091: Stop Collecting Certificates
Start Serving People.
One of the most humbling things I learned at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey was that it's not about what I'm doing—it's about who I am.
It can sound philosophical, but in its essence, it's pretty simple.
You have to start your journey where you are and allow the journey to guide you toward the skills or capabilities you need as you live, not as you think about them.
When I decided to dedicate my time full-time to my energy practice, I was only certified at the basic level. I had thoughts like "I should at least have completed the advanced level," but I decided to go beyond that thought and examine the underlying belief behind it.
The belief was: "I don't have enough or am not enough right now to start."
Analyzing my thoughts this way was incredibly helpful because it revealed so much about myself. This simple thought was telling me everything I needed to know.
In the present moment (which is all that exists), I didn't think I was enough or had enough. And I understood that if I used that thought to guide my actions, I would complete the advanced course and still think I needed more to start (this was a belief I needed to change to live a life I wanted to live)
Do you understand my point?
Derek Sivers explains this beautifully in his book. He says that asking which belief is right is the wrong question. The right question should be:
"Which belief leads to the action you need now?"
This is transformative and powerful.
The thought about having "only" the basic level was revealing a belief of not being enough, and that belief would never take me where I wanted to go.
So I chose in that moment to believe I had enough to serve. I was enough to create a business, and from that powerful space, I would do what was necessary to evolve and become a better practitioner and business owner.
A couple of weeks after quitting my job, my teacher announced the intermediate level training. Of course I enrolled, but my energy was completely different.
I wasn't enrolling because I needed that certification to open my practice. I enrolled because I already had a practice and was looking to deepen the ways I could help my clients.
I kept going like that—refining my skills, attending trainings—as my business and I evolved together.
But here's what I want you to notice: I was already serving from my wholeness. The additional certifications weren't giving me permission to start—I was already serving with everything I had. They were simply expanding how I could serve.
I wasn't waiting to be "qualified enough." I was already working in the energetic field, and the new certifications just added tools to my toolkit.
Now I could also work with the nervous system and subconscious mind. But the foundation—my willingness to serve—was already there.
I was enough. I felt enough. I had clients paying for my basic qualification. Why? Because I wasn't selling my certification—I was selling the results I could provide.
Over time, as my business evolved, I became so identified with my technique that I lost sight of something crucial. Clients would come for energy work, but our conversation would be so transformative that it would fill the entire session.
I'd scramble to squeeze in the technique or run overtime because I thought I was "selling energy work."
That was my second breakthrough moment—the same lesson from my beginning, but at a deeper level: It's not about what I do, it's about who I am, again showing up in a different form.
I realized people weren't coming for the technique I thought was so essential.
Yes, the technique is incredibly powerful, but people were drawn to my energetic signature—to how I helped them shift their perspective on life and see what they couldn't see alone.
Some sessions became purely conversational, with no formal technique at all. And I was still delivering profound value. I was still serving.
The technique was never the "product." I was.
It took me a while to realize that, this way life was teaching me same lesson in a different level.
As I continued to evolve and expand my offerings, something unexpected happened.
It's beautiful to watch our own evolution through the lens of business. As I was growing my business, I was adding more tools to my toolkit and being invited to become more. Another fragmentation happened.
I now had two forms of income: my patients at my clinic and my embodiment classes online. Some patients were also students online, but for some reason I felt I had to have two titles, two ways of helping people. Even though they were extremely complementary, I wasn't able to tap into the me behind these two forms of service. Again, I was identifying myself with what I do rather than who I am.
This way of serving worked for me and my clients for a while, but I felt like I was creating a Frankenstein business. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I needed to connect again with who I was and serve from that space—instead of just adding techniques to my business.
Life keeps evolving and upgrading our lessons.
The invitation was getting bigger and bigger. I had to own once again who I am, not what I do. Life was inviting me to serve at a higher level, and I wouldn't be able to hide behind my certifications.
I had to sacrifice old ways of being in service of the new. I had to become someone I wasn't yet. I had to do something I had never done before. I had to put my ego aside and step fully into this new identity of what I was being invited to serve. I had to learn how to build a business.
When you choose to identify with your essence, you can afford to take risks.
You don't need to behave in a certain way to match your current personality.
You detach from what you think is right and do the work you're being asked to do.
You reinvent yourself to meet what your business and your life is inviting you to become.
I want to ask you this question, whether you already have a business or you're just in the early phases of desiring one: Who are you being called to be? What if your business isn't something you build, but something that builds you?
You won't get your answers from the universe by thinking more—co-creation happens in action, in real feedback, not just the feedback from your own thoughts.
I'm sure your soul's desire isn't to be a collector of techniques.
With love,
Carolina
Happenings
Serve and Receive Challenge
Today is the last day for our serve-receive challenge. Stop building your business in your mind—choose to serve instead. Learning business skills is also an invitation from your soul. It's learning how to send your message to reach the people who need to hear it.
Maybe "building your business" triggers you to stop—so call it "embodying your service" instead.
Maybe "marketing" makes you freeze—so call it "conscious outreach."
We label things based on our strong opinions, and these labels can kill our soul's expression and keep us small.
If you feel you can help more people and have a bigger impact but hate marketing and building business skills—thinking this isn't organic—you might be speaking from your ego.
The ego that isn't willing to do the work to serve and wants only the pleasure of doing the things you like.
The Serve and Receive challenge is a transformational 7 days that will shift how you see yourself and your abilities to serve. You have more to offer than your limited opinion about yourself allows you to see.
Today is the last day for enrollment! Click here to enroll.
Here is what I want to share this week …
Have you checked out issue 002 of the Sacred Business Writers Collective?
When brilliant minds come together, nothing less than amazing emerges. May's theme was divine connection, and this collective is about seeing from different perspectives through that lens. It proves to me how beautifully unique we all are—no two people see things exactly the same way, and that difference is what makes life so rich. Give the same topic to great writers and you get infinite possibilities of expression. It's a testament to the diversity of human perspective and creativity, all exploring what divine connection means to them.
"The more sophisticated our technology becomes, the more we need leaders who are deeply human."
I want to share a thoughtful piece I discovered on Substack recently. Marc Engel's essay beautifully reflects how AI is actually supporting our evolution in profound ways. I believe we're being called more than ever to step fully into our essence and creative powers—and having AI as our ally is accelerating our ability to manifest what matters most. His essay is worth reading; it captures something essential about this moment we're living in.
"What becomes possible when you refuse to choose sides and instead become an artist of integration?"
Another powerful piece I'm sharing comes from Rachel Connor. Her essay on breaking free from the either/or trap holds so much wisdom. In my own experience, moving from an either/or to a both/and mindset has transformed my relationships, my communication, and the way I see life itself. Rachel approaches creativity in a profound way, offering integration as a lens through which to view the world. In my own teachings, this connects to awakening the parts of our brain that are more inclusive—those aspects deeply rooted in understanding that everything is interconnected and aligned with the high frequency of oneness. Worth checking out.
Who We Are Celebrating
Alegria Bianca
I'm celebrating Bianca Mendonça (Alegria ❤️) and her beautiful work in this world. A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to her and had the most pleasant surprise of connecting with someone who carries such an authentic desire to serve others.
Bianca works with the body as a doorway to presence, honesty, and aliveness—something that immediately resonated with me. Her journey has taken her through mountains and onto bicycles, eventually leading her into the quiet, sacred spaces of breath, touch, and slow movement. With training in Yogic therapy and somatic practices, she offers grounded, body-led experiences that help people return to what feels genuinely real.
I appreciate how she honors the nervous system, our connection to the earth, and our fundamental need for space to simply be. There's something deeply nurturing about her approach that speaks to the kind of authentic healing our world needs more of.
P.S. You can read all previous editions of the newsletter here, and you can upgrade your subscription here.
What’s next?
Phil and I are ready to support you in creating a business that aligns with your heart's calling. Here's how we can help:
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