Attention purpose seekers! This is your moment to shine!. The world is shifting and evolving. To the masses, it no longer feels ok to "suck it up" and be unhappy at work. And for you, your tolerance for being unfulfilled is now at zero. This is your time to get absolutely clear on your gifts and what you were born to contribute to the world. You may have felt stuck because to determine your "purpose" or "calling" feels like a daunting task and you don't know how to get clear. I can help you clarify your higher career calling because I have done it for myself and that is precisely what I'm known for as doing for my coaching clients. Today's blog offers you guidance to awaken your higher calling through gaining insight around what I call your "feminine genius."
Why You're Asleep + How to Awaken
You likely were not guided as a young person to follow your heart, your natural talents, and your passions around work. Instead, you were told about certain lines of work that the adults predicted would provide more steady jobs. So you likely did not enter an area of work not because you wanted to but because someone you saw in authority (a parent, school, a mentor, or the media) convinced you with logic (and maybe even statistical data) that this was your safest and best career bet. I know this is true for me. The authorities first convinced me to study accounting in college, and then to go on to law school. And while I was was able to achieve acolades and do well in these areas, they never fully represented by heart, natural talents, and passions.
To awaken to your higher career calling is an invitation to see what is behind the opinions of these authorities. For example, you were likely being trained, as early as childhood, by your schools to lean toward work in Corporate America. The classes most American schools value (and don't cut in money crises) are based on what the masculine business world has traditionally valued - i.e. topics like math and science vs. art and fitness. In this focus toward Corporate American values, you likely were never asked to look at your natural talents or interests, and that's a shame because that is where your genius lies. If you're surprised to hear that the American education system is deterring you (and many others) from your genius and most creative expression, and want to dive deeper, check out the most watched of all Ted Talks (57 million!) by Sir Ken Robinson titled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?:"
With this background on why you're asleep to your genius, you can now begin to awaken to that which is your actual higher calling.
The Key to Your Higher Calling: Your "Feminine Genius"
There is a unique calling for you, and I've unlocked the way to access it, that is to reveal what I call your "feminine genius." Your feminine genius is comprised of three components of yourself that you haven't had full permission to embrace...until now. These parts of yourself include:
Your Feminine Genius =
Your archetypal feminine purpose + your inner genius + your feminine energy
In a nutshell, your archetypal feminine purpose is the caretaker in you who desires to change the world for the better. This is innate in women. As someone who is designed archetypally as feminine, you feel it is your role to take care of the earth and the next generations. You stand for equality and eveyrone to be cared for. And because this is a part of you, you will feel unfulfilled in a job that is focused on gaining money or power. You can only be filled when you address your deep yearing to help others and create positive change in the world. It is through the creativity of genius that new solutions and systems are built, and old oppressive ones come crumbling down.
Your inner genius is your innate talent that you were born with and were born to share. It is what you're doing when you feel most alive, at ease, and in flow. Your genius is a combination of your natural talents, experience, and passions. It can be very hard to see your own genius given that you've been indoctrinated with the thinking that "work is hard." You actually likely spend time in your genius but because it is so easy for you, you don't see it as something others can't do, and so you don't yet view it as special or valuable. You also may have a hard time seeing it right now because you still hold attachment to who you thought you were supposed to be and what you've been told is the best for your financial security.
Your feminine energy is the complimentary energy to your masculine energy. In the workforce, masculine energy has been the favored way of creating systems and structures because men have been in charge of definng the workforce up until now. And feminine energy has been criticized and discouraged as "weak" in contrast to the aggressive masculine ways of working. For women, we can bring an emphasis to our masculine energy and many of us have for our professional lives, but the reality is this feels inauthentic and causes burnout. (That is precisely what happened to me in my legal career).
If you'd like to read more about Feminine Genius, you can do so in my blog: Change Lives for the Better with Your Feminine Genius.
The 6 Questions to Awaken Your Feminine Genius
Over the decade that I've been researching and revealing feminine genius in my clients, I have observed a few magical data points that help to idenitfy feminine genius. Here are the 6 most clarifying data points:
1. Your Career Role Models
2. Your Family Lineage
3. Your Favorite Activity
4. Your Personal Transformation
5. Your Innate Feminine Gifts
6. Your Roles in Childhood Games
You'll notice that the questions often focus on what you enjoy and what brings you alive. You'll also see that your natural talents and passions have been with you since birth and you've also cultivated them over time even if they were never part of your job. Here are the 12 questions:
Whose career do you admire + what do they do? (meaning you wish you could do what they do; you admire the roles they play like writer, strategist, thought leader, teacher).
What creative talents do you see in your family lineage + you too? (meaning feminine creative gifts like innovating, teaching, ministerial work, the arts, and holistic healing).
What do you geek out over + would do endlessly for free? (meaning your favorite activity you lose time over and would do for others without pay simply because you enjoy it so much).
What challenge did you face + now help others as a guide? (meaning your story is now your solution for others)
Where are you "too much" of a feminine quality? (meaning gifts you get criticized or self-criticize for like too sensitive (intuition), too woo woo (spiritually connected), too unfocused (playful), or too artsy (creative).
What roles did you love to play in childhood games? (meaning you naturally gravitated that direction without being influenced e.g. teacher, detective, priest, mother/father, shop clerk).
A few tips for working with these questions:
You can answer the questions that feel easy to you first and come back to harder questions later. Also, you can take as much time as you need to finish all 6. You might answer all questions in one sitting but that is not required. You might need several days or weeks. You might need to do months of reflective work before you can answer many of the questions. There is no right way. Whatever resonates for you is best for you. Just get started.
You might work with a support person to answer some or all of the questions because seeing your own genius can be hard. That is precisely why my clients hire me. To identify themes in your various answers and gain insight into your genius, you can benefit from an objective person probing you in places you struggle to find answers and helping you dive deeper by asking additional questions. Work only with someone you trust and who supports you unconditionally. Do not work with anyone who might have an agenda or can bring negativity or limiting beliefs around what might be possible and best for you.
Many people are stumped by the question about childhood interests. Don't skip this one because is it one of the most important clarifiers. Who you are as a child is unencumbered and your natural talents and interests shine through. Different children have different interests that tip off to their genius! For example, my brother was a little boy who excelled in creating art, was fascinated by the weather, and loved learning about airplanes - his genius is in being a pilot and transportation expert applying creative leadership in creative companies. I was a little girl who loved spiritual books, playing teacher, and coaching my mom through problems using her business empowerment books - my genius is in business and career coaching teaching individuals to identify their top talents and to do work they love using their feminine spiritual powers.
Your only job in answering these question is to wake up to what talents and passions really lie inside of you that you would love to express in this world. To accept what your answers guide you toward, you do not need to see a pathway for turning your talents and passions into an actual career or business. That is another subject I can help you with on another day.
Keep in mind that what you identify as your feminine genius may be in something you haven't done yet as a career - and that is ok! I see the trend with many of my clients that they are ripe and ready to move into a new line of work in the skill sets and subject matters that they've been passionate and learning about for a decade or more. Don't dismiss something just because you haven't gotten paid for it yet! 10, 20, or 30 years of experience amounts to huge credentials. Period.
Staying Awake
Once you awaken your feminine genius, you want to set yourself up to stay awake! After you identify the work you'd love, it is important to now be sure you surround yourself with other people who are awake or waking up to their genius. Being with like-minded people will help you to pursue your highest purpose and career path. These are the people who will understand your unique journey, which is different from the Corporate America path. Staying awakened and on the path less followed takes courage. And while it may not feel the easiest, it is the most fun and free.
About the Author
Hi I'm Gina Marotta, and I can help you step into your higher calling. My unique body of work is about "Feminine Genius" which includes bringing your innate talent + feminine energy (spirituality, creativity, intuition, feelings, and fluidity) into a career focus that changes people's lives for the better. I serve from extensive study in the divine feminine, as well as 20+ years experience as a leader in multiple industries. I have worked professionally as a lawyer, a nonprofit managing director, and an entrepreneur; and I bring all that experience and wisdom to you. You will also find me quoted and interviewed often as a career expert in media outlets like Thrive Global, The Huffington Post, American Bar Association Magazine, Barron's Next Magazine, and WGN Radio.