New member Helge Keitel got me to thinking with his response today to “Passage of the Week 3” on our Your Inner CEO Community forum:

http://yourinnerceo.ning.com

He wrote, “There is just a narrow trail between "The valley of death" and "business as usual and/or success." It's important to walk among skeletons, to understand the size of the corporate graveyards. We like to speak about success, but need to know and understand the pain of how to survive in "the troubled waters."

I don’t mean to be morbid here, but it does seem that we often have to be forced to face not just our imperfections, but those attitudes, traits and behaviors in ourselves that virtually guarantee failure if we don’t—and then make necessary changes. When I coach CEOs, most who fall into the category of self-confident, sooner, rather than later, I look them in the eye and ask them to tell me their darkest-of-night fear. It’s not some threatening business situation I’m looking for, which all CEOs face rather routinely, but something that grips them in such a way that impairs or prevents their functioning up to full capacity.

The development of CEOs—and the growth of their companies—is most assured when they face the fears that wake them up in the middle of the night.

This word is not just for CEOs. For you, simply trying to do your best in your work, getting to the backside of such fears can bring great rewards. What may await you is an incredibly useful understanding of the hidden issues that are blocks to success for both you and your organization. If you look deeply enough you’re likely to find that it’s more than your tasks that haunt you. Boldly enquire if you’re troubled by a nagging suspicion that there’s a pattern to these blocks, and that you yourself may have a hand in erecting them. By probing carefully you can find and give a name to that pattern. With courage you can be rid of the blocks and reclaim unique strengths you’ve neglected that define your true singularity.

The next time you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, don’t just keep tossing and turning. Get up. Go to your favorite chair, turn on the light and sit. Then . . . Look. Look. Look. Look. This is your soul speaking truth to you. Don’t go back to bed until you find something that’s right under your nose.

Joseph Campbell called this the dark night of the soul.