Shifting from a “relationship” to a “partnership” is an encompassing theme in the life and work of mentor and spiritual teacher Ken Bechtel. A couple of months away from getting married, Ken was devastated when his former fiance ended their relationship, expressing that her needs were not being met by the relationship. But like her, Ken recognized in retrospect that he had his own unexpressed needs and quickly realized that communicating needs is necessary for a relationship to evolve into a partnership.

Today, this epiphany inspires Ken’s mission to elevate the level of love in the world and to help women build an inner foundation of love by partnering people with the best version of themselves.

In this episode, Ken and I discuss the difference between a “relationship” and a “partnership,” and what it means for a couple to shift from one to the other. We explore the importance of communicating needs and illustrate how a partnership can give us the freedom to have a life outside of it. We ponder on the story of a long-term couple, why they choose to stay unmarried, and how a partnership is created moment to moment. We also elaborate on how fear hinders us from standing up for our own truths and highlight how we can reconnect to our sincerest needs.

“A partnership is where we’re committed to being the best version of ourselves. And to be the best version of ourselves, we need to let our partners know what our needs are.” – Ken Bechtel

This week on Shift-Starters:

• The relationship experience that made Ken interested in the idea of partnership
• The importance of expressing our needs
• How Ken worked on his healing after his separation from his former fiance
• How fear prevents us from expressing our needs in a relationship
• The worst reply to an expression of need
• The spatial quality of relationships and how it’s different from a partnership
• Why “partnership” means having a life outside of your relationship
• Trusting the validity of our needs
• Self-trust, self-love, and the need to have compassion when we make ‘wrong’ decisions
• Connecting and trusting intuition and bodily wisdom
• What it means to have true confidence
• The power of the now
• The story of an unmarried couple and how a partnership is created moment to moment
• Selfishness and expanding our definition of what it means to do things that are good for us
• Getting to know and reconnecting with your needs
• Cultivating safe containers to encourage transformation

Connect with Ken Bechtel:

• Ken Bechtel Website
• Speaking of Partnership Podcast
• Speaking of Partnership on Facebook
• Speaking of Partnership on Twitter
• Ken Bechtel on LinkedIn
• Ken Bechtel on Instagram
• Ken Bechtel on Facebook

Let’s Start Some Shift!

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