Development, Leadership, Personal Development Rachel Tenenbaum Development, Leadership, Personal Development Rachel Tenenbaum

What needs to die—so you can fully live? 🌱

"Every night, I choose to dieI let my ego, my known 'self' die, and I wake up each day, ready to be reborn."

Recently, while co-facilitating an Entrepreneurs’ Organization Retreat in Mexico, my co-facilitator Jesús shared a practice that struck me deep in my core:

 "Every night, I choose to die… it’s not easy, but I let my ego, my known 'self' die, and I wake up each day, ready to be reborn."

 At first, I just listened.

Then, the weight of it settled in.

 What would it mean to let the parts of ourselves that no longer serve us die each night?

What would it look like to wake up lighter, freer, untethered to old fears and patternsor even identities we work so hard to justify and defend?

I kept coming back to this:

So much of what keeps us from fully living isn’t what’s happening around us—it’s what we’re unwilling to release.

And when I did, something shifted:

The fear loosened its grip—but it didn’t leave.
Instead, it sharpened my awareness. Made every moment richer, brighter, more alive.
It made me stop waiting for life to happen—and start choosing it, now.
It made me ask: What am I still holding onto that’s keeping me from fully living?

And I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Most of us are gripping onto something—whether we realize it or not.

A belief. A fear. An identity we’ve outgrown.

Maybe for you, it’s…

💭 "I am someone who always struggles."
💭 "Who I am is not enough."
💭 "I can’t let this go—what if I lose everything?"

But what if you let that version of yourself die?

Not all at once. Not forcefully.
But gently, like an exhale. Like an old weight slipping off your shoulders.

What if, every night, you laid down your fears—so that every morning, you could wake up as something more?

There’s something fascinating about oyster farming in New Zealand.

Long lines are dropped into the ocean, and oysters—tiny, free, unanchored—attach themselves.

They grow there. They harden there.
And eventually, they are farmed and harvested.

But what they don’t realize is—they could let go.

They could release themselves into the open ocean, into movement, into life.
But they don’t.

And neither do we.

We grip onto what we know, even when it keeps us small, stuck, afraid.
We hold onto who we were, even when it keeps us from becoming who we could be.
We forget that we have the power to unhook—to step into something bigger, freer, more expansive.

So, I’ll ask you:

👉 Where are you holding on so tightly that it’s keeping you from fully living?

Scarcity: The Fear That’s Hard to Release

For me, scarcity is something I have had to unhook from again and again.

I grew up hearing: 

"We may have this today—but we may not be able to tomorrow."

It was meant to teach me gratitude.
Instead, it wired me for anxiety, control, and the fear of not having enough.

And I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Scarcity doesn’t just show up around money.

For some, it’s about Love. Stability. Security. Worth.

It’s the quiet belief that whispers:
"I must hold on. I must play it safe. I must grip tighter—because what if I lose everything?"

And yet, here’s what I know:

The more we hold on in fear, the more we lose in presence.

It’s like an app running in the background, draining energy we don’t even realize we’re spending. And unless we consciously shut it down, compassionately close it out—it keeps pulling us away from life.

What Needs to Die—So You Can Fully Live?

I’ll be honest: This is a daily practice.

I don’t do it perfectly. I get stuck, I forget, I grip too tightly.
But there’s a whisper in me that always nudges me back to presence.

And so today, I’m pausing.

To ask myself:

What am I gripping too tightly?
What am I afraid to release?
What belief, pattern, or identity am I willing to let die—so I can fully live?

And I invite you to do the same.

A Space to Explore This Together

I believe in making space for these conversations.

For pausing.
For sitting with the unknown instead of avoiding it.
For letting ourselves ask the hard questions, so we don’t sleepwalk through life.

And that’s why I created Calm & Connect.

A space for stillness. For noticing.
For letting go of what doesn’t serve us—and choosing what does.

If this resonates, come sit with me.

🌿 Join us in Calm & Connect.

💡 Looking for deeper work?
Let’s explore 1:1 coaching or an upcoming retreat.

🔗 Click Here to Learn More & Join the Conversation

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The Call to Live. Fully. Deeply. Now.

Are you truly living, or just going through the motions? Too often, we wait for "big moments" to wake us up—yet life’s magic is in the present.

There’s something stirring in me.

A whisper. A pull. A call I can’t quite name yet—but I can feel it.

And maybe, just maybe, you feel it too.

Lately, I’ve found myself asking: What does it truly mean to live?
Not just exist. Not just get through. But live.

To feel awake, to feel present, to feel—fully, deeply, now.

Because I don’t want to sleepwalk through this life. 

I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I missed it.

And so, I’ve been sitting with these questions:

💭 Am I alive when I get caught up in the mayhem of my mind?
💭 Am I alive when I replay old worries, waiting for the perfect time to act?
💭 Am I alive when I hold onto certainty, avoiding the stretch that real growth requires?

Or…

💡Am I alive when I lean into discomfort—because discomfort is often the first step toward something bigger?

💡Am I alive when I choose presence over autopilot? When I pause, breathe, and truly take in the moment?

💡Am I alive when I say yes to something my heart longs for, even if I don’t yet know where it will lead?

I don’t have the final answers. But I do know this:

I want to live.

And I want that for you, too.

What If Today Was Your Last?

I recently came across a story that stopped me in my tracks.

"I woke up as my 90-year-old self in my 32-year-old body… and it was amazing. I took the walk I always postponed. When my mother called, I cried, because it had been years since I’d heard her voice. A voice I took for granted before it was too late."

I sat with that for a long time.

Because it made me wonder…

📌 Who in my life do I take for granted?
📌 What am I waiting to do, say, or feel?
📌 What would I regret if tomorrow never came?

And if that wasn’t enough—this thought landed even deeper:

If today were my last, would I have been fully here for it?

Not just in the big ways—but in the quiet, ordinary moments.

The first sip of morning coffee.
🌅 The way the sky shifts colors before the world wakes up.
👂 The sound of laughter from someone I love.

So often, we wait for the “big things” to wake us up. The promotion. The love story. The life-changing trip. But maybe—the things that make life worth living are already right in front of us.

The only question is: Are we here for them?

A Space to Sit With It All

Lately, I’ve been feeling a pull to shed another layer. To sit in the discomfort of peeling back what isn’t real—so I can step more fully into what is.

And if I’m honest? That’s not always easy.

Most of us resist stillness.
We avoid the unknown.
We fill space so we don’t have to feel.

But what if the discomfort isn’t something to fear—but something to lean into?
What if, instead of turning away from the uncertainty, we turned toward it?
What if we gave ourselves space to listen? To really listen?

🌿 That’s why I created Calm & Connect.

A space to sit in the unknown together. To listen, not just to our thoughts, but to something deeper. To create space for clarity to emerge—not by force, but by presence.

It’s for those who are willing to get uncomfortable in the pursuit of something greater. 

For those who want to live—not later, but now.

If this resonates, come sit with me, with us, this Sunday, March 16th.

If you’ve been feeling the pull to something more, but don’t know what’s next—let’s explore it together.

An Invitation to Listen

What helps you come alive?
What is your soul asking for?
Are you willing to listen?
Are you courageous enough to heed its request?

If this message speaks to you, I see you.

🌿 Want to sit with these questions in community?
Join us in Calm & Connect.

💡Looking for deeper work?
Let’s explore 1:1 coaching or an upcoming retreat.

🔗 Click Here to connect or simply reply to this email

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