To make any dream happen you need two things:
- To be clear about what the dream is.
- To show up, and then keep showing up.
*Note: No one is ALWAYS clear! If you’re not clear right now, go to the “I want to find my dream” section of the website
Pursuing a dream is an alchemical process.
It will heal, grow and change you.
Everything you need to make it happen you can find on the journey.
The hard part is to keep showing up. Even when we have no clue HOW to show up.
This can spark helplessness and frustration that make it feel too hard to show up, and then when you’re not showing up, no progress can happen.
This is where structure is so helpful.
I’m still doing the “I am worthy of and receptive to my dream” as a mantra most mornings before I get out of bed. (We had two calls to explore this more: Feeling worthy of your dream. Being open + receptive to your dream.)
After that, The Journal Sheet For Taking Consistent Steps really helps!
And then… you notice what would be helpful and do the little things you can see to do.
I’ve been re-building and re-organizing my whole business.
Because I switched my membership site to DREAM BOOK()! in January of 2020, I was making a lot of changes. In January of 2020 I was focused on adding content to the site and getting everyone transitioned to the Dream Book program. Then in February I was just starting to look at how I wanted my business to change, the promotional content I wanted to create, schedules, etc… and I got REALLY sick. I was sick for over three weeks and just got better when the first Covid lockdowns started.
The last four years I’ve just done whatever I needed to to keep things going. I’ve been more focused on creating coaching circles and guided journals than on the “business parts” of my business. And now it’s time to focus on the business.
So, as I work on this super-daunting task, I’ve been NOTICING WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
At first I was writing a post every morning and scheduling it for the next day. Then I noticed that I wanted more SPACE. To write more when I felt more inspire to write, to write less when I felt less inspired. To have more flexibility.
So I noticed that I wanted to start writing things in advance.
Once I was writing in advance, I noticed I really wanted to be able to see the posts in a calendar. I wasn’t sure what this meant or could look like, at the time I was writing the posts right in my WordPress (the website back end).
But I kept noticing that I wanted to see them in a calendar and eventually realised I could do this in Notion, my project management app. I set up a view with a calendar, and gave each post a “post date”. I see the posts titles in the calendar and can click on them to read the whole post. I can write posts in there. I can move them around to different dates. I can click a checkbox once the post is scheduled in WordPress. I can click another checkbox once it’s posted, and that post disappears from my calendar so I am only looking at upcoming content.
Now, I don’t know how to use Notion all that well, I learned this things by trial and error and couldn’t even tell you how to set this up.
All I am ever doing is noticing what I wish was different, and the fooling around to see if I can have that thing I want.
I trial and error and make mistakes and get frustrated and eventually things fall into place.
I know I can hire someone to set things up for me, someone who understands all the options and can see how it “should” be and sometimes I have taken options like that. Right now, I like being in the mess of this approach because it tends to bring me to RIGHT FIT FOR ME solutions instead of THIS IS HOW PEOPLE DO THIS solutions.
Now, after months of “being in the mess” with this I have such a beautiful (to me) system.
Taking tiny little step after tiny little step - I have created calendars for my blog and for my email newsletters. I have lists of ideas for social media posts (those I don’t want in a calendar, I like having a bunch of ideas to grab from if I ever want to share something but don’t have a thing to share in the moment).
I have OMG SO BEAUTIFULLY ORGANIZED lists of future project ideas, with everything I know about the project contained within the lists.
I have business goals and maps for how to get there. I have protocols that keeps things as simple as possible.
I have a whole calendar for my ROUTINES AND RITUALS!!!!
So, when I start the day, I am not starting with “OMG what am I even doing?” the way I was so often in the last four years.
I go to the ROUTINES AND RITUALS calendar and it shows me what I am doing.
All of this to say - getting organized, in whatever way that means for you, helps you STAY IN THE PROCESS.
It makes it SO MUCH EASIER to show up, and keep showing up.
Resources:
Dream Plan Kit, Including the class on Creative Planning + Project Management
Focus Pocus - you could use this to help you get organized, because there are SO MANY PLACES in the process of getting organized where it’s hard and uncomfortable and you’d rather just give up
Habits, Systems + Structures: there are 2 calls on this in the Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice series
Creative Genius Planning Sessions
Dream Book members:
Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.
Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.
Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.
Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.