Harness The Lion's Gate Portal Magic With OKRs
here's the big secret: i've never done this before.
By "this," I mean almost everything. (Beginner's mind, can I get a wut-wut?) But really, when I say "this," I mean:
being a human woman in 2019 in the United States
running a conscious, mission-driven, for-profit company
managing other people with empathy and kindness
loving the people in my life fully for who they are
personal up-leveling through examination, education, and guidance
There's a lot of stuff I've never done before that I'm doing now. A tidbit overwhelming, admittedly, when I look at it in a list. Fortunately, all of these sections of my life have very loose borders—the lessons I learn in one area tend to bleed into the others. It's actually quite an efficient learning process. The challenges I get handed to me in one area usually show up in another area if I don't address them and learn from them ... but if I do, it seems like every area elevates. Kinda like it's ... holistic.
And the challenges? Oh, Linda, the challenges show up A LOT. They like to rear their ugly little heads just when I think I've got a handle on things. Rudely humbling, this whole 'human experience,' isn't it?
big fears in 3-2-1-go.
One of my biggest fears in life is team management. I was always a solo sports person—I did dance, track, ran marathons—because I didn't want to rely on other people. Mostly because I couldn't control the outcome. I couldn't guarantee that my teammates would work as hard as me, stay after practice, and take care of their bodies. And I actually really liked that if I failed, it was totally my fault. For some reason, that's still really a comforting idea.
Relying on other people meant that there was a possibility I'd be disappointed, no matter how hard I worked or how much I cared. And I'd rather be mad at myself than mad at you, I guess.
hacking management as a holistic mystic realistic person
I've had some really amazing managers in my life (s/o to Jess Yip, Nicole Crippen, and Jill Russell! MVPs of all time!!!!) that I've learned so much from. These women were thoughtful, funny, energized, smart as hell, future-focused, flexible, and didactic—they went out of their ways to teach me how to do my job more effectively.
Even with these great role models, though, I'm still very tentative to "manage" other human beings. It's so hard to walk the line of leadership as a woman—people will tell you that you're too cold, you're too soft, you're too bossy, you're too hands-off. And sadly, there's no handbook that I've come across that outlines how to really be an intuitive, holistic, mystical, analytical, and practical people manager. So weird, I know.
Anyways, it's something I'm working on. Because there's no perfect manual out there, I'm reading every single book I can get my hands on to understand management from every dimension—from extremely esoteric to boringly pragmatic. It doesn't feel exactly right to follow typical management styles, because I want to create a new kind of company and culture that's really different from what I've experienced in the workplace. But I also don't want to Abraham-Hicks my way through this thing—I want to co-create with the Universe, not just throw my hands up in the sky and hope that my positive thoughts and pyrite do their thang.
As a result, my desk is covered in crystals and oracle cards and stacks of books like "The Intuitive Way." But my bedside table? It's littered with primary-colored tomes (I think it's a rule that every book in the business section of Barnes and Noble has to have a red, yellow, or blue cover), and all of the sudden I'm reading handbooks written by people who are LinkedIn-famous with names like Terry Blouch who're bald and white and dress like a middle-aged stepdad from Orange County.
And tbh, I'm drinking the Terry-flavored kool-aid ... and actually seeing a lot of parallels to this conscious, intuitive lifestyle we're all trying to live.
objectives and key results — okrs
Currently, I'm low-key obsessed with this moderately boring book, "Measure What Matters." It's by John Doerr, a dude from Missouri who's worth a very casual $7.5 billion. He's a venture capitalist (someone who invests in startup companies) and is VERY good at what he does, thanks to his work and experience in Silicon Valley. His big thing is OKRs—Objectives and Key Results. He's obsessed with them. In his opinion, OKRs are the reason Google is successful ... and naturally, he's the one who taught the Google co-founders about OKRs. V curious!
(You can learn more here!)
In all seriousness, I think John is great, and I think OKRs are great. They're basically goals, and even though if you're like me and allergic to goal setting, you might jive with this approach because OKRs help you find focus without restricting your creativity.
how to set okrs
Here's how it works: An Objective is a focus or goal. Key Results are the supporting steps that help you hone in on that focus; they are almost always numbers or a quantitative measurement. After a certain period of time, you review your OKRs, and give yourself a score. Google uses a scale of 0.0 to 1.0, 1.0 being OKR achieved and 0.0 being a miserable failure.
To me, writing down these OKRs is actually way more helpful than just writing out some goals or manifestations or whatever—it takes some time, but it really expands your mind to help you *believe* and *see* the path to whatever it is you're trying to bring into your life.
OK, that was a bit hypothetical. Let's get specific.
Maybe you're calling in a dream job at this badass fashion company that you've been oogling on Instagram for months. Great.
Objective: Get role as Creative Director at Oogle Co.
Key Results:
Build 5 case studies for brands like Oogle Co.
Get 5k followers on personal Instagram
Secure 3 personal references to Oogle Co. CEO
Now, before your OKRs that dream job seemed like a BIG STRETCH. Maybe, you could barely even see yourself as a customer service person at Oogle Co., let alone calling the shots as Creative Director.
But now that you've written out your OKRs, you realize that gig isn't as far away as it seems. You'll build stellar case studies for clients you want to work with (if you don't already have them lined up) in order to get prepared for the job as CD. Your IG will naturally start to look gorgeous and grow as you work your magic on likeminded brands. And by doing excellent work, you'll create great references for yourself when you need them—your clients and associates will happily vouch for you.
your focus should be clear, and the pathway should be flexible
The cool thing is that there are endless pathways to achieve your key result—which means you still have flexibility within these guidelines to be creative and innovative, and even spiritually-minded. You don't have to have the whole road trip planned out. Just the main pit stops. (After all, the magic always happens during those unexpected detours.) And along the journey, you have a map that you can review and consult to make sure you're still on the right route.
The OKRs help you maintain your focus and direction, so you don't feel like you're just driving in circles, wasting gas.
okrs and the lion’s gate portal
"OK, great, wow, but what the eff does this have to do with manifestation and astrology and shit?"
So glad you asked.
In the New Age spiritual world, it’s common to set intentions during important astrological transits, like new moons, eclipses … or Lion’s Gate Portal situations. Sometimes it’s even directed to write down your intentions and then burn them on a fire, to send them up to the sky.
I vibe with this, in theory. But I also find myself shying away from writing my intentions or manifestations or whatever you might want to call them, and I definitely don't revisit them monthly. And truthfully, it feels a bit hollow or insincere to write down a list of things that you hope you can achieve or become and then never give it a second thought. If you really cared, you'd be in practice toward those intentions/manifestations in every moment of every day.
how to use okrs at the lion’s gate
Which is why the OKRs are kinda cool. They're a happy medium between militant goal setting and floofy intention setting. Give your dreams structure, with room to grow and expand. Draw a map for yourself, and give yourself permission to explore beyond it. Write down some OKRs at the new moon, and then on the full moon take a second to see if you're still excited about the path you laid ... and if you're not, make a new one.
Tomorrow, August 8th, is the Lion’s Gate Portal. It could be a cool practice to write out some potential OKRs that are in line with the theme of LIon’s Gate. The following areas are particularly potent during this time, astrologically:
Heart healing
Third eye awakenings
Higher Chakra Openings
Enhanced Intuition
Spiritual visitations
Freedom
Peace
Technology
Creativity
tell me more …
I'm curious—do you know what you're focusing on this month? This next year? NBD if it's all a little muddled in your mind and you're not quite clear. Just sit with it for a sec. Scribble a few things down. And then edit, if you want.