Px6: Self-Assessment for Aspiring (and Established!) Entrepreneurs
Read Introduction
Read Part 1: Promises
Read Part 2: Possession
Read Part 3: Perceptions
Read Part 5: Promotion
4/10 Axis: Progress
All attempts at achievement carry an inherent risk of separation from what is: what is accepted, what is familiar, what is laid down in our neurons, our psyches and our souls as normal ways of being. If we walk them long enough, the tracks of our career, our workaday world, our beliefs, our behaviors, all begin to meld into a past that we identify as our lives. Connected to this past, very likely, are people who are invested in our old way of being. This collective is important: It’s our sense of belonging, and acceptance, and feeling at home in the world.
Some of what’s past — behaviors, beliefs, people — we want to hold onto, for very good reasons. But other parts we need to let go so we can move ahead. Astrologically, it’s called moving from the 4th house to the 10th house; psychologically, it’s called individuation. It is up to each of us to decide which binds we are willing to accept and which ones we must cast off in order to climb that ladder and individuate into the person who behaves, believes and achieves in the manner that most reflects our own ambitions, ideals and selfhood.
4th House: The Tribal Self
To understand the nature of the collective to which you are bound, for better or for worse, answer the following questions for yourself:
1) On whom do I depend for a sense of connectedness, belonging and love? Who depends on me for these things? Do the dependencies go both ways, or does one party provide more emotional support than another? (Note: Neither answer is better or worse; just observe.)
2) What “dues” do I pay to remain a part of this tribe? Again, no answer is right or wrong; just describe what responsibilities you have in these relationships: to maintain a home? To be in contact daily or weekly? To conform to certain behaviors?
3) What support do I get for being part of this tribe? What benefits come from paying your tribal dues? Emotional security? A sense of being loved? Knowledge that you can behave badly and still be accepted?
4) Does the tribe/family/collective have any boundaries or customs that hold me back from my personal goals? If so, what are they? Am I willing to breach them to reach my goals? If I do, what will happen to my relationship with the collective?
10th House: The Individual Self
To understand how your own vision, goals and ambitions might play out among the tribe, family or collective you love and cherish, answer the following questions for yourself:
1) What distinguishes me from my tribe? How do I stand out? Are those qualities, beliefs or behaviors appreciated and valued within the tribe? If not, how do I manage that? Am I defiant or secretive? Is that way of managing my difference a benefit or a drawback in the tribe? To myself?
2) What vision or goal motivates me? Is it something of which the tribe approves? Disapproves? Feels indifferent? Supports? Fights against?
3) Who or what might help me achieve that goal? What or who within the tribe supports or does not support my individuation? A particular person? A traditional custom? A time constraint? A trade-off that would have to be made? Is it possible to work with, or around, that non-supporting element? If not, is it truly important that I have that support? What would happen to me, my relationships and my goals if I didn’t have their support?
4) If I had to go it alone, could I? Would I want to? Or is belonging to the tribe ultimately more important? Can I have it both ways — achievement in my own right and belonging among the people I love and cherish and want to be a part of?
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Take Me to Part 5!
In Part 5, Promotion, you’ll explore the tension between throwing your doors open to everyone and selecting your associations carefully. It’s the difference between mass marketing and targeted marketing, among other things. Take me there now.
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