We’ve all scrolled through social media in search of gurus when in fact – as Dori Stewart’s guest on this episode of Teacher Turned Entrepreneur reminds us – a deep knowing and wisdom actually reside within us. It’s just a matter of nurturing it along! Amanda Parker is a speaker, writer and transformational business coach whose heart-centered approach builds leadership vision rooted in her clients’ most authentic selves. She explains how she came to uncover her coaching model and offers tips for anyone looking to cultivate more self-confidence. It starts with trusting our own instincts and uncovering that inner voice! You’ll come away from this episode with actionable steps you can take to start bolstering self-confidence, including an invitation to do the inner work to identify – then weed out – the people and things that are draining rather than life-giving. And if you’re in a New Year’s mood for some goal-setting, then you’ll want to take note of Amanda’s best practices! “It’s not always about setting and hitting  a goal, although that can be very attractive and enticing,” she says. “It’s often about how you want to be showing up in the world and factors that will help you get to that place.”

Stay tuned for Amanda’s upcoming Master Mind course, featuring inspiration from changemakers doing deep work in the world, by visiting this link.

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Here are key takeaways from the conversation:

·       If you’re passionate about something but feeling disconnected, it might be time to explore and figure out.

·       A certain measure of naivete can be helpful when you’re swinging for the bleachers with a new entrepreneurial dream!

·       Career impact starts with uncovering and celebrating your most organic, authentic gifts!

·       Heart-centered leadership is about learning to look within for inspiration and internally generated self-confidence.

·       Compare and despair! Stay focused on and trust your own unique inner wisdom.

·       Self-help gurus and education are great, but over-subscribing can be a signal that you’re getting too far away from your instincts and true north.

·       New Year’s Inventory: Take a moment to visualize who you want to be in the 12 months ahead and really identifying the things that make you feel healthy and grounded in life.

Here’s a quick look into the episode:

·       Not a Straight Path: Amanda’s pause and decision to hop off the advertising track to go all in on her love of animals and wildlife conservation.

·       Feeling passionate about her work but stuck and disengaged, Amanda set about identifying what drives people to do good work – and love it.

·       Amanda’s entrepreneurship journey started in the leadership space, where she worked with a coach to build programs to support leadership excellence.

·       The Courage Factory grew out of a deep passion for humanizing the workplace and has grown into helping people connect with their dreams and the path to get there.

·       Amanda has more recently shifted away from leadership development to the deeper inner work that enable us to bring our gifts to the world.

·       Tips for Entrepreneurs in Search of Confidence:

o   Do that deep inner work! Get to know who you are apart from external measures.

o   Embrace the values and goals that define you and your entrepreneurial drive.

o   Follow what gives you energy – the things that light you up – and drop what’s draining.

o   Trust yourself and listen to that inner voice.

o   Make the mistakes and move forward!

·       Why it’s important to distinguish between self-improvement and using outside resources to distract from what else might be going on or in need of attention.

·       Goal-Setting for the New Year: It’s all about transformation and giving yourself the space to think about who you’ve become over the past 12 months – and who you wish to be going forward!