success

Update #13. Unlocking a new level of Believing in Myself

By / Creative Entrepreneur

I set a big goal for my business for 2014: to welcome 800 dreamers into my Creative Dream Circle. And to do this not by getting super pushy about selling – but to do this with heart and soul and creativity and joy and LOVE.

(you can read my original post about this here)

At this point – 13 weeks in – the goal is less about the numbers and more about stretching my capacity to serve dreamers everywhere in bringing their dreams to LIFE.

In support of this goal, I am writing weekly updates on Fridays, for all of 2014. This is where I’ll share the story of all the ups and downs of bringing a big dream to life.

 

This is a BIG week for me.

I feel like I’ve hit a whole new level of creative spiritual entrepreneurship and I am VERY happy to be here.

Inside the Creative Dream Circle, we’re working on module 4 of the Creative Dream Incubator which is all about transforming fear, turning inner critics into allies and shifting comfort zones to include less of what you don’t want and more of what you do want.

I’ve gone through this process many times, and each time there are new gifts in it for me.

And each time it gets a little easier to face my fears.

But this week it’s RIDICULOUSLY easy.

My fears are showing up TINY and with a sense of great spaciousness around them.

This has a such a radical impact on how I feel!

Which is giving me a clearer perspective, which is helping me see the things I wasn’t seeing before.

It’s not just that I have the courage to look at the things I didn’t want to look at before, it’s that I can look at them and see through the problem right to the solution.

I feel like I unlocked a new level of believing in myself.

believing

Of course, I’ve been working on my new Guided Journal & Colouring Book: You Got This. Dissolving Doubt & Bolstering Your Potential to Believe in Yourself and the book is working its magic on me, for sure.

(That book will be available on TUESDAY!)

And, this is update THIRTEEN – that’s thirteen weeks of focused attention to what I want to create.? Momentum builds over time.

Plus, I got some help from my friends this week.

I’ve got Hiro Boga‘s words ringing in my ears, something she said to me when I asked her a question that I am still working out the answer to.? I had a tea date with Jamie Ridler and as we chatted about what we’re doing in our businesses I got a HUGE piece of clarity.? Then I asked Kate James a question about marketing and her response brought me to exactly where I need to be.

Even though I work alone, I have such a rich network of creative support.? Feeling super grateful for this.

When I started this series, I shared the things I was going to do each week, including making time to revisit some of the better business courses I have taken over the years, like Unveiling the Heart of your Business (highly highly recommended if you are just starting out in business) and Become Your Own Business Adviser (much more expensive but highly recommended if you are a little further along) and the book The Creative Entrepreneur.

I’ve been doing that, a bit.?? But I was kind of just flitting around, reading things here and there, and not being clear on where to focus.

This week I saw where I need to focus: marketing.

To take apart my entire marketing strategy and re-build it.

It’s like I am looking at everything with much clearer eyes right now and seeing new possibilities, so I want to re-build.

What I’ve been doing has worked, so it hadn’t really occurred to me to take it apart and re-build it.

I was operating on the assumption that if you can get 10 people you can get 100, and it you can get 100 you can get 800 – it just takes more time.? And the most important part is to stretch your internal capacity, so that’s where I focused.

Well now that I have been stretching my internal capacity for 13 weeks I see things differently.

Also, if you’ve been following these updates you know I’ve been doing a lot of journaling and exploring what “working” means and what I want it to mean in my business, and how I want my business to feel for me and what kind of impact I want it to have.

It’s all coming to a head now.? I can see how and where things aren’t working – according to my NEW definition.? I can see how to take apart the parts that are not working.? I can see what I want to build.

I’ve spent two years building the insides of the Creative Dream Circle as my full-time job.? Now it’s time to build an outside that is worthy of the inside.

People join the Circle are are surprised by how much is there, by how powerful and transformational it is.

It’s a happy surprise, but still – I don’t want them to be surprised!? I want to be describing it better and I feel really clear right now on how to do that.

I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, and I am super excited about diving into it.

PS: Remember if you join the Circle NOW – you get to come to next week’s Creative Journal Playdate!

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Feeling overwhelmed and awkward about some parts of this…

By / Manifest your dream life

I set a big goal for my business for 2014: to welcome 800 dreamers into my Creative Dream Circle. And to do this not by getting super pushy about selling – but to do this with heart and soul and creativity and joy and LOVE.

(you can read my original post about this here)

In support of this goal, I am writing weekly updates on Fridays, for all of 2014. This is where I’ll share the story of all the ups and downs of bringing a big dream to life.

***************************************************
I do want to keep posting updates every week, even when I don’t have any real news – mostly to show how small steps add up to miracles over time.

It can’t always be exciting.

It’s really about sticking with it day after day.? Sitting down to do the work, day after day.? Doing what you need to do to stay inspired, day after day.

Other people will be inspired and interested when something exciting is happening.

You need to stay inspired and interested even when nothing is happening.

This week I did lots of really great journaling.? Lots of exploring how I want everything in my work life to be.

 

My focus has been a lot less about how to get to 800 members and more about how can I best use my gifts in service to dreamers.

The answer to that question has always been shifting as I am always growing.

I know the Circle is key because dreams need on-going support, that’s why I want to focus on the Circle instead of focusing on private sessions or e-courses.

I went back to offering private sessions recently because it’s something I LOVE to do and I was inspired to do so, but only on a limited basis – I don’t want that to take up the bulk of my time or energy.

I know DREAMERS are who I am here to serve because I am so passionate in my belief that our dreams come true will save the world.

I am feeling very connected to my passion and purpose and so focusing on business goals doesn’t feel like a huge priority right now.

Not that I am letting this goal go (I’m not!), this is just how I’m feeling about it right now.

I am focused on creating special new treats for Circle members.

There are two ways to grow a business: outward or inward.

Outward as in reaching out and growing your audience.

Inward as in reaching in and serving your people more fully.

You can do both or one or the other.

For a long while my focus was inward as I was building the Circle.? Once the Circle was ready for more members, I thought my focus should shift to outward.

Now I’m thinking no.

I do my best stuff when I’m inward focused.? I feel overwhelmed and awkward about the outward stuff.

awkward

Feeling overwhelmed and awkward can be signs of being out of your comfort zone which is part of what you have to do in the process of change.

Feeling overwhelmed and awkward can be signs that what you’re doing just isn’t right for you.

You have to dig deeper into your feelings to know: is what you’re doing aligned with your truth and it’s just awkward to stretch into the next level, or is what you’re doing not quite aligned with your truth?

That’s where I’m at.

I think being outward focused is #2 for me right now – not quite aligned with my truth.? But I could just be trying to bullshit myself because I don’t like being uncomfortable.

As I shared last week, it was liberating to see that being outwards focused for January didn’t result in more sales for January (over last January).? But does that mean being outward focused doesn’t work for me or does that mean I need to give it more time?

These are the kinds of circular thought processes that are a part of building your own path, instead of following someone else’s.

This week I gave away my first guided journal and mandala colouring book: You Are Loved.

This book is a mini version of a series of books I wanted to create.? I put this out there as a test to see if I really do like making these and if anyone is going to care about them.

Delightfully, I LOVED making it and yes people do like it.

So I am working on the first full-sized version which I will be releasing next week.? Ideally, I’d like to make one every month.? They’d be free for Creative Dream Circle members and available for sale on my website.

Plus I just scheduled a streaming video journal party (for Circle members only) to celebrate the first one.? This next book will be out next week and the streaming video playdate will be the following week.

I have a LOT of inspiration and joy and energy for this.

This is being very inward focused which is in my comfort zone.

I’ll keep exploring whether or not this is the right path for me, or if I am just trying to avoid the discomfort of stretching into something new.? My hunch is that I do need to be doing BOTH.


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It’s official: The Dream Loft Is MINE. [epic photo post]

By / Creative Dream Incubator

This is a 2.5 year long story.

Two and a half years ago, I got this intuitive hit to take a different route home from the park one day. I drove past a construction site and my inner Creative Dream Fairy went NUTS. Google it! Call them! You need to find out more about what they are building here! This is for YOU!

I was in my first year of being 100% self-employed. I kind of had my hands full without the thought of MOVING. But I goggled it.

Whoa.? They were building two and three storey townhouse loft condos, built in small buildings forming a rectangle around a park.? No two suites the same floorplan, but all had huge, HUGE windows, cool (cool looking but the floors are actually heated) polished concrete floors, bright open spaces.? Laundry in the bathroom in up in the loft.? Paths meandering through the park, with small wooden bridges that lead to each person’s door.

It looked pretty great!

My intuition was very clear: I would be able to do my best work in this kind of space. It would help me grow into who I need to be to do what I want to do.

Still, there was a gap between me-from-before-the-dream-loft and me-who-lives-in-the-dream-loft.

This gap was much larger than I thought when I started.

I set out on what I thought would be a fairly simple journey.

I followed my intuition which said: sell the house as quickly as you can, go stay with your parents for a month.? Set up your tent in their super cool back yard – it will be awesome!

And it was awesome.

It was also a really good teaching opportunity.? When you do things that go “against the grain” people react in strange ways.

People, like grown-ups who I thought had some level of maturity, actually made fun of me.? Like there is something wrong with wanting to live how you want to live.

This tent was all full of down pillows and quilts and journals and art supplies.? It was heaven.

But just because I was doing things differently – I was teased.

This grew my motivation to be a beacon for dreamers and create safe spaces for them to do what their hearts are calling them to do, rather than follow societal norms like a robot.

Construction on the loft was delayed, the weather turned cold, and I moved into my parent’s basement.

This condo development is super unique and in some ways it made sense that there would be delays.? However, the developer handled everything very poorly, which made everything harder. (Plus if it made sense that there would be delays shouldn’t that have been factored into the possession date? But I digress.)

This whole time though, I knew I was not really caught up in a new construction nightmare, I was in the inner process of growing into me-who-lives-in-the-loft.

Not that this was easy.? Growing into a new way of being is not easy – this is why most people don’t even attempt to go after their dreams.

If I had just packed up my things and moved into the loft there wouldn’t have been a transformation.

But that was only stage one of my transformation.? I have been living in the Dream Loft for a long time but signing the papers kept being delayed.

I had no papers or anything saying that I had any right to live here.? I haven’t known if one day I would just suddenly have to leave.? Or if I would buy the condo but the rest of the development wouldn’t be finished and I would have a really hard time selling it later.

In a lot of ways, this looks like the absolute worst financial decision I’ve ever made.

But I have to trust internal over external.

I have to trust my inner knowing about what is best for me.? All the magic is in TRUSTING the process, NO magic is in JUDGING the process.

At the end of January, 26 months after the original possession date, I took official and legal possession of the Dream Loft.

I just took a quick flip through my instagram to share a few pics:









The Dream Loft changes all the time.

It’s about 1,000 square feet, with the main floor being larger than the second floor, and space on the main floor that is two storeys tall.? The second floor loft looks out over onto the main floor.? I got an extra-tiny kitchen so I’d have more open space (I don’t like cooking anyway).

I got rid of over HALF OF MY THINGS to move in here.

Not because it’s super small, but because I wanted it to feel open and spacious.? And I wanted my life to be SIMPLE.? It’s amazing how having a lot of things makes things less simple… I do think I want to write a whole blog post about this.

The things I have now are only the most useful and happy-making things.? And this makes it easy to move things around every time I am inspired to, which I love doing.? So I am always re-arranging.

I’ve got lots of soft nooks to curl up in for journaling.? Huge tables for art-making and sewing.? Comfy couch and chairs which is where I do most of my laptopping.

In hindsight, everything was perfect.

Everything played out how it needed to play out to support me in growing into who I wanted to be next.

And here I am.

After this 2.5 year journey, I now trust myself to take care of myself in ways that I couldn’t have even known about when this all started.

And I live in my Dream Loft, and living and working here makes me feel like I can do anything.? That is worth every second of the journey it took to get here.

No matter what kinds of delays you may be facing on route to your dream: stick with it.


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Procrastination and finding the easy way to do something hard

By / Journaling

procrastination

I put off these two things for months:

  1. Making my private sessions public (I had been doing private sessions all along, but had stopped offering it as a thing on my website a year and a half ago, so I was only working with people who had already been working with me before I took it off my website)
  2. Making guided journals and colouring books.

At first, I had all sorts of reasons why I couldn’t do either of these things right now.

Reasonable reasons.? Excuses love to dress up as reasonable reasons!

And then I noticed that these reasonable reasons were actually keeping me from doing what I want to do.

And that putting these things off didn’t actually feel good.

So I decided to do them.

I tried to take control of the situation.? I made time in my schedule to work on these things.? I moved them up the priority list.

And suddenly everything else in the whole world was so much more important than doing these things!

I was a procrastinating manic.

Everything about working on these things felt HARD.?

It felt scary and like I didn’t know how to do it and like everything is hopeless anyway so why bother?

Oh my.? No wonder I had been avoiding this for so long!

When I just can’t seem to do something the way I’m trying to do it, instead of giving up I set my sights on finding the easiest possible way in.?

Instead of going full speed ahead, what if I just stick my teeny tiny baby toe in the door towards doing this?

Ahhh.? Relief. And room to breathe.

  1. Instead of diving head first into offering private sessions – I am offering a limited number of private sessions on my website.? This feels good.? A solid step, not an overwhelming leap.
  2. Instead of diving into creating and selling my guided journals and colouring books, I am making a mini version and giving it away – my Valentine’s gift to you.

For the private sessions, I spent a lot of time exploring how to offer this in a way that feels good and nurturing and inspiring and sustainable for me.

This is also why I added custom art to these sessions (during the session I’ll make you a treasure map that outlines your transformational process and next steps).? That is an idea I have been playing with for years and I’m really happy to be taking this step with it.

It seems important to add that it doesn’t matter why I felt overwhelmed at the thought of putting these sessions out there on a permanent basis.

I love doing this work and I don’t know why taking this particular step freaked out my inner critics.? It’s more important to focus on am I sure I want to do this? and how can I do this in a way that feels good?

I’m highly sensitive and highly introverted and kind of weird and I get overwhelmed sometimes. It just happens.? Over the years I have found that it makes more sense to figure out a way to NOT feel overwhelmed, than it does to explore the overwhelm and try to figure out WHY it’s there (which opens up a Pandora’s Box of stuckness).

(If you’re a Creative Dream Circle member you can use the Un-Sticking Station to do this – un-sticking the stuck helps you find the way through)

For the journals, it’s kind of like I was DROWNING in ideas about what I can do with them.

I am imagining this being a huge series of books (they’ll be available for sale on my website, and Creative Dream Circle members will get them free).

With this many ideas, it’s really hard to know where it start.

But I kept sitting quietly with the essence of what I want to create, and one day it just dawned on me that Valentine’s Day is coming up and I could make the first one?a “mini” version about self-love and give it away as Valentine’s gifts instead of selling it.

This idea came with a GIGANTIC wave of relief.? Giving things away is a lot easier than selling them and it’s an ideal way to bring a new creative project to life.

(Your free Valentine’s guided journal and colouring book will be out later in the week.)

Once I got started making the freebie journal and colouring book, I got clearer on what I want to do next with the journals, and even have the first full journal underway – it’s called YOU GOT THIS, a journal about transforming doubt.

affirmation inspiration card

I love how taking that teeny tiny step gets you into movement and creative flow.

And now I am DOING these two things that I had been just DREAMING about for so long.

Think of the thing(s) you’d love to do that you are putting off.? Are there any teeny tiny super easy baby steps you can take today?


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Venturing into new Territory

By / Creative Entrepreneur

I set a big goal for my business for 2014: to welcome 800 dreamers into my Creative Dream Circle. And to do this not by getting super pushy about selling – but to do this with heart and soul and creativity and joy and LOVE.

(you can read my original post about this here)

In support of this goal, I am writing weekly updates on Fridays, for all of 2014. This is where I’ll share the story of all the ups and downs of bringing a big dream to life.

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I remember the first time I read what Deepak Chopra said about the process of metamorphosis, how a caterpillar turns into mush and a butterfly is born out of that mush and how our transformation works in the same way.

You don’t just suddenly sprout wings.? You turn into mush and then emerge from the mush brighter, stronger and truer.

This week, I am that mush!
mandala creative journal

It feels like new space is opening up inside me.? Like my heart has more room now.

Good stuff happened this week which I’m not ready to talk about just yet, since I am in the mush.

mandala creative journal

So I’m just not in the headspace to share a detailed practical kind of update.

I can say that the Creative Dream Incubator e-Course started inside the Creative Dream Circle this week and it’s AMAZING.

We’ve got over 70 members in the Circle now which is buzzing and sparkling.

I worked hard this month, I kept the pedal to the metal.? I tripled my web traffic!? I welcomed really wonderfully fantastic new members into the Circle!

I am really happy with how this is going.

I don’t want to let the mushiness of transformation and shifting into something new that I am feeling right now to dampen the momentum I worked hard to build.

So, this weekend I’m spending some time with my journal, my analytics and these questions:

What worked?

What didn’t work?

How am I defining “worked”?? Am I clear on how much energy I want to be putting in to make things “work”?

What do I want to do more of next month?

What do I want to do less of next month?

If everything about running my business could be exactly how I wanted it to be – how would that be?? What do I really want to be doing?

… looking forward to exploring this.

PS: I’ve been getting a lot of emails from people wondering if they can still join the Circle now, even though the Creative Dream Incubator started on Tuesday.? The answer is YES.

There is one rule in the Incubator course: You are never behind!? This is deep transformation which you can only do in YOUR own time.

So if you’re feeling like you’d like to join us, join us!

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Being Ridiculously Happy

By / Creative Entrepreneur, Manifest your dream life

I set a big goal for my business for 2014: to welcome 800 dreamers into my Creative Dream Circle. And to do this not by getting super pushy about selling – but to do this with heart and soul and creativity and joy and LOVE.

(you can read my original post about this here)

In support of this goal, I am writing weekly updates on Fridays, for all of 2014. This is where I’ll share the story of all the ups and downs of bringing a big dream to life.

***************************************************

 

Today I am so grateful that I stayed with the discomfort of shifting my comfort zone these past few weeks.? It’s not that being uncomfortable is inherently valuable, it’s more like in order to hold a new intention you have to be willing to hold that new intention no matter how it feels or else you won’t be able to move into it.

And new usually does feel uncomfortable because it’s outside of our familiar zone.

The numbers I am working with, like having 800 members in the Creative Dream Circle, aren’t really about the numbers.? It’s more about the energy, feelings and qualities of it.

A business is a tangible thing and I wanted a tangible set of numbers to work with.? The number that best matched the energy, feelings and qualities is 800.

The other number I’ve been playing with is around 3,500 – 4,000.? This is the number of unique monthly visitors per month I have had for the last few years.?

For those who don’t speak analytics this means the number of different people who visit my site, this is not the total number of page hits.? Even if you visit once a week, you are only counted as one person – and everyone who gets my blog posts sent via email aren’t counted in this number at all.

Given how honest and vulnerable I am in what I share here – I was simply NOT comfortable with this number being any higher than 4,000.? Also – coaches don’t need huge audiences to have enough clients.

But my dream has been telling me that in order to grow the Circle I do need to grow my audience.

Substantially.? To about 20,000 unique monthly visitors.

Which terrified me!

I was barely comfortable with 4,000!

What has helped me the most is to keep remembering that it’s not about me.

I’ve studied how dreams grow WAY MORE than anyone I know.? I have so much passion and love for dreams.? I have created programs that literally GROW DREAMS.

I am not the point – DREAMS are the point!? I didn’t do this work to get attention for myself, I did this work because DREAMS MATTER TO ME.

I feel strongly that dreams are going to heal the world.? I am deeply committed to supporting this in happening.

When I sit with the desire to serve the whole world through serving more dreamers, I feel like I can do anything.? I feel like the whole universe (which loves dreams very much) is actively supporting me.

This feels amazing.

And I even feel safe bringing my work to a larger audience.

And it’s happening quickly!? Right now I’m now at just over 9,000 unique monthly visitors.?

My number more than doubled in a month.

And it’s happening in a sustainable way – at this point it would be hard for me to slow down that growth.? (For Circle members, I am sharing the details of what I’m doing to make this happen in the Creative Business Incubator)

Of course, traffic does not equal Circle members!? But having 800 members by the end of the year seems completely do-able with what the numbers are doing right now.

I feel like I was in a rut.? And I set my sights on going somewhere new.

And the process of getting out of that rut and creating a new path was awkward and uncomfortable and exhausting – but now I’m here.? Solid and steady on the new path.

I still have to walk the path – but actually getting on the path is harder than walking along it.? Such a satisfying feeling.

I am super in love with my dream, with the Circle, with the Circle members… all of it.

I know that love is a powerful magnet and light – helping draw more support and resources to me while lighting up my next steps on the path.

But that’s not what is making me happy.

What is making me happy is knowing that I am doing my best to make this work.

I’m not shying away from any of the things I usually shy away from.

I’m not avoiding looking at any parts of this.

I’m not wishing, hoping or praying things will change, I am being ACTIVE about CHANGING THEM.

I’m not letting my inner critics or limiting beliefs decide how things have to be.

Whatever the outcome ends up being – THIS feels amazing.

happy

This is my favourite part of Creative Dreaming: getting into FLOW

Bringing a dream to life is about this inner work of connecting more deeply to the core of who you are.

Bringing more of your soul’s presence (and power and magic) into your everyday life.

There are bumps in the road because there are hard things to face in this process. (If it was easy- everyone would be living with their dreams)

There are also times when everything feels so amazingly right it’s hard to not burst into song about how gorgeous it all is.

PS: The Creative Dream Incubator e-Course is starting on TUESDAY!? You guys!? This class is amazing.? It’s not even a class as much as it’s a transformational dream-growing bubble of love.

You can read what Incubator Graduates have to say about it right here.

You can read all about the course right here.

You can join the Circle – to get this course plus every other course I do all year long – right here.

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Keeping the Pedal to the Metal

By / Manifest your dream life

I set a big goal for my business for 2014: to welcome 800 dreamers into my Creative Dream Circle. And to do this not by getting super pushy about selling – but to do this with heart and soul and creativity and joy and LOVE.

(you can read my original post about this here)

In support of this goal, I am writing weekly updates on Fridays, for all of 2014. This is where I’ll share the story of all the ups and downs of bringing a big dream to life.

***************************************************
I am familiar with PUTTING the pedal to the metal.

I’ve had to do that repeatedly to get to where I am.? And I like that feeling that I am DRIVING myself somewhere in my life, that I am in the driver’s seat, pointed in the right direction, and GOING.

What I am NOT familiar with is KEEPING the pedal to the metal.

I like to go somewhere, then get out of the car.? Have a picnic, maybe a nap.? Appreciate where I am.? Acclimate to where I am.? Then choose a new destination, draw a new map, get back in the car.

What I like are day trips.? Put the pedal to the metal, get to where I want to be, then stop.

What my dreams are calling me into now is a long distance road trip.

My challenge to myself is to KEEP the pedal to the metal for all of January.

Kind of funny that this is coming to me in a driving analogy since I sold my car this fall and have been REVELING in my new car-free lifestyle.? But this is how it feels.

I can feel my right foot pushing down on the gas and I notice how I want to slam on the brakes and just stop until I feel acclimated where I am.

But my intuition is clear.? Pedal to the metal, sweetie.? You’ll LOVE where we get to once we get there.? But we’re not there yet so don’t stop.

So that’s where I’m at this week.

Untitled

Pedal firmly to the metal.

Being consistent about all the things I need to be consistent about to spread the word about the upcoming Creative Dream Incubator e-Course happening inside the Creative Dream Circle.

A few months ago I wrote in the Circle about a pattern I’d spotted while journaling, about how I don’t stay consistent with my marketing.

This is that not-keeping-the-pedal-to-the-metal-thing.

So I started using the tools in the Circle to work on it, to get to know it more, find out what it has to teach me, learn more about my own resistance and – finally – create a new possibility for what I’d like to do instead.

And here I am.? Now it’s like I am cruising down the highway, singing, enjoying that beautiful sparkling spacious feeling of being out on the open road. Marketing-wise I am doing EVERYTHING I feel inspired to do.

I’ve never done this before.? I’ve always spent more time working on my actual programs or working with clients, and less time marketing.

It feels good to work so hard in service to inviting more dreamers into my world.

It’s not ALL good though.

Things are going good, but this is also exhausting.

I do want to keep this up until the end of the month as I really want as many participants as possible to join this round of the Creative Dream Incubator happening inside the Creative Dream Circle.

Of course I’m exhausted, this is taking a LOT of bandwidth.

It’s not that it’s a ton of work, it’s just the energy expenditure of staying out of my comfort zone is exhausting. I’m meditating on this every day and getting wise advice from my inner council. But if shifting your comfort zone around to include sparkling new things inside it was easy – everyone would be doing it.

Plus I got my period which is making me more tired, and for some reason I decided that this is not a good reason to slow down.? So I’m in loving (but difficult!) negotiations with the part of me that is afraid that if I do slow down and take care of myself, I will just stop.

This is kind of weird because normally I excel at self-care!? But this KEEPING the pedal to the medal thing feels so new I worry that it is too delicate.

And I have increased my self-care practices, but it’s not enough.? This weekend I’ll be exploring what I am going to do about this – how to fuel myself for the final leg of this month-long trip.


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FREE + LIVE (streaming video) Creative Dream Journal Playdate

By / Creative Journaling, Journaling, Online Classes

I’ve been doing free coaching calls and tele-classes every month, for my darling email subscribers.

For January we’re doing something very special – a live, streaming video Creative Dream Journal playdate.

creative journal course

It’s happening January 7, at 2pm (Central, North America).

You can participate from anywhere in the world, via the web.

You can participate live, or play along with the recording.

I’ll be leading you through a process of connecting with the heart & soul of your dream (for more on this, check out the Keys to Successful Creative Dreaming audio on the Creative Dream Circle Initiation page).? Then we’ll explore and discover what kind of magic your dream has in store for you.

You’ll be able to ask questions by typing them into the text box, or if you’re brave and want some coaching (and if you’ve got a web cam) – you can come on the live webcast.? (If you’re thinking you may want to go for that – please have headphones handy)

Join the email list for your invite (you’ll also get my free Creative Dream Starter Kit to play with):

 


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Making a Big Dream Real #3

By / Creative Dream Incubator

It’s already week three of my new adventure!

Early this week I started to really come into alignment with this new dream.? I started feeling more flow and inspiration.

I had so many ideas for things to try, and so much energy to play with them.? Sunday night I had a hard time falling asleep because I was So Excited for Monday morning to come so I could get to work.

It felt amazing.

Until it didn’t.

I went from super inspired on top of the world to way down in the dumps.

This happens with dreams!? You dig through stuff, get to a new layer of clarity, but then there is all this… debris from your digging.

The debris was messy this week.? Remembering all the reasons why this is impossible.? Loosing my connection with why I want this.? Not trusting my dream.? Not trusting myself.? Not fun.

And I kept trying to push myself to act anyway.? Which is never a good idea. But I felt frustrated and impatient and wanted to see some results.

I found myself very focused on externals, which is usually what’s happening when you feel stuck like that.

So then I thought… hey why don’t I do the things that I know work when I’m down in the dumps.

That stuff kept this week from being a total disaster.? And as I played with these tools, I learned A LOT about why I was so in the dumps.

And even found gifts & treasures in the dump.

Bringing a dream to life is more about growing yourself than it is about making things happen in the outer world.

I’ve got painful stories that I carry that me-who-lives-this-dream does not carry.? These stories were so troubling for me this week because I was waking up to how troubling they are.

You know how when you’re just used to something you don’t really notice it?? It’s like that with your stories and patterns and limiting beliefs.

When you consciously choose to grow, and set your sights on a new way of being – the old ways of being start to become horribly uncomfortable.

This was uncomfortable this week and I’m guessing I’m not finished being uncomfortable.

I am grateful to start to see the patterns behind the patterns more clearly.? I’m grateful to have the tools & skills to transform this.? I’m grateful that no matter how sad & frustrating this gets, I do hold onto the knowing that I will move through this.

I made friends with Discipline.

Discipline appeared this week.? Not all drill sargeant-y and pushy, more like a beautiful and benevolent Goddess of Possibilities.

Last week I talked about creating daily and weekly practices that support and sustain me as I support and sustain this dream.? Daily meditation, energy work, journaling and art-making.? Weekly learning.

This week I learned that I need this to be more disciplined.? It’s not enough to just to these things each day, they need more structure and I need more structure in how I approach them.

These structures are the most supportive things, ever.

This boy became my business role model:

Everything about this represents everything I want in how I approach my work.

He’s relaxed and trusting and barefoot.

He’s playing.? In a soft space in the sunshine.

He’s got pens and toys and an open book.

Spaciousness. Freedom. Creativity. Trust. Alignment. InTUNEment.

Flow. Flow. Flow. Flow. Flow.

Tangible Things I did this week to move towards my goal:

Given how hard this week felt, it feels like a complete miracle that I did anything.? But I did!? Because I am kind of chatty here talking about why I’m doing things, I am making the things I did bold, and everything else plain.

I figured out how I want to start advertising, and started!? I updated my Fabulous Free Stuff page, created a button for it and signed up for an ad on Kind over Matter, to advertise my Fabulous Free Stuff page.

(Advertising my free stuff has been the best way for me to advertise my business.? This way the ad is an invitation to peek into my creative world and see if you want to play here.? Ads that point to a sales page are NOT how I want to grow my business – I would much rather people got to know me FIRST, then decide if they want to join the Circle, instead of advertising the circle.)

I’ll also advertise the freebies page on Facebook, starting in January.? And I did some research for some new places to place ads in January.

I did a lot more tweaking to the Creative Dream Circle page.? (do check it out!)? I thought a lot about how I want to connect with people as they’re reading that page, and what I want them to know.

Made some images to promote the Creative Dream HOLYday to share on Facebook and Pinterest.

Spent more time exploring my new favourite question: Do I need to step up what I’ve been doing or do I need a totally new plan?

Did more inspiring business reading to nourish my brain with possibilities.

Worked on my promotional plan for January.? I’ll be running both the Creative Dream HOLYday (Jan 3) and the Creative Dream Incubator e-course (Jan 28).? This is an amazing course that really does grow dreams – I want to get as many people as possible participating this year.

Planned my first Spreecast: The Creative Dream Journal Playdate (it’s free and it’s happening January 7)!!? On Monday I got to play with Connie and Lisa on Spreecast and wheeeee it was fun.? I’ve been thinking about doing this forever and finally – I’m doing it!

Being able to speak to people one-on-one has been the best way for me to grow my business.

People do not realise how much I can help them – until I do it!

When you have a mindset like “this is hard” or “I don’t live my dreams – that’s for other people” someone telling you they can help with that doesn’t even register.? Because you’ve been carrying that story so long it feels like Absolute Truth for you – you don’t know that you’re carrying it.

When I work with new people and start to shift the energy around the story to open up new possibilities – they’re stunned.? Then they start to get what it means to play with possibility.? Then they start to want more for themselves.? It’s so beautiful.

Last year I gave away 100 free mini coaching sessions.? As much as I loved that, energy work takes a LOT of energy and I simply can’t do that again.? So this year I’ve been doing free monthly coaching circles and tele-classes since November, and now I’m going to branch out into the free live stream.

I think the tele-classes/circles may work better because then people get to actually talk to me and I can do energy shifting & coaching with them.? For that to happen on a live stream, they’d have to be willing to go on camera and a lot of people are not comfortable with that.

On the other hand, a lot of people don’t want to pay long distance for a phone call (though I do have to pay long distance charges to call my own conference line!) but would watch a video stream online.? So I think the video stream will have more participants – but will they be as engaged?

I don’t know!? Let’s see if I find out at the Creative Dream Journal Playdate.

I added new posts to Dreamtastic Creative Journals.

Did a little re-tooling of the space inside the Creative Dream Circle to make space for more members.

This week wasn’t easy and I feel like I didn’t get nearly as much done as I would have liked, but still I’m proud of how I faced how I was feeling and brought in love & creativity to transform it and stayed on track as much as possible.? The inner critics are not going to knock me off track!

Last week I started a score card to keep track of everything I’m going, inner and outer, in bringing this dream to life.? This week I’m exhausted at the thought of even looking at it, so I’m just going to ignore it.? Suffice it to say – it’s going to take a zillion steps and in the process I will defeat a zillion inner critics, fear & limiting beliefs.


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