E169: The Power of One: Stop Outsourcing Your Power — Start Investing in You

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What if the version of success you’ve built is quietly costing you your peace?

I know that question intimately.

For years, I was leading everyone but myself.
From the outside, my career looked solid: respected HR leader, steady paycheque, all the boxes ticked.
But on the inside, I was running on adrenaline and calling it normal.

Then one day, a single corporate announcement forced me to choose between comfort and truth.
In that moment, I heard the whisper that changed everything:
 “It’s time to bet on yourself.”

That decision became the turning point — the one that rebuilt my leadership from the inside out.

This episode of Uncharted & Unfiltered is for anyone who’s ever felt the tug between outer achievement and inner alignment.

 I’ll share how I learned to lead from presence instead of pressure, and why investing in yourself isn’t indulgent, it’s intelligent.

✨ This isn’t about self-improvement.
 It’s about self-leadership — the kind that lets you stop outsourcing your power and start living your truth, out loud.

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Cynthia Jamieson 🧡🌱

Leadership coach for high-integrity leaders who want to thrive without proving or burning out | Ex-HR Exec | ICF PCC Coach | Podcast Host | Intuitive Intelligence® Method Guide

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Welcome to Uncharted and Unfiltered, The Journey Back
to You.
I am Cynthia Jameson, your host,and this is where we break free
from the noise and dive deepinto what truly matters.
You.
If you're tired of the shoulds,the expectations, and the
pressures to fit into a moldthat doesn't serve you, you're
in the right place.
This isn't a podcast about easyanswers or sugar-coated advice.

(00:29):
This is your invitation toreclaim your path, embrace the
unknown, and become the bold,unapologetic version of yourself
that's been waiting to show up.
It's time to get unfiltered.
Let's get started.
Hello, hello, friend, andwelcome back to the podcast.
If you have been here before,you know this space is where we

(00:51):
strip away the noise and talkabout what real leadership
actually takes.
Clarity, courage, and the kindof self-trust no one can hand
you.
And if you're new here, I am soglad you found your way in.
I am Cynthia Jameson, a coachand former HR leader who learned

(01:13):
the hard way that success onpaper doesn't always feel like
freedom.
Which brings me to today'sconversation.
Let's talk about something mostpeople never say out loud.
Most leaders are underled, notby their teams, not by their
companies, but by themselves.

(01:34):
They're leading from adrenaline,not awareness, from pressure,
not presence.
And they've started calling itnormal.
But it's not normal to live inconstant tension.
It's not normal to wear burnoutlike a badge of honor.
It's not normal to confusecontrol with clarity.

(01:56):
It's just familiar.
And familiarity isn't freedom.
I know because I lived it.
For years I was a high capacityHR leader who had it all
handled, in air quotes.
Steady, respected, successful onpaper.
But the cost of being that womanwas that I stopped hearing

(02:19):
myself.
By day, I lived what I callmuggle life, spreadsheets,
structure, and strategy.
And by night, I was coachingleaders across the world,
feeling alive, present,connected to something so
incredibly real.
I was split between two worlds,the one that made sense and the

(02:42):
one that made me feel.
As I'm sharing this with youright now, it's very clear to me
it was ego and soul in a dance.
And then one day in 2022, my CEOannounced that we would be
returning to the office.
And I felt something inside ofme close.
This quiet knowing that said,you can't go back.

(03:06):
That's when I heard the whisper.
I didn't feel ready.
I felt afraid and certain andalive all at once.
Because deep down I already knewthat comfort wasn't where I was

(03:26):
meant to stay.
Nothing was guaranteed, buteverything became possible.
That choice to bet on myselfrebuilt my leadership and my
life from the inside out.
And I have watched that samemoment play out again and again

(03:47):
in my clients, that quiet,pivotal moment when they stop
outsourcing their power.
Like E, who realized her calmwas her credibility.
She came to coaching thinkingshe needed more confidence to
speak up.
What she really needed was tostop editing herself.

(04:09):
And once she did, her claritybecame contagious.
Or Kay, who'd been running onurgency for decades, he thought
stillness meant weakness untilhe learned that presence is
power.
When he slowed down, his teamstarted following his lead, not

(04:33):
his stress.
And A who stopped equatingoverwork with worth.
She began protecting her energylike a true leader, not by
saying yes more, but by meaningit when she said no.
And I just want to give a caveathere.

(04:55):
I am not sharing the names of myclients because that that is
very confidential and that isincredibly important to me as a
coach.
So I wanted to share thisbecause these are the kinds of
transformations that remind mefreedom doesn't come from what

(05:17):
you achieve, it comes from howyou lead yourself.
And here's why this matters theworld is full of brilliant,
exhausted people pretending tobe fine.
People who can inspire everyonebut themselves.
We celebrate performance, but itrarely we rarely talk about

(05:40):
peace.
We glorify growth, but we hidewhat it costs.
And I see it every week.
Leaders who have checked everybox except the ones that matter.
Am I leading myself?
Because you cannot buildsomething beautiful on a

(06:02):
foundation that's burning.
And when you learn to leadyourself differently from
clarity, not chaos, you changehow you live, how you love, and
how you lead.
And so what does this look likefrom an experiential perspective
inside of my one-on-one coachingexperience?

(06:23):
First, it's not a course, it'snot more content.
It is a six-month immersion inyour own truth.
Every week we sit down for 50minutes that are entirely yours.
No pretending, no pressure, justhonest conversation and
reflection.
We start with what's real, theproblem beneath the problem.

(06:46):
And together we trace thepatterns that keep you proving
or controlling instead ofleading.
Through positive intelligence,we uncover your saboteurs, those
mental habits that keep youhustling for worth, and we build
the muscle of your sage, thatcalm, creative, intuitive part
of you that already knows what'strue and it already knows the

(07:10):
way.
We ground your leadership inyour values because you can't
feel at home in your life ifyou're living by someone else's
rules.
And in between sessions, youhave voxer access because life
doesn't wait for Wednesdays ifyou end up coaching on
Wednesdays or Tuesdays, whateverday.

(07:31):
Life doesn't wait for your nextsession.
This isn't theory, it'stransformation in motion.
One decision, one conversation,one breath at a time.
And here's what happens when youdo this work: you stop second
guessing yourself.
You start making decisions thatfeel clean.

(07:52):
And what I mean by that is thereisn't any guilt, there isn't any
guessing.
You lead with presence, notpressure.
Your energy changes, yourrelationships deepen, your
leadership finally feels likeyou.
One of my clients told me forthe first time in years, I don't

(08:12):
need a vacation from my life.
Like that?
I feel that.
I feel that.
And another client said, My bossdidn't change.
I did.
And now everything feelsdifferent.
I mean, sometimes changing thecircumstance is amazing, and

(08:32):
lots of times changing yourmind, changing your perspective
is amazing.
So that's what I mean by movingfrom pressure to presence to
power, because real power isn'tforce in the way that we've been
taught and told to look at it.
Instead, it's truth lived outloud, authentic truth.

(08:57):
So if you are waiting for yourboss, your company, or your team
to give you permission to slowdown, you will be waiting
forever.
No one is coming to rescue youfrom the version of success
that's slowly killing you.
That's your job.
But as cliche as it sounds, youare the one you've been waiting

(09:19):
for.
Investing in yourself isn'tindulgent, it's intelligent
because the quality of yourleadership will never exceed the
quality of your self-awareness.
So if you're hearing thatwhisper, it's time, it's not
confusion.
It is your inner compasspointing you home.

(09:40):
So if something in you knowsthat you have been leading from
pressure instead of power, thisis your invitation to come home
to yourself.
Book your clarity call.
Let's see what happens when youstop waiting for permission and
start choosing yourself.
Because this isn't about whatthis isn't about fixing what's

(10:01):
broken.
It's about remembering what'strue.
You don't need another title,you don't need another training.
You don't need anything but onebold moment of truth and the
courage to follow it.
Because when one leader choosesto lead themselves differently,

(10:22):
it ripples.
Their teams breathe easier,their families feel it, their
confidence becomes permissionfor others to do the same.
When you bet on yourself, youstop outsourcing your power and
you start leading your life likeit actually belongs to you.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, good.

(10:46):
Share it with another leaderwho's ready to come back to
themselves.
And if you're ready to startyour own awakening in real time,
click on the link in the shownotes and book your call.
Because growth doesn't wait.
It begins the moment you decideto answer that whisper, the one
that says, it's time.
I hope that you're walking awayfeeling more aligned with your

(11:08):
true self, more confident in thechoices ahead, and ready to
leave the safe path behind,knowing you've got everything
you need within.
Remember, the journey to youisn't about finding one perfect
direction.
It's about trusting yourselfenough to explore all of it.
If you're ready to dive deeper,join me for the next episode and

(11:28):
don't forget to subscribe sothat you never miss the next
step on your path.
I invite you to join my mailinglist at www.cynthia
jamiesoncoach.ca, where we'lldeepen our relationship and you
can claim your copy of yourinner compass, a guide to
charting your course toauthenticity.
Until next time, stayunfiltered, stay true, and most

(11:52):
importantly, stay you.