Nudge from Your Future Self:

💬 “You don’t have to push to be powerful.”

— from Sustainable Success, Chapter 2

This week: Before taking action Melinda, ask—

 “Am I forcing this task… or allowing it to flow through me?”

Put this on a sticky note. Keep it on your screen, your planner, your desk.
Use it to catch yourself—especially when the day speeds up.

How you’ll know:
Forcing often shows up in your body—furrowed brows, clenched jaw, shallow breath.
Flow feels softer. Your jaw relaxes. Your breath deepens. Time opens.

Let your body show you what’s true.

Melinda, when I first started making changes in how I worked, I made the mistake so many of us make:

I tried to do self-care from the same mindset that created the pressure in the first place.

I had the right tools—but the wrong lens.

And that’s why I want to share something foundational with you today.
Because how you approach this book (and the Companion Guide, if you’ve grabbed it), your business, or anything in life…

 …matters just as much as what’s in it.

There’s a framework I use regularly. I dive into it in Chapter 2 of the book. It comes from Michael Beckwith, expanded by others like my mentor, Peter Sage. It’s called:

The 4 Levels of Consciousness

Each one is like a different filter through which we experience work, leadership, and life:

  1. To Me (Victim Mode) - Life happens to me. I feel powerless, victimized, or at the mercy of circumstances.

“The economy is down, so no one will buy my services.”

  1. By Me (Achiever Mode) - Life happens by me. I’m in charge, in control, doing it all.

“If it’s got to be, it’s up to me.”

This is where many high performers live. It works—until it doesn’t. Burnout lives at the edge of this level if you stay here too long.

  1. Through Me (Flow State) - Life flows through me. I listen, co-create, and trust.

“I’m not pushing—I’m trusting and allowing."

This is where intuition, aligned timing, and ease start to emerge.

  1. As Me (Oneness) -  One with the Divine.

“I’m not chasing purpose—I am the expression of it.”

Most entrepreneurs and leaders I work with have mastered Level 2.
They’re powerful, capable, responsible—and tired.

Because even self-care, when approached from “By Me” mode, becomes a project to perfect.
Another thing to optimize or check off the already exhausting to-do list.

Early on, I built and led my business from the By Me level. But I knew burnout lurked at the edge and I vowed to not end up there. So I began prioritizing self-care as a business strategy—and over time, By Me became less efforted, less forced, less exhausting. 

That shift created a bridge into a new way of operating: Through Me.

When you start shifting to “Through Me”?
Everything softens. Space opens. Wisdom returns.
You stop forcing—and start listening.

So as you read this book, I invite you to notice:

  • What level are you in when you're reading?
  • What level are you creating from?
  • What level are you living in?

And if the answer is “it depends”—that’s perfect.
Awareness is where the shift begins.

 

You don’t need to force a new level.
Just notice where you’ve been operating—and let that awareness guide the shift.

It’s about choosing consciously rather than blindly doing.

Hit reply and tell me: Which level are you most familiar with?
I’d love to hear how this landed for you.

Next week, we’ll talk about one of the trickiest blocks to that shift: guilt.
And why it’s not the problem you think it is.

With joy,
Melinda

P.S. If you haven’t grabbed the Companion Guide yet… [It's yours here if you'd like it]

This week’s reflection on the 4 Levels is a key thread woven into the prompts inside the guide. You’ll start to notice it everywhere once you know it.