When to Push vs. When to Wait (And Why Your People Need to See You Figuring It Out)

Whether to Push or Wait

Four years ago, I was stuck on whether to launch Tabernacle.

I had just landed back in the United States. COVID was hitting. I'd already had great success with my online chakra study courses, and I knew my next project after my second book had to be just as inspiring.

I didn't want to do another book. I wanted to help other people with their creative expression.

So I invested. 
I got frustrated.
The ideas were there, but the language was lackluster and the visuals looked amateur.

For six months, I told myself I was "trusting divine timing." But what I never stopped doing was consistent action.

I kept showing up.
I kept creating.
I kept moving toward something, even when I couldn't see the full picture.

My epiphany: 

When you're consistently taking action, you create the perfect timing to be seen.

It reminds me of Toni Morrison, who said that in her entire career of sitting down to write every morning, only once or twice did she experience that complete divine channeling we all wait for. The rest was showing up to the blank page, day after day.

Within weeks of maintaining that consistent action, Tabernacle crystallized. Our first memorable cohort formed.

Not because I waited for perfect cosmic alignment. Because I finally understood that being willing to be seen trying is more powerful than waiting until you have it all figured out.

When "Waiting" Is Really Just Fear

So you got a download. A vision. A calling.

Then you freeze.

"I'll wait for a sign."
"Let me see what the cards say."
"Mercury's in retrograde, so..."
"My astrologer said next November would be better."
"The timing isn't right."

Meanwhile, your gifts stay hidden. Your bank accounts stay empty. Your people keep searching for exactly what YOU offer.

I get it. Really. The spiritual path teaches us to trust, to surrender, to flow.

But here's what anchors me when I look at timing vs. action: you need to be willing to be seen trying.

That is a core value that guides me now. Be willing to be seen trying, versus only being willing to be seen if you're doing it perfectly.

Because perfection isn't real. Every single person you look up to? They're figuring it out as they go, just like you. The only difference is they're willing to let you watch them figure it out. They show up consistently, even when they don't have all the answers. That's what I'm learning to do too - have faith in the process and commitment to being curious while continuing to pursue. 

When you show up, figuring it out, your people finally see someone who practices what they preach. You're not telling them to "start before you're ready" while hiding behind perfect branding - you're actually doing it yourself.

I had a woman delay her enrollment with Tabernacle because she had a trip planned two months out. When the next round came around, I reached back out to her, and she had something else going on.

There is never the right time.

When Simona

Became Willing to Be Seen

Simona, a writer and wellness entrepreneur, embodied this perfectly—eventually.

We'd spent a good hour on our discovery call, much longer than I normally do. She was dragging her feet to enroll. Once she did enroll, she wanted to get out. Her husband's car broke down, and her astrologer told her that next November would be a better time to launch.

Here was a woman with tons of people on her waitlist, but no group offering and barely keeping herself afloat with two kids under the age of 10.

I don't have anything against astrology. But I knew Simona needed to move.

So we worked together on taking one small step every week for 90 days, regardless of what her astrologer said.

Week 1: We clarified the people, product, and promise of her wellness offering
Week 4: We created a sales page using her mood board
Week 8: We announced her cohort offering
Week 12: She was fulfilling large numbers of clients instead of one at a time

Here's what Simona actually said about our work together:

"Working 1-on-1 with Erica has been invaluable. I've learned to take my time and work more in the feminine energies, being in process without a prescribed outcome, letting myself discover more and putting less pressure on myself to achieve.

I've rediscovered my 5 am wake-up for movement, breath work, and creative work. I had gotten out of the habit with pregnancy and postpartum, and Tabernacle allowed me to get back to it. My energy is peak in the morning, and I feel so good setting the tone for my day this way.

This is spiritual work as well as practical. Give yourself permission to do the inner work and don't be afraid. To sell something that is inextricably intertwined with who you are, the raw and honed material of your being, your gifts, your passion, is deep work that asks we come into alignment on every level. Don't be afraid of it, fall in, let the process take you where it will. It's going to be brilliant and better than you could have ever imagined."

 

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What I'm Celebrating

Watching Noa trust herself more each day. Yesterday she tried pickleball again with me at LIfetime—didn't return the ball across the net, but she tried again immediately. Sometimes the best spiritual teaching comes from watching a seven-year-old navigate both effort and uncertainty.

Knowing when to push doesn't mean forcing something that isn't working. It means becoming so clear on your purpose that you can tell the difference between resistance (push through) and misalignment (wait and pivot). You become proof that meaningful work gets built when you are willing to be seen TRYING.

Next Week: Stop feeling like a fake entrepreneur—why most spiritual teachers wait for "big enough" numbers before they celebrate, and why that's the trap keeping you small.

Until then, trust your calling enough to take the next step.

With love and aligned action,

Erica