Your Inner Rebel

Tap Into Your Strengths When You Feel Unmoored

You remember doing it, don’t you? As a child? Indeed, as a teenager. 

Looking them right in the eye and then deliberately doing the opposite of what you were told NOT to do by your parent, grandparent, teacher, camp counselor, or [insert other authority figures]?

Well, if you didn’t, I did.  

Rebel, that is.  

All the time.  

And I still do.

I’ve almost always been known as one.

As a child, my rebellious streak resulted in punishments. 

Ditto as a teenager. So, I perfected the art of walking the line between rebel and angel but sometimes still landed in hot water. 

Imagine my surprise when, as an adult, I realized I could get paid to do it on purpose.

Rebellion is a powerful force that can wildly transform anything we set our minds to, especially our lives and the spaces we regularly inhabit, like work.

First, the Downside

As the oldest child and the only daughter in a strict Cuban-American family, my parents usually referred to me as “stubborn,” “difficult,” and “too independent.” (Do any other rebels resonate?)

Could I really help it that I liked reading so much that I would read by the nightlight after being told to go to bed? Or that I thought that many of their rules were ridiculously restrictive (they were), so I broke them? Repeatedly. 

As a teenager - in addition to the usual adolescent behaviors - my Rebellion moved out of the house and into the school where, as a senior-year transplant to a new school, I refused to wear the prescribed female dress code required on Fridays. Honestly, it was ugly. And, weirdly, no one ever did anything about it to make me conform. Important lesson learned.

And, when I wasn’t “allowed” by my parents to wear jeans outside of the house (yes, that was really one of their rules), I packed them in the bottom of my school backpack. I changed when I arrived wherever I was going. Ditto with makeup. 

Oh, and did I mention that my mom taught at my school? She did. 

I used to plan my trips through the building around her schedule so I wouldn’t run into her and be “caught.” Enough said.

Now, the Upside

As an adult, my rebellious spirit has (almost) always served me well - which is why I think of it as a strength. 

I remember interviewing for a new job at Harvard in the early 2000s, and the man interviewing me said, ‘I’ve asked around the university, and you’ve got a terrific reputation. But there’s one thing - people say that you’re best at leading in areas where you want to lead. Lucky for me, in this case, it looks like what you want to lead matches what we need you to lead - so this might work fine for both of us.’ I got the job.

Rebellion got me far in my career - and in life.  

I worked at the highest levels within elite institutions and corporations, where my rebel spirit was valued and rewarded.

I was the person leaders called when they wanted to break the status quo, bridge silos, dramatically change ways of working, dive headfirst into future-forward thinking, solve big hairy reputation problems, or create internal SWAT teams.

Most of my jobs were not posted - they were new roles created for (or by) me. A few were jobs that other candidates had attempted and run from.

Forgetting & Finding My Inner Rebel

The last few years have been unusual for me, filled with next-level bold (scary) moves, including leaving my corporate job and life in London and, instead, choosing to

• leverage my expertise through my own coaching & consultancy practice,

• launch a purpose-driven tech start-up, and

• adopt Provence as my home base, to name a few. 

These moves were brought to life by a gut feeling that it was time for me to create - and live - my dream life – and that these ingredients were vital.

Making these bold moves has not been easy. These are life’s stretch assignments, after all. I’ve achieved the freedom I desire and I am living a created life - my happiest and most productive yet.

Yet, alongside the highs, there have been lows. From time to time, I’ve suffered from self-doubt, anxiety, and feeling unsuccessful and out of control. These were new feelings for me that I had not experienced in any of my major career or life moves to date.

When doubts and anxieties took root, it was bad. Those were dark emotions and dark days. Days that made me forget my strengths and vital ways of being, including that I’m a rebel at my core. It took a coach to hold the mirror up to me, point it out, and call my bluff: “What if rebellion is your secret sauce?” she said.

There’s something about the perfect question being asked at the perfect time. 

Because at that moment - and since - years of rebellious actions flashed through my mind. So many that as I write this I can see that truly absurd that I’d somehow stopped seeing this core strength that has powered me through fear, anxiety, and shyness. 

In reconnecting with my inner Rebel - and other strengths, I realize how vital they are to my success today - in this new chapter.

Rebellion has enabled me to make a bold ask, go for something I really want, make tough personal decisions, stand up for what’s right, and advocate for and with others; it’s a big part of who I am and how I operate – in life and work.

Rebellion IS a huge part of my ‘secret sauce.’  

And it complements two other key ingredients: 

• my ability to see what’s possible & to bring people along, and

• the audacity to regularly try and learn new things.

Combined, these ingredients drive my work and life – and fuel my intense interest in people who reimagine their lives and careers.

I’m now playing an infinite game of growth in life and work. And, as a coach, my raison d'être is to serve and support others to do the same.

Tap Into Your Strengths

If you’ve stepped outside of the traditional workforce and feel unmoored, reconnect with yourself.

• What strengths - skills, knowledge, ways of being - helped you to soar in your career?

• What were you known for?

• What successes are you most proud of? How did you create those?

• Were there times where you could’ve gone further, where your strengths were constrained because of your environment or the situation?

Once you can clearly see your superpowers again, ask yourself…

• How might those superpowers support you as you bring your own professional creation to the fore?

• Now, what steps can you take today to lean into your strengths as you build your next chapter?