10 Business Lessons as a 3/5 Manifesting Generator
Human Design has been a game changer in how I structured my business to thrive on so many levels. In this article I share the mistakes and invaluable lessons I made in a 6-month experiment as a healing facilitator through the flavor of the 3/5 lens.
1: I stopped fitting myself into a box.
Until I welcomed my multi-passionate nature I was convinced I had to choose one career and stick with it. I was trying to be a massage therapist with energy tools. Then I was an energy healer and I didn’t know what to do with the massage therapy part. Then I realized I didn’t want to do either massage or energy work exclusively.
Now I know I’m a soul with many tools and I can design my life to honor the changing seasons of my passions. Often we’re conditioned that we’re too much or it’s not safe to shine. Once I made the decision that I could be really good at it all, I allowed the bigness of being a manifesting generator to help others.
2: My mistakes have always contained wisdom.
The 3-line is about experiential wisdom and quantum leaps. We learn by falling into holes and saying “wow look what I found down here!”. I’ve had lots of failed relationships, friend drama, a desk job with a waterfront view that eventually led to migraines, and more. Even as my gifts opened up, I’ve learned the hard way what to share and what to keep to myself.
I even spent $5K on a business coach only to realize my strategy wasn’t a linear path. All of it has helped me see the humour in being human so I can show up real for others.
3: A leader doesn’t mean a leading expert.
With the 3/ 5 profile people relate to me best when I show up honestly and share the lessons from my past mistakes. For a while I visualized myself speaking to the masses on stage as an authority but one day I saw myself sitting amongst a small group in the audience having a heart to heart conversation. This was a moment where I finally felt at ease and stopped proving myself. I was trying to be a 1-line expert but I’m not.
The people I draw in aren’t looking for the expert at the top of the mountain. They’re looking for someone who’s experienced the mess of life and learned how to navigate it. They want someone just above them to extend a hand and help them up.
4: A leader doesn’t need a crowd to be a leader.
You can guide one person over lunch and make an impact. It took me a few months to realize the time I was spending online was taking me away from real-life connections and soulful conversations. A few “likes” and followers on Instagram did nothing in comparison to the joy of leading someone out of a dark place and watching them become aware of their innate gifts.
If your energy is designed to speak to the masses, good on you. For me it’s one person at a time… less but better. And my blog allows me the freedom to share on a larger scale when I feel called.
5: I get paid in the form of joyful experiences.
Coincidently (or not) as a 3-line, experiences are my love language so that’s how the universe gives to me. That looks like time to myself, help with the kids, hiring a house cleaner, restaurant gift cards, hubby doing things for me, paid vacations (yes I’ve manifested free vacations).
When I finished 6 months with a business coach and felt like a failure for not hitting the financial goals I set, I thought I had wasted money only to realize it wasn’t what I wanted after all. Just then I was gifted a vacation for my family. That was a sign it was all part of the plan. The entire experience taught me to do things my way at my own pace.
I’ve stopped looking for abundance solely through my bank account and instead through the spacious moments to be in my creative flow and with the right people. Satisfaction to me looks like a variety of different kinds of sessions throughout my week.
“Your life is not a destination to arrive at. It’s an unfolding. And so, let it unfold. Let yourself be led to the next exciting thing. Let yourself release the grasp on trying to force it so that all the magic, miracles, blessings, and lessons can find their way to you. Let go. Trust in doing so, you end up exactly where you’re meant to be.”
- Jamie Varon
6: When I do what I love, I draw in the right people and opportunities with ease.
Whether I’m having a cacao ceremony or nature walk, it’s during these times that I’ve had clients reach out to book sessions while I’m doing what I love. It’s like a radio signal to the universe. I’ve definitely hustled for recognition and success and burnt out. It’s when I stopped trying to prove myself that good things happened.
I recently doubled my healing sessions with no extra marketing. I did get incredibly clear about the results I help people with and that fuelled my passion. I put my heart into every session I walked into and the universe responded by sending me more of the right people and opportunities.
7: I’m not here to be everything to everyone and that's okay. I’m evolving.
But I am here to help people who like my vibe and value my insight and solutions. I love empowering others and felt so restricted working with clients who were at a different stage in their journey.
I’ve slowly found my boundaries to make space for clients who value my gifts. I’ve had to sit in the discomfort of thoughts like “Who do I think I am to decide who I want to work with?”
It felt so empowering the first time I "released" a client who wasn't a good match. I told them I honestly didn't want to take their money and not see them get better. They were evolving at a different pace and I still believed they had the capacity to heal, just not with me at this time. This person walked away feeling respected and supported.
In the bigger unfolding, clients who aren’t a vibrational match are meant to work with someone else and saying no puts them on that trajectory faster.
The 5-line has a management flavour and therefore a high level perspective that allows us to see practical solutions to problems for a specific audience. We tend to meet people on the roof rather than the basement (love you 1 and 4-lines for that).
What a relief when I let go of the need to be like other facilitators I admired! We don’t get lost in the depths of someone else’s emotions but we offer a chance to raise them up when they’re ready.
8: I let go of the need to master one thing.
Though I may not be a renowned expert in each of my tools, my magic is in the way I combine things that makes it more powerful than the individual parts.
My natural tendency is to learn something once like Human Design, move onto something else and then come back to it when I feel called, each time letting the wisdom sink deeper. I’m not designed to sit with one thing for a straight period of time.
As manifesting generators we can have the tendency to feel like imposters because we jump around a lot but for us it’s the experimentation of mixing different things rather than the accumulation of knowledge. We may not be concerned with the details but with the overall ideas.
Because we’re knowledgeable in a variety of areas, we bring a fresh perspective and lived wisdom to those topics that goes beyond anything you can study.
9: I slowed down instead of jumping to the next thing.
Even though the 3-line and manifesting generators like change and variety, we can be too quick to move on to the next shiny opportunity out of fear we’ll stagnate. The shadow of this feels like a constant restlessness in the background that’s linked to low self-worth. This isn’t coming from the heart. Because really, if we’re only putting in 50% effort because we want to be somewhere else then life will hold out on us to the same degree. As in, if we don’t allow ourselves to feel joy and satisfaction, how can we attract more?
I was so fixated on being somewhere further along in my business but it wasn’t until I decided to put my heart and full presence into my current situation that things naturally found momentum.
Instead of trying to initiate the next change, I immersed myself in what was currently fun until life showed me the next breadcrumb to respond to. It’s still hard at times because as mani gens we have so much energy to give and being in the “I don’t know” place can be terrifying but remember—life flows so much better when we allow things to show up first.
I was trying to build an online healing biz at full throttle but realized I love in-person sessions and blogging more than social media. That’s what feels effortless and frees up my time to have fun and be with my family. For now I’m letting the online presence grow at a sustainable pace.
The wisdom of the 3-line still allows for lots of change but with peace in the present moment and current process. There’s no pressure to rush for change’s sake.
10: I stopped guessing what people wanted and took notice of what the human network was asking me.
Generators and manifesting generators are here to respond to what lights them up. Once you lean into this, building a business becomes mystical as you start noticing patterns. What are people asking you about? What triggered you today? What conversation topics do you notice?
I kept drawing in burnt-out parents who knew there was more to life and wanted to finally give back to themselves. After a while it became clear this was my audience because this was once me! And it was a problem my 5-line felt excited to offer a solution for.
Knowing my Human Design has empowered me to… well, just be me! I’m no longer falling short of a goal. In business, it’s like taking a welcoming exhale to enjoy the ride as a manifesting generator more than the destination. For us there’s many different views with good company along the way.
Recommended Books for Manifesting Generators
How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up - Emilie Wapnick
Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams - Barbara Sher
Ready to try something new? Discover how Bio-energy Healing and PSYCH-K can help you embody your Human Design.
If you’re interested in feeling lighter, understanding your body and discovering your gifts (how you thrive in love, work and life) Margaret offers transformative sessions in-person and online.
