(Un)Learning in public

How a shopping philosophy is influencing my next direction...

Hi, I’m Lee and I’m (un)learning in public. I talk about life and business, the BS that holds us back and the things that build us up again (in my case books, creative explorations and a dash of Murder, She Wrote). It’s lovely to have you here 😊

Took my (over)thinking on a walk, it’s always helpful to shift my energy when I’m grappling with decisions.

My husband, who will from hereon in be referred to as D, always tries to encourage a one-in, one-out approach whenever I go shopping - new shoes, bags, clothing is all well and good but what am I getting rid of in order to make space for it?

I normally think he’s taking minimalism to the extreme (and he certainly doesn’t practice what he preaches), that is until my wardrobe is resembling Monica’s guilty secret closet and EVERYTHING is threatening to explode out. I realise he has a point.

The brain can be a bit like that wardrobe too. Storing unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, habits. We try our best to make changes, but then end up with the new stuff competing with the old. They battle it out to the point of overwhelm. And usually the unhelpful wins - they’re sticky little buggers that refuse to give up - leaving us feeling like we’ll never be able to conquer that thing.

This is where (Un)Learning comes in to play.

I genuinely thought I’d invented this phrase a couple of years ago 🤦🏼‍♀️. I’d had a particularly powerful coaching session and noted that it wasn’t about learning new stuff, I needed to spend time unlearning all the beliefs and rules and restrictions that I (and society) had placed on me.

Turns out the word has been around a bit longer than my ‘invention’, but it’s still one that feels really personal and best sums up the inner work I do.

It’s that one-in, one-out method … identifying what I want to be (or do) and understanding the barrier or lie that’s getting in my way.

Of course it’s more complicated than choosing what white t-shirt will be replaced by another white t-shirt. (Un)learning takes time. It takes experiments. It’s unpicking the fragments and building something new.

The beauty of (un)learning is that we can really make things happen. Habits that last. New possibilities. And we do it without the baggage hanging around.

What I’ve been (un)learning recently

I started writing here as a side project to fuel my creativity, reclaim my personality and discover my voice. It was something that I kept away from my business-self - because y’know the ick - and as I’ve grown in this space I’ve realised that my life and my work is ALL about (un)learning and I can only show up fully if I embrace all sides of me.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been ripping up my business as I knew it and rebuilding it to better reflect what and who I want to work with. I realised it was my old beliefs that were making me think I had to keep my substack private. I worried that if I was to try and bring it into my business in any way I’d lose my personality. This was my sticky little bugger telling me that if my writing was linked to my business I would have to become an ‘educator’ and be right back playing in the field that I’m trying to escape.

I’ve taken this unhelpful thinking to my coaching sessions. I’ve worked with a strategist to throw it into the mix as we re-plot the direction of my business. I’ve refused to accept the narrative I’ve been telling myself.

And I’ve realised that this space can complement what I do outside of substack. That I don’t have to become the thing I’m worried about. Plus, what better accountability is there than laying it all out in public?

What’s changing and how can you get involved?

This is going to be a space for experimenting. For (un)learning in public. For reconnecting with our vision and voice to build a business and life that we want to show up for.

I want to bring in more creativity - in how and what I write about. I’m a work-in-progress and that’s what you’ll get. My reflections on the big breakthroughs, blockers and bullshit. The things that amuse, confuse or simply bemuse me. And whatever else takes my fancy or you ask me to talk about - whether it’s navigating out of a corporate mindset, building a business as a quiet achiever, dealing with the crazy that hits in your 40s, creating a fulfilling life. Whilst making sure to have fun along the way.

In doing so I hope to find a community on the same search as me.

This won’t be a teachy, preachy space. But one of friendly challenge and cheerleading.

I want to get more serious in my commitment and how I show up. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about WHY - why I want to do this, why you’d be interested in what I have to say, why you might want to (un)learn things too. It’s helped me to refine my approach - publishing more frequently and being clearer in my offer.

And one of the big decisions I’ve made is to protect this space more, to help nurture and create a sense of safety amongst us as we work on those tricky mindset shifts. So I’m introducing a new paid tier to allow us to gently hold that space.

As a paid member you’ll get:

💥 The really personal downloads from me (because being vulnerable online isn’t a popcorn movie)

💥 Writing prompts and other tools from my coaching and NLP kits so that you can do the inner work as well

💥 Curated community chats to connect with likeminded (un)learners

💥 Access to my full archive

💥 First-dibs on new services and offers, including opportunities to beta-test them at a reduced rate, so that you can go deeper with your (un)learning.

You can get this for less than the cost of a large Frappuccino (which I’ve drunk A LOT OF in this heat) - £4/month - or £40 for the year. This introductory launch price is only available until the end of August, but if you join now you’ll forever be at this price!

And don’t worry if you’re not ready to commit yet. You’ll still receive monthly posts about what I’m (un)learning. And you can always try a free trial before you upgrade.

If you have any questions drop me a message.

If this is how I was looking on the outside, you can only imagine what was going on in the inside 😂

It’s scary ‘going official’ with this (un)learning stuff. Accepting it as part of my business. Opening it up to the outside world and the perceived judgement I might get from those who’ve been part of my story up until now. It feels a bit like mixing friends at a party and worrying if they’ll get on with each other. But I’m also excited and overflowing with ideas, so I know this is the right direction. I’ll share more about all of this as I go on.

Here’s a parting thought that you might want to journal on or share what comes up for you in the comments:

What old thinking is holding me back from the person I want to become? What might I need to (un)learn to change that?

Lee x

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PS. Don’t forget you can be part of the (un)learning community at the special LIFETIME launch price of £40 per year (or £4/mth).