I want to talk about what I call spiritual failure. It sounds heavy, doesn’t it? Really, this isn’t about failing at all but rather about remembering who we are when the illusion of control falls apart.
Years ago, when I founded the Institute for Intuitive Intelligence, we experienced an almost meteoric rise. The momentum was wild, students were arriving in droves, the work was expanding internationally, and I was certain that I was being “rewarded by God” for doing what I was meant to do.
Except that wasn’t true.
Somewhere along the way, I unconsciously started believing that my worth was measured by that success. The growth of the Institute wasn’t just a reflection of the work. It became a reflection of me. And when that success slowed, when the pandemic hit and the business shifted, I felt like I was being punished.
That’s the trap of spiritual self-worth. We start to equate divine approval with external validation.
When everything began to crumble, I believed that I had done something wrong, that the flow of abundance had been withdrawn as a form of correction from God. Which, of course, is absurd.
If I truly believed what I teach, that I am God, then there could never be a “punishment” coming from somewhere outside of me. God isn’t external. The so-called punishment was simply my own unconscious beliefs playing out.
In the collapse of the Institute’s growth, I was being called to reclaim my worth from those external markers. To meet the shadowy corners of my subconscious that still needed approval, and that was confronting. It was also the greatest gift I’ve ever received.
There’s no poetic way to put it: it was brutal. I felt like everything I’d built was slipping away, and I had to face the uncomfortable truth that I’d tied my worth to the success of the Institute.
But here’s what I now know: that experience wasn’t punishment. It was purification.
When life brings us to our knees, it’s rarely about punishment, it’s an invitation. I was being invited to embody what I had spent years teaching others: that our worth is inherent. That success and failure are simply mirrors reflecting our own self-perception.
When I finally surrendered, when I handed everything over to the divine within me and said, “Whatever serves the highest dharma, let that be so”, everything began to change. Instantly.
This experience taught me a truth I now share with every spiritual entrepreneur I mentor:
Your service is your medicine.
The work you bring into the world must first transform you. The offering that changes lives cannot come from theory, it must come from the fire of lived experience.
If I hadn’t walked through the collapse, I couldn’t speak about it now with honesty. That’s the paradox of spiritual leadership. We don’t get to pretend we’ve got it all together. We don’t get to bypass the messiness.
Our path isn’t about perfection. It’s about congruence and being in alignment between what we teach and how we live.
When your business is a reflection of your soul, you must play by different rules. The old definitions of success, growth charts, income, follower counts, don’t hold up here.
Yes, worldly success is important. It allows us to serve, to create, to have an impact. But it cannot define our worth. True success is measured by congruence. Are you embodying what you teach? Are you living what you offer?
The spiritual path is not linear. It’s cyclical, messy, paradoxical, and gloriously human. And every so-called failure is just another opportunity to remember that nothing is not of the divine.
I no longer hide the truth of my own undoing. I’ve had dark nights, I’ve battled addiction, and I’ve been cracked open again and again but through all of it, I’ve come to understand this: nothing is wasted. Every fall brings me closer to remembering my true nature. Every failure reveals another layer of illusion that I can now let go of.
Fail harder. Be bold enough to meet the parts of yourself that still believe worthiness is something you must earn. You are already that which you are seeking.
If this speaks to you, if you’re ready to stop measuring your worth by external success and begin living from your divine self, I invite you to join me for the Spiritually Fierce Bootcamp, our intuition training. This live program is where we take these teachings and make them real. You’ll learn to move beyond fear, build intuitive self-trust, and embody your divine worth.
Learn more or join the next live round here, we begin early 2026.
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