(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
(0:00 - 0:14)
Have you noticed how easy it is to shrink? Not quit exactly or give up, just shrink. Lower your voice in the meeting or tone down the idea. Delay the email.
(0:14 - 4:16)
Second-guess the post. You feel the nudge, a God-size nudge, but instead of stepping forward you say, maybe later, maybe I'm not ready, maybe somebody else would say it better. Here's the truth, God-size calls demand a bold voice.
Shrinking has never served your purpose, and for the record, I haven't met anyone who doesn't have a God-size calling. I've worked with high-capacity women, brilliant, experienced, faithful women, who could run entire organizations and yet hesitate to send one courageous email. We manage budgets, lead teams, navigate crisis, rear children, host Thanksgiving for 27, but ask for what we want? Set a boundary? Pitch a collaboration? Suddenly, we need to pray about it for six months.
Prayer is essential, but let's be honest, sometimes I'm praying about it is really spiritual code for, I'm scared. I say that with love, because I've done it too. If influence and courage feel exhausting, or they're not even on your radar, I'm glad you're here, because today, we're going to change that.
Welcome to Goals in Grace, where ambitious women align bold dreams with unshakable faith. I'm Rev. Dr. Juliet Spencer, certified high-performance coach and your guide to clarity amid chaos. Each episode delivers one practical framework plus faith truths to cut overwhelm, claim your calling, and crush imposter syndrome.
Are you ready to lead with love, not depletion? Let's go. A client told me recently that she almost didn't reach out to me for coaching because she didn't see herself as a leader. Maybe that's you.
When she said it, I immediately thought of one of my favorite books of the Bible and the unlikely hero in it, Esther. Esther is one of the many queens of the Persian king, and a Jewish woman hiding her identity in a Persian empire that has signed a decree to annihilate her people. Mordecai, her uncle, sends word, you have to go to the king.
But here's the problem. You did not approach the king uninvited. And when you entered his presence, if he did not extend the golden scepter, you died.
And not a metaphorical death either. Execution death. Esther replies, but Uncle Mordecai, I haven't been summoned for 30 days.
Translation, I don't have the leverage. I don't have guaranteed favor. This could cost me everything.
Picture it. Esther steps onto the cold stone and starts down that long corridor. Every footfall a little louder than her breath.
She's been fasting and she's been prayed over. And now she chooses obedience over certainty. If I die, I die.
She crosses the threshold and the room stills. All eyes are on her. And then on the king.
Finally, the king lifts his eyes to see her. And the scepter comes forward. In that moment, the door opens and history shifts because one woman refused to let fear speak louder than her calling.
(4:17 - 6:27)
Now before we talk leadership, let's get straight about a few things. Esther didn't wake up thinking I'm a leader. She sensed a purpose bigger than her comfort.
That's where influence begins. Not with a title, but with the choice to use your voice for good. Influence is how you show up at the dinner table when a boundary needs setting and in the boardroom when a standard needs taking.
Courage isn't roaring. It's the steady decision to speak with integrity when shrinking would be so much easier. With that lens, watch Esther's moment, not as a royal making moves, but as a person choosing purpose over certainty.
Your courageous ask won't cost your life. And chances are no one's standing over you with a sword. But your body can react like rejection equals danger.
The cursor blinking on an email, the pulse in your neck before you'll hit send, the tiny tremor in your voice when you say, that doesn't work for me. It can feel like Esther's throne room, but you're not facing execution. You're facing expansion.
Expansion feels risky before it feels powerful. The courage you need isn't Esther-level fatal, but it is identity-level transformational. I didn't fully grasp what influence looks like until I hired my own high-performance coach years ago.
Influence isn't domination, volume, or charisma. It's win-win leadership. Lead from contribution, not ego.
People lean in when you listen well and advocate clearly. Make decisions aligned with your values and stop apologizing for having standards. You don't build influence by shrinking.
(6:27 - 8:25)
You build it by showing up consistently, clearly, and generously, including the grace to say no when it's appropriate. It's how you interact with your spouse, your kids, friends, and in-laws. Influence is your developed ability to shape how others think and feel and behave toward a shared objective by teaching a perspective, challenging them to rise, and role-modeling the way.
As a mom and a wife, I practice it daily while making space for others to influence me. And influence requires courage, not cowardice, boldness, not bashfulness. So, it's not so easy.
So, let's do a quick courage audit. In the last 30 days, what bold action have you taken? What uncomfortable conversation did you initiate? What opportunity did you pursue before you felt ready? If the answer is silence, there's no shame, just awareness. Courage is a muscle.
If you don't use it, you lose confidence in it. One brave moment creates momentum for the next. We often shrink so we don't look arrogant.
We're taught to be humble, to defer, to let others go first. But humility is not hiding. Humility is knowing and showing that your gifts come from God and using them boldly in service.
Shrinking isn't spiritual. Stewardship is. If God entrusted you with leadership, wisdom, experience, vision, playing small isn't holy.
It's hesitation. And hesitation costs impact. Also, can we admit something? People with half your wisdom are applying for roles you won't even consider.
(8:26 - 13:14)
You're revising your bio for the eighth time. They're clicking submit with typos. Let that nudge you.
I say submit at 80% and learn in public. One courageous ask, just one, that's all you need. Pitch the collaboration.
Ask for the raise. Set the boundary. Invite that difficult person to coffee.
Raise your hand or say, that doesn't work for me. Pick the move that makes your heart beat slightly faster. Not reckless, not necessarily dramatic, but intentional.
Esther didn't overthrow the kingdom. She made one courageous approach and history shifted. Make it concrete.
This week, I will send the email to by Thursday at 3 p.m., and if I don't, I'll send it by Friday at 9. Put it on the calendar. Hit send. If you've been sensing that quiet, persistent nudge, consider this.
The discomfort might not be a warning. It might be preparation. For such a time as this isn't pressure.
It's permission. Permission to lead, to speak, to influence, to act without apology. When the invitation came to keynote the National Volunteers of America Convention, my stomach dropped.
The fee was more than I ever imagined for one talk. And in 60 seconds, my brain ran a marathon. What would I wear? Why me? Do they really want to hear from me? But also, this is pretty exciting.
I could feel two roads forming. One was small, safe, polite. The other was the open door.
And in my bones, I knew that door wasn't an accident. I felt God saying, I helped make this possible. Walk through it.
I was nervous. I won't lie. I was reluctant, but I chose to answer instead of overanalyze.
Not because I felt perfectly ready, but because I trusted the one who had opened the door. That decision did not erase the butterflies. It just told them where to fly.
And that's the shift I want for you today. Not waiting for confidence to show up, but choosing courage and letting confidence catch up. Courage is easier when you don't cultivate it alone.
Coaching gives you a place to process fear. A strategy for the bold move and accountability for the ask. Reinforcement when self-doubt whispers that unwelcome voice in your ear.
You don't need more talent. You need reinforced bravery. That's what coaching allows us to build together.
And if coaching sounds like just one more thing to add to an already busy plate, if the thought of it makes you roll your eyes and think, oh yeah, fine, sure. Who has time for that? Let me reassure you. According to my clients and my own experience, coaching relieves pressure instead of adding it.
So, if you want my help mapping your bold move and looking for your one courageous ask this week, consider booking a 60-minute clarity call. We'll choose your one needle mover, lock a sacred 90-minute block, and set your to-be-done-by date. You already know what the next courageous ask is.
Stop waiting for perfect. Stop negotiating with fear. Choose obedience over certainty and send it.
You were entrusted with this season for a reason, and I believe in you more than your doubt believes in itself. Let today be the line you draw for yourself in which you say, I lead without apology. I make the ask.
I walk through the open door God set for me. Take a breath, steady your shoulders, and move. When you do, confidence will catch up to your courage.
So, go make the ask. Earn this moment. God's got you covered.
Like Esther, you don't step into the moment alone, because you were made for such a time as this. And remember, my friend, God offers you goals and grace. Until next time, God bless.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
