Hey everybody,
It's Justin Michael Williams and I am so looking forward to talking about this topic today,
About what to do when you have started to outgrow yourself.
What do you do when the version of you that you want to step into is no longer congruent with a version of you that you have been before?
This is called metamorphosis.
This is about letting go.
And so in this session today,
We're gonna have a deep dive into understanding exactly what you need to do to start to let go of the old version of you that is not in alignment anymore.
And then we're gonna talk about how to stay aligned with the vision of who it is that you're becoming even when you are in what is called the messy middle.
Now the messy middle is this time when you're not totally clear on how things are going to turn out.
When you're not totally at your vision yet,
But you know that you've outgrown the old version of who you used to be.
You are in the messy middle.
And so if any part of your life feels like you're not fully where you need to be,
But you've outgrown what you used to be and what you were before,
I want you to listen closely in this session because we are going to dive in with a practice,
A story,
A teaching,
And you're also going to get to know me a little bit better in some ways that I don't think some of you have ever heard before.
And so let's go ahead,
Buckle up,
And dive in.
I am so excited to start this session.
With a little story.
So what some of you may not know is when I graduated college,
Which was oh my god,
15 years ago,
I started a marketing company.
And when I started this marketing company,
I was doing it because at the time I thought it was authentic to me.
But what I learned.
Was that all of the decisions I was making at that time in my life were based upon expectations,
Social expectations,
Expectations that I thought I had from my family,
Expectations that I had from society and the people around me of what I thought it meant to be successful,
But not who I really was inside.
So many of you have heard the story that I tell about my grandmother.
If you have not,
You can go onto my YouTube channel and look up the question that says,
The video that says the question that changed my life forever.
And you'll learn a little bit more about that.
But the reason I'm bringing that up is ever since I was a little kid,
I knew that I wanted to do music.
I knew it,
But I never let myself step into it.
And so as I went down this pathway of overachieving and succeeding and starting starting this marketing company and getting this big marketing job.
I let it take me down a certain pathway.
And I'll never forget my grandmother telling me this one thing.
She looked at me and she said,
I have a feeling.
That one day you're gonna get to the top of this marketing mountain.
Of this business and all of this that you're doing.
You're gonna get all the way to the top.
Of this mountain.
And look across.
And say,
Damn.
I spent my whole life climbing to the top of the wrong mountain.
And so if you're off track,
If you can feel that you have been just slightly going in the wrong direction,
Slightly off track,
Or even majorly going in the wrong direction.
You don't need to shame yourself or panic.
You'll just take this practice that we're gonna do today and start to align yourself so that you can move forward.
Forward.
That's what we're gonna do today.
And so here's what I want to show you.
After my grandmother and I had that conversation,
I went on this huge journey and my first album came out 10 years ago in 2016 and it was called Metamorphosis.
And the reason why I called it Metamorphosis is because that album and me stepping into it actually required me to go through a complete transformation of who I was inside so I could step in to the version of myself and the person I knew I was meeting.
Meant to be.
The version of me that you see today.
And this work is so big and what I want for you is to be able to step in to the person you know you were meant to be in ways big and small.
And so whether you have something huge in your life that you feel like you need to adjust or move in a different direction or whether it's something more subtle,
The practice we're gonna do today is gonna help you really get clear on that and move forward in a practical way.
But let me show you something that I think you'll get a kick out of.
So before the album.
Again,
I was in.
A costume,
Not just externally.
I didn't even know I was in a costume externally,
But I was in a costume internally because I didn't allow my full self to shine through.
So check this out.
This is what I looked like in 2015 when I was working in marketing.
I wore a tie everywhere.
This version of me was polished and prim and proper and was trying to be the version of myself myself that I thought I needed to be to be successful,
Someone who was perfect,
A perfect businessman.
But then what I learned is that success,
For me,
Actually was not about being perfect.
Success for me was about being true,
Was about allowing myself to change when I knew inside that something was off.
And when you get that hit that something's off.
You have to listen because if you weren't listening before,
It's okay because you didn't know.
But once you know,
Like they say.
Once you know better.
You do better.
Like Maya Angelou always says.
And so just one year later.
After going through this metamorphosis.
I looked like this.
It's really fully crazy and it was a big journey.
I even look at the look in my eyes between these two pictures and it seems like I'm a completely different person and that's because I was.
It was a big journey to go from the version of myself that was not aligned and have this metamorphosis to go to a version of myself that put me on the pathway of truth.
And the truth is,
It took me years to continue to let that true pathway unfold,
To be the version of myself that you see today.
And still today,
I have versions and things inside of my life that I still am aligning.
And so I want,
No matter where you are in your journey,
For you to give yourself permission today to align and figure out what is true.
And this process is what we call the process of metamorphosis.
And what I want to focus on this month is what you need to go through a metamorphosis about in you.
So my album cover,
Which many of you have seen,
Is actually me inside of a cocoon.
And I called it Metamorphosis of Me in a Cocoon because it felt like the creation of this album and actually going through it was the cocoon.
Of what would allow me to become what was next.
And what I want you to understand,
The reason I'm sharing this with you is not just to show you my album cover,
But it's to help you understand that the cocoon is the most important part.
People often talk about transformation and metamorphosis and they think about the caterpillar and the butterfly.
But the most important part of this process is the reorganization of self that happens in what's called the messy middle.
What happens inside of that cocoon,
In the messy middle,
Is the most important part because it affects everything that happens on the other side.
It's where all the work happens.
When caterpillars go into that cocoon,
Something incredible happens.
Their cells shift.
They get what's called imaginal cells.
This is a real scientific thing.
Imaginal cells.
And these imaginal cells have the possibility to become anything.
Thankfully,
A caterpillar has encoded into its DNA that it's going to become a butterfly.
But you don't have encoded into your DNA what you're gonna become.
And this is why having a clear idea of your North Star is so important.
Because when you go into the messy middle,
It can be so easy to get confused,
To get distracted.
Maybe I should try this,
Maybe I should do that.
But if you don't have a North Star,
You'll get distracted going barking up every tree.
With your North Star,
You'll be able to be clear about where it is that you want to go.
So no matter how dark it gets in that cocoon,
You still have a guiding light.
Now this is what we're up to today in this practice.
And this can be the hard part.
Because so often we want to have an answer.
But when we're in the messy middle,
We don't often have the answers.
But we can make sure we have a guiding light.
Of the direction that we're needing to go.
And when we have that guiding light guiding us forward.
We also need to be aware of what it is that we're letting go of behind us.
Because sometimes the distraction isn't just in not knowing where you're going.
Sometimes the distraction is continuing to try to be the person that you were.
Continuing to be in the old habits and the old patterns of who it is that you were.
And so.
When we do this,
This process of metamorphosis requires three parts.
First,
The letting go.
Second.
The messy middle.
And third,
The North Star.
And our practice that we're gonna guide into will guide you through this whole thing.
And so I'm curious.
As you're watching this.
What are you thinking about in your own life?
Might need to go through a bit of a metamorphosis.
Maybe for you it's something big,
A big life change.
Maybe for you it's actually something small that's out of alignment.
You get to decide.
And if it's big or small.
It doesn't matter because something being off track is something off track and it affects every area of our lives.
And so when we go into the practice,
I'm going to ask you to pick something specific.
Because you might say,
Oh my God,
I have so many things in my life that I have to change.
And that's okay.
But for the sake of this practice,
It's important that you just pick one thing so that you don't get more confused.
And then you can go back and do the practice again for different items in your life.
Shall we begin?
Go ahead and get comfortable in your seat.
And if you can,
Place your hands over the center of your chest and close your eyes.
And take a full,
Deep breath in.
And a breath out.
And again,
Another breath in.
And a breath out.
And one last time,
A breath in.
Hold this one a little bit longer.
Sip in a little bit more air.
And even a little bit more air.
Hold the breath,
Hold the breath,
Hold the breath.
And open the mouth,
Let it out.
Now to the count of three,
Inhale with me for one.
Too.
3.
Hold for 1,
2,
3.
Exhale 1,
2,
3.
Again,
Inhale 1,
2,
3.
Hold for 1,
2,
3.
Exhale 1,
2,
3.
Last time,
Inhale one,
Two.
Three,
Hold for one.
Too.
3,
Exhale 1.
Now stay in this internal space and just breathe normally.
Read normally.
And just ask yourself,
What is an area of my life?
Where I know I don't wanna be where I was or where I have been.
But I've not quite made it.
To where it is that I want to go.
Or I'm not even sure.
How to get there.
If you have any area of your life like this,
That means you're in the messy middle.
The messy middle is where you know.
.
.
You don't want to be where you were.
For where you are,
But you're not quite where you want to go yet.
Something is ready to transform.
So as you embrace and think of this part of your life that you're ready to move on and forward from.
Ask yourself.
What do I need to let go of?
From the old chapter.
Of myself.
What do I need to let go of from this past?
Version of me that I am.
Am outgrowing or have outgrown.
Bye!
And next,
Ask yourself this.
What do I need to accept?
About this video.
Messy Middle.
This in-between time where I'm not quite where I need to go.
But I don't want to be the old version of me.
What do I need to accept about this messy middle?
Sometimes we try to rush through the messy middle to get where we're going,
But remember,
It's important to embrace this part.
Because the cocoon is where all of the work happens to help you become who you need to be.
So I'll ask it again.
What do you need to accept?
Even if you don't love it.
Even if it's challenging.
Even if it's hard,
About this in-between time,
The messy middle.
Let's see what bubbles up.
And now last but not least.
We're going to follow your path of excitement.
Your question is.
.
.
Even if you don't know exactly where you're going.
What excites you?
About this next chapter of your life.
What excites you about the next chapter.
That is your North Star.
For the end of this process.
And if you do have a clear vision of where you want to go.
What excites you about that?
Your excitement about what's next is what leads us to understand the North Star.
It's your joy.
What excites you,
Just see what bubbles up and it'll help paint.
The picture or idea of your North Star.
When you're ready,
Just take a deep,
Full breath in.
And a breath out.
And when you're ready,
I invite you to open your eyes.
And I would love for you to jot down for yourself.
What bubbled up for you.
Don't think you're going to remember it because it'll go away.
What do you got to let go of?
What are you accepting about the messy middle,
This in-between time?
Even if you don't like it.
And what is the North Star?
Where are you going?
And we let joy and excitement lead the way,
Because even if you can't see the vision clearly,
Or even if you can't,
We have to let our joy and excitement lead the way,
Because sometimes we think we know the vision and we start walking toward it and we don't like it,
But we don't change course.
And then we're off track again,
Following a vision that is not even something that we want.
And so we let our joy.
We let our excitement guide us.
As the North Star.
That will take us through.
The darkness.
Of the womb of the cocoon.
So once you've jotted all that down for yourself,
If you need to pause this,
You can.
I'd like you to place your hands over the center of your chest one more time and take a deep full breath in.
And a breath out.
And just ask yourself from everything you learned about yourself and everything I've talked about today.
What is your golden nugget or one clear takeaway?
What's the one main thing worth remembering from this whole session?
Once you have it.
You can open your eyes and write that down as well.
My golden nugget is actually really simple.
I'm so grateful for my grandmother having this huge conversation with me and asking me that big question.
And again,
If you haven't seen the whole story about that,
You can go on my YouTube channel and search for the question that changed my life forever.
You'll see it right there on the homepage.
The reason I share that is because I was off track.
But I didn't know I was off track in the beginning.
I thought I was doing what was aligned for me.
And it wasn't until that moment when I realized,
Oh my gosh.
I am living a life based on other people's expectations.
And I just feel so grateful for my grandmother because in that moment,
I could have just ignored what I knew.
But she asked me to make a promise.
That I would record an album,
That I would step into my truth.
And it took me so much deep work to get there.
But it was so worth it,
Because now I'm living a life that is fully aligned with who I am.
And I want the same thing for you.
And this has always honestly been my mission in the world since I stepped in to the truest version of myself.
I have gotten clear on what it is that I'm here to do in the world.
And so I'm going to leave you with something a little bit special.
This that I'm going to show you next to close out this video today.
Is actually a video that's never been posted online before.
It's the opening video from my tour,
My first tour ever,
That I went on 10 years ago when my album came out in 2016.
And from then,
When I got clear my purpose,
To now.
I want you to hopefully see that even though it may come in different forms.
The mission is the same.
To help each of you,
Each of us.
Step in to our dreams,
To say yes to the things that we really want in our lives,
To get on the right mountain.
And so I hope.
You take a moment to go listen to the full album,
Metamorphosis.
I usually close with just one song,
But this month I'm really honoring the album since it's been 10 years.
And I put a link in the description for you to go listen to the whole album.
And now I leave you with this,
The opening track.
From my tour.
Metamorphosis.
As this month we explore what needs to transform inside of you.
Bye for now.
We close our eyes.
All we can see is the life we haven't lived yet.
The people we know.
Born to be.
You know the story.
We spend our time sitting behind a computer,
Letting our creativity,
Our energy get sucked dry.
Locked in relationships that bring us pain,
Waking up every morning pretending to love.
Truth cauterized by the fears of the night.
Not stepping into our power because somebody said,
This dream is not for you.
You're too fat.
You're too old.
You're too ugly.
You're too gay.
You're not good enough.
We're all obsessed with success,
But what does that even mean when we let go of our dreams?
Yeah,
I've been there too.
Today.
We wake up.
This is the time when we say.
.
.
No more.
Yeah.
I got music for ya.
But this is about more than just music.
This is about metamorphosis.
This is our life.
This is our time.
We will not hold ourselves back anymore.
We will not let our dreams pass us by.
We will not let the sun set on our lives before we've painted the world with the colors of our darkness.
Really?
It's time to let go of all that shit that's been holding you back for so long.
All you gotta do.
Say yes!
It's metamorphosis.
