In our busy world we sometimes have a tendency to stay focused in our heads – in our intellect. Yet, I think we know that our strength, our power, our authentic self lives in our heart.

Your heart is where you are keyed into warmth, generosity, abundance, happiness and the ‘bigger you’. It’s a great place to live and we could all do with living there more.

A friend of mine uses a great phrase “what would love do here”? It’s a question you ask when you’re tempted to be angry, or frustrated or feel you can’t trust your instincts.

Love would be kind and generous of spirit, never small minded or vengeful.

I claim 2024 as the Year of Leading with Your Heart. How can you bring more heart into your business? Do you tend to compartmentalise and think you have to come from your intellect in business? That you shouldn’t be vulnerable and open? What if you could change that? What results might you realise? Would you be happier? More at peace? More prosperous as a result?

Giving and receiving are powerful influencers. For most of us – especially women – it’s much easier to give than it is to receive. Why? Spend a little time reflecting on whether that’s true for you. Can you open yourself to receiving more in this next year? When you receive you allow others to give and it creates a beautiful flow of abundance and open heartedness.

When you live from your heart, do business from your heart and stay open to that message, you’ll find yourself moving up the emotional scale and feeling differently. You’ll impact others and perhaps influence them to be more open.

Eric Butterworth describes meeting people with a ‘high hand’. In other words, picture someone reaching their hand out to shake yours. They could put the hand down low or lift it up high. Where you reach out is where others will meet you. The handshake it the image, the heart open is the reality.

If you continually offer the high hand, you’ll find others responding in kind. Why not be the leader of the open heart. You’ll feel better, you’ll be received graciously and you’ll find that it’s an abundant universe, raining its plenty down – on you!

Here’s to leading with your heart in 2024. I vow to lead with mine and to stay connected to what I feel and not always what I think. I hope you will too.

Get a copy of my book “Lead with your Heart” here.