Stop Performing. Start Living.

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Have you ever achieved everything you thought you wanted, only to feel an unexpected hollowness? That quiet, persistent voice asking "Is this it?" isn't a sign you're broken—it's a signal you're misaligned.

After interviewing over 30,000 professionals throughout my career, I've discovered a consistent pattern: the higher people climb, the more they're celebrated for what they do rather than who they are. This disconnect manifests in subtle ways—tension headaches that medication can't fix, the inability to mentally disconnect from work, showing up physically but not emotionally for loved ones, and that chronic fatigue no amount of sleep seems to solve.

This episode unveils the Four A's framework for reclaiming your authentic self: Awareness of when you're performing versus when you're present; Attitude that replaces self-criticism with curiosity; Action through small, consistent steps toward alignment; and ultimately, Alignment where your outer life reflects your inner truth. I share the story of Emily, a marketing executive who transformed her life by applying these principles—launching a business aligned with her natural gifts and becoming more present with her loved ones in just four months.

The journey back to yourself begins with one powerful question: "What feels true for me right now?" Trust what you hear, even if it's just a whisper. Your real life isn't waiting for retirement—it's waiting for you to choose it today. You deserve to hit the pillow each night and say, "I'm so happy I chose me." Ready to stop performing and start living? Your authentic life is just one decision away.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Laura, and welcome to your peak of the week
.
Today.
This is all about reclaimingyour real self.
Stop performing, start living.
There comes a moment, oftenquietly, often inconveniently,

(00:23):
when the question surfaces Isthis it?
You've hit the milestones,built the resume, achieved the
success you once dreamed of, butinstead of fulfillment there's

(00:43):
a faint, persistent hollowness.
If you felt this, you're notbroken, you're just misaligned.
After interviewing over 30,000professionals in my career, I've
seen the hidden pattern againand again.
The higher people climb, themore they're celebrated for what
they do, and it's easier tolose touch with who they are.

(01:07):
Misalignment doesn't alwaysannounce itself with fireworks.
Often it creeps in quietly.
The tension headaches that noamount of Advil can fix.
The digital leash that keepsyou tethered to work even during
vacation.
The dinners with family whenyou're physically there but
mentally a thousand miles away.

(01:28):
The relationship that feelsincreasingly surface level, even
though you desperately crave adeeper connection.
The inner critic whispering youshould be grateful.
Why isn't this enough?
The chronic fatigue that noamount of sleep seems to solve.
And perhaps the greatest cost,the fear that you might wake up

(01:51):
one day and realize you've beenproductive but not truly present
.
That was Emily's story.
That was my story, emily abrilliant, brilliant marketing
executive who had everything onpaper but quietly wondered why
joy felt so elusive.
It wasn't until her companyshut down that she realized her

(02:16):
success wasn't sustaining her,it was draining her.
But here's the truth no onetalks about.
There's another way.
You don't need to burn it alldown.
You need to realign.
Through my work with highachievers like Emily, I found a
simple, powerful framework fortransformation.

(02:37):
It's called the four A's.
Let's break it down.
The four A's are awareness,attitude, action and alignment.
All right, awarenessMisalignment hides in the noise
of shoulds.

(02:57):
I should, I should, I shouldStart by noticing when you're in
performer mode versus authenticpresence.
Notice what energizes youversus what drains you.
Notice what invisible rulesyou've been living by.
I'm only valuable if blank,blank, blank, blank, blank.
Rest is lazy.

(03:23):
Next is the attitude.
Awareness without compassionleads to shame.
So shift your lens Instead ofwhat's wrong with me, try what
is this trying to show me.
Replace self-criticism withcuriosity.
Meet yourself not with judgmentbut with radical self-kindness.

(03:47):
And the next is action.
Insight without action isstuckness.
But action doesn't mean a grandoverhaul overnight.
It means small, consistentsteps like scheduling sacred
device-free time with yourfamily or with yourself, saying

(04:10):
yes to opportunities that alignand no without guilt.
Invest 10 minutes a day,reconnecting with what lights
you up.
Alignment, oh, one of myfavorite words.
This is where the magic happens.
This is where your outer lifestarts matching your inner truth

(04:32):
.
Your leadership no longerdemands perfection, it models
presence.
Your work becomes an extensionof your soul, not your skill set
, not just your skill set.
Your relationships deepenbecause you're showing up fully,
not just playing a role.
When Emily stopped tying herworth to her title and started

(04:56):
reconnecting with her true gifts, everything changed.
In four months, she launched abusiness aligned with her
natural genius, became morepresent with her family, hit
personal and professionalmilestones that felt meaningful,
not just impressive.
Success stopped being somethingshe had to chase.

(05:18):
It became something sheembodied.
Here's what I want you toremember today.
You don't have to perform yourway to worthiness.
You don't have to live abeautiful life that doesn't
actually feel like yours.
You can define success on yourterms and live it from the

(05:42):
inside out.
Start today by asking yourselfthis one question what feels
true?
What feels true?
This one question what feelstrue?
What feels true?
What feels true for me rightnow?
Trust what you hear, even ifit's just a whisper, especially

(06:04):
if it's just a whisper, yourreal life, the one that you're
here to live, is waiting for you.
It's waiting for you.
It's waiting for you to chooseit.
Oh, my goodness, seeing myhusband's face when he, gosh,

(06:36):
just saw the beginning of hisdream come into physical form to
be able to go into RACU and seethis is the place, this is it.
Something I had in my head isnow a real life thing.
Something I thought in my headbecame a real life thing.

(07:08):
It starts with awareness.
You can't do something aboutsomething you're not aware of.
Attitude, the belief that youcan, or the disbelief.

(07:31):
Be honest, how many times areyou championing other people but
when it comes to yourself, youput yourself down?
Stop that.
The attitude is I deserve it.
If they can go after theirdreams, I can go after mine.

(07:55):
I am worthy.
Action, I mean because,seriously, if you don't have An
attitude of like yeah, this isworth, like I am worthy, this
gets to happen.
It's my time Versus a place ofcomplete victim mindset.

(08:21):
No, if you move into actionwith a terrible attitude, do you
think that thing is going tocome true?
No, small, consistent steps,and when you've taken it as far
as you know how to take it, thenyou give the rest to God, and

(08:42):
then the next day, you take itas far as you know how to take
it and then you give the rest toGod.
Don't you want to hit thepillow at the end of the night
and say, gosh, I'm so happy Ichose me.
Gosh, I'm so happy that I couldlisten to my inner guidance
system.
Gosh, even if it was just onesmall thing, I can really be

(09:07):
proud of myself today.
Yeah, today, yeah, you don'thave to perform, you don't have

(09:27):
to earn, you don't have to prove.
Your worthiness is just a given.
It is you, you are worthy.
If you need to listen to thisevery day, there is something

(09:49):
about the repetition I can, Ican, I can, I can, I will, I
will, I will, I will, I can, Ican, I can, I can, I will, I
will, I will, I will, I can, Ican, I can, I can, I will, I
will, I will, I will.
Don't make me sing to you, butI will, but I will.

(10:13):
For you to answer this questionwhat feels true for you right
now?
Trust what you hear, even ifit's just a whisper, especially
if it's just a whisper.
Your real life, real life, theone you're here to live A little
more adventure, moreexperiences.
What's your happily ever after?

(10:34):
You don't have to wait forretirement to start living.
You can choose now, wake up.
Wake up, and if you ever want alittle nudge or a little
encouragement or a guide for theroad ahead, you know where to

(10:56):
find me.