Becoming a Rainmaker

In my book Second Act Soul Calls – Your Guide for the Reinvention of Your Life at Midlife and Beyond with Passion, Purpose and Possibilities, I talk about taking a new path at midlife and beyond which moves away from the idea of cultivating direct power to one where you listen to the call of your soul and become your true self. If you do this right, that is, if you do this in a way that you are living a soulful life then you will become a rainmaker and your power in the world will go from direct power to influential power. Rainmakers don’t make it rain, they provide the atmosphere that encourages the rain. As Carol Pearson says in her book, Awakening The Heroes Within, “Rainmakers do not do anything to make the rain happen...they do not make the rain come; they allow it or more exactly, their inner atmosphere of allowing and affirming what is, creates a climate in which what needs to be, happens.”   I think we can all do that but first we must do our homework and become our best selves in the world.  Below are nine ways to bring the idea of being a rainmaker into your life. 

Nine Attributes of a True Rainmaker 

They Become Conscious – Anyone with true power, and true power is influential power, has developed this by becoming conscious of who they are and what they are capable of doing and being and then doing that in an ethical and conscious way. They take time to reflect on themselves and their actions on a daily basis and they make course corrections when they see they are off course. They learn from their mistakes but don’t beat up on themselves when they do mess up.  At the same time, they are not arrogant or narcissistic either.

They Have Considered Opinions – They check things out and do their research. They do not shoot from the hip and have opinions unsubstantiated by evidence. They take in other people’s opinions and ideas as well and are open to reexamining their own.

They Walk Their Talk - They don’t say one thing and do another. If they say they are honest and trustworthy then you can bet on them to be so. If they tell you or their children not to lie, cheat and steal, then they don’t lie, cheat or steal when no one is looking.  They are also honest with themselves and are not blind to their own charater traits and potential flaws. 

They Don’t Try to Have Their Cake and Eat it Too – They know that there is a cost to most things in life and they don’t try to get away with not paying that price by justification and manipulation. If they are married or in a relationship, they do not cheat on their partner or talk about them behind their back in a negative and dismissive way. If it’s not working, they confront the problem and deal with it and if they can’t make it work, then the do the right thing and move on. They do not stay in relationships or jobs for the benefits while bad mouthing and or cheating on the partner.

They Like and Value Themselves – They know that if they like and value themselves then others will as well. They set good boundaries and know where the line is and they enforce the line, they don’t expect others to do this for them. If they have self-esteem issues they work on developing themselves so that this is no longer a problem – if necessary, they seek professional help and do the work to develop the undeveloped parts of themselves.

They are Calm, Cool and Collected From the Inside Out – Although from time to time they may get stressed – we live a world of stress inducing situations - but they handle them with as much calm as possible and feel that no matter what, they are doing their best. If they occasionally feel they have lost this calm, they go back to the first idea of being conscious and look at what might be disturbing this calm and then they address this and make another course correction.

They are Grateful – People who are rainmakers and have influential power know that they are not doing it alone. They thank God or the Universe or whatever is their idea of a higher power, for the good in their lives and they count their blessings daily. 

They are Generous – Rainmakers are incredibly generous with their time and energy. They love to contribute to the greater good and feel that this really is their reason for being, but they are not martyrs or people who care take others at the expense of their own being. They know that in order to serve and be of service they have to come from a place of well-being, they therefore take care of their own body, mind and soul first and move out from there with a generous and grateful heart.

They are Positive and Optimistic – Rainmakers love the world and the people in it and they bring joy wherever they go. If they find themselves in a place that doesn’t accept or value their way, they then go some place else – a place where they bear the most fruit.

So think about these nine attributes and see which ones you may need to work on - I think we can all be rainmakers - it's never too late to let your soul call you home.  I hope you begin to today to think and ponder these ideas - I think you will find it a most satisfying way to live - a soulful way.

Blessings, Lorraine