I’m in the throes of the Small Biz Super Summit, along with a new client project, and preparing for the launch of a new division of my business.

And I get an email from a client, angry with me for “violating her privacy”.

The claim was unfounded, and after resolving the misunderstanding, I finally decided to let her go.

Yes, I fired my client.

You are FIRED!

See, there comes a time in your business life where enduring the stress and strain of some clients isn’t worth ANY sum of money. Some of you have heard me say this before, but I wanted to let you know that I still face this issue from time to time – despite my well-crafted Perfect-Fit Customer Profiles.

Not only did this client email me with false accusations, she also launched into a tirade in a group forum of her company, where other people could hear her rant (and later report back to me), but I could not offer the slightest commentary on the situation.

Instead of coming directly to the source of the issue (presumably me), she chose to make a spectacle of herself in front of other potential clients.

Let’s be clear: I have a loyalty to my clients. I also have a loyalty to my family. If you try to prevent me from earning a living to feed my family, my loyalty dries up like so much old paint.

There are a number of lessons from this event, which I’ll save for another post. But then, I had to fire a colleague.

At one time, this person and I traveled in relatively similar circles. I shared my book with her, and invited her into my community to share her wisdom. Over time, our paths diverged in the wilderness, but I still kept some contact with her and thought of her as a colleague I would refer business to.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

She “wrote” a post on her blog, and tweeted out the link. Because the title was a direct quote of something I say ALL the time, I thought it was worth checking out, and possibly sharing with my own audience.  It was a great post. She had pulled much of the content straight out of my book – with a few additions (presumably of her own) to make it her own.

I was shocked. Firstly because I knew this thief. Secondly, because I really didn’t think that much of myself that someone would want to steal my stuff (that’s another post all unto itself).

There are stories like this all over the place. The first one that comes to mind is Jeff Slutsky’s story about Office Depot using his “six dollar haircut” story in an ad that ran last year. Slutsky, however, had a happier ending than I believe I will.

Not only did this “colleague” plagiarize my work, but when I commented on her blog with a “great post” kind of remark, it was deleted.

So not only did she steal my stuff, she KNEW she was stealing it and, frankly, didn’t seem to care.

At first, I tried to relax and ignore it. But this nagging feeling wouldn’t go away. Especially since this same person had publicly remarked at an earlier point in our business lives that she felt that at some point everything she ever learned became “hers” to teach as her own.

I consulted my amazingly grounded and insightful coach, @SarahRobinson, who indicated that while she was not surprised at the person in question, that it was mostly sapping my energy in a way that wouldn’t give me resolution.

So I fired my “colleague”. Putting more distance between us, and spending as little energy as possible on the situation.

Tip: Nobody “just knows” everything. We all learn from someone. Give credit where credit is due, folks.

Thinking I was finished with all the firing for a single week, I then had to fire a friend.

This person was fairly close to me, and sadly, known to be a bit out of control emotionally. Their behavior could get pretty outrageous at times, and if alcohol was involved, well, let’s just say only the sober people in the room would remember what happened.

This person is an incredibly smart, insightful, enjoyable person, with an enormous heart and fiercely loyal – until their emotional issues rear their ugly head(s). It gets so bad that they start to believe their own lies as truths. It’s been going on for years – longer than I’ve even known them.

Well, the lies finally caught up this week. And I couldn’t be there to help fix the problem. The problem was really beyond fixing. All enabling had to stop, and the truth had to be revealed.

I had entrusted this friend with a special task, and that task remains undone. The good news is that I wasn’t counting on them to complete the task, and had a back-up plan in place. The bad news is that I wasn’t counting on this friend to complete the task, and had a back-up plan in place.

So when word got around that they were playing around doing other things instead of focusing on the task they committed to, I fired the friend.

Well, a temporary lay-off, anyway.

We can be as well-meaning as we want to be, but when you make a commitment, in my mind, you stick to it. Come Hell or high water.

And lest you see this as an incredibly downer post, I want to assure you that I firmly believe that God is nudging me to create space to accommodate newer, better, more constructive relationships in my life and work.

I can already see it happening. With the awesome help of my coach (did you see her Relationships project?), and the internal journey I’m travelling, there are new friends on the horizon, new clients on the books, and better colleagues to forge ahead with (ending a sentence with a preposition, ACK!).

Bring. It. On.

I saw it in a book I picked up the other day, and I cringed.

“God (or universe, or spirit, or whatever)“

Right there in black and white, the author was apologizing for believing in God. He didn’t outright say it, but I see it more and more as we strive for “correctness” and “tolerance” we’re watering down our own faith stance to accommodate others.

In fact, I’ve side-stepped it myself. Couching God in safe, generic terms like “universe” or “spirit” or something equally mundane.

Thus, the guilt.

Godly enough, I got my first pimp-slap of the year today from my new friend, Leesa Barnes. Her evolutionary post about ‘breaking a hinge‘ ends with a quote from the first book of Kings.

Yes, from the Bible.

It was not an intentional slap, I know, because we’ve talked recently about this almost unspoken undercurrent of unrest in the marketplace. In our conversations, we shared scriptures, ideas, rantings, complaints, and even some of our more personal beliefs about things like God. I shared my recent discovery of Bruce Barton and his writings about Jesus as one of the most accomplished businessmen in the world.

You can call God whatever you like, but for me, I specifically choose God, so please don’t ask me to use something else.

Reading that scripture was a holy awakening to me, and a reminder of our recent conversation.

Well-meaning colleagues and friends have strongly encouraged me to keep my faith to myself or at the very least “tone it down” for general consumption.

God isn’t for general consumption.

Not everyone can handle His message. Not everyone wants to hear that message. I get that.

For as many times as I’ve said “your business is an extension of who you are” it’s even more imperative that I vocalize that my faith is also an extension, if not the very definition, of who I am.

I’m not claiming perfection or blamelessness here, and I think anyone that knows me, knows this to be true.

I screw up a LOT.

I’m also open to God’s direction. Often doing things that don’t seem to make sense to other people because I feel called to serve in a particular capacity.

And I’m not the only one.

There’s a revolution happening. I hesitate to say “behind the scenes” because it’s not so behind the scenes lately. They’re coming out of the woodwork. Business owners tired of the lies, the fakery, the illusions of success gilt to a thin veneer – that crumble all too easily.

They’re tired of having to tip-toe around anyone not of their faith so as not to be seen as a Bible-thumping, teetotaling puritan in conservative clothing.

That ain’t me. I don’t force-feed anyone my truth. You have the option to bail any time you like.

But you DON’T have that option if I’ve never given it to you. So I’m extending it now.

My 60-day journey ends soon. Signs of land are approaching, and all the details are coming soon, I promise. Some things have been tortuous; others, miraculous. All of them necessary to pave the way for the big things God has planned for me in 2011.

And I’m not the only one. The revolutionaries are all around you. You may even be one of them. Trying to figure out how to cross the chasm between God and your message in the marketplace. Trying to figure out where to tread so that you tread lightly enough to not set off a few land mines along the way. I’m meeting more and more people with that same sticking point.

Screw it.

Stop “tippin on cotton” and lay it out there. That was the message I got today, so I lay it before you now. You’re going to make mistakes, people aren’t going to understand, and yes, a few people will probably even call you names.

Jesus had it a LOT worse than that, didn’t he?

As an intuitive coach (and that’s the first time I’ve publicly said that), I pray before every coaching session and ask God to guide me so that I can provide the best possible help to my clients when I am working with them. I don’t ask “universe” or “spirit” to channel through me, I ask for God’s help.

Why should I hide that from my clients? Kind of a pertinent detail, don’t you think?

Likewise, when I screw up, it’s God that I turn to for help, guidance, forgiveness and direction. And many of my clients do as well. Instead of it being a bone of contention, it actually becomes an endearing quality to those that work most closely with me. Why should I deny it?

There are those who have said to me that I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face – essentially eliminating a portion of my “target market” by making a public declaration of my faith.

Isn’t that the point of target marketing? If people don’t want to work with me as I am, then they’re NOT my target market, correct?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying God is a marketing ploy, a strategy, or a tactic to be “used” to grow my business.

I’m talking about transparency, ethics, and the truth that my clients deserve.

Maybe you don’t want to work with a coach that prays for you. You have a right to know that. Maybe you don’t want to hear stories of “divine downloads” or how putting God at the center of everything in my life (including my business) is radically changing everything in my world.

You have a right to know, before you invest your dollars with me, how I do what I do – and WHY I do what I do.

You don’t have to believe it, but if you don’t even know what it is in the first place, you have no idea what you’re paying for.

So tonight, as I lay my head down and wrap the first day of this new year, I’ll be offering up prayers, re-dedicating everything to God for 2011, and beyond.

Prayers that this year will be infinitely better than last year.

Prayers that abundance is something you truly feel, not just a buzz word that people banter around.

Prayers that your life will be enriched in more ways than you can count on all your phalanges.

Prayers to bless all the other revolutionaries making their leap across the chasm this year.

Prayers for my life, my faith, my business, clients, family, friends… and YOU.

Don’t get me wrong. I think I’m fairly nice, and do my best to be kind, dutiful and loyal to my friends. People seem to like me well enough, but I struggle with making and keeping friends for the long haul. They tend to come and go through the seasons of my life, and I’m starting to think I’m the reason why.

There is goodness inside me. I do good things, I know I’m not evil. And yes, I recognize my human frailties, foibles, and the fact that we all make mistakes. That’s not to what I’m referring right now.

What I mean is that heroes are good people. They do the right thing even when it’s hard. They stand up for injustice – even when it means being ridiculed by the populace for being outside the norm. When they really want to quit, they jump back in the fray. Heroes don’t hesitate, they take action. They sacrifice themselves to the good of the whole. They throw themselves in front of the train to save the passengers from a derailment, even if it means losing their own life.

I am not that kind of good. I sacrifice when it’s necessary. I give until just before it hurts. I negotiate away my pain, and dodge many of the bullets Superman would take on the chest.

But then again, I’m not made of steel.

My apologies for the crudely edited video. As I searched for the train scene from Spiderman 2, I stumbled on Aunt May’s monologue about a “hero in all of us”. It reminded me of someone.

A couple of seasons ago, I met a man with an incredible mission: he teaches kids about everyday heroism, and how to rise above and be an everyday hero. Of course, I’m incredibly generalizing the work that Matt Langdon is all about, but you get the idea.

During lunch, I told him he had a powerful message for adults, not just kids. I guess he finally agreed, because he’s working on a new blog, The Hero Handbook. I don’t make a dime for telling you about this guy, and I wouldn’t want to. He’s creating heroes, one kid at a time. The world needs more heroes and more guys like Matt.

When I found his new blog, I was reminded of the teleclass we did together where he shared “The Hero’s Journey“. Matt’s easy-to-digest, 5-point journey portrays the approximate path every hero takes on their way to becoming a true hero. For me, it was a melancholy reminder of our first encounter, and my own personal journey in the last 18 months.

See, if I’m really going to do this “super hero” thing, Matt says the next step – after my Mundane World, and The Call to Adventure, is what he calls “Crossing the threshold.” In Matt’s own words:

“Before the hero can leave the old world behind they have to cross the threshold.  There can be a number of added features at this step, but for now it is simply the act of stepping into the new world.  It’s Harry’s platform nine and three quarters, it’s Luke’s Mos Eisley, and it’s Alice’s rabbit hole.”

Platform 9 3/4 photo courtesy KingsCrossStation.com

Indeed.

I remember watching Harry stare at the wall leading to the platform, trying to figure it out. I remember a later episode when Harry missed the train and crashed into that wall.

I’m not too keen on the crashing part. But in order to break through, you have to risk smashing into the wall.

What if the hero never crosses over?

Crossing that threshold takes a certain amount of moxie, and recent life events have caused me to scrutinize whether I really am as courageous as some people think me to be. It’s easy to take the first step toward the threshold – maybe even step into the doorway. But to fully cross over, not look back, and “burn the ships” as my coach, Sarah Robinson, would say?

Or what if we all took a cue from Peter Parker and just quit? We cross the threshold, decide it’s too much like work, and want to go back to the way things were? Peter ultimately decided the only choice was to go all in, stop the train, and give up everything…

…because he was the only one who could.

But before we cross the threshold, our life is still our own. Our training, our identity, isn’t complete, we’ve only sampled the possibility of the other side. When Harry got the invitation to Hogwarts, what if he’d stayed with the Dursley’s?

Now I know, the Dursley’s are about as pleasant as a root canal, and maybe that’s the point. Maybe the pain of staying where you are is supposed to be far worse than stepping across the threshold when you’ve got hero potential. When you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, it makes stepping across the threshold that much easier.

How many of us with hero potential never cross the threshold because there’s too much at stake? How many heroes have we missed out on because they had too many commitments – bills, family, friends, activities, etc – that made life too comfortable to cross the threshold?

Can you imagine Clark Kent saying “Gee, this super speed thing is great for winning track meets and cleaning the house in a jiffy!” whilst the train speeds headlong into the ocean?

Or what if Bruce Wayne said “Alfred, we could mass-produce the bat-mobile and make a killing in the auto industry! Take THAT General Motors!”

How about if Wonder Woman said “Honey, can we just stay home on the couch and cuddle today? I know the world is in despair, but I need some me time!”?

My mind boggles.

The reason they are heroes is because they make the hard choice. They give up a piece of who they are in this moment for the greater thing they are becoming. Even Harry has to die to save his friends (and himself) from Voldemort.

I’m reminded of Indiana Jones and his leap of faith in The Last Crusade: save yourself and live a life of relative ease, or risk losing your life for the greater good.

In the movies, there’s a happy Hollywood ending waiting. But in real life?

According to Matt, after I cross over, the “path of trials” is where the real work begins.

*shivver*

I don’t mean to be indecisive or melodramatic (well, maybe a little).  I honestly didn’t realize I was pussyfootin’ around so much. I’ve been busy, you know. I’ve had LOTS of ‘stuff’ to do. I stay busy. Chronically.

My reality, however, is that my busy-ness has kept me from crossing the threshold.

My best friends for this season of my life basically put it to me thus: “do it or don’t do it, but either way, get on with it.”  Their words were a little more blunt, but you get the idea.

I’m still not entirely sure what the entire threshold looks like for me. I may never really know. But this week, I’m stepping through. By my math, it’ll take me the next 60 days to complete the crossing over, as the final embers of my ships cool to ashes and waft on the sea breeze.

Ironically, that’s also my birthday.

At nearly 36, the prospect of making this leap terrifies me. Seriously.

Hopefully, I’ll be a better friend, mom, spouse, business owner, human being when I make it to the other side.

Here goes everything…