Trusting the Harder Path

On practicing soul-listening in business and in life

👋🏽 Hi friends,
A version of this reflection first appeared on LinkedIn, but I wanted to share it here in fuller form — because this space feels like where the deeper, more personal layers belong. Thank you for being here with me as I figure things out in real time.

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This is still a work in progress, but I’m so excited about how one question from my chief of staff,

Geeta Sneha

, as she continues to help me refine the audience strategy for Birds Uncaged, illuminated a truth I’d been afraid to fully embrace.

I preach about the importance of being people-obsessed and human-centered to enhance creativity, propel innovation, guide product development, and shape brand/marketing strategies. Yet, in my eagerness to share Birds Uncaged with the world (and in my fear of what it would mean to move beyond the LinkedIn career seekers I’m most comfortable speaking to), I let my grasp on my primary target slip.

And the signs were everywhere.

When I’d share the site with folks in my trust-circle, the feedback was consistent:

• “Who is this for?”

• “What is someone going to get out of this?”

• “Is it a community or coaching?”

• “What would people be signing up for?”

• “If someone doesn’t know you personally and understand your journey, why would they trust that they’d benefit?”

• “It’s called Birds Uncaged—don’t you think that makes it sound like you want people to quit their jobs?”

I knew the answers to all of these questions. But in reality, I was trying to fit an expansive, soulful mission into a corporate mold. The very thing I’d done for years. The very thing I wanted to inspire others not to do.

Why? Habit, perhaps. Or maybe just fear. Fear that if I rebuilt Birds Uncaged for the many folks who feel constrained inside themselves—regardless of age, profession, or lived experience—and want to break free to feel lighter, steadier, more able to discern what feels good for them, so they can design more fulfilling professional lives, I’d lose the audience LinkedIn has made me comfortable with.

In our check-in call yesterday as I walked through the Amsterdam airport trying to find a lounge to reset in ahead of an earlier flight I was taking to avoid the Wednesday airport ground-crew strike (and a surprise to my family back at home in Brooklyn, New york), Geeta laid it out clearly:

Option 1: Corporate professionals seeking career freedom
➤ Pro: Clear messaging and positioning
➤ Con: Excludes non-corporate audience

Option 2: Anyone breaking free from mental/emotional cages
➤ Pro: More aligned with Birds Uncaged vision
➤ Con: Harder to position, but authentic to mission

“When you build from the soul, trust the soul.”

Our beautiful conversation, rooted in Geeta’s genuine curiosity, gave me permission to say out loud what my original vision has always been: a focus on broader liberation, beyond just the professional.

And here’s where the irony comes in. Birds Uncaged itself was born from me listening to my soul. But that doesn’t mean that every step of building it has been soul-led. More often than I’d like to admit, my mind barges in, still unlearning the instinct that tells me safety is the smarter choice.

So this has been a beautifully humbling experience. Every step of the journey presents another opportunity to pause, revisit my conditioning, and ask: Am I doing my soul service here? Sometimes I’m able to reset on my own. Other times, I need an accountability partner. And Geeta has proven to be a great one.

Because at its core, Birds Uncaged is about unleashing human potential across all areas of life. The corporate focus felt safer, but it wasn’t true to the mission. It may mean LinkedIn isn’t the perfect platform for this audience, though I’m not ready to rule it out completely.

Moral of the story: When you build something from the soul, don’t let the logic of the mind talk you out of it. Trust your original vision—even if it’s the harder path.