When I was 7 years old, my family moved from London, England, to Savannah, Georgia.
The governor of Georgia at the time was Lester Maddox. Even though, as you can imagine, I was not a great follower of politics even then, being just 7, something he said at the time really struck me. I have remembered it ever since.
“We don’t need a better class of prisons,” I remember Lester Maddox saying. “We need a better class of prisoners.”
Even at age 7, that struck me as totally ridiculous.
Now, at age 52, I like to joke that it is important to know your prisoners. This is a funny way of saying, “Know thyself.”
Today, I was discussing lab work with one of my regular clients. The lab work showed that she has depleted brain chemistry.
My client is a very talented person, but even very brilliant people can have depleted brain chemistry. Maybe you just tried too hard to get where you are in the world. You knocked yourself flat on the way up but kept going anyway. Or you were born that way.
I advised her to create a more nurturing lifestyle for herself.
This is very important advice.
Many people build a life for themselves that, excuse my directness, is what I call “balls to the wall” all the time. In other words, flat out every absurd moment of the day, as if life were a race to the finish.
This is what people who are driven by their egos tend to do to themselves. You may drive your body like a car. In other words, too fast, out of control and over a cliff.
I know myself pretty well. I am quite certain that I was born with depleted brain chemistry. On top of all that, I have an exquisite sensitivity, which is putting it very nicely. If I weren’t, I would not be able to be a medical intuitive.
I have had to become strong enough as a person to handle my level of sensitivity.
I have never allowed myself to create Catherine Carrigan Worldwide Enterprises. I don’t want 150 employees. I want to keep my life simple, and manageable, and nurturing, and optimal for my soul. That means I want to have time to breathe every day, time to play with my dog, moments to meditate, a space in my schedule to lie in my hammock, have fun with my friends, go on trips, ponder my garden, water my orchids and get enough rest.
Earlier this year, at the business women’s group I am a member of, the national president sat at my table. I told her that I am very happy working where I can look out at my garden and have my dog come to sessions with my clients.
“Stop playing small,” she commanded me.
I truly appreciate where she was coming from, but the critical factor is that I know my prisoners. I know who I am. I know what I was born with, I know what I am capable of and I also know what I am not capable of.
This is not to say that I don’t want to make a big difference, because my intention is literally to change my client’s lives for the better for good.
I just choose to do so in a way that nurtures me while I am also making a living for myself and helping others.
I have a friend who also works from her home, and we compare notes sometimes. She also has no interest in creating an empire. Like me, she has walked through some pretty rough stuff. She likes to tell the story of the fisherman who got advice from the Wall Street businessman about how he could make more money, only so he could go back to enjoying his life the way he already has it.
There are some people who are built like a tank, inside and out. I admire them. They can rule the world while I am having a nap.
