This series isn’t really about business, it’s about the inner process of bringing a dream to life.? It just so happens that my current dream is to bring more of my creative genius into how I promote and grow my business.? So the first part of this post has more business stuff that may bore you if you’re not into business – just skip ahead to the last part, that is still relevant for any kind of dream-growing.
Once I’d finished exploring the last step, Find The Places Of Clarity, the next step was: Now You Can See The Path.
I sat with that and realised – well, yes I did see the path.? Things feel clear now.? Finally! My Treasure Map Provided me with a list of practical THINGS TO DO.
Before I share the list I just want to say that it’s not about the list!? It’s about the process that brought me to the list… which is what makes the list so magic and right for me.? The beautiful part of Creative Dreaming is that each of us has to create our own unique path, at times this is also the frustrating and complicated part.
I’m working with my Create A Map That Leads To Your Dream kit to make the map and using the CrazySmart Wisdom Council in the Creative Dream Circle to get the map to talk to me.? So far I’ve followed the Treasure Map from:
- Be Present
- You Have To Trust The Path Before The Path Will Appear
- Deal With Major Freakouts (Fears, Doubts, Inner Critics, etc)
- Find The Places of Clarity
- Now You Can See The Path
And here it is, the very simple plan:
- Blog more.? Aim for 3 times a week.? But put quality over quantity.? Pay attention to what you are doing that gets the most attention from people and write in more detail about that.
- Be more consistent about posting inspiring things on Facebook.
- Create a new free program.? Some kind of Dream Journal thing on the blog.? And do some free calls.
- Accept that being introverted, even online, means you need recovery time built into your outreach program.? You just can’t do as much as you want to do.
Obviously, the first advice I received about this still stands: Be in the magic and enchantment of your work and share the amazing-ness of it all: openly, brightly and honestly.? This is your work now.? That is the foundation I stand on in this work.
It’s kind of funny how simple and obvious all of this is.? But that usually is the way with Creative Dreaming, but once you start doing those simple and obvious things it all turns into magic.
Blog more.? Pay attention to what you are doing that gets the most attention from people and write in more detail about that.
This one comes with a small caveat: don’t pay attention to what everyone is saying? Pay attention to:
- The kind of people you want to work with
- The kind of people who are already buying your stuff
It can take a while to get a sense of who your Right People are, and who they aren’t.
Talking to your Wrong People will only wear you out.? And if you’re writing to your Wrong People you’re going to draw in more Wrong People (I have been guilty of this).
For the past year or so, my blog has been “my journal”.? I turned comments off (because who allows commenting on their JOURNAL?) and just wrote about me and my process of living with my creative dreams.? I needed the outlet to write things out.? And I didn’t have energy for writing blog posts, I was giving all of my creativity to my programs.
Now I’ll be directing more of my creativity to writing inspiring + helpful blog posts.? And by paying attention to what is getting the most attention, I write more about what you’re interested in right now – which will (hopefully!) make my blog posts are even more inspiring + helpful.
Be more consistent about posting inspiring things on Facebook.
I don’t like Twitter (though try to visit regularly), I don’t understand Google + and LinkedIn seems like a foreign country.? But I like Facebook, so I am going to concentrate on Facebook for social media.
There have been times when I would schedule a week’s worth of posts in advance.? This meant I was always consistent but I didn’t like doing it – entering all those posts in felt like a job.? Hiring someone to do it feels obnoxious.? Having things go out that don’t match my mood feels weird.? And the Treasure Map told me to only work with ideas from the I LIKE THIS pile, so weekly scheduling is not going to work.
I also don’t like feeling like I’m supposed to be sharing something, and not knowing what to share, so some kind of plan is needed.? Looking just at the I LIKE THIS pile, my plan is to share something from my morning creativespiritual practice time where mega-inspiring things always happen.
Then, afterwards schedule a few other things just for that day… look inside my heart for what ideas I’d like to put out into the world that day.? I can make this a part of my morning practice fairly easy.? Though I’ll probably miss some days, that’s ok.
Create a new free program.? Some kind of Dream Journal thing on the blog.? And do some free calls.
I’ve already got the Creative Dream Starter Kit as a free thing that introduces people to my ideas and gives them a ton of ideas, inspiration + fuel for walking along their Creative Dream Path.? What I want to create is something new that happens on my blog that draws new people in and gets them engaged.
I want it to be FUN + HELPFUL.? I? want the people who play along to get immediate benefits.? I want them to be having so much fun with it that they tell their friends and write about it on their blogs.? I want me to have fun with it too!? I did something like this when I first started blogging (a year of Creating Dreams Come True posts) and I loved doing it and I loved the community that gathered around it.
And I want to do free calls once in a while.? I have done this in the past and it’s super fun.? The calls can be tied into this new thing, or they can be separate, I’m not sure that matters.? I’ve also been thinking about including a Livestream element to the calls.
Since creating products is in the I LIKE THIS pile I am really looking forward to working on this.
Accept that being introverted, even online, means you need recovery time built into your outreach program.? You just can’t do as much as you want to do.
This one is more important than it sounds!? That voice that keeps saying “OMG What have you even accomplished this week?” SUCKS ENERGY.
Permission to work at a healthy pace CONSERVES ENERGY.
It actually makes it possible to get MORE work done.
This list feels simple, do-able and complete – for now.
At this time, my Creative Outreach Strategy does NOT include anything to do with SALES.
How sales work for me is that people decide for themselves when they want to COME PLAY WITH ME.? I have done a lot of work around creating clear offerings and creating a nicely-lit path that leads my Right People to them (while deflecting my Wrong People so they can go off to find their Right Thing).
My sales are steady, and enough to comfortably support myself.? I trust that more people coming in is going to equal more sales… eventually.
Creative Dreaming is vulnerable work.? Some people come to my website and immediately feel called to work with me.? Others read my stuff for years before signing up for anything.? The timing has to feel right for them, I have no control over that.
How Will I Know If My Strategy Is A Success?
If I’m not counting on seeing an increase in sales right away, what am I going to measure to know if this is working?
The honest answer is that I want to feel inspired + alive in what I am doing with my Creative Outreach Program.? So I’ll know by how I feel.
If you don’t have enough money coming in, it’s likely that if you follow this process your intuition is going to lead you to start with that piece.? Again, I highly recommend this and also have a Creative Business Incubator in my Creative Dream Circle if you want to learn more about my approach to business.
So this is not my End All Be All Final Plan, just a framework to get me started bringing my Creative Genius into how I promote + grow my business, and to wrap my head around what it means for me to be focusing my time and energy on promoting my work instead of creating new programs.
I’m sure my plan will change as I start working with it.? I’ll keep having meetings with the Treasure Map to make sure I stay on the right path.
The Important part is NOT the plan.
The important part is what lead to the creation of the plan: dealing with inner stucks, listening to my inner creative genius, following my intuition and building my path based on all of that.
This works because there is ALWAYS a way to get to where you want to be.? It’s just that that way is usually not the way you think it will be.? So you’re looking at how you think it’s supposed to be, and all you see are obstacles, so you decide there is no way.
Always always always.? Always!
There is ALWAYS a way IF you put the inner work FIRST.
PS: Since I’m going to be blogging more I am looking for blog topics!? If there’s something you’d like me to blog about, leave a comment below and let me know!