Read this if and when you feel like you've been selling yourself short

i recently stumbled upon two interesting artifacts in the life and times of Brandi Amara Skyy as i’ve been packing up my home office in preparation for our October 1st move.

The first was paper i wrote on May 8, 2007 for an Epistemologies Graduate course describing my personal epistemology. i titled it, A Nine-Card Reading of an Epistemic Spread: The Fool’s Search for Personal Epistemological Answers.

i was immediately struck by the date (2007) and then the realization that i’ve been undercutting myself when it comes to how long i’ve been practicing tarot. i usually say about 5 years, but i’m a lier and dead ass wrong. i’ve been in a deep, committed, and ever-evolving relationship with Tarot for at minimum SEVENTEEN YEARS. 🤯

That’s a far cry from five years.

What this also brought to my attention is that i don’t really share or talk about the fact that i have a Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies (what is now called Multicultural Women’s & Gender Studies) from Texas Woman’s University.

Why?

🤷🏽‍♀️

But we do that a lot as womxn—or any other tribe of folxs who are marginalized or Other. We sell ourselves and our accomplishments short. We tell ourselves all that time we spent learning, growing, evolving, penning papers about how we know what we know, pulling tarot cards “for fun,” doesn’t count because we weren’t serious enough, or we didn’t major in whatever it is we’re doing now, or no one has ‘paid’ me for my services yet so i can’t claim the title professional.

All of that is bullshit and secondary to ALL THE EXPERIENCE, SELF-KNOWLEDGE & AWARENESS we’ve gleaned by leading ourselves through the challenges, the late-night study and writing dates, the uncertainty of picking up our first tarot deck, the courage to come out—as feminists, queer, ally, the healing of broken bones and hearts, and everything else we’ve been through and will go through.

It ALL counts. And it all adds up to who you are, the medicine you bring to your art, work, and offerings, the amount you should charge for it, the stories you share, your energy, vibe—all of it.

You are made up of all the things you’ve been through. And yet you are NONE of it. Nor are you defined by it.

By the time i finished reading that paper i wrote when i was TWENTY-NINE YEARS OLD 👀29, i made a commitment to myself to never shortchange myself again because i’ve been doing this shit for a long time, boo.

And chances are SO HAVE YOU.

Artifact #2 was my Coaching Q&A sheet i gave to my very first coaching client on November 3, 2013.

Again, i was struck by how long i’ve been coaching and how i’ve been cheating myself on the amount of time i’ve been doing this work. Again, grappling with feelings of “it doesn’t count” because it’s not in the iteration or exact form of coaching i’m doing now. (Why do we continue to do this to ourselves when we know better?!?!? 🤦🏽‍♀️)

But what also got me was that some of the questions on this sheet dated 2013 are the same ones i ask my clients now.

Why?

(i know the answer to this one!)

Because they work. Because they slice through the surface and go deep. Because they’re the ones that have helped my clients make the most longlasting and transformative changes.

And in the spirit of not selling ourselves short and remembering it all counts, i want to share one of my favorites with you.

Grab your Woke Magic Grimoire, your journal, a random piece of paper, a blank document, and answer the following question:

And for all the Gold Star Students out there like me, give yourself the gift of asking yourself this follow-up question:

Claim the experience, self-knowledge, and awareness you wrote down. Feed it into everything you do.

You’ve been doing this for a long time.

You know what you’re doing.

Now rise and meet yourself where you’ve always been. (i’m right there rising alongside you too!!)

If you’d like more stories, guidance, and support like this, apply to be one of six NOW FIVE beta clients in my 6-Month 1:1 coaching program.

You can find out more about the Wild Dream Coaching experience ​here​. And apply ​here​.

Here’s to never selling ourselves short again. ✊🏽

i love you. You got this. i believe in you.

in lak’ech
xo-b
❤️‍🔥