Meet Lindsay Davis | Life, Business & Performance Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsay Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsay, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
One of my favorite quotes in the world is, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda told the young Luke Skywalker this when confronted with his own perceived limitations and self-decided reality. (And yes, I’m unapologetically aware this reference outs me as a Star Wars nerd!) I love to follow up that quote with the words of the mountaineer William Hutchinson Murray: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all actions of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that is the moment one definitely commits to oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way…” Over my years both creating my own success and helping my clients create their own, I’ve found clarity and commitment to be the two most powerful catalysts of transformative growth. When people are interested in growth, they are usually thinking of it as a gradually ascending line. Each year they improve little by little on the previous year. They’ve got this self-project and that self-project and patter around attending to various details hoping they will see progress in the future and some undetermined point. That works. Of course, it works. But it works perfectly for the system of “Slow, Incremental Growth.” I also find the prospect of living my life in that way boring as hell. Where is the innovative juice? The primal fire? The pioneering edge? I’m much more interested in the conversation around how we create exponential growth. It’s why I wrote the Path the Possibility Journal. I want to wake people up to who they truly are inside. I want them to devote themselves to a life of possibility versus a life of probability. That kind of growth requires an alchemical process of turning who we are today into who we are at potential. To do this, we must begin first with clarity on our future Self. The “You” of 30 years down the road. Not the you that you think you can be, but the You that you aren’t SURE you can become, but it’s utterly worth everything to find out. That’s the untapped You—and truthfully closer to the Real You. Once you have that level of clarity, what is that Real You—Potential You doing? What is she creating? What role does he play? Now you have something to commit to. Commitment will require something of you. It’s something on the line or skin in the game. It’s a willingness to say, “I’m not trying anymore. I’m doing it. I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care how uncomfortable it becomes. I’m doing it because it’s worth it. I WILL become that. I WILL create that.” And then to back up that decision with action. Find the most minuscule, tangible way to begin today. Now, most of the clients I’ve worked with (myself included in that club) have issues around commitment. Their memories are cluttered with all the dry, dusty bones of all the times they’ve tried and failed, all the times they let themselves down. They are commitment shy because they don’t want history to repeat itself. I get that. And, I’ve found two key pieces that bring a lot of peace: 1. Hype is not necessary for commitment. All you need is a clear desire and a want to. (I just spoke about this recently in The Next Chapter podcast with Charlie Hedges). You can be calm, even-keeled while also having a steel-spine dedication to what you are doing and who you are becoming. Mastery (ultimate commitment) is a reasonably clear-cut proposal. You devote yourself to practicing the fundamentals and just quietly don’t stop. 2. Anything in the past doesn’t have to have anything to do with now or the future. The you of yesterday is not the one committing. The you of NOW is pledging to Future Self not to give up. The final point I want to make about all of this do or do not, commitment stuff is this. It’s about love. It’s always been about love. This kind of love is not the airy-fairy kind of love but the real, fierce, devoted kind. You don’t commit or transform yourself because you are a broken-down fixer-upper. You devote yourself, as a master sculptor devotes themselves, to remove little by little anything that is NOT the masterpiece. You are the masterpiece inside of the marble. You are also the sculptor. If that’s not about devotion, dedication, and love I don’t know what is. Here are the words of the rest of the quote by Murray: “…Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” One cannot separate the magic of that quote from the necessity of commitment first. Love yourself enough to stop trying, half in and half out. Love yourself enough to commit to your own potential and watch your life transform exponentially before your eyes. Be All In.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I live my life first as an artist. From the way I conduct my personal daily routines to the deliberateness with which I practice my craft. My medium has changed over the years (musician, yogi, dancer, writer, etc.), but my dedication to creative expression has never wavered. By profession, I am a dedicated coach, which at first read doesn’t seem like an artist. But, creativity isn’t a job title. It’s a birthright. We all have this incredible untapped force of soul-level expression inside of us. Some of us paint it, others write, dance, or make. It’s not what you do that matters. The medium doesn’t matter. But how you approach that medium that makes it art. Now, my art is the work I do with clients. I look at each of them as a uniquely exquisite masterpiece. And, little by little, I work with them both in the science and the art of taking away everything that is not the masterpieces so they find within themselves the ability to confidently design, express, and live their lives with courage, boldness, and wild freedom.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Denver is super fun for the best times ever getaways: breakfast at Lucille’s, a nice shopping outing to 16th Street Mall (with tea at the Brown Palance), and dinner at the Melting Pot. The Front Range is also host to a variety of outdoor adventures. Some of my favorite places to hike are a short drive away around Red Rocks Amphitheater, Royal Arch Trail in Boulder, and maybe even the Horsetooth Falls Loop in Fort Collins. Speaking of Fort Collins, the music scene can be fun wherever you go but, as a college town, Fort Collins boasts an impressive lineup of best kept secret venues and bands. If you are there longer than a few days, I’d recommend heading up to the mountains nearby. Buena Vista is a short 2-hour drive and has some of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen (plus great hot springs).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give credit to the giants on whose shoulders I stand. None of us get through this life alone and this is especially true when it comes to transforming one’s potential. I am the product of more mentors, coaches, and therapists than I can possibly mention here. And, I’m supported by amazing friends and loved ones. I’d like to mention two incredible mentors here though: my long-time viola teacher Barbara Hamilton Primus who taught me what it really means to teach to the Artist Within. I still draw on her wisdom today. And, my coach Kamin Samuel, who helped me realize that there is no separation between what we believe and what we create. They are one. And who made it safe for me to speak out loud, and then create, my dream.

Website: https://createyourpossible.com/

Other: Author of The Path to Possibility Journal: http://thepathtopossibilityjournal.com/ Listen in as the host and I talk about Desire and the Creative Life: https://www.thenextchapter.life/184-lindsay-davis-on-life-a-burning-ball-of-desire/

Image Credits
Catherine Eichel Photography