You will need- pen, paper, calendar, day book/timetable, list of all your upcoming dates/projects
Plot your calendar with what you know you are committed to for the year in pen
eg. Kilimanjaro climb, Isle of Wight Festival, Ellie’s Wedding
Then take your pencil and plot what you would like to do
eg. courses, training, trips, my own event
Make sure to mark out time off and holidays at the beginning of the year, you don’t have to know yet what you will do in that down time, just that it is marked out for you now.
Set your intentions and some bold goals about what 2010 is about for you.
KEY POINT: *Decide and commit to working in your Gift Zone*
Your Gift zone is the area where you use your unique talents, passions and experience to serve yourself and others by sharing yourself, love and time.
Ask yourself…”Who do I want to help most this year and why do I want to help them?”
Be very specific, and have a why that makes you totally excited and uplifted!
Value your time above all else- your time IS your life.
With that in mind list below some things you hate doing, stuff that wears you out, drains you, isn’t in your strengths at all or plain bores you -
i.e. Ironing
Chasing clients for payments
Scheduling appointments
Admin
Cleaning
Techy stuff- creating websites and adding shopping cart
Post and errands etc
You can outsource to a VA, who can handle admin,
A web technician- to set up your sites and payment gateways,
Writers if that isn’t your thing (try www.elance.com)
Find a local cleaner/house help
Along with a local student who wants to make a few extra pounds a week and will walk your dog or take stuff to the post office, do shopping, take in dry cleaning etc- anything you don’t love to do that is not best use of your time.
(Hint- Do you notice any feeling coming up here? resentment, guilt, shame, disbelief?If so, Can you identify it, feel it and ‘go into it’- you may need to momentarily exaggerate it to move through it- so if you feel guilt about not doing everything or hiring help- recognize and honour that feeling, and then ask yourself I you’d be willing to let that go if it means that you get to be all you can be. Heaven and Life want to support you in your mission, you are a leader and are allowed to ask for/receive help and support in all ways.)
(- Try posting on college/uni notice boards or on www.gumtree.com/craigslist or hire a PA who can come to your home and just keep on top of all the officey/organisation stuff.)
Live in Your Gift Zone!
****There are people out there who just love to keep things organized and are really in their gift doing that kind of work- let them help you!****
You have to trust that the money you pay them will be re-couped as you work in your gift zone, just do it a step at a time.
Now list stuff you really want to do this year
Everything you can think of! This might include being great at your roles- as a mother, wife, friend, daughter. It might include business goals, humanitarian goals and personal health / lifestyle goals.
Review the list, and anything that is a ‘should’ or makes you feel heavier and not inspired/excited or not from love in your heart- simply cross off. Now ask yourself “What would I really love to do this year?”
Chunk it down to stuff you want to do this month
i.e. Get some more speaking gigs booked
Finalise details for retreats & schedule all clients
This means that instead of darting around, a call here, an email there, and a blog post there -you are focusing on repetitive actions – which speeds up your productivity.
You might be working on 2 or 3 different projects, but you’d still do the calls in your calls time block…Make sense?
Think of it like a production line- in terms of grouping like tasks together, so you do all you calls at the same time, even if one is for project A, one is project B and one is the bank or whatever, like tasks go together. You can take an hour on a Sunday or Friday to plan your coming week.
Now look at your working week- decide what times would be best for you to do each of your chunks. Some chunks are daily, others weekly or monthly. Maybe your calls are bi-weekly, your coaching Tuesday and Thursday, your finances Friday, and writing mainly every fortnight~ or whatever.
Some of these tasks, like Email will be daily, but make a boundary by just doing email, say from 2-3 each day instead of it dominating your whole day- you can also have an assistant handle a lot of your email and you just see the stuff they forward to you, and they give you an update frequently.
Note: -
If you are doing your own email I wouldn’t recommend checking email first thing- use that time for something more creative like writing, sales copy or creating your next product, otherwise you can check email and start your day bogged down and purely responsive and reactive…. rather than channeling your time and energy towards your goals and priorities.
So, look at your to do list and group all the tasks and decide which chunk they are. Now, get your daybook and colour each time block a different colour. Then when it comes to the calls chunk you set your timer for however long you scheduled (I like 90 minutes) and do all your calls without interruptions.
Apply the same method to emails, writing, etc.
Final Tips
If you are thinking of outsourcing and building a good tram around you this year so you can play bigger and be more fully in your purpose then why not Manifest your ideal team with a brain dump of must/must nots for your PA, techy etc.
Finally- have your top wishes for the year written down on a piece of paper by your bed and review them first and last thing. (Big tip!)
I have a few female role models and I’m pretty sure they are Indigo
They include Angelina Jolie- she doesn’t hold back, she loves passionately, speaks eloquently and is just the most gorgeous sexy undefinable woman- she takes all those stereotypes of women – whore, mother, crone, maiden, etc and becomes all of them and none of them. She was destructive when she had no purpose, because inside her spirit knew it was here to make a massive difference. A defo indigo trait in my opinion!
Dolly Parton
Paris Hilton (this woman receives compliments better than any woman I know and has taught me to smile and say thank you rather than deflecting compliments- she is also a savvy business woman behind the sunnies and the peroxide- like Dolly, she knows how to establish a brand, create a persona and work it!)
Linda Macartney- what a pioneering visionary amazing lady.
These women followed their passions, love like mad and have a bigger purpose- I know Dolly prays all the time and had early flushes of faith like I had as a child and that they all really care about people & animals.
They aren’t afraid to be sexy, wild and feminine and don’t try to be ’spiritual’ they just live like women in full using the gifts God gave them to follow their highest calling.
As a women who loves people and is also crazy enough to believe she is here to help with the re-balancing & healing of our beautiful planet I have (after years of trial and error) eventually landed on a ‘business’ that works for me. I work best with people and now do intuitive counselling so I can use my gifts in a way that feels ‘real’ to me. As a teen and in my twenties I’d be offered jobs in sales all the time because I have that whole ’speak to anyone with my heart open’ thing -
that a lot of Indigos have….BUT i never ever wanted to ‘turn that on’ just to put cash in the bank for a business that wasn’t helping people and the planet.
So that is why I went solo. I also had a knack of being able to ’see into someone’- I didn’t go do a course because there is no handbook for what I do – it’s a gift, not anything to do with initials after my name (although I do have that stuff)
Now I tithe to www.pachamama.org and really love being in business for myself.As a woman i tend to focus more on the intagibles than a guy in business, (love, service, sharing community)I had to train myself to couple that with the tangible and get to grips with the tangibles- (money, taxes, sales). As a female I had to consciously decide to think about the money and I have had some horrible scary financial moments before learning how to charge, receive and value myself. I am still working on this all the time, but at least I am no longer shying away from it all together!
Even when times were hard financially my faith never left me because I knew eventually that I would find a way, and the picture seems to get clearer all the time. I think it’s a bit like tuning in a radio or telly- the picture comes into view but starts out kind of fuzzy- you keep backing and to-ing until you see what you like- and then you get to live it….Crystal clear picture and in surround sound.
My trip to the Amazon last year taught me the real ‘Law of the jungle’ and to me, the reeal law of business in the new paradigm – one of inter-connectedness, sacred reciprocity and true balance and co-operation.
I Love what I do and encourage everyone to follow their hearts and make a living from their love- whether that is expressed through business, professional service, public service, whatever. We all have a part to play and are a unique piece of the puzzle- It’s going to take all of us showing up to complete the picture on the front of the jigsaw which shows a healed, happy, loving , healthy and harmonious planet.
I’m excited about 2010- it feels so good already.
My plans include taking a group to the Amazon with the Pachamama Alliance to work with shaman and experience the rainforest and indigenous Achuar tribe who are the natural inhabitants and custodians of the land.
Closer to home I’ll be working intimately with some small groups, (Pearl & Golden) doing more readings/ intuitive one-to-ones and be doing workshops in the UK (where I live) – to stay informed and get a free subscription to my monthly newsletter simply click here
The biggest thing about being in business for me- and the one tip I would give any female Indigo that wants to work for herself from her heart, make a difference and get paid for working in her gifts is that you have to know your worth.
I think how much money we make comes down to self- worth in lots of ways.
The key thing every business needs is the area I struggled most with – that was ’selling.’ Gosh, even the concept felt aggressive, manipulative and just wrong. I had to find ways to think that made me not only feel that it was ok, but that it was in fact part of my spiritual, sacred service.
I had to reconcile the masculine energy of going out there and ‘closing the deal’ with my feminine energy that just wanted to love everyone and give it all away boundlessly forever! Trouble is, that makes as much sense in business as standing on the corner handing out 100 dollar bills.
Now I feel I have integrated both the Divine masculine & feminine in a way that works for me. The masculine energy implements and backs up the ideas and wishes of my divine feminine, and things feel so much more balanced and effortless!
I am happy to share here in the hope it helps you business/self-employed gals out there struggling with this-
If I know I can help someone, they need help to make a decision – That is the key. What I realsied is It is up to ME to convey the value of what I do so they can make their ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ an informed one.
I come from a place where I am devoted to helping someone who is thinking about working with me decide from their knowing- BUT I am not attached to whether that is yes or no, just that it’s not a ‘maybe’ – i.e.one more fuzzy thought for them to hang on to and keep them more stuck, still not taking action, being in confusion and not fulfilling their potential.
If they are ‘maybe’ I haven’t done my job of communicating the value I can provide. If working with me is the difference between peace in their lives, happiness in their work and more joy in themselves to share with their families then I am doing a disservice to them by not adequately expressing that. Once I have then they may feel it’s not right for them, or they might decide to go for it, either way, I trust it’s perfect.
I ask God to send me the people I am supposed to work with, I ask him to clearly show what’s really going on and how I can best serve. Sometime I intuitively feel that “nope, this is not my ideal client”. When I get a hit like that I will still hope to add value by recommending an alternative resource that I feel could help them best, so I might just recommend a book or whatever I feel intuitively to say and then wish them all the best- it’s not about ‘getting the sale’ it’s about serving from faith & the knowledge that there are plenty of people that I am a perfect fit for and those are the ones I want to work with as I can do most good with them! *(I work with lots of Indigos, but rarely attract other types as they think I am a total woo woo space cake )
So far all my relationships have been so richly rewarding. Regarding boundaries I probably do get closer to my client than a guy would, but I can’t fight my nature- I have tried that and it doesn’t work for me. I am really into protecting my energy and clearing space now that I interact with so many clients and go so deep- Boundaries are an ever evolving issue that I am much better with now. It really helps to have an assistant who can help you maintain the distance (and an egg timer so you don’t run over the time you are hired for )
It will probably mean I get stung in business more than some more ‘alpha’ types but I have strong intuition and usually know intuitively when it’s better for me to not work with someone. I hope this helps any theta male or female Indigo types and I really encourage you to go for your dreams and make that difference you know you came here for.
Ask God and the angels to help show you clearly the way and you’ll see the path unfold before you!
Running The Edinburgh Marathon for HOPE for children
Helpoing to raise $50,000 in 3 days for The Pachamama Alliance
Quitting drinking & smoking and starting to exercise
Investing & Believing in myself and my business (despite everyone thinking I was nuts ) BIGGIE
Connecting, Learning and listening to my higher self, guides and angels & trusting my intuition more each day!
Helping others to experience true freedom- spiritually, financially, emtionally & physically by helping people with addictions, blocks to abundance, overcoming the fear of living in their gifts & fulfilling their highest vision.
Increasing my income 10 fold in 3 years doing something I love
Completing my first book and selling it online
Showing up as my true self despite sometimes feeling vulnerable or afraid of what others may think
(I just realised how little my degree in formal’ education’ actually meant to me)
Top Lessons of the decade:
Be grateful for everything
I’m a spiritual being having a human experience and I create my life
It’s OK to feel what I feel and know what I know
Opportunity comes in the disguise of crisis sometimes
Value yourself & your time- you never get it back
Nurture yourself and take time for you in silence each day- even for just a few moments
Fear is part of the journey of the powerful creator
You don’t have to be perfect to be valuable & to serve
Share your gifts with love
Trust God/Life/the Universe to bring you your highest good
Impact:
Helped hundreds of people to overcome their addictions and re-purpose their lives to get their gifts out and overcome fear and self-doubt.
Helped a dying man at the scene of an accident
Inspired people from all over the globe to live more authentically and follow their dreams
Raised $8,000 in an hour & $50,000 in 3 days on separate occasions for the Amazon rainforest
Transformed my life and became more conscious about my personal responsibility to all living things
Things that made my heart sing!
Backpacking in Australia, Malaysia & Europe solo and with a galpal- discovering about myself, life 7 the Universe
Meeting people and hearing their stories, seeing their gifts and sharing
Visiting Equador with lynne & Bill twist and experiencing shamanic healing, ancient all night ceremonies and the unspoilt beauty of being deep in 5 million acres of prime virgin rainforest
Swimming eye-to-eye with wild dolphins and being in a pod of 80 ish dolphins for over an hour on the solstice of 2009 in Hawaii’s big Island- A life-long dream!
Signing my emails to my beautiful clients “With love and blessings” (Another dream come true for me!)
3 things i’ll be leaving in the noughties
‘Needing’ acceptance, approval or ‘to be liked’
Holding myself back
Fear of failure/criticism
My Soul Success Statement is
My version of true soul success is waking up each day and thanking my creator for my life. It’s being able to look in the mirror as I brush my teeth and love myself just the way I am. It’s sharing that love with every other being whether silently in my heart or through the vehicle of my business, expression or presence. Success is being here now, and accepting myself and others without judgement, blame, criticism or fear. Success in my life is being free to be who I am, speak my truth with love, and to give the best of me in all I do. I am success. I am love. I am abundance.
Today’s tip is all about what your best year ever really means
for you. Obviously the best year ever will be comprised of
the best months ever which are made of the best days ever.
So let’s start there- what does the perfect day look like?
If you haven’t considered that you may want to jot down
some ideas about what you think, do, say, contribute, experience
create and feel on your best day ever?
Yesterday we talked about crafting your ‘Purpose Punchline’
Today let’s nail your ‘Soul Success Statement’.
Many people define their success on stuff that, ultimately,
doesn’t fulfill us as human beings. If there is one thing I have
learnt in the last decade it’s that money doesn’t equal happiness,
money equals money- which is the oil for the engine of what we want
to do. Happiness= happiness whether rich or poor- but I digress…
Money is something for a whole different chat and I’ll
be discussing it more in depth tonight on my free “Abundance
& Success Teleclass” where you can learn my top 5 tips to
expanding your abundance- but for now I want to stay focussed and help you to
define what this next year, and decade is all about for you
personally.
This simple exercise to uncover your “Soul Success Statement” will
help you so much with setting your intentions and plans for 2010 because
it enables you to focus on what is really important for you and your Spirit.
So here’s where to start:
Grab a fresh piece of paper or a new doc and write your name and
then ‘The Best Of’ at the top. (hint- set your intention to experience a
breakthrough in doing this exercise!)
Underneath you’re going to create some lists that review the last
decade and prepare you for writing your very own Success Statement.
The first list is your top ten achievements in the last decade-
this might include things like getting married, having kids, qualifications,
initiatives- or you might choose to focus on your way of being and internal
victories that you have made or things you overcame and made you a better,
stronger person.
The second list is the top 10 things you learnt in the last decade
This is fun because you get to learn at the feet of the master that
is you (Like my friend Joan Ocean says- GURU= Gee, You Are You) So write
your ‘master list’
Finally, List 5 Things you did that made an impact and 5 thingsthat
made your heart sing in the last decade.
Optional extra- I also listed 3 things I would leave behind in the
noughties and 3 things I wouldn’t tolerate in the teenies. (Would you like to
see my lists? I have posted them on my blog and would love to see your lists if
they’ll go in the comment box- or simply email me!)
Now review these lists and take a look at your highlights. decide
what you want to see, do, be, experience more of and put it in your 2010
planner/calendar/ dream board.
Then you will have a good few ideas of what success means to you
and you’ll be able to create a Soul Success Statement that enables
you to experience success on your own terms every day.
Remember don’t compare yourself or your version of success to anyone
else’s- there are many flowers in the garden and all have
different purposes and unique beauty- Your version of success is
good enough…
And so are you- just as you are
I’d love to hear how you find this exercise, tommorrow I’ll share
the 2 biggest stumbling blocks and – paradoxically- areas of growth and strength
I’ve recognised in the last decade and I have a last big juicy tip for
you!
Meanhwile, write your ‘Soul Success Statement’ and ‘Purpose Punchline’
everywhere you can!
My Soul Success Statement:
My version of true soul success is waking up each day and thanking my creator
for my life. It’s being able to look in the mirror as I brush my teeth and love
myself just the way I am. It’s sharing that love with every other
being whether silently in my heart or through the vehicle
of my business, expression or presence. Success is being here now,
and accepting myself and others without judgement, blame, criticism or fear.
Success in my life is being free to be who I am, speak my truth with love,
and to give the best of me in all I do. I am success. I am love. I am abundance.
If you’re like me you’ll be sitting down before the New year officially begins and making a bit of a PLAN that includes what you want to be do and have in 2010.
Trouble is most creative people really struggle with making a plan that doesn’t feel restrictive or somehow just can’t get round to it, so year after year they fail to really make the impact, income and inspiration they desire and deserve.
No worries, I’m helping you out over the next 3 days by sharing 3 simple steps that will help you plan your year and your business and be more clear, focussed and centred in 2010!
So keep an eye out for that, and let’s start right away with this big juicy conscious marketing tip:
Know what you really ‘do’. I mean the heart of what you do and who you are.
Do you know that yet?
Once you do your life will radically alter- you’ll effortlessly attract the right people to work with you and it will blow your mind!
I can remember sitting in so many marketing classes over the past 3 years where I felt there was a big disconnect between the ‘marketing gurus’ and heart centred or spirit led entrepreneurs or service professionals like us.
Because my partner’s business was marketing and copy writing I began to learn about getting a message out to many people from the ‘insider’ viewpoint.
But time after time, I would sit in a class surrounded by what I would call gifted souls- people who had ‘heard the call’ folks who genuinely cared, had huge potential and wanted to live life on their terms- and time and again I would see a huge mistake being made that was costing them dearly. Here they were, investing in and learning systems, strategies and tools such as writing great copy, using the web and direct mail- all valuable and important aspects of marketing- but of no use at all until you are absolutely crystal clear on the fundamentals:
In other words- You need to know EXACTLY what you REALLY do.
When I say ‘what you do’ I am talking about your unique gift- your piece of magic that you came to contribute. There is absolutely no point investing thousands into marketing if you still aren’t clear on your message and your value.
Until you know exactly what your value is your marketing is doomed to mediocrity at best. I’m going to share with you a big tip now that can add so much value to you if you ‘get ‘ this….
The big thing I learned in 2009 is to focus on the transformation you provide for others, not how you deliver it but the outcome you or your products/ services create.
Once you know that you must whittle it down to a single sentence no more than 15 words. Here’s an example: “At Bettermorphosis my ‘business’ is helping people get their gifts out in a way that improves their lives physically, spiritually and financially. “
A shorter way of saying this is “I help people to get their gifts out.” (You’ll notice that ‘Get Your Gift Out’ is also the name of my best-selling system that helps gifted individuals uncover and monetise their gifts so they can fulfil their soul’s potential and manifest their Highest Vision.
Oftentimes, when you really get to the heart of what you do it can make a great title!) To tell you more I’d let you know that once people understand and value their gifts they find that not only can they make an abundant living, but that they are more fulfilled, centred and authentic.
I could passionately talk about this for hours, so that in itself would do any ‘marketing’ or ’selling’ Do you see and feel the difference?
There is no sense of manipulation, of trying to ‘get people to buy something’ you are just clearly expressing your gifts and then, by Law of attraction you are able to help the exact people who need you in an effortless, natural way.
It’s truly a beautiful thing with no ‘ickiness’ or ‘hard sell’ that doesn’t honour that soft, divine feminine soul of your business. (whether you are a guy or a gal, my personal belief is that we all have masculine and feminine energy and that the part of you that creates and births your dreams is – you guessed it the feminine. the aspect that ‘makes it happen’ is the masculine- this is a whole other article!)
It’s never about the structure and the paper the words are written on, but about the way you convey your heart & purpose through the vehicle of what you do.
So now, how can you relate this to your business? Can you come up with your “Purpose Punchline” and add it to your social media sites, webpage and business card?
Next time you’re at a party and you are asked the dreaded- “So what do you do?” question you now have an interesting conversation opener!
The added bonus is you won’t be stuck saying “er… I’m a writer but I’m also a reiki master, intuitive counsellor and have an online business” which I was always stammering over in my early days… I never knew had to express what I did and would feel awkward and mis-represented whatever I said This way you have a clear, pithy message that will cover what you are really all about and what you mean.
To sum up: Now is the best time to find out what you ‘do’. Knowing this will not only increase your business, make you more focussed and effective, but it will also be a relief to have a reply that doesn’t make you cringe at your next party!
So get working on your ‘Purpose Punchline’ and let me know how this exercise goes for you.
Hint- if you are having trouble think of a client success story or someone you have helped- it may even be a friend or relative- what was the big benefit of what you did?
Maybe you helped them get out of their own way or overcome an addiction- perhaps you helped to make them look stunning or lose weight. Remember to stay focussed on the transformation- not the process you took them through to get there!
Lots of love & Blessings Katharine
P.S. If you enjoyed this and found it helpful you will just love my upcoming FREE call where I’ll be going into details on how to make a PLAN for 2010 and taking you through some simple steps for making 2010 your best year yet! If you are not yet signed up jump on this great gift now as spots are going fast! Here’s the link.
What is the difference between someone who is fulfilled, abundant and successful
in the truest sense, and someone who is depressed, unsatisfied, and living in scarcity?
The difference is whether or not they have uncovered their gifts and
found a way to do make a living sharing what they love.
The following 5 steps are to help you laser in on your God-given
gifts, and feel confident to share them with the World. I hope they help you, I
use them myself whenever I need some guidance.
1. Your Gifts Are Beyond Compare
You are not here to compare yourself with your neighbour, brother, sister
or best friend- or that person from the telly. What you have is uniquely
special, and you are here to make manifest the glory of You. no one else can
give what you can, and there is enough for everyone on this planet. So rather than
compare the way you look, speak, dress or anything else to others out there,
simply go inside and choose to love exactly who you are. god made you perfect,
and you are valuable & important. The World is waiting for you to share your gifts.
2. Your Gifts Are Beyond Criticism
Many of us grow up with a harsh critic inside of us telling us that it’s never quite
right, that something could be better or that it’s simply a load of crap. So, to
remedy that bossy inner critic (and worse still- the outer ones) you have to make
peace with it. Simply thank it for that opinion and continue to do what you know
makes you happy, uplifts others and makes you feel good- With no apologies,
no guilt & no explanations. Your not here to please everyone, or live up to the
World’s expectations, you are here to have a wonderful experience, learn, grow
and share the love inside yourself. In the face of the wonder of that mission, criticism suddenly loses its power. Hooray!
3. Your Gifts Are Beyond Your Ego
‘Edging God Out’ is the dampner on your gifts. The minute you become
attached to what others think, or question & doubt your magnificence
& the divine in you or compromise your gifts to try and fit some kind of mould
then you cut yourself off from your genius, and the song of your soul becomes
muffled. Simply remember ‘It’s not about me’. You are a vessel for the Divine
in you, the moment your ego wants to take all the credit you lose touch with the
Source, cut yourself off from the flowand become a stagnant puddle. Keep
your waters glistening and gushing by staying connected and giving all credit to
your Source, your real gifts come from way beyond what you or I can even contemplate.
4. Your Gifts Are Beyond Time And Space
When you are working in & sharing your gift is when you enter ‘the gap.’
You lose sense of time and even space, allowing your gifts to come through you as you dissappear and seem to be in a kind of suspended animation, humbled by the rapture and love in the Universe. Your age, looks, skin colour, size or weight don’t matter when you allow your gifts to shine…they make you immortal and everyone can feel their presence as something beyond our limited perception. The 90+ year old Compei Segundo from
the ‘Buena Vista Social club’ is a perfect example of this lesson. I remember late night
music fests with my father as we would watch the DVDs of Compay shuffling on to the stage- arthritic, hunched and slow, but the minute his fingers hit the strings of his guitar
out would pour his gift from the heart- his wonderful music that made him look
like a man of many years younger, and sound like the summer party in Havana just got started and he’d be the last to leave!
5. Your Gifts Take You Beyond Your Fear
When you allow your gifts to come through you, you feel alive- centred,
and a sense of peaceful exhilaration. Life just seems to open to you and
everything seems to vibrate at a higher level- it feels like YOU are giving ‘glory
to God in the highest’. You want to stay in this place forever!
I hope you enjoyed this article! If you’d like to discover your gifts
and find joyful ways to build an abundant lifestyle around them
then why not join me for a FREE transformational teleclass
Here’s a special clip of the great man himself in action at 90 years old!
Do you have a gift you want to share with the World? Maybe deep down inside you love to sing or to pole dance or to fly kites or make gluten free cookies, or make sand art- but you feel ridiculous in believing that you might be able to make money doing that, or you simply feel embarrassed and ‘not good enough’.
If that is you- If you feel almost crippled by fear, doubt and shame then I can relate. Here is what I have learnt that I truly believe is the key to all this and that I believe will help you out if you are stuck in a self-doubt rut:
The fear/doubt/shame doesn’t go away, you simply claim back your power from it.
The thing that has held you back from following your drama career, from losing that extra weight or from writing your book … isn’t going to magically disappear. No matter how much work you do on your ‘stuff’ no matter how many books you read or classes you take that visceral, intangible, nauseus feeling that holds you back will probably be around in some shape or form until you die. Sorry to be so blunt.
So, what’s the deal? Why would we have these creative talents and gifts and then have a cloud that eclipses our creativity so completely and prevents us from getting our gifts out?
Well, the only explanation I feel is that we are meant to experience the resistance to strengthen us. We need to look at it as if we are in training- so when your fears come up- instead of listening to them as FACT, it might be more helpful to realize, “whoah, I am on the cusp of something here…. If I can just show up despite this niggling insecurity and do what I know I need to do to make this happen for myself …then I know I will be at a whole new level and it will feel great.” It’s like Gay Hendricks says “fear is excitement, without the breath.”
But how do you go beyond the fear? OK, let’s say that you have written a book. It’s ‘OK’ in your eyes, but as much as you try to perfect it no matter what you do you can’t help but feel unsure or find fault with it. What might be going on somewhere inside you is that you’ll be ridiculed, rejected or shown up as a fraud if you allow your work to be shared- and to take the risk of that feels too much to bear. Now bring cash into the equation and you have a whole hornet’s nest.
Yet, you long to be paid as a writer and make your living sharing what you love most- creating words that inspire, inform, delight your reader. So how to get around this?
The first step is you must share your work with at least a few trusted friends who can give you honest feedback. After that, and maybe a tweak or two it’s time to share your work with a wider and wider audience and decide to value your creativity by putting a value upon it and self-publishing or persisting until you get a deal with a publisher. Now, I know that this feels terrifying- but remember what we said- that is a good sign! Don’t confuse that fear with being FACT- it’s not.
You are going to feel ‘un-ready’ and a bit afraid but this feeling of vulnerability is normal. The point is you have to show up and share in order for the magic to happen. The magic might be that your work makes a difference, helps someone you’ve never met in a place you have never been in a way you couldn’t have known. It might be that your book is so well-loved it gets turned into a movie and before you know it you are walking down the read carpet with bulbs flashing from the paps! It might be that you get the satisfaction of seeing your words in print in the bookstore, or getting a rave review on the blogosphere. You just never know.
But for all those things to happen you have to get over your resistance, accept it as part of the journey and take bold, freak-yourself-out action on your own behalf… Don’t wait until the fear has gone before you get busy! Act in spite of the fear, because you will pass away before it does- and then it really will be too late.
You know that saying ‘you’re really flying’? Isn’t it great when you are in that space? Everyone has had glimpses of what it feels like when you feel like you are totally ‘on your game’ and everything is going well. Of course, as we all know in this World of contrast we also experience the lows aswell as the highs as part of life.
But if you have been feeling somehow ‘off’ your game recently and you want more than anything just to get into the flow again try these three tips to help you get back into your ‘zone’.
1 Assess your now:- take a look at your life and discover what is holding you back…Are you shaming some part of yourself that you actually need to embrace? is there some area where you just feel funky and don’t know why? What could be holding you back? Allow yourself to investigate honestly without judgement and just release what is not working- it’s ok to let go of what no longer serves you. This might involve some physical as well as energetic cleansing. You might decide to go on a detox, have a big clear out of your living space, or perhaps let go of people or habits that don’t match your vibration in the same way and stop you from being yourself. You don’t have to blame, feel ashamed or guilty… It’s O.K. to change! You may benefit from repeating the mantra ‘I am free, you are free’. Release all that you are not.
2. Go Within : Take some time to reflect, to be with yourself and hear your own song inside yourself. avoid harsh environments TV and negative people for a few days and put yourself in nature if possible. Perhaps you can visit a forest, the ocean or a mountain and find that inner sanctuary where you feel at peace. You may like to walk, work our, run, pray, meditate, journal- whatever you like to do when you tune in to your innate wisdom and the Divine knowledge within you. Once you are there ask about your direction, what you need and the best next step. Also check in and see what your heart needs and wants, you might want to put your hand over your heart whilst asking this. I have a special 5 minute heart meditation if you’d like to do a guided meditation.
3. Spread Your Wings : have the confidence and self-belief to live your fairytale life! As George Bernard Shaw said “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” So now that you have released the past enjoy stepping into your brightest future!
One final note:
When I work with clients in my mentoring and courses the thing I find over and over is that (women especially) fail to see how brilliant they truly are. i honestly believe that if some of my clients could just see themselves through my eyes forever they would never have any problems with self-worth, self-esteem or self-belief again. If you are having a hard time seeing your own strength, gifts, blessings or greatness do yourself a favour and ask a trusted friend, coach or partner to tell you what they see and admire in you. Just say “I know this sounds crazy, but I’m doing an exercise and I have to ask someone I trust to tell me how they see me and what my gifts and strengths are” I promise you will be blown away by the answers!
Until next time, sending you joy, love and wisdom xx
No…not the kind of pickles that you get in a jar at the supermarket, the kind of pickles you get in when you are trying to answer the age-old question of “Why Am I Here?”
In fact, if there were a jar of life purpose pickles I am sure that my story would be in amongst the shelves- to find out more about that check out my complimentary ‘Get Your Gift Out’ call at www.bettermorphosis.com/giftcall.htm
This post is actually about how to get out of the pickle and onto the clear long, straight road of living your life purpose. One you know the answer to the question “Why Am I Here?” A whole lot of arbitary nonsense just seems to dissappear.
Maybe that is why Archangel Michael is the guardian angel of this area of living your highest purpose in the World- his big sword cuts away the webs we weave to keep us tangled up, resistant, confused and un-engaged with the work we are really put here to do. The good news is that once we call upon him for a hand, follow the signs and trust our instincts before we know it we have a good idea of the answer to this question!
For me, I am happy to finally feel like I have fully stepped up and into my life purpose and my gifts- spreading love is really what its all about and I feel blessed I get to share with you and create products and services that reflect my heart and passions.
I’d love to hear from you with any comments on this subject…And if you are stuggling in this particular area do yourself a favour and call on michael to help you out of that pickle jar
Imagine a young farm girl, living in a small village in France that was still loyal to the French crown during one of the darkest perio’s of French history.
It was a dark, bleak time….A time when the French hadn’t won a single battle in over a generation, were being invaded and overcome by invaders, expecially England who scorched the French soil and and worsened an already devastated economy, as the French were cut off from foreign markets and still hadn’t recovered from the Black Death of the previous century…
Now imagine this same young girl, the daughter of a farmer and just 12 years old- she is out in the fields one day and is visited by 3 angels who told her she was to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin (young French Prince, later to be Charles VII) to Reims for his coronation.
This was an impossible task at best, right?
But rather than dismissing her vision as ’silly nonsense,’ just a few years later Joan of Ark would lead the French army to victory against the English, and enable CharlesVII to take his rightful place as ruler of France.
At first, her attempts at getting an interview at the French Court was laughed off and she was mocked, but -undeterred- she returned the a year later- (at around 17 years old) – and after a series of remarkable incidences she was granted a private meeting with Charles and impressed him. Remember- she is an illiterate farm girl!
Joan, true to her mission, and with faith and conviction petitioned to travel with the French Army.
She requested that she too had the equipment of a Knight- and despite the fact she had no money to fund her armour, horse and sword, all that she needed was donated to her – her horse, sword and armour- that she insisted was white.
At the time France had endured one humiliating defeat after another.
It is said that every orthodox, every rational, logical means of winning any battle had tried and failed, and that is why the Dauphin granted Joan’s request to not only be equipped for war, but to be placed at the head of his Army.
"She gave her great mind to great thoughts and great purposes when other great minds wasted themselves upon pretty fancies or upon poor ambitions" Mark Twain
So at just 17 years old this young girl, who claimed that the voice of God was directing her, took charge of her country’s army and led them to victory.
She had to carry out her role as a leader with total faith: strategising, negotiating and convincing the commanders to listen to her despite her lack of experience or credibility.
One night at the beginning of her career she knew that the French army needed to attack, and when they wouldn’t let her and locked the gates she disregarded them, had the townsmen and common soldiers force the mayor to unlock a gate for her small army and just one captain, and set out to ride out and capture the fortress of Saint Augustins- which she did.
During her battles, Joan didn’t escape wounding, including an arrow to the throat and stone canon ball to her helmet, despite her injuries, she would still return to battle to lead the charge. When she was just 19 Joan was burned by the English for heresy, yet at her trial her words stupefied the court and they feared they would be damned because she was so graceful and eloquent .
I love what Mark Twain says about Joan, “When we reflect that her century was the brutalest, the wickedest, the rottenest in history since the darkest of ages, we are lost in wonder at the miracle of such a product from such a soil”
We can all be awed and humbled by Joan’s nobility, honesty and humanity- she did what she was guided to do no matter what and would give her life before she would deny her own power and truth, which kpt her in the heart of God.
I think we can all learn from Joan’s sense of purpose, and that even in the blackest night we can truly shine with the heart felt dedication to a cause we know to be deserving and just. We too can be ‘miracles’ no matter what the soil we are currently experienceing no matter how hard it seems, no matter how dark it gets, if we stay true to our nature we can survive and fulfil our destiny, by drawing on the courage, dedication and connection we have to light the way.
“Joan of Ark lived at one of the most brutal, dark and wickedest times in History. In such black times she burned like a candle, putting her mind and heart to work on greater purposes”
Angelina Jolie- she doesn’t hold back, she loves passionately, speaks eloquently and is just the most gorgeous sexy undefinable woman- she takes all those stereotypes of women – whore, mother, crone, maiden, etc and becomes all of them and none of them. She was destructive when she had no purpose, because inside her spirit knew it was here to make a massive difference. A defo indigo trait in my opinion!
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If you’re like me you’ll be sitting down before the New year officially begins and making a bit of a PLAN that includes what you want to be do and have in 2010.
So, what’s the deal? Why would we have these creative talents and gifts and then have a cloud that eclipses our creativity so completely and prevents us from getting our gifts out? 
