Sarah McCrumSarah McCrum is a coach and author who specialises in working with gamechangers - entrepreneurs who are transforming their industry, niche or audience to become more conscious, sustainable and ethical. She runs the Gamechangers Connect program where she teaches the skills of inner mastery so they can succeed fully in their mission.
She trained for 22 years with Chinese Masters and is currently working with people who are changing the game in healthcare, food production, sports, finance, health education, energy, consciousness and spirituality and other areas.
Modern Heroes - The Gamechanger's Journey
There are some entrepreneurs who just know that they have to step out of the mainstream and make a contribution beyond taking care of themselves, their family, their team and their clients. They’re drawn to create a greater impact - to influence and inspire others through their work - and they’re deeply driven to live and work by their deeper values.
This is a growing group and I know it will expand exponentially in coming decades, but for now, these people are rare birds. I call them gamechangers.
They wouldn’t always call themselves gamechangers. Some of them are getting on with their work quietly, changing lives without making a big fuss about it. Others are more public, willing to step out of their comfort zone and encourage others to step up too.
The key to being a gamechanger is that you realise it’s not enough to innovate more, develop better technology or come up with more solutions to climate change, population growth and inequality. You know that we also need to change the way we think, feel and behave as human beings on this planet. We need to expand our consciousness and embrace fundamental change within ourselves, our families and our communities.
The Gamechanger’s Journey
I’ve been working with people like this for some years now - long enough to recognise certain patterns in their lives. I've mapped out 10 steps that gamechangers typically experience. I call this The Gamechanger’s Journey. You may recognise your own life here.
The steps are described in a specific order. However we tend to experience smaller cycles with the same steps within the larger cycle, so they can layer on each other creating a much richer life than a linear description suggests. I've therefore not numbered the steps and I”m interested to know whether your life is following a similar pattern or you have a different perspective.
Whilst this journey has a lot in common with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, I’ve deliberately mapped out what I’ve seen and experienced through my own life and work with other people. This is a modern story, very much of our period of history and evolution. It’s not the same as the heroes of the 20th Century. That’s what makes it special.
The Struggle
Typical gamechangers have experienced a struggle with “normal life.” This may have been from the outset or it may have occurred later. There are four main types of struggle that initiate them into this journey.
Suffering - in childhood or adulthood. It can be in the form of abuse, long-term illness or disability, conflict, trauma, tragedy and other long-lasting pain.
Feeling different or alien - not fitting into mainstream society.
Dissatisfaction with mainstream success - you achieved your goals and it feels empty.
Negative life event - an accident, divorce, illness, death or other life-changing happening.
Waking Up
At a certain point you start to wake up. You learn different ways of thinking, acting and being in the world. You get very interested in personal development. You may even change your friends and environment. This is a powerful time of transformation.
The Call
You feel called to contribute more to the world. You experience your first inspired vision for your own life and it involves some form of service or making the world a better place, beyond the normal scope of your job or business. You usually experience a lot of doubt, resistance and fear at the thought of doing something about it.
Stepping Up
You take action to bring your vision into reality and create your first gamechanging project. If you’re inexperienced in business, you may fail quite quickly or struggle for a long time.
The Challenges
Once you’re running a gamechanging project or business you face a lot of challenges. Many people find them a distraction, but this is the training ground of the modern gamechanger.
This is where you learn how to create the new world in your own life, so you can share it with others through your work. How you respond to these challenges determines your capacity for changing the game and succeeding in your mission.
The challenge to find true health arises from burnout or sickness.
The challenge to find true happiness arises from dissatisfaction and lack of wellbeing.
The challenge to access your inner wisdom arises from lack of direction and clarity.
The challenge to experience true love arises from relationship and family problems.
The challenge to create true prosperity arises from financial problems.
The challenge to live in alignment with your purpose arises from a lack of meaning.
The challenge to deep integrity arises through legal problems.
The Comfort Zone
After facing and overcoming all those challenges you develop some mastery and life becomes a lot more comfortable. Many people stay here for a long time, enhancing their skills but never creating the level of impact they originally dreamed of.
At a certain point they get frustrated with themselves and vow to do whatever it takes to make more difference in the world. This precipitates the next stage.
The Crisis
You find yourself in unknown territory. Everything you’ve learned so far seems no longer to be enough. Nothing works the way it used to. You can’t go back and you have no idea how to move forward. This is the beginning of a profound spiritual transformation. You have to let go of controlling your life.
The Deep Decision
You emerge out of the crisis and step into the light. You stop struggling with yourself and commit to serving others. You realise that there are people all around you who need your help.
The Return
It feels like you’re returning to the mainstream world, but you’re very different on the inside. This is a period of optimisation, when you want to become the best you can be so you can help as many people as possible.
The Joy
You're so aligned with your purpose that it’s a constant source of joy in your life. You're changing the game in everything you do. You’re very alive and very awake. It feels like you’re living in heaven.
The big story
What I’ve described here is the arc of an entire lifetime. Most likely you’re only part of the way through this journey. It’s very helpful to know what lies ahead, even through some of the stages sound very challenging. There's a lot you can do to mitigate the struggle and to enhance your learning and this can take many years off any of the stages.
I know gamechangers who’ve spent 10 or more years feeling depressed or burnt out, simply because they didn’t know or understand what was happening to them. If they’d had the right advice and the support of other like-minded people they could have avoided the vast majority of the suffering they went through and they’d be way far further ahead on their gamechanging journey.
Your responsibility as a gamechanger
I believe that if you’re someone who has the courage to step up and lead society into a new level of consciousness it’s very important you take care of yourself and understand how much value you bring to society. This is not easy work. It can challenge you to the core of your being. It requires you to step up way beyond what you may believe you’re capable of.
But this is worth it. It's something we’re doing together because we can see there’s a better way of living. This isn’t about any of us stepping out there alone, being a hero and conquering the world. The modern gamechanger is very different from yesterday’s hero.
Our modern training ground is no longer the distant kingdom, the martial arts, the excruciating discipline, the cruel master, the impossible physical challenges. Your training is in your life. It’s your body and its requirement for thriving health. It’s your family and its need for love and happiness. It’s your business and the chance to create prosperity for all, not just a few of us. It’s your integrity and your willingness to stand by deep values when the world is tempting you to copy others and make unwise decisions.
This is the Batman training of the 21st century. This is what will prepare you to go beyond where humans have gone before. This is the Gamechanger’s Journey.
And it’s YOUR story.
When Sarah McCrum looked at the gamechanging entrepreneurs she's worked with over the last few years she noticed a pattern they all share. This pattern is so reliable that she can predict the biggest problems they're likely to face on their path to changing the world. She also discovered the keys to solving these problems in a way that virtually guarantees future success.
This is hugely significant to gamechangers because their purpose-led work brings them special challenges that can cause them to burn out or get very distracted unless they're handled the right way.
In this episode Sarah shares her own personal experience and the story of "The Gamechanger's Journey."
Find out more about what Sarah's doing at sarahmccrum.com
Sarah's books: Love Money, Money Loves You
Energy On Demand: Master Your Personal Energy and Never Burn Out
Free daily energy activations by Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/energyactivations/
