Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where your story begins, and it’s always helpful to make the connections in hindsight. As I trace my entrepreneurial origin story, I am taken back to my first job. One of the early mantras I heard in the workplace was, “Business is business. Love is love. And this ain’t love.” (I’m from Texas, so imagine that in a nice, slow drawl.)
This was intended to bring more objectivity into the workplace and to downplay emotions, feelings, and intuition. Back then, I knew this saying didn’t feel quite right, but I didn’t have the wherewithal to examine why exactly that was.
Now, eight years into running my own business and after much exploration of my own soul and countless conversations with others who also felt uncomfortable with this sentiment (even if it wasn’t so directly expressed to them), I know just how untrue it is.
Business and love—and indeed emotions, feelings, and intuition—have everything to do with each other.
And in increasing waves, I’m seeing folks reject the idea that work is work and home is home, embracing a more integrated way of living, working, and being. We understand that what we do in one area of life affects the others. We can no longer keep things separated.
So I’m here to introduce myself to you. My real, soul self. Because that’s the person who will show up in our work together. (And know that when we work together, I’m looking for you as well, just as you are, soul and all.)
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
The basics
I live in Austin, TX, with my furry companion Waffles. Like any verifiable pet mom, I have a silly list of nicknames for her (Titters, Titter Tat, Goober, Gubernatorial, Purr Machine, Nugget Sauce). I work from home, so we admittedly have some attachment issues we’ll likely never fully work through in her lifetime.
For fun
My idea of fun is what I like to call HH. Hermiting Hard. I’m an introvert, and a book lover, so most of my free time is spent reading, and yes, usually with a Waffles cat snuggled nearby. When I do decide to venture out of my bubble, you can usually find me hiking the Shoal Creek trail or hitting up a yoga or meditation class.
According to the stars
I’m a Gemini sun, Taurus moon, and Virgo rising. I follow Erin Aquarian’s formula for calculating my life card, and mine is The Hermit (no surprise there!). I’m also an INFJ and an Enneagram 2.
But what I really want to tell you…
When I sat down to write about myself, my immediate thought was, Why is writing your own about page so hard?! 😫
It can feel so self-aggrandizing, and I want to be cautious about how I present myself. I don’t want my words to feel like a projection of an illusory me. I want to do my best to articulate and show the real me.
But when we do this for ourselves, it’s really hard to get out of our own way.
I know this intimately. My clients often have a hard time even recognizing their innate truths and gifts, so a lot of my work is about reflecting these beautiful elements back to my clients for them to see and own. So instead of pushing through or forcing it or deluding myself into thinking I’m different from any other human out there, I also asked for support.
There is no one who holds up a better mirror for me than my dearest friend, collaborator, kindred spirit, enormous heart, wise soul, fellow cat mom and book lover… Erica Midkiff. I asked her to do what I often do for my own clients: reflect back to me the truth of who I am. And she graciously accepted.
I asked her, “What do I do that’s truly different?”
Below are her words. It’s how she sees me, and she knows my soul better than anyone.
My dearest Maggie,
What a beautiful and brave ask!
Here's what comes up for me:
You are incredibly conscientious with your interactions. You pay attention, you ask for permission, and you honor choice and boundaries and consent in a way that I find endlessly inspiring. You frame questions and suggestions in a thoughtful, meaningful way that shows how much you're listening and how much you care. You ask for what you need, but in a way that honors the humanity of the person on the receiving end, understanding and presenting to them that you are open to conversations about how to get those needs met in a way that honors both of you.
You take in information about what you're passionate about, and then you fold that into how you live and work and show up and interact with others, giving freely while also being completely open to receiving what others think and feel and have experienced. You are good at using information, discussing it, and making it part of your world, all while making others feel included on the journey rather than on the outside.
You blend incredible skill at writing and the strategy side of things with a deep devotion to looking inward, honoring what is true for each individual person, and bringing forward what's best and most difference-making about and for them. I always feel deeply but gently held by you, and I've seen you hold that sort of loving space for others in the community and in other interactions.
I am constantly inspired by how you care for yourself when you have free time. Walks, reading dates, Waffles snuggles, figs dipped in dark chocolate, yoga...I think a lot about you when I am considering how to care for myself.
You talk about radical generosity, and that strikes me as deeply inherent in who you are. You want to give what you can to others, while still holding space to care for yourself—being radically generous to both sides. You are devoted to making real, true change happen in the world, and you do that in all areas as far as I can tell! You act as a model for others (without necessarily holding yourself up that way), you stay firm to a deep integrity that I can feel so often from you—while not making anyone else wrong or in opposition, but rather making it about you staying firm within yourself. It's inspiring, not divisive. You feel so welcoming in this way. I have never once felt judged by you, and I know your clients feel that same real and unwavering love for humanity that you seem to hold.
You put yourself out there, but you also leave room for evolution, and you make it look like this is a natural way of being, like it's truly possible (which it clearly is!).
Oh, my friend...you are honest with yourself and others, you show up, you care, you love.
In this with you,
Erica
Bottom line: This is soulful work. I vow to never ask anything of you that I have not done myself. I can only offer what I know, and I am continually learning, exploring, expanding, and existing in the messiness of life with you.
The interesting part about this work is that it truly is a partnership. In order for us to find our flow, you have to be willing to show up and meet yourself, while being devoted to the process of unfolding.
