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🧠 Opening Reflection
Leadership is not a title, it’s an identity.
And identity is built through the quiet, unglamorous choices we make when no one is watching.
This week, a client and I uncovered a simple truth.
You can change your job, your location, your routines, your environment…
but none of it feels fulfilling until you change.
Because alignment doesn’t come from new scenery, it comes from a new self.
And for many of us (myself included), that’s the work.
Who are you becoming, and are your habits, choices, and risks matching that version of you?
This week’s blog spotlight
Most people wait for permission to lead. They wait for the promotion, the team, the recognition.
But leadership doesn’t begin with authority; it begins with identity.
This week’s post explores:
why purpose is the foundation of leadership identity
how self-trust creates influence
why aligned action is more powerful than hierarchy
and why leadership is available to you now — not later
🧩 What I’m Working On
This week has been a tug-of-war between wanting to focus on my business and wanting to be fully present with family and friends for the holiday.
Finishing my course, nurturing my newsletter list, organizing my coaching materials, cleaning my house, and still trying to get eight hours of sleep…
But here’s the win, I’ve been using Notion and my coaching landing page as my grounding tools. Every time my mind starts spiraling into “Do more,” I return to structure. Every time I feel overwhelmed, I return to clarity.
Alignment is less about perfect planning and more about returning to yourself over and over again
😅 Real Talk: What’s Challenging Me Lately
Sure, I’m doing all the things… holiday plans, clients, business goals, personal sanity, but honestly? The real challenge is remembering that this season has a bigger purpose.
I’ve had moments this year that felt heavy, chaotic, or unclear, and I’m learning to believe they weren’t wasted.
This year stretched me.
And I’m holding onto the hope that every difficult moment, every lesson, every “what is life even doing right now?” moment is planting something valuable.
I’m trusting that the seeds I planted in 2025 will bloom in 2026.
Because what’s the point of all this growth if not to eventually see the flowers?
☕ Client Insight of the Week
A theme showed up across multiple client sessions:
You can change your environment, but fulfillment only comes when you change yourself.
Many clients have spent years trying to “find the right job,” “move to the right city,” or “escape the wrong environment.”
But this week, the deeper truth emerged:
Nothing feels like the right move until you embody the person who can live it.
Meaningful change requires:
new habits
new boundaries
new emotional skills
new self-trust
new risks
and a willingness to become the version of you your dreams require
Leadership identity, career clarity, and alignment all begin within you, and everything external eventually rearranges in response.
This was the breakthrough for every client I saw this week…
and honestly, for me too.
💼 Business & Leadership Insight of the Week
Purpose-driven leadership doesn’t start when someone puts you in charge.
It begins the moment you decide:
“I will lead myself.”
You can’t lead teams, projects, or businesses from misalignment.
Leadership identity requires:
clarity over chaos
purpose over performance
internal authority over external validation
And as I wrote in this week’s blog:
Some of the strongest leaders in organizations don’t have titles yet.
They have presence, intention, emotional intelligence, and self-trust.
Leadership is not a job.
It’s a decision.
🎓 Inside My Course: The Inner Advantage For Professionals and Entrepreneurs
This week, we’re deep into Module 5: Translating Alignment Into Professional Success, where inner clarity finally becomes outer action.
This is where clients shift from:
“I know what I want,”
to
“I’m finally living it.”
If you’re craving purpose-led career alignment, clearer identity, and confidence in your decision-making, this is the module that changes everything.
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Hey there,
You’re reading The Alignment Edit, my weekly reflection on what it really takes to build a career and a life that feels as good as it looks. Around here, we explore the psychology of success, the tension between doing and being, and what happens when you stop performing productivity and start living in alignment.
Every issue brings a mix of insight, honesty, and a little humor from the messy middle — where growth actually happens.
If you’re craving deeper support in your alignment journey, you can explore 1:1 coaching or join my upcoming group program, The Inner Advantage. And for daily reflections, you can find me on social @Shakirah_Forde.
Let’s dive in. — Shakirah
🧡 Shakirah’s Favorites
Stuff That’s Keeping Me Sane
▶ 🧠 Thought: “Fulfillment is the natural consequence of identity alignment.”
▶ 💼 Tool: Notion — my brain when my brain refuses to brain.
▶ 🧘🏽♀️ Ritual: One slow cup of tea before my phone gets to speak to me.
▶ 📚 Read: he Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer — because the version of me I’m becoming is healthy, disciplined, and no longer allergic to cardio.
▶ 💬 Prompt: What am I trying to change externally that’s actually asking for an internal shift?
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