Spiritual Life Coaching For Creatives

TODAY: Yes There Is Still Time For Your Dreams For 2022 To Come True

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(Bear, sleeping in the "new" bedroom in the loft - this is the 1st of 3 murals I am painting in the loft right now. I am having so much fun!)

Yes There Is Still Time For Your Dreams For 2022 To Come True Alchemy Circle is happening TODAY at 1:00 Central (North America).

My vision for this call: creative dreamers gathering for healing, transformation, sudden insights and huge shifts in their inner relationship with their dreams.

You'll connect with your dreams and your inner knowing in a new way, and leave the call (or replay) with a boost of MAGIC and POSSIBILITY for finishing up the year.

PLUS you get to check out the Dream Book program AND get some support for playing/growing/healing/creating your way into your dreams over the next month - or longer, if you choose to stay with us.

The call willl be 60-90 minutes long. The replay will be available a few hours after we're done.

>>> Details + registration are here.

Hope to see you there!
Andrea

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Habits Upgrade Alchemy Circle: March 11

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It's natural to pick up "bad habits" in times of stress

I put "bad habits" in "quotes" because.... are they bad?

Probably not. They probably were the best form of self care and soothing that you could reach for in the moment.

But... are they really helping you be the person you want to be?

Are they helping you create your most expansive future?

Do they support you in being your most wise, brave, and creative self?

Probably not.

So, without judging any of the habits you've got going on right now how can we shift towards more helpful habits?

Or even - TRANSFORMATIVE habits?

Healing habits?

Up-leveling habits?

Habits that make your heart sing.

Habits that are a DELIGHT to actually do.

Habits that make everything better right now AND move you along the path to a better future.

This is what we'll do in the Habits Upgrade Alchemy Coaching Circle.

This is happening on Zoom on March 11 at 1:00 pm Central (North America). It will be recorded, so if you can't be there live you can work with the recording, and get support from me in the comments.

We'll start with an alchemy circle for exploring what a HABITS UPGRADE means to you, including:

  • which habits that aren't serving you are ready to be upgraded
  • which habit that aren't really serving you are actually NOT ready to be upgraded
  • which new habits will best support your growing dreams
  • what habits do you WISH you had?
  • how to make helpful habits more fun, engaging, and do-able for you

Then we'll do coaching around what comes up for you as we make our HABIT UPGRADE plans.

It will be 60-90 minutes, depending on how much we talk.

The thing with habits is that you have to DO THEM enough for them to BECOME habits - AKA daily practice.

So our work will continue in the daily mastermind posts - which IS already an ongoing container for the daily practice of believing in a better future and showing up for the process of making it happen.

The comments section in the daily mastermind posts are a space to play with how you're following through, experiment with new habits, get support when things go wrong, and be cheered on when they go right.

Habits Upgrade is included in your Dream Book membership for March. Join us here.

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Do you need to REST or do you need to GET ORGANIZED?

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creative weekly planner Year of Dreams 2022

Pic: Last week's planning page in the Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal + Creative Dream Playbook.

Do you need to rest or do you need to get organized?

I did a live call in Dream Book on Dec 30, and half of the participants were saying they couldn't keep up with the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling Extravaganza and felt like they need a month to just REST before they can even think about what they want to do with their new year.

Most of the others were feeling like they wanted to dive into the new year, but weren't quite sure where to start.

Being well rested + organized are BOTH helpful, nurturing things - for your self care today and for creating the life you want to be living in the future.

Your dreams LAND different when you are deeply rested. You can HEAR your intuition different when you are deeply rested. Deep rest is the oil that keeps your dream machine humming nicely.

Your dreams GROW different when you are organized AF. It's easier to stay calm when you've got a plan you trust. It's easier to GET THNGS DONE when you have everything you need - supplies organized at your desk and a to-do list that makes you swoon.

So I am doing 2 new circles for January:

Well Rested: where we get together on Zoom and REST TOGETHER (!)

We'll start with a short restorative meditation and then you'll actually go lie down for 30 minutes then come back to finish the call - and then come back together to journal + explore + figure out how to get more of the rest you on an ongoing basis.

Organized AF: where we get together on Zoom and get our shit together, together!

We'll literally DO THE THINGS together - clean your desk, make a plan, order supplies, whatever it is you need to be READY TO GO with your dreams - and if you get stuck getting organized, I'll coach you through it.

They will start next week, both are included in your Dream Book membership.

Well Rested will happen at 3 pm (North America, Central) on Jan 12, 19 + 26.

Organized AF will happen at 3 pm (North America, Central) on Jan 10, 17, 24.

(You can use this time zone to translate from Winnipeg to your time zone)

Of course not everyone can be there live. There will be replays! And you can leave comments as you watch the replay, and I'll respond right there in the comments, or talk more in-depth about your situation in the next call.

>>> Join us here.

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New Moon Goal Setting + Journal Prompts

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new moon goal setting

I do New Moon Goal Setting every month.

Of course - you can set any goal you want, any time you want. But the new moon is a great time for this work and having a regular ongoing routine/practice of goal setting gives you the best chance of creating real MOMENTUM for moving towards your dreams.

How are dreams and goals different? Dreams tend to be bigger and more expansive and not always easy to describe in a single sentence. Goals are tangible and measurable. Goals help you move towards dreams.

As I prepare to set new goals for the March new moon, I'm looking back at the goal I set at the February new moon and noticing that I didn't even come close to meeting it.

Not meeting your goals does NOT mean you failed.

Part of the process of goal setting is looking back and noticing what happened after you set the goal and then learning from that. Then you take what you learned, and apply it to the next goal you set.

This process of trial and error and learn-as-you-go is how most big dreams happen.

It's not fancy, but it works.

And it's something ANYONE can do at ANY TIME.

And it turns goal-setting into this magical thing that shows you exactly where you need to learn, grow, and heal, in order to have more of the things you want.

I still remember, about 13 years ago before I was even considering leaving my day job, I made my first online creativity workshop kit and wanted to sell it.

I set a goal to sell 10 kits in one week.

And then.... nothing happened. Didn't sell a single kit.

At the end of the week, upon reflecting on this goal, I had to face all the feelings that came up as I accepted that I had no clue how to sell the kits.

Which lead me to see more clearly that I was waiting for this to happen to me, instead of going out there and creating it.

Which also shone a light on all sorts of other places with my dreams where I wait for it to happen instead of create it for myself.

Which got uncomfortable but also led to a decision: to read a business book.

I hated that business book and I didn't feel that I could do any of those things it talked about, so I went back to my "if I just make stuff that's good enough, people will want it" approach (which does NOT work).

I had to go around and around like this, each time making a decision to take the next step to learn how to create this thing I wanted, instead of waiting for it to happen for me.

Eventually, I started finding business books I could love and taking business classes and working with coaches and figured out MY WAY to sell my work.

I even made my own business class, to share what I'd learned about how I had brought creativity + playfulness + integrity + introspection into the process of sales and marketing and building an online business around sharing your creative gifts. It's called The Creative Business Incubator.

(Right now it's only available to Dream Book members - but at the end of the month there is a special sale happening where you can get just the Creative Business Incubator, plus I'm going to be doing some extra business coaching circles in April.)

You can start out not even knowing how much you don't know about how to get to your goal... and still get to your goal. As long as you don't give up.

Which is why I do a monthly New Moon Alchemy + Coaching circle, as a part of Dream Book, my creative mastermind. NOT to make sure everyone meets their goals every month, but to support everyone in staying in this process where you explore what you need to learn, grow, and heal, in order to have more of the things you want.

As I think back to that first sales goal I set 13 years ago - if I had just magically manifested it back then, would I be where I am today?

Because I LOVE that I trust myself to support myself financially. I LOVE that I KNOW HOW to do this in ways that feel good to me. I wouldn't want to trade what I have now for the experience of the sales just coming to me without me going out there and learning how to create it for myself.

So I always think of that on months when I didn't even get close to meeting my goals, like this month.

Last month, I felt *SO SURE* that I could finish my new project and be getting ready to put it out there.

But, here I am, still calling it "my new project" instead of feeling ready to show you exactly what it is.

At this time of the month, right before the New Moon, I look back to what I wrote on the last New Moon and reflect on what happened.

Did I do my best to show up for this goal?

Did I have the right kinds of support?

What was in the way? Is it what I thought would be in the way or was there an unexpected obstacle?

Is there a lesson for me here?

Is there something for me to let go of?

What does all this tell me about what to do next?

What do I WANT to do next? What feels inspiring now?

Again, this is NEVER about forcing myself to reach the goal on time.

It's ALWAYS about engaging with the process, which teaches me about the inner and outer healing and growth and change that need to happen for me to do this thing.

This month, it feels PERFECT that I didn't meet my goal.

I did do my best with it for the first 2 weeks, and then something unexpected happened.

On the February Full Moon, I lead the BREAKTHROUGH Alchemy Coaching Circle, which of course sparked a breakthrough. I was expecting some kind of breakthrough, I was not expecting the way it happened.

And then on the next day, my husband and I did a ceremony to feed a snake and a bear who had come to him in his dreams. If you know anything about Native American teachings you know that's some serious stuff, and that ceremony sparked some big lessons for us both.

And then this big unexpected thing happened and now we are making some equally big and unexpected changes.

So goal which was SO IMPORTANT to me at the February New Moon needs to take a backseat to the new things that are happening. And even though I didn't reach my goal, I am moving towards my dream.

This kind of reflection is VITAL for your dream.

Without it, this month of not meeting my goal becomes this shameful embarrassing thing.

I mean - I'm a life coach but I can't even meet my own goals? What's wrong with me? is the story that gets fed and then shoved underground where it will make it harder to make progress on my goals because it's nurturing the seeds of I'm a failure and I won't follow through so why bother.

And all of that stuff just festers.

WITH this reflection, I feel good about how this month went. I accept where I am. I feel proud of myself. I feel inspired and ready to set another goal and move forward again, understanding that I may not get to where I WANT to get next month, but I know I'll get to the right place as long as I keep showing up for myself.

Do this Magical New Moon Goal Setting with me.

The March New Moon Alchemy + Coaching Circle is happening on March 12 - tomorrow. The replay is available a few hours after the live call is done so you have a few days to do this call in the New Moon energy.

This is where we dig into ALL of this magic together.

This call is for everyone who is Dream Book - join us here.

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Video: On Creative Self Care and how it helps you be more creative + productive

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The Challenge is happening April 29 - May 3 2019, on Instagram.

 

The Creative Self-Care Challenge is sponsored by Upgrade Your Creative Engine. A Coaching Group for Generating Momentum for Artists, World-Changers and Dreamers. May 6-26.

If you're ready to really REV UP your creative power to generate the momentum you need to make your dreams real - this group is for you.

Find our more + save your spot here. (This happened in May 2019)

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You are not too busy

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busy
You’re not too busy.

You don’t need to wait for _____.

You are good enough, exactly as you are right now.

You are ready.

I used to live?inside these stories:

You’re not ready.

You have to wait for things to change.

It would take a miracle to get to where you want to be.

They felt?so true for me that they made up the foundation for the life I was living at the time.

I remember taking a class called Spiritual Economics. ?(This was the textbook for that class – I really loved it)

My teacher asked me what it was I wanted. ?I knew exactly what I wanted and I lit up while telling him about my dream life in crisp detail.

Creative play. Art-making. Self-reflection. Quiet. Adventure. Abundance. Travel. Meaning. Purpose. Offering my gifts unabashedly.

“… but it’s impossible right now.”

Was how I finished my story.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Is it?”

Something about the way he asked that question make me wonder if maybe I was wrong.

But that made me feel defensive. ?So I responded with all of the reasons why, yes, it’s not possible right now.

You can’t just make money by being creative and inspiring?and happy.

I mean how could my?dream possibly support me?

It’s not like I hadn’t tried. ?I had lots of dreams and ideas and ambition. ?I tried and tried and tried and tried and failed and failed?and failed and failed. ?And at that point in my life my poor heart was too tired and broken to keep trying.

I needed to live inside of those stories.

They felt safe.

Because otherwise I’d be left with nothing but the truth: that my dreams needed me to be braver.

My dreams needed me to question the beliefs that had me stuck.

My dreams needed me to?find a way around these stucks, and back to my truth.

My dreams needed me to grow.

And, ultimately, my dreams needed me to see that change was up to no one and no thing else but ME.

Looking back, what really strikes me about that time in my life is how TRUE those beliefs felt.

They felt so true that I could live inside them. ?Solid.

But?now I know those beliefs as lies. ?I don’t live by them anymore.

And it’s not the world that changed – it’s me that changed.

Yes it is possible for me to do the things my heart calls me to do. ?Period. ?This is the truth I live inside now.

If I can’t see a way it means I need to create it.

If I get stuck it means I need to look more closely at myself.

All the power is here – in me, my heart, my dreams.

Resistance wants us to forget this.

And that’s why it’s so important to face it head on. ?Otherwise you get stuck in the lies.

You’re not ready.

You’re not good enough.

It’s impossible.

Not true.

resistancerx2

We’re going to explore all of this, and so much more, at Resistance Rx:?Magic Mojo For Mucho Creative Momentum.

While you’re inside the lies it feels so confusing to figure out how to get out of them.

But it’s actually fairly simple.

When you take to?some time and really notice what’s going on you see that truth has an unmistakable quality to it. A light.

That light will lead you to amazing places.

It’s happening on August 23.

Click here to find out ?more and reserve your spot.

You’re ready.

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More on that what to do when you’re working hard and not seeing results thing…

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Yesterday’s post on?what to do when you give it your best shot but nothing is working got a lot of really great responses.

I was thinking about that when I woke up this morning, and feeling a little uncomfortable about a few things, so I recorded this video on my morning walk:


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What to do when you give it your best shot but nothing is working

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what to do when you give it your best shot and nothing is working

There are basically three options:

1. Give up. Pretend you don’t care. Ignore your feelings and just do your best to enjoy life as it is.

This usually results in engaging in addictive patterns like: people-pleasing, over-eating, over-spending, over-working, relationship drama, drinking, gambling, excessive facebooking, etc.

Eventually you have no time or energy to wonder about your dreams anymore anyway.

2. Stand your ground. Be firm. Make a commitment to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Focus on the external and work your ass off to change your life. ?Follow all of the expert advice and work harder.

Eventually you’ll either get what you wanted and then wonder why it’s not as?fulfilling as you’d hoped it would be or you’ll burn out from exhaustion.

3. Trust the process. Focus on your inner world. ?Embrace the journey.

Bringing a dream to life is a healing journey, you have to follow the journey and do your best to not judge it. ?Assume that everything is happening to serve you in the journey, stay curious about why things are going the way they are going.

Eventually you’ll either get your dream or you won’t or you’ll find a new dream. ?Either way you’ll end up more connected to your self, more creative, more intuitive, more grounded and much, much happier.

So the way I see it #3 is actually the only option.

But that doesn’t mean I always take option #3.

If you follow me on Instagram you already know that I love skating.

Winnipeg in winter is magical. ?The river turns into this little enchanted village along the skating path. ?Every year there’s an art + architecture contest where people from around the world design “warming huts” – small?structures that go up along the river so people can go in and be protected from the wind. ?So as you’re skating along the river there are all of these?works of art that you can go inside to take a rest.

Last year I re-structured my days so I could so skating almost every weekday at sunset.

I’m not a good skater, in fact before last year I hadn’t skated in about 30 years. ?I fell a lot and when I was moving I wasn’t moving very fast.

But that didn’t matter, I had an amazing time.

This year I was starting to get better at skating. ?I was moving faster and hardly ever falling. ?This year I have an awesome ?boyfriend who goes skating with me. ?This year I was having so much fun on the river!

But then my back started hurting. ?Like, really hurting.

Determined to not miss out on any of my winter joy, I went to a network chiropractor, thinking a few sessions would fix me up and I’d be back on the ice in no time.

I was wrong.

I mean, the treatment helped right from the beginning.

But it didn’t just fix me up and get me back in my skates.

The next thing I knew I was in a “healing process” which was the last place I wanted to be.

It was awful. ?As the network chiropractic treatments were working to unwind my lower back and hips sometimes my shoulders and upper back would stiffen up in response.

Sometimes I’d start to get a little better and I’d be optimistic about getting back in my skates and then wake up the next morning barely able to un-fold my back and get out of bed.

And I was so incredibly tired. ?Never mind skating, just going out for coffee felt?like too much most days.

I was frustrated and miserable and fighting the process every step of the way.

I was taking option #2 except there was nothing I could, like, DO to change my situation. ?So I was just mentally being all “I’m fine! This is no big deal. I’ll be better tomorrow” which means I wasn’t being present with what was actually happening. ?I wasn’t in the process.

I was seeing the process as the enemy – I wanted it done. ?I wanted to feel normal again.

I felt sorry for myself and tried to fight against how tired I was and still do the things I wanted to do.

Of course, fighting the process doesn’t tend to make it go faster.

And it wasn’t until I could embrace the fact that I was in a healing process that I started to see improvements in my back.

The funny thing is that embracing the healing process looked like:

  • taking lots of epsom salt baths
  • daily nap
  • more time reading in bed
  • going to bed crazy early (which I love)
  • more quiet

I mean – in some ways the healing process looks like a vacation, right?

Once I embraced it I wondered why I was ever fighting it. ?I enjoyed the permission to slow down.

And then I pretty quickly started feeling better.

All of the magic is in?option #3 but it won’t reveal itself until it’s time to reveal itself.

This is a question that comes up from time to time in the Creative Dream Circle and it has come up again now.

One of my members has been giving it her all, making the most of the tools in the Circle really diving in and doing the inner work for the past five months and…. nothing is changing.

She isn’t any closer to her dream.

So we had a live coaching call yesterday and she asked me what to do about it and we’re continuing that conversation in our forum this week. ?(For Circle members, join our conversation about it right here)

Conventional wisdom says, like in my story above, that when nothing else works it’s time to surrender.

Except surrender is the worst.

In the story I shared above the journey was asking me to surrender in pretty small ways?but?I still fought it pretty hard.

Because giving up control is the worst.

Except we’re not actually in control anyway so giving up the illusion of control is actually super empowering.

Yeah.

So how does this help you when you’re in that hard place and surrender is too scary?

I remember being in a REALLY rough spot. ?Sitting on my kitchen floor, crying.

I was doing my best to take option #3 but not only was my life not changing in the ways I wanted it to it was actually getting worse.

Everything was falling apart.

And I asked myself this question: “WHAT IF everything ACTUALLY WAS happening for my highest good? What then?”

That question opened something up inside me.

What if things were falling apart so something new could be born?

What if the universe actually was literally dreaming a bigger dream for me than the one I was dreaming for myself? ?Like what if that’s not some bullshit platitude but a real thing that?means I can’t even see the bigger dream?

What if I stopped trying to control the process?

I’d love to say that from that moment on everything just magically came together for me, but it didn’t.

I had to take?each and every step on the path – even the crappy steps.

I had to work through all the stuff I had to work through.

And yes I got to where I wanted to be. ?And yes it took way longer than I wanted it to.

But all those crappy steps taught me and stretched?me and grew me in the ways I needed in order to get to where I am today.

Just because you’re not SEEING progress does not mean you’re not MAKING progress.

 

Ask yourself:?WHAT IF everything ACTUALLY IS?happening for your?highest good? What then?

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We start today. Are you in?

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TODAY

Starting today we’re?gathering together in the Creative Dream Circle?to?help each other launch our dreams?out into the world.

Will you be in the group?

These calls are for coaches, teachers, healers, therapists, artists – anyone who wants to make a difference and put their projects?out into the world. ?You?ll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we?ll dig in and make it happen.

So far we have people working on: writing books, creating new careers, making more SPACE for their dreams in their everyday life (and figuring out how to take small, do-able steps each day), creating e-courses, and starting blogs.

I can offer guidance, encouragement and?ridiculous amounts of inspiration and motivation to take some big steps towards your dream this February.

We?ll focus on two areas: helping you get better at helping people (grow your self/skills) and helping you help more people (grow your work/business).

This is open to all Creative Dream Circle members – so if you want to join us?just?join the Circle.

The calls will happen?February 8, 15, 22, 19 (Mondays at 11am Central). ?<— starting today!

All calls will be recorded. ?If you can?t be on the calls live you can email me your questions and listen to my answers on the recording and participate?in the online forum.

 

If you?ve got any questions about how this can help YOU, just send me an email using the contact form on this page.

Looking forward to this!

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Let’s lift each other up.

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lift

Helper-People Group Coaching is four weeks of live, weekly group coaching calls where we focus on the work of bringing your work to the world: making big plans, launching impossible projects, doing that thing you really want to be doing.

This can mean something different to everyone – I believe that all dreams, when brought to life, serve as a light for others to bring their dreams to life and in that way – all dreamers are helper-people.

You?ll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we?ll dig in and make it happen.

It’s going to be similar to Creative Emergence, the free 30 day course on making magic happen that I did on my blog in September 2015… but with the added element of ACTION. ?In Creative Emergence the practice was to connect with the heart and soul of your dream and journal about it every day.

For this I’m going to ask you to connect with the heart and soul of your intention for what you want to create every day (or as often as you can) and also TAKE ACTION towards it every week.

What action you take will depend on you – each Monday on the call (if you attend live or listen to the recording) you’ll come up with your own homework assignment.

We’ll use our private?forum for sharing our homework assignments and tracking progress – and for anything else you want to talk about as you do this 🙂

The group energy will help you succeed

Even though each of you will be working on something different, being a part of a group of people who are all taking action helps bolster everyone’s efforts.

Knowing that other people are out there, pushing themselves (reasonable pushing – we won’t bulldoze over our comfort zones or anything) helps you push yourself to keep going when you may feel ready to give up.

Hearing other people talk about their process will inspire you – we learn so much from each other.

We can literally lift each other up into our dreams. ?It’s going to be magic.

Each call?will start with a short meditation for connecting with the heart and soul of your intention for what you want to create during this program.

Then we’ll explore together – you can:

  • come on the line to talk to me about where you’re at and get cheering/advice/coaching
  • type your question into the question box while listening to the webcast
  • leave your questions here in the forum ahead of time if you can’t be there live (have them here before Monday in order for me to answer them on the call)

So essentially we’re going to get together and talk about the work of bringing your work to life – every Monday for four weeks. ?It’s going to be awesome! ?We’ll learn from and be inspired by each other.

At the end of each call I’m going to ask you to think about your homework for that week. ?What ACTION do you want to take to bring this dream to life?

You’ll make the decision about your homework from a place of deep connection to both the heart and soul of your dream and you own intuition – so you’ll be moving in the right direction, at the right pace for you.

If you get stuck I’ll be there to help.

If you can be on any of the calls live – come on the line and I can coach you through your?stuck.

If you can’t make it to the calls live, you can work with the un-sticking station and then post your?questions in our forum and?I’ll address them on the next call.

We start Monday, February 8.

This is free for all Creative Dream Circle?members – click here to?read more and join the Circle.

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There is room for everyone. No one can steal your dream.

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room
Last year I hosted?a free tele-summit. ?Every day for a week I had 2 coaching/teaching calls, and each call had a different guest-teacher – life?coaches, spiritual healers, teachers, artists.

During one of the calls, a woman came on the line to comment how amazing she thought it was that each and every guest was supportive and encouraging of me and my work, and I was supportive and encouraging of them and their work.

She could really feel the?love.

She was amazed that we were not competing with each other – that instead of fighting over potential clients we were working together and lifting each other up.

This is a pretty common fear for dreamers?and would-be dreamers: that there isn’t room for them.

That someone else is already doing the thing that you want to do.

And that because that other person got there first – it’s not there for you now. ?You’re just screwed so you may as well not even try.

But that’s not how it works. ?There is room for everyone.

And the only person who can steal your dream is you – by not giving it what it needs to grow.

See, I don’t see other coaches/teachers as competition – I see them as my colleagues + support system. ?Because we’re all in this together. ?We’re all trying to create a better world.

And no one understands what it takes to do what you want to do better than other people who are doing it too!

So when you band together with people who are doing what you want to do?you strengthen and grow everyone’s dreams – the more we support each other the more we all grow.

It’s not like McDonalds and Burger King both competing for the burger market.

I mean once you’ve had a burger you’re good until you’re hungry again. ?The burger satiates your hunger.

Really good coaching/inspiring/teaching?only grows your hunger for more.

I mean I am always taking classes and working with mentors to help me grow to the next level. ?The more I am helped by this work the more I want it.

Plus as I grow myself and my life the people around me notice this – and they want it too. ?So they sign up for classes and coaching too because they want what I have.?And so on, and so on.

It’s really not like McDonalds out there in the world of?competition. ?I mean McDonalds is actually harming it’s own customers – hardly a model for a stable healthy long-term business.

Of course they succeed because our society is sick.

And the life coaches and healers and teachers are working to change that. ?To create a new world. ?A healthy world.

It’s a totally different model.

And in this model, the more we support each other the more we all grow.

This is why I do helper-people group coaching. ?Because we are actually and literally stronger together.

helpingpeeps

For the last two years I?ve run this as a small coaching groups. ?In these groups I have helped people to:

  • Figure out how to start their helping business
  • Create marketing plans that feel good and inspiring?to implement
  • Narrow down their ideas and figure out where, exactly, to focus
  • Start blogging + vlogging (video blogging)
  • Find ways to factor self-care into their work day
  • Work on boundaries with clients?and customers
  • Find the courage to raise their prices
  • Decide if self employment is really for them or if there is a different way for them to help

This year I want to make it more accessible so I?m doing it as a bigger thing, free and open to everyone who is a member of the Creative?Dream Circle.

Starting this Monday, February 8 we’re going to gather together and help each other launch our projects out into the world.

These calls are for coaches, teachers, healers, therapists, artists – anyone who wants to put their projects/ideas/work out into the world.

You?ll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we?ll dig in and make it happen.

I?m not going to promise that I can make the path easy or anything like that (I think it?s hard for a reason ? we?ll get into that on these calls).

But I can help shine a light on the hard parts and help you navigate them with more ease and grace.

I can offer guidance, encouragement and?ridiculous amounts of inspiration and motivation to take some big steps towards your dream this February.

We?ll focus on two areas: helping you get better at helping people (grow your self/skills) and helping you help more people (grow your work/business).

Again ? helping the helper-people group coaching is going to be free for all Creative Dream Circle members. ?So if you want to get in on these calls just join the Circle.

 

The calls will happen?February 8, 15, 22, 29 (Mondays at 11am Central).

All calls will be recorded. ?If you can?t be on the calls live you can email me your questions and listen to my answers on the recording and participate?in the online forum.

If you?ve got any questions about how this can help YOU, just send me an email using the contact form on this page.

Looking forward to this!

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How to bring impossible projects to life

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how to bring impossible projects to life

A few definitions to help explain what I'm saying here:

DREAM: A thing that calls/delights/inspires you. A thing you WANT.

PROJECT: A thing that you can do/create/work on to make your dream happen?- projects bring your dream into the physical world.

IMPOSSIBLE: The way all dreams feel when you're not giving them the love, time and attention they need.

 

Your dream is not impossible - you just don't see the way there yet.

So I wanted to design a deck of inspiration cards.

The logistics of this confounded me. Who prints them? What size could I make them in? How are they sold?

I imagined having a big box of decks in my loft and having to walk to the post office every day to mail off orders. I imagined that I wouldn't be making much money from these decks and having to spend all this time on them seemed like it would make it harder for me to do the work that I do get paid for.

It felt like there was no good way to do this.

But I still wanted it.

The dream of creating this deck of cards kept calling me no matter how much I tried to shut it up with "but it's impossible and I can't do it!".

I know you know the end of this story - I sorted out all of the logistics and I created a deck of cards.

You may even remember that it took many many months of working in it, including re-doing the artwork for the cards five times.

It was a long road and I was so happy to finally bring that project to life.

But the deck of cards I created last year is not the deck of cards I wanted to create.

When I tried to create the deck of cards I wanted to create, that deck told me that this other deck, the journaling cards, had to come first.

So I created this whole deck of journaling cards to lay the foundation for this other?deck of cards.

And you know what? I didn't know why.

I just know that when I connected with the essence of my project that it told me to make the other deck first, so I did.

Partnering with the essence of your project is the best way to bring it to life.

It's not the most logical way, that's for sure.

But it works.

And now that my first deck of cards is done, making the second deck, the one I really wanted to make, is much simpler.

I'm coming at this project from a totally different vantage point now.

Now I can see why I needed to do that deck before I could do this deck.

Your dream knows how to grow itself.  Your project is an aspect of your dream.

For about twelve years, putting on a creativity workshop was another impossible dream of mine.

I wanted to do it so badly but just didn't know how. I mean where would it be and who would come and who was I to think I had anything to offer people anyway?

I just couldn't imagine standing in front of a room of people and knowing what to do to help them find the magic in creativity the way I had found it for myself.

I didn't trust my skills as a teacher yet. Which is good because I didn't have any skills back then.

But I had the dream and the dream led me to learn what I needed to learn and grow in the ways I needed to grow in order to bring that first project to life: my first creativity workshop.

Twelve years later my first creativity workshop finally happened in my living room. Two of my friends were the participants and we had a blast.

From there I kept learning, exploring and growing.

My last in-person creativity workshop happened in a church all lit up with beautiful stained glass, with 70 participants and a really amazing live band.

And I did it all with baby steps.

When you are connected to the essence of your dream, and listening to it and letting it guide you then it's easier to know which baby step to take.

Then the baby steps all string up together to become something bigger - your dream come true.

(When you're not coming from that deep connection to your dream then the baby steps you take may not all build on each other in the same way)

So what's your impossible project?

  • An art show?
  • A new blog?
  • A new facet of your creative business?
  • Finding a steady stream of clients for your coaching practice?
  • Teaching a new class or creating your first class?
  • Figuring out how to market your work in a way that feels authentic and generous?

No matter what your impossible project is, the process for bringing it to life is the same.

Your dream knows how to grow itself.

Your desire to do this thing comes from your soul - it's an aspect of your purpose and creativity brought to life. It's why you're here.

So working on your project connects you to all of that.

Bringing my projects to life has led me to where I am now: I have been helping people make their dreams real, as my full time job, for just over five years.

Putting your projects out into this world is a vital part of changing the world.

Which is why I started doing helper-people group coaching, to help others navigate the path so more of these impossible projects can come to life.

Because each project brought to life acts as a light that lights the way for others to bring their projects to life.

It's beautiful how we can support each other in that way.

The next session of this group coaching is starting next week (Monday, February 9, 2016).

We're going to gather together and help each other launch our projects out into the world.

These calls are for coaches, teachers, healers, therapists, artists - anyone who wants to put their projects?out into the world.

It's going to be amazing.

You'll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we'll dig in and make it happen.

I'm not going to promise that I can make the path easy or anything like that (I think it's hard for a reason - we'll get into that on these calls).

But I can help shine a light on the hard parts and help you navigate them with more ease and grace.

I can offer guidance, encouragement and ridiculous amounts of inspiration and motivation to take some big steps towards your dream this February.

We'll focus on two areas: helping you get better at helping people (grow your self/skills) and helping you help more people (grow your work/business).

This will be free for all Creative Dream Circle members.

So if you want to join us in launching your project - just join the Circle.

The calls will happen February 8, 15, 22, 19 (Mondays at 11am Central).

All calls will be recorded.  If you can't be on the calls live you can email me your questions and listen to my answers on the recording and participate in the online forum.

If you've got any questions about how this can help YOU, just send me an email using the contact form on this page.

Looking forward to this!

 

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Choosing to be a light in this world is no easy task. [free journaling + coloring page to help]

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light

We all have fear and self-doubt.

We all have that that?”who do you think you are???!?” voice.

We’ve all got stuff happening inside of us that makes it hard to shine our light.

Plus?we live in a world that is not exactly receptive to light. ?So even if we felt ready, it’s still a difficult thing?to do.

In other words: there are good reasons why you are afraid to put yourself out there!

When I made the decision to live my dream I was told – more than once – that I would definitely fail.

I was told by well-meaning people who love me that “I hope you don’t do this – you have such a good job. ?You should keep it.”.

I had friends stop calling me?because they couldn’t deal with their jealousy as I became successful at living my dreams.

I also had way more failure than successes, when it came to putting my work out into the world. ?And even when I started having more and more successes the weight of those?failures stayed with me.

It’s not an easy path.

But at the same time I would not trade any of it for anything.

The hard stuff helped me grow into who I am today: sure of myself, trusting of my dreams and grounded in living in tune with them.

Well – more like how I handled the hard stuff helped me grow into who I am today.

Which is what I want to talk about: your secret superpower.

Walking your talk.

Which is about trusting your light so much that you just have to live your life by it – no matter how hard it is.

What would that look like for you?

Really, sit with that question.

Anywhere where where you don’t trust your light enough to live by it – you are compromised.

You do this when you don’t take the advice you give your clients.

You do this when you pretend something?doesn’t?matter when really it does.

You do this when you don’t speak up.

You do this when you don’t believe?in the magic?of your dreams.

You do this when you let other people (or “the market”) tell your art is?worth instead of deciding for yourself.

You do this when you follow “expert advice” to get you to where you want to be instead of using your unique light to light your unique?path.

You, being as you as “you” can be, shining your light as bright as you can, being un-compromised in living in integrity with your heart – that’s what makes you magnetic.

That’s what draws people to you.

That’s the energy that builds dreams.

So how can you make it easier for yourself to shine your light more brightly?

That’s another question to sit with.

Because I realllly want you to sit with both of these questions,?I made a guided jounal + coloring page to make it more fun to do.

helping1

Click here to download the full resolution pdf file.? If you just save the image above you won’t get the full file.

Stepping up and choosing to be a light in this world is no easy task.

That is why I started doing??helper-people group coaching? to help navigate this path.

For the last two years I?ve run this as a small coaching groups. ?In these groups I have helped people to:

  • Figure out how to start their helping business
  • Create marketing plans that feel good and inspiring?to implement
  • Narrow down their ideas and figure out where, exactly, to focus
  • Start blogging + vlogging (video blogging)
  • Find ways to factor self-care into their work day
  • Work on boundaries with clients?and customers
  • Find the courage to raise their prices
  • Decide if self employment is really for them or if there is a different way for them to help

This year I want to make it more accessible so I?m doing it as a bigger thing, free and open to everyone who is a member of the Creative?Dream Circle.

This February we?ll do a four special coaching calls for healers/coaches/artists/helpers to dive into the work of growing your work.

You?ll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we?ll dig in and make it happen.

I?m not going to promise that I can make the path easy or anything like that (I think it?s hard for a reason ? we?ll get into that on these calls).

But I can help shine a light on the hard parts and help you navigate them with more ease and grace.

I can offer guidance, encouragement and?ridiculous amounts of inspiration and motivation to take some big steps towards your dream this February.

We?ll focus on two areas: helping you get better at helping people (grow your self/skills) and helping you help more people (grow your work/business).

Again ? helping the helper-people group coaching is going to be free for all Creative Dream Circle members. ?So if you want to get in on these calls just join the Circle.

If you?re unsure about spending the money ? then the first thing you?ll focus on in the coaching calls is to find a way to double your investment ? it will cost $147 to join so we?ll find a way for you to make a quick $294 helping other people.

(Also the next thing we?re doing in the Creative Dream Circle this year is my Creative?With Money class ? so if you join I?ll definitely be able to help you work through money blocks!)

The calls will happen?February 8, 15, 22, 19 (Mondays at 11am Central).

All calls will be recorded. ?If you can?t be on the calls live you can email me your questions and listen to my answers on the recording and participate?in the online forum.

If you?ve got any questions about how this can help YOU, just send me an email using the contact form on this page.

Looking forward to this!

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I want to help people help people.

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helpingpeeps

If you feel that call to help people then you are “one of the helper-people”.

Life coaches, artists, healers, therapists, teachers. ?We have that passion to make a difference.

It’s a really beautiful thing.

It’s also a really stressful thing because figuring out how to help is tricky.

The big questions usually are:

  • How do I help? ?How much training do I need? Am I ready/good enough?
  • How do?I help others without depleting myself?
  • Can I really make a living helping others? ?Really? How?

And?these questions have?dozens of other questions living inside of them.

For those of us who are called to help, figuring out how to do it successfully?is some of the most difficult and rewarding work we ever do.

I have been helping people make their dreams real, as my full time job, for just over five years.

And I was doing it on the side while working in an office job for about 5 years before that (back when I used to believe that it would be impossible for me to make a good living doing this work).

And for ten?years before that I dreamed of helping people without having any clue how to do it. ?All I knew is that I wanted to help make this world a better place, somehow, using my creativity.

Helping people is something I have always been called to do.

But the call didn’t come with instructions.

So I spent a lot of time stumbling around trying to figure stuff out,?which was frustrating and painful and awful.

Which is why I started doing?”helper-people group coaching” to help others navigate this path.

For the last two years I’ve run this as a small coaching groups. ?In these groups I have helped people to:

  • Figure out how to start their helping business
  • Create marketing plans that feel good and inspiring?to implement
  • Narrow down their ideas and figure out where, exactly, to focus
  • Start blogging + vlogging (video blogging)
  • Find ways to factor self-care into their work day
  • Work on boundaries with clients?and customers
  • Find the courage to raise their prices
  • Decide if self employment is really for them or if there is a different way for them to help

This year I want to make it more accessible so I’m doing it as a bigger thing, free and open to everyone who is a member of the Creative?Dream Circle.

This February we’ll do a four special coaching calls for healers/coaches/artists/helpers to dive into the work of growing your work.

You’ll start with a specific intention for what you want to do/learn/figure out/manifest during the month and, together, we’ll dig in and make it happen.

I’m not going to promise that I can make the path easy or anything like that (I think it’s hard for a reason – we’ll get into that on these calls).

But I can help shine a light on the hard parts and help you navigate them with more ease and grace.

I can offer guidance, encouragement and?ridiculous amounts of inspiration and motivation to take some big steps towards your dream this February.

We’ll focus on two areas: helping you get better at helping people (grow your self/skills) and helping you help more people (grow your work/business).

Again – helping the helper-people group coaching is going to be free for all Creative Dream Circle members. ?So if you want to get in on these calls just join the Circle.

If you’re unsure about spending the money – then the first thing you’ll focus on in the coaching calls is to find a way to double your investment – it will cost $147 to join so we’ll find a way for you to make a quick $294 helping other people.

(Also the next thing we’re doing in the Creative Dream Circle this year is my Creative?With Money class – so if you join I’ll definitely be able to help you work through money blocks!)

The calls will happen?February 8, 15, 22, 19 (Mondays at 11am Central).

All calls will be recorded. ?If you can’t be on the calls live you can email me your questions and listen to my answers on the recording and participate?in the online forum.

If you’ve got any questions about how this can help YOU, just send me an email using the contact form on this page.

Looking forward to this!

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Inner Work 101: How To Handle Fear, Self-Doubt + Uncertainty

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Inner Work 101 is a series of in-depth blog posts I?m working on to de-mystify the inner workings of inner work. ?I?m tired of seeing brilliant creative people stumble around and settle for less than they really want because they don?t know how to navigate the path of their own potential and this is what I?m doing to help change that. ?Find all the Inner Work 101 posts right here.

How To Handle Fear, Self-Doubt + Uncertainty

This is the main thing people ask me about, which ?makes sense because it’s?the main that that holds people back from going after their dreams.

And the answer is always the last thing that anyone wants to hear: the only way out is through.

When you avoid feeling the terror of your fear or the pain of your self-doubt then you avoid moving through it.

Which ?means you avoid moving forward. ?You avoid your dream.

Most of the time, people are looking for a way AROUND?it, not through it.

So they’re asking: how do I stop feeling afraid? How do I avoid my self-doubt?

But the only way to get there is to be with the pain.

On why you have to deal with your shit before you can have your dream:

People hit a point on the path to their dream where they feel fear or pain or doubt and they think something is wrong. ?That they made a mistake or this doesn’t really work or something because?it’s all supposed to feel good, right?

Wrong.

It’s supposed to feel exactly how it feels.

And when you ignore/avoid/stuff your feelings you hold them where they are. ?You freeze them inside you and you keep freezing them inside you until they turn to stone.

Those stones turn into walls?that force you to live inside their?boundaries.

Living inside their boundaries keeps you from having to feel the feeling you don’t want to feel – because you’re numb to it.

But living inside their boundaries also keeps you from expanding your creativity and potential. ?It keeps you from hearing your inner wisdom. ?It keeps you from your dreams.

It keeps you numb and stuck.

Most of the time, you’re doing this in totally unconscious ways.

 

I know I spent many years convinced that it wasn’t me.

I didn’t have my dream because it’s hard out there and people don’t support artists the way they should and I didn’t have enough money?or time and that I was doing?the best I could it just wasn’t possible for me to have what I really wanted.

As long as I was in those excuses of course there was no way for me to create the path that led to the life I wanted to be living, the one I live now.

I was working with a client who has been through a lot of shit in her life.

As we started working together to build a path that led to a more optimistic, expansive, creative and joyful way of living, we started to clear the shit that was in the way – the old wounds full of pain and grief and hurt.

First, I asked her to sit with her pain. ?To write about it and make art about it and just sit quietly with it.

This was to help to untangle the energy patterns that kept her from facing all of these hard feelings, so that we could re-wire those energy patterns to aim her towards her goal.

Of course we’d all rather skip this part but this is the first step, being with the pain.

So I asked her to sit with the pain and really tend to it as best she could. ?And you know what happened? ?She kept discovering new layers and levels of pain.

It was awful.

It’s like little trap doors kept opening up and leading to new rooms of hurt feelings and grief and sadness and broken dreams.

But my intuition has never been wrong when it comes to this kind of work and my intuition kept urging me to keep urging her to stay the path. ?And so she went deeper and deeper into her grief and pain.

And you know what?

It took time, but as she kept doing her best to tend to the pain she started to heal.

The ground softened beneath her.

The sun started to shine. ?Dimly at?first and then brighter later.

She got really good at tending to her pain.

Not obliterating it or avoiding it or throwing it someone else or making sure she never feels it again. ?Tending to it. ?Taking care of it without letting it take over.

And over the course of this process her inner landscape shifted.

The ground is softer the sun shines brighter and possibilities abound.

When pain comes in it doesn’t take over. ?There is space?for pain. ?There is space for love. ?There is space for creativity and magic.

Possibilities bloom. ?There is space for dreams now that wasn’t there before.

Not to be a downer or anything but you’ll probably never?stop experiencing fear, self-doubt or uncertainty.

That’s not the goal of inner work.

The goal is to stop letting that stuff stop you from being who you want to be and doing what you want to do.

To get better at allowing your actual feelings and being with your actual experience.

This allows you to inhabit your inner world more deeply.

When this happens you’re also connected to all the good stuff in there: your inner gifts and intuition and power. ?The stuff that brings dreams to life.

Feeling like it would take a miracle? You’re in luck 🙂

Project Miracle is for people who believe in the magic of their dreams and are ready for something to change.

It’s a 30 day?Choose-Your-Own-Adventure creative support groups for making change happen.

Find out more + grab your spot today.

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