (either in the inner realms of consciousness and belief-work or literally, like working on the physical plan), not what has just been given me.
Entitlement will make you lazy. It will make you throw your toys. You are not entitled to anything! Even your sense of happiness – you must do the internal work for! Along with the new reward-bloody-everything culture that we are in, and you have a breeding ground of kids/adults who feel entitled.
The spiritual idea of “inherent worth” is a guilty party to this age of entitlement. Worth is an egoic concept. The idea of being inherently worthy again breeds entitlement. “I AM WORTHY, SO I DESERVE THIS!”
What would be more accurate is “you are inherently worthy to cultivate your worth”. You see, nothing comes without some work – either inner work or on the physical plane.
Let your child dream, let it have fun in your business! This helps create the culture of joy and ease in your biz and helps you to envision what you truly desire (because in a kid’s mind, anything is possible). But that’s it. Don’t put your child in the CEO seat. That’s not it’s place! Reaching your dreams requires you to inhabit the mature, wise Sovereign: your King/Queen occupy the thrown alone!
Arohanui,
ps. I’d love to hear what you think about this, so feel free to leave a comment! I read and reply to each one!
Dear Adventurer,
Here are a few journalling questions to deepen your understanding:
- Where have you put your child in charge of your business?
- Where have you put your sovereign in charge of your business?
- Has there been an occasion that your child and sovereign have worked together? If so how? If not, why?
- What do you need to change in order to put your child and your sovereign in their rightful places in your business?
- What would that look and feel like?
