I’ve been keeping something from you.

But first let’s go back a few months. One Monday afternoon, I was meeting with my copywriter who I had engaged to rewrite all my website copy. On the way to the cafe, I noticed that I was feeling apprehensive and nervous.

I immediately knew why. For the first time in a long time I was going to share my entire back story.

Now here’s the thing – we all have back stories – after all, that’s where our evolutionary growth lies. But some of our back stories are more socially acceptable than others. And the truth is, mine has a touch of the less acceptable about it.

Up until this moment, I had been discreet about my back story for fear of being judged, shunned or gossiped about. But now, I was ready to be authentic and in integrity, with myself and you, dear reader.

So I bared my soul and blurted it all out to the copywriter. There was silence. And then a smile. A huge, loving open hearted radiant smile.

Here’s what I told her.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I owned a massage parlour in Sydney. Yes, a legal parlour where adult activities happened. For four and a half years or so and with a business partner, I owned a massage parlour. There, I’ve said it.

With big hearted intentions and a vision of sorts, we decided we were going to revolutionise an industry. Our vision was to create a ‘conscious’ space where we would train the staff in Tantra. (Did I mention that I had, for many years, studied and lived Tantra?) Where women would work safely and be supported. An oasis where clients would be touched and transformed in profound ways.

How naive was I?

The revolution didn’t quite unfold as planned. Initially, and for the first couple of years, business was great. Exhausting, but great. We had created a movement – women wanted to work for us, and clients wanted to be touched by us. Everything was going swimmingly and I loved each every minute of it. I was responsible for staffing, training, marketing and all operational matters. You could say I was in my Virgoan element.

Until I wasn’t.

We were about two and a bit years in when each day was, instead of excitement, now filled with dread. Previously where there had been ease, was now struggle. What had been a harmonious business relationship, was now filled with tension. My daily mood was of despair, and the business was feeling it. Added to that, my emotional and physical health were suffering. Business was no longer fun or fulfilling.

Why am I telling you this NOW?

Because it was during this time that I learned my most valuable business lesson. Believe me when I say it was a harsh and brutal lesson. Tweet This

GlobalWoman Business Lesson 101

Your business has to be in alignment with your core values. Even though I had the best of intentions, plus a dash of Pollyanna eyes, the business wasn’t, and had never been, aligned with my core values.

Truth be told, there had been signs from the get go, which I chose to ignore. Neither big or loud, they were still signs. But as I continued on my due course of denial, the business Goddesses decided to intervene to speed up my transformation. Signs became impossible to ignore, arriving with ever increasing frequency and velocity.

It was as if Goddess Kali had taken over tenancy of the building.

Energy and excitement had carried me through the first couple of years. But endless long days, financial pressure and challenging business conditions had long eroded any spark I had. All that remained was me running a business I had no soul or heart connection to. I wasn’t adding value to people’s lives. I wasn’t harnessing my labour to make a better world.

The harsh truth was I had become physically exhausted and emotionally bankrupt. Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Change and Destruction, had her way with me and I was karmically done.

I woke up and walked away.

Armed with a lifetime of personal lessons, interesting stories and business insights, I left. To this day, it remains the most expensive business lesson I’ve experienced. And one not quickly forgotten.

Nowadays, my revolution is helping GlobalWoman Entrepreneurs create, build and automate their online courses and programs.

Kathryn x