Why Asking "What do I want?" Is the Most Radical Move for Spiritual Entrepreneurs (and the Key to Serving Your Audience Deeply)

Here's the thing nobody talks about when it comes to building a conscious business: most of us are terrible at asking for what we want. And I mean terrible.

Whether you're still clocking in at your 9-5 while dreaming of something more, or you've already made the leap but feel like something's still off, chances are, you've been dancing around this one fundamental question that could change everything.

"What do I want?"

Seems simple enough, right? But watch what happens when you actually sit with it. Really sit with it. Not the sanitized, socially acceptable version. Not what you think you should want. What do you actually want?

Feel that? That flutter in your chest? The way your breathing changes? The sudden urge to check your phone or grab a snack?

That's your nervous system telling you the truth.

The Body Never Lies (Even When We Want It To)

Here's what I've learned after years of working with spiritual entrepreneurs through breathwork and communications: your body is the most honest part of this whole equation. When you ask yourself "what do I want?" and really listen, not just with your mind, but with your entire system, the truth reveals itself in sensation.

Maybe you have no clue how to answer that question. Your body freezes up, your mind goes blank, and you realize you've been so busy managing everyone else's needs that you've forgotten how to access your own desires.

Or maybe you do know the answer, but you don't like it. Want to charge premium rates? Want to work three days a week? Want to be recognized as an expert in your field? Your nervous system might flood with guilt, shame, or that familiar voice that says "who do you think you are?"

And then there's the third category, the one that might be the most uncomfortable of all. You know exactly what you want, and you actually like the answer. But the gap between where you are and where you want to be feels so vast that thinking about the steps to get there sends your system into overwhelm.

All of these responses? They're information. Pure gold.

Desire as Your North Star (Not Your Dirty Secret)

The spiritual and conscious business space has this weird relationship with wanting. We've been conditioned to believe that spiritual work should be selfless, that charging money for transformation is somehow impure, that admitting we want success makes us less evolved.

Bullshit.

Your desires aren't the enemy of your service, they're the compass that guides it. When you give yourself full permission to want what you want (yes, even the "selfish" stuff), something magical happens: you create the energetic foundation for serving others from a place of overflow rather than depletion.

Think about it. When you're suppressing your authentic desires, operating from a place of "I shouldn't want this" or "I'll take whatever I can get," your audience feels that energy. They sense the desperation, the confusion, the misalignment. And it makes them trust you less, not more.

But when you're clear about what you want and you own it fully? When you've done the nervous system work to expand your capacity to receive what you desire? That clarity becomes magnetic. People can feel when someone is aligned with their truth, and it gives them permission to get clear on theirs.

The Fractal of Service: How Your Desires Inform Your Impact

Here's where it gets really interesting. The same question that cracks you open personally: "what do I want?": becomes your most powerful tool for understanding and serving your audience.

Because here's the thing: your ideal clients are struggling with the same core wound you are. They're disconnected from their desires, afraid to ask for what they want, operating from a place of "should" instead of "soul."

When you apply "what do I want?" to your audience, it reveals layers of truth that surface-level market research could never touch:

What do they say they want? Better work-life balance, more money, a successful business.

What do they actually want underneath that? Permission to prioritize themselves. Freedom from the constant anxiety of not being enough. The safety to take up space.

What does their nervous system need in order to access those wants? Regulation. Breathing room. Someone who sees them fully and doesn't judge their desires.

This is the fractal: your personal work around desire directly informs how you serve. The deeper you go with your own "what do I want?" practice, the more clearly you can see and serve the unspoken needs of your audience.

The Three Stages of Want (and Where Most People Get Stuck)

Stage 1: The Freeze
You ask yourself what you want and... nothing. Blank. Your nervous system has been so focused on survival, on managing others' expectations, that desire has become a foreign language. This is where breathwork becomes crucial: you literally need to create space in your system to feel what you want.

Stage 2: The Flood
Once you start accessing desire, it can feel overwhelming. All the wants you've been suppressing come rushing to the surface. This is where most spiritual entrepreneurs get stuck: they judge themselves for wanting "too much" or the "wrong" things. But this flood is actually your nervous system recalibrating. Let it flow.

Stage 3: The Filter
Eventually, you learn to be with your desires without being overwhelmed by them. You can want multiple things without needing to act on all of them immediately. You understand the difference between soul desires (aligned, expansive) and ego desires (contracting, fear-based). This is where sustainable service begins.

The Revolutionary Act of Asking (For Yourself and Your Audience)

Whether you're still in your corporate job fantasizing about freedom, or you've already made the leap but feel like you're missing something crucial, the path forward is the same: get ruthlessly honest about what you want.

Not what you think you can get. Not what feels realistic. Not what won't upset anyone. What you want.

And then: this is the part most people skip: ask your nervous system what it needs to expand your capacity to receive it. Because wanting without the nervous system capacity to receive creates a special kind of hell where you're constantly pushing against your own limits.

Here's a gentle practice to start with:

Ask the question: "What do I want?" Let whatever comes up be okay.
Notice your body's response: Expansion? Contraction? Numbness? Excitement? All information.
Breathe with whatever arises: Don't try to fix or change it. Just breathe.
Ask a follow-up: "What would it feel like in my body to have this?"
Notice what comes up around receiving: Fear? Excitement? Unworthiness?

Then flip it to your audience:

What do my ideal clients say they want?
What do I sense they actually want underneath that?
What does their nervous system need to feel safe asking for it?
How can I create that safety in my communications and offerings?

The Ripple Effect of Radical Honesty

When you start operating from this place of clarity about your desires: when you've done the nervous system work to expand your capacity to want and receive: everything in your business shifts.

Your messaging becomes clearer because you're not trying to please everyone. Your offerings become more powerful because they're rooted in your authentic understanding of transformation. Your audience becomes more aligned because you're attracting people who resonate with your truth rather than your performance.

And here's the beautiful paradox: the more permission you give yourself to want what you want, the more capacity you have to serve others in getting what they want. It's not selfish: it's the foundation of sustainable service.

The Question That Changes Everything

So here's my invitation to you, whether you're dreaming of leaving your 9-5 or you've already made the leap but feel like something's missing: start asking what you want. Not tomorrow. Not when you have it all figured out. Now.

Ask it in the grocery store. Ask it during your commute. Ask it when you're lying in bed at night. And most importantly: ask it in your business.

What do you want your work to feel like? What do you want your relationship with money to be? What do you want your typical Tuesday to look like? What do you want your clients to experience when they work with you?

The answers might surprise you. They might challenge you. They might require you to expand beyond what feels comfortable right now.

But they'll also set you free. And in a world full of spiritual entrepreneurs who are afraid to want what they want, that freedom becomes your greatest gift to others.

Your desires aren't a detour from your purpose: they're the fastest route to it.

Ready to stop apologizing for what you want and start building from that truth? Visit thesovereignshift.ca and let's explore what becomes possible when you finally give yourself permission to want it all.