Since you are one of my readers, you are a world changer. You want to have an impact on your business.

You will have much more impact if you get in touch with your fierce.

In a virtual meeting I was in recently, we were talking about winning vs. collaboration (as if they were two diametrically opposed things!). One young man promoted the old party line that business is all about competition, that you have to crush your opponent (the competition) in order for your business to prosper. I could hear the growls and the pumping fist in his voice. The meeting fell silent.

At first, I was surprised. Flashback to the Middle Ages. Does anyone already have this opinion? Well, I just have to look around me on the news to know that there are those who do. I was disappointed to see it perpetuated in this young man.

You see, I believe that collaboration and business success go hand in hand. I don’t just think so. I’ve seen it in my own business. Whenever I put collaboration with people who were supposed to be my competitors first, EVERYONE made more money. EVERYONE had more impact.

Although I was initially surprised by his fierceness, his fierceness, I responded with my own brand of fierceness. I spoke calmly. I did not agree. I explained my own experience. I was quietly forceful in making my point of view heard.

No one else responded and the discussion turned to other things. Later, one of the other young men in the meeting emailed me to ask if we can talk about what he said about winning vs. collaboration?

In that request, I see that I made a difference. There is an opportunity for us to have a conversation. As a result, you can shift your views towards a more collaborative approach to your own business. For more IMPACT. That will depend on him, but I have the opportunity to share my own experience.

I have not always been solid in my ferocity. When someone was fierce with me, I used to shut down. I would walk away, away from the strong energy. It seemed like too much energy to deal with. It scared me. It felt like anger.

Other people respond fiercely with their own anger.

You have a choice. You can respond, if that’s a conversation you want to have, with your own fierceness.

No one is going to have your impact except you. To have it, take advantage of its fierceness.

The word, fierce, can be interpreted as angry and aggressive. That is not what I am talking about here.

Fierce is the force. Fierce is clarity. Fierce is bravely holding on to its limits. Fierce is a commitment focused on your impact.

Cultural norms about how someone is “supposed” to behave can get in the way of fierce behavior. Ferocity in people of color or women in particular is often unwelcome. There is often a concerted effort to shut him down, especially when his fierceness conflicts with a norm that serves the status quo or patriarchy. Look at what happened to US Senator Elizabeth Warren when she fiercely defended her right to speak. And yet she persisted.

You too can persist.

We are in a unique moment. Old structures are collapsing under the weight of this pandemic. We have the opportunity to redo things, to build a better future. Finding your fierce allows you to be a bigger part of that. Wouldn’t you like to comment on what the future will be like? How would you like it to be? I would love your contribution to be part of the world that is now being created.

Once you start tapping into your fierceness, it can start to really kindle a fire in you. In fact, you may even want to burn down the house right away. A social structure that serves no one but a privileged few. A practice that is hurting. That can be a sign that your fierce is really and truly activated.

Burning things metaphorically may or may not be the way you decide to do it. It may not be necessary. We all have our own ways of having an impact, in that world-changing way that only you have.

I still feel that thrill of fear when someone sends their fierce in my direction. My first impulse is to keep quiet. Leftovers from the past when I was crouching kept me safe. But now, I recognize it and take advantage of my own fierceness. Ugh, that’s liberating! And potentially change the world.

How do you find your fierce? Take advantage of something that you are passionate about. Your impact purpose is the best way to get into your fierce.

Then use your ferocity to keep your own inner fire burning and make a difference.

May the fierce ones accompany you.