I had been stuck for weeks on the launch of the Relational Leadership Academy. The website shell was up and we had so many agreements in place. But I felt stuck. I felt frozen. I felt uncertain.

Over the winter I’ve been enrolled in an online retreat with the Gene Keys founder Richard Rudd called The Pearl Retreat, which looks at prosperity. The true meaning of prosperity, which is different than how we think about it in our culture.

In early January, 2022, we started the sequence on our “BRAND,” which these days is a saturated word in the world of online marketing. Nonetheless, the intention to find our brand has to do with where the sun was shining at the moment of our birth and thus the place in our Gene Keys chart that represents our life’s work. Our brand is how we shine forth our gifts.

On the morning of January 18th at 5:30 in the morning, unable to sleep, I hopped into the bathtub and began reading my notes from this month’s teachings. The following stuck out at me as profound.

• “The moment you express your truth in the style that feels right for you, you create an immediate buzz. Every human being is a natural salesperson. We are all here to sell our slice of the truth within the cosmic play. It is all simply a matter of communication.”
• “When you find the right fit with your Brand, then you will instantly feel at ease inside your bones. Even though you may still face challenges and situations that test you to your limits, the Gift of your Brand will always enable you to center yourself, and meet the world as yourself.”
• “If you try and force something, you will exhaust yourself. If you hide your life out of fear, you will wither. You are here to shine at something.”
• “When we discover our Brand, then we feel an instant alignment between our inner life and our outer life.”

I texted these phrases to Patrick. And also sent him a voice memo telling him that my brand, as it was emerging from my heart, is a COMMUNITY BUILDER. My own website was emerging with that language and I was beginning to claim that as my title, my role, and my contribution to the world.

I asked him if we could use the phrase “Building Community at Work” instead of what we had before, which was “Team Building with Heart and Soul.” Not only did he say yes, he resonated strongly with this phrase and proceeded to pour forth with all his creative thoughts related to community at work.

Because of this grace, the dam of stuckness broke, the tumblers fell into place, and the river of ease started flowing. That next Sunday we got together and within the span of two hours spelled out our next steps for launch. And a week from that date, on January 30th, we launched.

So grateful to Gene Keys for such authentic wisdom.