Competition to Collaboration

Competition – it’s a word we are brought up with. From competing at school to beating the other team in netball to vying for that top spot in the school leavers’ book! It’s no wonder that as we enter adulthood, this mindset is ingrained in our minds – always strive to be the best because there can only be one at the top. Sound familiar?

My life today is full of collaboration, community, and camaraderie. I speak on stages, empowering women across the globe to step out of the shadows and reach their fullest potential to become the visionary thought leaders they yearn to be. I have trailblazed through multiple sectors, building market-leading corporate, product, and self-development brands. I’ve birthed not one but two multiple six-figure empires as a renowned multi-passionate entrepreneur.

But my life was only sometimes like this.

For most of my life, I saw other women as competition, the enemy behind closed lines.

As women, we tend to see someone else living the life we desire and feel they are taking it away from us. Has there ever been a time when you saw someone else’s success and felt a pang of inferiority?
You are not alone – this was me.

Competition is such an ingrained belief system that it touches virtually every aspect of our lives. From posting that selfie for external validation (making us feel as beautiful/successful/funny as ‘them’) to keeping up with the Joneses’ lifestyle. Always trying to have more, do more, be more. But often, this stems from an energy of lack, a deep-seated belief that we are not enough as we are. To achieve the success and lifestyle we desire, we must compete against everyone else.

This comes from a mindset of lack and scarcity, a belief that there isn’t enough abundance to go around. If someone else has the success or clients we desire, we can’t have it, as if they somehow take away what is possible for us.

This used to be my life. I would see someone living the life I wanted and feel jealous, envious, and inadequate.

WHY NOT ME?

Why couldn’t I have the success they had? It wasn’t fair.

This narrative keeps hustling entrepreneurs hustling away, never achieving that vision board life they desperately want.

Energy flows where attention goes.

When we are so focused on what others are doing, how their success is so unfair, comparing ourselves, and wondering how we can ever be ‘as good’ as them – we attract the same back to us. Unaligned clients, complaints, and a need for more focus on our growth!

Competition happens at the bottom.

When I FINALLY realized this, my world opened up, my heart expanded in ways I could never have imagined. As I smashed through those brick walls I had built around me, suddenly, I was magnetizing my tribe, seeing synchronicities and opportunities flood through the opened gates because I was no longer blocking them!

I was no longer standing in the way of my growth, and the energy could flow to me and through me.

Within months, I was part of a speaking community full of the types of women I had previously felt jealous of. Now, I see them as my sisters, and collaborations began to spring up as if out of nowhere. I entered the world of Lisa Nichols, and the same happened again – leading me to create my first Mastermind with women I attracted without even trying – because your vibe attracts your tribe! And so it continued…

Now, my diary for 2024 is FULL of collaborations! That is the primary focus for me for the year. From my new Mastermind to retreats, masterclasses, and events, these all collaborate with unique humans I no longer see as competition.

Collaboration is what happens at the top – when we rise together, we create a more significant impact and higher income together! Our message spreads wider, our reach stretches further, and our voices echo louder.

I invite you to look at those women who make you feel unworthy – and start seeing them as the Universe, showing you precisely what is possible for YOU.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of CHOICES Magazine