Update 29: Manure Makes The Flowers Grow (and dreams too!)

By Andrea Schroeder / June 13, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, intention, journaling, 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)

At this point though, I’m not interested in the numbers. I’ve been more interested in exploring how to grow my capacity serve dreamers in bringing their dreams to life from a place of delight and gratitude and plenty.

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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This week started HARD, capital H, capital A, capital R, capital D. HARD.

I did have to laugh at myself a bit – I know that doing a class specifically on happiness has a tendency to bring the things that block happiness to light.

The story was always there, rooted in fear and shame and lack.? But it was all tightly rolled up, like a stone.? A stone that was blocking possibility, but it had been there so long I didn’t notice it anymore.

Unraveling the story in preparation for Love Your Life, of course, makes it impossible to not notice.? It’s like the rock exploded and instead of keeping this story so neatly contained it was now… well it was everywhere.? Impossible to avoid.

The teacher and healer in me knows that this is good.

This is how those stories get broken down back to their essence and healed and transformed.

This is how the fear and shame and lack get released.? This is how new stories get written.

But every other part of me was not so welcoming of the situation.?

It’s painful and scary and hard.? I felt particularly freaked out to be getting ready to teach this class where we’d be working with joy, delight and love when I was feeling so much the opposite.? And I blogged about that earlier this week.

But I have the tools to work through it effectively and quickly.

And on the other side of that, things look really different.

I am more connected to the WHY of why I do this work and why I am moving towards this particular dream of growing the Circle.

I am more in love with my work, my life and my self than ever.

There is more room inside of me for trust and courage.? I feel indescribably amazing.

This kind of energy healing really is the best drug ever.

That’s why the Creative Dream Circle includes the Un-Sticking Station which is ALWAYS there to lead you through that process.? Because the shitty parts are a part of the journey.? And when you’re in the shitty parts it’s hard to remember how to get out of them.

But when you bring creativity and love and wisdom and power to how you handle the shitty parts – you grow your superpowers and make more space inside of you for more of whatever you want: abundance, joy, calm, delight, creativity, etc, etc, etc.

So as I write this on Thursday morning I am still in the afterglow of deep healing, and in the pre-glow-magic of the Love Your Life Creative Journal Class – we’re doing our live playdate this afternoon.

There is more that I would like to share, about shifting perspectives, but need to save my energy for our class today.? (I usually write these on Thursday afternoons, and this week that time is devoted to the Love Your Life Creative Journal Class.)

So I’m not going to answer the Creative Dream Update Questions (posting them here for Circle members so you can use them in our weekly update circle: What happened in the last week? How do I feel about this? What do I need now? What does my dream need now? Taking all of this into account, my next mission is:)

I am so in love with all of this, and so grateful for all the amazing beings I get to share this work with, inside the Creative Dream Circle.? If you’ve been on the fence about joining, I’ve got to say: DO IT.? If you like my work enough to be reading these update posts, you’ll totally love what I have to offer inside the Circle.

Update 29: Manure Makes The Flowers Grow (and dreams too!) Read More »

I want to help teachers/healers/coaches/helpy-people help more people

By Andrea Schroeder / May 29, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, healing, Manifest Your Dream Life

One week ago today, I woke up with this beautiful idea: a small group mentoring program focused on helping teachers/healers/coaches/helper-people help more people.

Combining the benefits and attention of one-on-one coaching with the magic and synchronicity of a small group experience, the group is designed to support you wherever you are in the process of helping people.

Our goal: to enable your greatness, support your vision for what you want to bring to the world and and help you evolve into the best teacher/healer/coach/helper-person you can be. ?

This is for people who want to help other people: either help MORE people and/or get better at helping people.

Helping people is the BEST THING EVER, but it’s not an easy job!

Those of us who are called to this kind of work have unique issues to face.

You don’t want to tell people what to do: you want to empower them to create their unique path. Which is infinitely trickier to do than just handing them a set of instructions.

You don’t want to offer bullshit platitudes: you want to offer real, effective and grounded support. “Turn that frown upside down” doesn’t really cut it.

You don’t want to get depleted in the process. You know you need to nurture yourself and fill your own well in order to be able to serve from your deepest capacity. Knowing this doesn’t mean it’s easy to DO this.

Because people who feel called to help are innately un-selfish, sometimes we are TOO un-selfish and don’t set things up so our needs get met.? You may feel guilty about “charging too much” even though you know that your helping business needs to be profitable in order for you to be able to help more people.

What I’m seeing for this group: Support, Healing & Magic for the Way-Showers.

That’s a drawing I did in my journal last summer.? At the time when I drew it, it felt important but I didn’t know why.? This morning I flipped through that old journal to find it and when I saw it, I remembered the magic I felt in it.

I have so much love for the way-showers!

I mean, I am one of them, obviously.? But if not for other way-showers showing me the way I wouldn’t have found my way here.? And I just LOVE working with other way-showers/helper-people because we share the same mission: a heartfelt desire to help.

I would love to be offering these groups as a regular thing but have some experimenting to do to see how it fits in with the work I’m already doing.

Since this is my first time offering this, I am offering a Special Price For Brave Adventurers.? If you feel called to participate, you’ll help me shape this in return for receiving coaching + support at a special price.

This is not a program where I lead you through a bunch of steps and we work on the same things. This is custom-designed-for-you: you bring what you want to work with, and we’ll work with it together. You’ll have my guidance and support, but we’ll draw on YOUR unique skills, talents and approaches to create your path.

I’m seeing this group as a place where you can get support to:

strengthen your helping skills
step up your work to start helping MORE people
figure out what your next steps are in your growth as a helper-person
do your work with less depletion and more ease
find new ways of helping

But if there is something else you’d like to work with, send me an email and we’ll discuss if it will be a good fit for this group.? (Or if you’d rather work with me one-on-one, you can book a private session with me right here)

This is going to be amazing.

When I woke up with this idea, it felt so beautiful and healing and nurturing and needed.

I love that so many of us are feeling called to help others.? I know that helping others create happier & more fulfilling lives makes me feel so much happier and more fulfilled – it’s a self-fueling loop of delight. I want to invite more people into the loop!

And I want to encourage everyone who feels called to do this kind of work to get the support they need to help others effectively and joyfully and sustainably.

What you’ll get:

Four group calls: one call a week for four weeks.? The group is limited to 6 people, each person will get 15 minutes of coaching time on each call. Plus you get extra bonus insights from listening in on each other’s process.

Each week you’ll get a customized assignment/mission/challenge based on what’s going on for you and what you want to be working with.

We’ll have our own private forum inside the Creative Dream Circle for accountability and support. (The group will stay open for 1 week past our last call, then disappear – but you’ll still be connected to everyone through the Creative Dream Circle for the rest of the year)

You’ll get a playbook to help you get clear on where you are, where you want to be and what you want to work/play on during our time together.

The calls:

The calls are planned for Tuesdays at 2pm, Central, North America – June 17, 24, July 1, 8.

But if you want to participate and that time does not work for you, email me with some times that do work for you.? If I can get a group of 6 people together at one time – we’ll do it at that time!

The monies:

Membership in the Creative Dream Circle is the prerequisite for joining this group.

The?Special Price For Brave Adventurers for the first run of this group is $200.

So if you’re already a Circle member you can do this for $200, if you’re not a member yet the total cost is $300.

The Special Price For Brave Adventurers is a very special price!? A regular 45 minute session with me costs $175 for Circle members, $225 for non-members and does not include being a part of a gorgeous support group for 5 weeks.

There is only room for 6 people, it will be on a first-come, first-served basis.? The way to reserve your spot is to pay in full.? My regular coaching policies apply.? If you have to miss a call you’ll still get the recording, but you don’t get a make-up call.

Edited to add: Wheee! This group is full.

I want to help teachers/healers/coaches/helpy-people help more people Read More »

A peek inside my process: How I write sales pages

By Andrea Schroeder / May 28, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, journaling

Writing sales pages is hardly anyone’s favourite thing to do, me included. In fact, at one point I had most of my pages written by very good copywriter, who understood me and understood how to describe my offerings clearly. At that time it made me so happy to stop spending time on this.

But right now I am (mostly) happily re-writing the page for the Creative Dream Circle myself.

As I journal my way through the process I thought I’d share it here.

Since this is hard for many of us, it makes sense to me that we could all gain from seeing more of each other’s process.

If you don’t know – a sales page is a page on your website where you sell something. Ideally the page describes what the thing is, what the potential buyer can expect to get out of it, pricing details and a buy button.

For a lot of online business, the sales page is the make-it-or-break-it point for their business. The aim is to create a sales page that generates as many sales as possible. They use a lot of slimy tactics to make this happen.

I operate my business quite differently. Hardly anyone reads my sales pages for the first time and buys my stuff. Usually they get to know me, play with my many free offerings, and by the time they choose to read about my courses and coaching, they already know and trust me and are interested in working with me.

So I don’t feel like there is a lot of pressure on my sales pages and I don’t want anyone to feel pressured on them! I just want them to clearly describe what I’m offering and what you can expect to get out of it.

But that is more complicated than it seems! It can be hard to describe your thing in a way that is clear for your people because you’re on different sides of it. You know it from the inside out and they can only look from the outside in. You see the benefits of the thing are so super obvious, but on the other side, your people can’t quite see them at all.

Plus, if you are like me, you are always growing and evolving, and so the way you want to communicate all of this grows and evolves. This is why I update my pages regularly, so they are congruent with where I’m at.

The Starting Point: What do I want to do?

I want to re-write the Creative Dream Circle page in a heartfelt and clear and inviting way. I want people to feel uplifted while they read it. I want them to get a taste of what it’s like to be expertly supported and guided with your dreams and how that creates new possibilities.

I also want to encourage them to consciously interact with the fears/doubts/inner critics that get triggered while considering making this group a part of their lives, instead of allowing their fears/doubts/inner critics to derail the process with their bullshit… “this won’t work for you” ” you already know all of this” “you don’t have time for this” “you can’t spend money on your dream!” “sounds complicated, you’re not going to be able to figure it all out” “you won’t fit in, this kind of thing is for other people”

Plus I want this page to be a healing and a light, both for people who take the step into the Circle and for those who don’t.

How do I want to do this?

It seems to me we have to get on the same page about what we’re talking about really quickly so that should be at the top of the page.

The Creative Dream Circle is an online playground/creative superhero training center where creative people learn to bring their dreams to life.

Sigh. A lot of people are not going to know what that means PLUS it’s not descriptive enough.

I don’t just help you bring their dreams to life, I help you to do it with ease and joy, powered by authenticity and spirit and creative genius and inner wisdom, so that the dream appears in a miraculously perfect-for-you way even though it may look nothing like what you thought you wanted when you started.

This is because at the core this work is about soul healing, radical transformation and growing into who you really are which is a difficult thing to describe.

When I talk about living more deliciously and blissfully in tune with your own creative soul a lot of people have no concept of what that means. So I talk about it in terms of becoming the you who lives your dream. But this is not how the Circle members talk about it. They say it helps them do things like:

Feel more at peace with themselves and their lives (relief!)
Believe in themselves more (magic!)
Understand how to actually STOP letting fear stop them (momentum!)
Start making more time for the things that they love to do (joy!)
Understand how to start making small changes that bring them closer to their dreams (steady progress!)
Be inspired to go after bigger dreams (trust!)
Find new and/or unexpected sources of support for their dreams (right-fit support!)
See that the path to their dream is right in front of them and understand how to start walking along it (clarity!)
Understand more clearly where they hold themselves back, and what to do about it (freedom!)

So, using more of the language that circle members use would be helpful! This lets potential members know exactly what current members are experiencing.

I already have member’s testimonials on the page, of course. But I also have a lot of my own language. What if I use more of the Circle member’s language throughout the page? I like that idea.

OK, so I’m still on the first line.

The Creative Dream Circle is an online playground/creative superhero training center where creative people learn to bring their dreams to life.

So now I know that I want to write this in the kind of language that members would use, that speaks CLEARLY to potential new members. I also want to say something about how we work from the intersection of creativity, spirituality and human potential. I would like to highlight the fact that what I teach is unique, creatively engaging and remarkably effective.

Also: there is just so much love in the Circle. It’s amazing to be so fully supported and encouraged in your dreams.

So how do I want to say this?

It feels like I have journaled a million pages and am still on writing the first line of the page! I’m going to go make a lavender black tea latte and come back to this…

Well of course I didn’t just make the latte and come back. I wandered upstairs and lay down on my bed to enjoy the rain (I’ve got floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall windows on both floors of the dream loft, perfect rain-watching conditions) then I took a shower, then I made my latte and gathered some supplies: my current favourite candle and an amazonite crystal ball which helps me write.

Obviously, I am in resistance.

ALL creatives experience resistance – how you handle it does determine the volume and quality of the creative work you produce. Of course, I’m going to handle it using the exact tools I teach in the Creative Dream Circle. The Circle includes an Un-Sticking Station which un-sticks any stuck, like resistance, procrastination, fear, doubt, uncertainty, etc.

Bringing my resistance to writing this sales page into the Un-Sticking Station, I discover:

I’m worried I’ll never get this right
What I have is working, what if I change it and it stops working?
What if my work just isn’t that special and doesn’t deserve a clear and inviting page?
What if I’m just not good enough?

So you can see why most creatives just procrastinate. This isn’t easy stuff to face.

And this is always how it is: a top layer of some questions/frustrations that seem kind of real but you quickly see what is beneath them, our basic and universal fear of not being good enough.

This is the stuff that stops most creative people from ever bringing their dreams to life. This is the stuff I am committed to helping people change. Every time I face it myself I am reminded of the importance of providing people with the tools that make it easier to face it and TRANSFORM it.

That bolsters my enthusiasm for getting this done.

Back in the Un-Sticking Station, bringing in love and creativity it is fast and easy (fast and easy just because I do this work so often) to dissolve limiting patterns and return to the truth: this is my work in the world. I am here to serve in this way. It’s my JOB to support my work in getting out into the world.

Now I feel like my inner world is in alignment with my mission. Ahhhh.

And I remember that I don’t need to find the exact perfect phrase to start this with, I just need to be as clear as I can be. Some advice out there is to just “speak from your heart” but I think that gets you back into problem #1: speaking from your side of the thing, instead of speaking from your people’s side of it, in a way that they can understand.

So speak from your heart, of course, but more importantly use your heart to connect with your audience and speak from where they are so they can hear you.

The Creative Dream Circle is….

What is important to have in this first part so that people get, straight off the bat, what we’re talking about?

it’s an online thing, not in person
it helps you activate your inner superpowers so you can: believe in yourself more, stop letting fear stop you, and make it easier/more fun to make positive changes in your life
it’s for open-hearted creative people
I teach from the intersection of spirituality and creativity and personal development, but encourage everyone to create their own unique ways of working with the tools, so you don’t need to adopt what I believe as your truth
The tools I teach are: journaling (art journaling or creative journaling or written journaling – up to you) and Creative Soul Alchemy (an energy healing technique I have developed using creativity + imagination + intuitive energy healing)

OK, using the term Creative Soul Alchemy is not the best idea because new people have no idea what it is. But since I do offer a free introductory course in it I think I can work that in. Plus I would prefer that people take my free class before singing up for the Circle so they can make sure they like my style. Also: do I really need to include this at the beginning?

Note to self + readers: I’m not going to give each sentence on this page this much attention. It just feels important to me to start right. This is creating that heart connection of meeting the reader where they are.

The Creative Dream Circle is an online training center for open-hearted creative people. Inside the Circle you’ll learn how to activate your inner superpowers so you can: believe in yourself more, stop letting fear (or doubt, or resistance, or inner and outer critics) stop you, and make it easier (and more fun!) to make positive changes in your life.

OK ewww, “make positive changes in your life” feels gross and task-master-y. And that’s not really what I mean, it’s not about external changes, it’s about living more fully in alignment with your heart and soul and creative magic.

The Creative Dream Circle is an online training center/secret playhouse for open-hearted creative people.

It’s full of tools, training + support for activating your inner superpowers so you can: believe in yourself more, stop letting fear (or doubt, or resistance, or inner and outer critics) stop you, and make it easier to live more fully in alignment with your heart and soul and creative magic.

BLISS! It’s about living your bliss. That’s what people really get out of it. For each person the path/specifics are different, but bliss is the direction we’re all headed in.

The Creative Dream Circle is an online training center/secret playhouse for open-hearted creative people.

Joseph Campbell wisely instructed us to “follow your bliss”. If you think that’s great advice but sometimes wish it was easier to actually follow – you’re in the right place.

Inside the Circle, you’ll discover effective, creative and engaging tools that help you believe in yourself more, stop letting fear (or doubt, or resistance, or inner and outer critics) stop you, and make it easier to follow your bliss in a really practical way.

Ahhh that feels more clear.

Sometimes when I talk about dreams I feel like people are only hearing me talking about getting what you want, in the external world.? What it’s really all about for me is the inner magic – the bliss of living in alignment with your heart, your soul and your creativity.

So then I can do on to talk about exactly that, and explain myself more clearly.

The Creative Dream Circle is dream generator. It exists to support you in the process of bringing your dream to life.

Dreams are important because your dreams are how your soul calls you into alignment with yourself. You can feel that, how having your dream isn’t about having some shiny new toy to play with, it’s about growing into who you really are.

Ack! Love! I have never put this together so succinctly and clearly before, I love this. And now we’re flowing:

While your heart and soul understand how important your dreams are, you live in a world that doesn’t understand this and you end up in a tug-of-war between external expectations and your inner callings.

And then stepping onto the Creative Dream Path starts to feel like this terrifying/impossible thing. Because you grew up in a world that doesn’t understand dreams, you wind up with all of these fears/doubts/beliefs that it’s not safe or possible for you to go after your dream. That you somehow just don’t have permission to live the way you want to live.

So painful! To want your dream, to know in your heart that going after your dream is what is right for you but running up against all these obstacles every time you try! No wonder most people just give up on their dreams.

I have failed many, many, many times. But something in me wouldn’t let me give up.

If you’ve just discovered the Creative Dream Incubator and don’t know me yet (hello! I’m so glad you found me!) you can read more about me, the creator + leader of the Creative Dream Circle, right here. I am a creative woman who lives her truth. I get to make my living doing the things that light me up. It’s not easy every day, but I do have freedom and joy and bliss.

It took me years and years and years of struggle to get to this place with my dreams. I am so grateful that I finally mastered the art of how to bring a dream to life in a world that doesn’t understand the beauty, power and important of dreams.

And I am so happy to share what I’ve learned with other dreamers, so that we can start to turn the tide. As more people start to live in alignment with their inner truth, we start to have a tremendous effect on the whole world.

OK, something is starting to feel off. I think I’ve given this all the time I can for today. I’m going to go play and let this marinate.

Next Day:

So today I am SUPER uncomfortable with quoting Joseph Campbell. Not that I don’t love him, and not that his work wasn’t a part of my training as a spiritual teacher, but the point of this page is for people to connect with the Circle. A quote from someone else doesn’t connect you to ME.

Next Day After That:

I want to delete ALL of this and start from scratch again.

I want to go back to my journal with my coloured pens and explore… what do I really want to say?

At that point I drew some mandalas about how much love I have for my students, then went right to the sales page and re-wrote it. Totally different from what I had above – speaking from my heart and, I think, speaking with more clarity.

I’m happy with how this went, you can see the end result right here.? I think it’s pretty awesome.

A peek inside my process: How I write sales pages Read More »

Boundaries [I’m making some changes]

By Andrea Schroeder / May 12, 2014 / creative entrepreneur

I’ve been having a boundary problem.

Creating and holding clear boundaries is how you create space in your life for your dreams.? Creating dream-growing boundaries is a simple case of routing resources (time, energy, creativity, money) to go towards nurturing what you want to grow.

Simple, but hard.

Give Your Dream Wings, my free e-course, is growing like crazy, which is fantastic! But as it grew, and my web traffic in general grew, I also became overwhelmed by email.

No one email is a problem on its own.? People are having a hard time watching a video and want some help.? Or they deleted one of the lessons and need me to re-send it.? Or they want the emails to go to a different address.? Or they want me to know how much their dream is growing and how their life is changing because of it.

Of course I want people to be able to access the course!?? And I don’t want to ignore these emails.? But even quick responses take up time and energy.? And having so many of these emails land in my inbox takes up enough energetic bandwidth that it’s leaving me with less than I need for other things.

I’ve been very overwhelmed by this, actually.

It’s been enough to make me not WANT my business to grow any more because I’ve got my hands full taking care of the people who are already here.

When I am in a state of overwhelm, I’m not making the best decisions.? It was when I started thinking about hiring someone to help me with the emails that it finally dawned on me: providing customer service to people who are not actually customers is simply not sustainable.

See, deep down inside I had this inner “good girl” who wants to do what people expect of her.? And suddenly so many people expected me to respond to their emails that she got triggered and kind of took over.

So, first, of all – I had to take back my energy from the situation.? Being overwhelmed by the volume of email put me in a dis-empowered space.? When I re-claim my power and put my inner “good girl” back on permanent vacation, I can see everything more clearly and be in touch with the heart of what is happening, which is: I want to help.

I want to provide my customers with my best work, plus helpful customer service.? This is important to me.? This is what my business is here to do.

I want to provide my audience with helpful resources, including ways to access the answers to their questions (ways that do not include me emailing them individually).? Plus a warm invitation to come and play with me.

So, I’m switching to a new customer service email system and creating a self-serve help center.

The Give your Dream Wings Help Center has everything categorized so it’s easy to find exactly the help you need. So anyone who runs into a problem with Give Your Dream Wings can get a solution right there.

The Creative Dream Circle, gets a Help Center too. Of course Circle members do get customer service, but the Help Center means they can look up immediate answers to the most common questions, instead of waiting for me to answer their email.

What is REALLY beautiful about this is that the customer service software can grow as the Creative Dream Circle grows, so it stays easy & doable for me to offer quality customer service for my beloved customers.

Ahhhhhhhh.

The day I set this all up I could actually FEEL how I increased my internal capacity for serving more dreamers.

With my email under control, it means I can be more present for my Creative Dream Circle and clients.? And that is the whole point of my business!? To support the people who choose to let me support them in bringing their magic to the world.? It feels amazing to actually feel my capacity to do this work increase.

This is the bumpy road of bringing a dream to life!? It often does take being overwhelmed or frustrated or resentful or angry about how things are going, in order for you to see how you’d like to set things up differently.? As Joseph Campbell said “Where you stumble, that’s where your treasure lies.”

Creating a boundary is easier than holding a boundary.

And the outer work (like in this case, setting up the self-serve help center and the new customer service email software) is a LOT easier than the inner work.

You’ve got to be able to hold your power in order to hold your boundary.? This gets easier over time as you acclimate to owning more and more of your power.

But especially in the beginning it can be really hard.? And other people will generally not respect your boundary just because you told them about it.? Not because they want to be jerks, but if you’ve always done ____ then suddenly you decide to not do ____ anymore but they’re still used to you doing _____ so they’re going to expect you to keep doing it.

They’re in that pattern with you and they may not want to change it.

So you really do have to be willing to hold the boundary all on your own, even if no one respects it.? Otherwise, what’s the point?

If I do all this work to set up new systems, but keep responding individually to every email I get because my inner “good girl” doesn’t want to upset anyone’s expectations… how does that work?? Now, besides still being overwhelmed my email I’m also out the time and money of setting up new systems that I’m not using.

I can’t expect people to just stop emailing me, can I?? It’s 100% up to ME to do something different if I want this to change.

That’s how it is with ALL boundaries.? You can’t expect other people to change just because YOU want something to be different.

For many years, boundaries were super hard for me.? I was working really hard at it, and setting boundaries… but wasn’t owning my power enough to hold them.

It was SO HARD for me to set a boundary, I couldn’t bear the work of actually holding it.? So I’d set it, the other person would bulldoze through it, and I’d collapse the boundary and they’d go on doing what they’d always done.

What I find makes it easier is if you go into the process of setting the boundary fully aware of your responsibility to HOLD the boundary, this way you tend to set up boundaries with maintenance-systems in place.

If you’re a Creative Dream Circle member and you want to learn more about boundaries, check out my video on Sovereignty, in the Advanced Creative Badassery Resource Library – it’s 57 minutes (!) of me talking about this in more detail, and answering people’s questions about how this works in the real world.

Plus, I changed my email address.? I was still using the email from my old abccreatvity.com domain, but as of today I’m using hello [AT] creativedreamincubator.com

Boundaries [I’m making some changes] Read More »

Update 21: Growth Spurt

By Andrea Schroeder / April 11, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life

(you can read my original post about this here)

At this point though, it?s less about the numbers and more about growing 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.

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A lot of my update posts have been about giving my dream space to quietly marinate.? Some weeks I feel kind of ridiculous providing an update when there is really nothing concrete to report on.

But that’s kind of the point.? This is how dreams grow: there are looooong quiet periods in between growth spurts.

But we compare our long quiet periods with other people’s growth spurts – only because the growth spurts are all we see.? And we feel frustrated and defeated when it looks like its easier for everyone else.

That’s part of what I wanted to address in writing these updates – to share the ACTUAL process, including all of the quiet periods.

So this week is a growth spurt week.

And I am really happy about this.

I updated my website.? I am 100% in love with this.

I launched my new free E-Course: Give Your Dream Wings.? There are over 4,300 participants.

Everything I have been doing since December, in terms of exploring what’s going on in my inner relationship with my goal and looking at how I want to grow my business, has culminated in this.

I feel like I have created the perfect welcome sign.

Welcome to the world of the Creative Dream Incubator.? Let’s do this.

Give Your Dream Wings is amazing.? I feel so happy to have this as the front door to my business – a warm welcome.? Instead of me saying “Hello, I believe in you” now I am saying “Hello, I believe in you… here let me show you, step by step, where to find the magic.”

This shifts the energy, big time.

And that is all the update I have energy for right now!? This week really wiped me out, in a very good way.

Update 21: Growth Spurt Read More »

On Being Afraid And Doing It Anyway

By Andrea Schroeder / April 9, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life

Yesterday I hosted by first blog hop.? It was totally rad.

It was also totally outside of my comfort zone.

I am seriously introverted.? And seriously HSP.? Just the volume of emails needed to pull off something like that was/is outside of my comfort zone.? Nevermind all the other things that scared me about it.

I felt overwhelmed at the thought of it.? I also felt inspired and sure.

There is this thing in the Creative Dream Circle called the Crazy Smart Wisdom Council.

When the right thing for you is outside of your comfort zone (which is where most, if not all, dreams live) – you will tend to try to talk yourself out of it because who wants to be uncomfortable?? The beauty of having a Crazy Smart Wisdom Council is that it roots you back into your truth.

Not the small truths: I’m scared. I’m unsure. I don’t have time.? The Big Truth: When I both LISTEN and ACT ON my intuitive wisdom, anything is possible.

Yes, it’s scary.? Yes, I will probably do it wrong.? Yes, I will feel overwhelmed.? Yes, it would be much more comfortable to just not do this.? Yes, I know this is my right next move.

It’s NOT about steamrolling over your fear.

That is a bad idea, always.? “Leap and the net will appear” is bullshit.

Steamrolling over your feelings is really different from sitting in the discomfort and being willing to be vulnerable in service to your dreams.

When I was willing to be vulnerable in service to my dreams:

I asked for help even though just the thought of asking for help makes me uncomfortable. I reached out to other bloggers and asked them to offer their time, talent & energy in support of my project.
I moved forward even though I was sure I was going to do it wrong.? I have met SO MANY amazing talented bloggers – hundreds of them.? I couldn’t ask everyone I wanted to ask.? I was afraid of asking the wrong people, of other people feeling left out or pissed off, of everyone saying no.
I facilitated something really beautiful.? There was a lot of magic in this blog hop, in sharing people’s honest heartfelt stories of how they nurture their dreams.? It inspired people all over the world.? It introduced people to interesting & amazing new bloggers.? And it got attention for my new free course.

I’m so glad I did this.

On Being Afraid And Doing It Anyway Read More »

Update #20: Finding Magic In The Places Where Things Overlap

By Andrea Schroeder / April 4, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, intention, Manifest Your Dream Life

(you can read my original post about this here)

At this point though, it?s less about the numbers and more about growing 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.

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

So yesterday Creative With Money started inside the Creative Dream Circle.

Not to be all Pollyanna-y about it, but I got nowhere near my goal for registrations for this course and I am completely happy with that.? Some really awesome people signed up and it seems ridiculous to be sad that more people did not sign up.

Unconscious money stuff is the main thing that holds people back from living the life they want to be living, so offering this class to help with that is important.

But this course is a healing – not the kind of thing you just jump into, the timing needs to be right.

So when people were not tripping over each other to sign up for it, I was not thinking that something is wrong with my work or with me or that maybe this is the beginning of the end.? I was thinking that the timing isn’t right and it didn’t feel like a big deal.

This is new for me, to not have the worrymonster jump up and try to take over, and I like it very very very very very very much.

TRUST. STABILITY. BLISS.

In last week’s update I mentioned how not meeting my goal this year would not be such a huge problem.? All it would meant is that I would keep working with people one-on-one.

I thought about that a lot this week.

The thing is, I LOVE working with people one-on-one, there is a lot of magic in those deep dives. And yet, those deep dives need a LOT of energy and I want to free up more of my energy for new, unknown projects.

But a part of me is all… but I love working with people in this way.? And I can feel that part of me kind of fighting me on my goal.? Of course – that energy creates a stuck!

Even though sometimes I resist this process, when I give all parts of me the space they need to express what they want, instead of trying to bulldoze through to “meet my goal”, magic happens in the places where everything overlaps.

Last last year, when I re-structured the Circle and lowered the price to $100/year, my idea was that as the Circle grew, I would add small group coaching circles that would be available to Circle members only – so they’d have a private space inside the Circle to connect with each other outside of our calls.? So for those times when people need it, really in-depth Creative Dream Support would be there.

So remembering that idea kind of solves everything, group coaching circles are something I really do want to be doing.

I’m happy about that.

And last week I talked about exploring all the things about business that I do not want to do, and finding the places where the essence of those things overlaps with the essence of what I want to bring to the world.

I made some progress on that and am finding all sorts of things I can do for my business that I feel happy and delighted to do.

Also, I’m working on a Big New Thing which I’ll share next week which I am so excited about I can hardly think straight.

Overall – on the outside my dream seems to be moving verrrrrrrrry slowly.? But on the inside it’s 100% amazeballs.? I am so happy about where I am with this.

Update #20: Finding Magic In The Places Where Things Overlap Read More »

Creative Dream TV: Money & Healing

By Andrea Schroeder / April 1, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, healing, money, Vintage Creative Dream TV

Today I wanted to talk more about the magic of healing your relationship with money, and why this matters to me, why I want to help you with this and what kinds of things tend to come up for people as they explore healing & money.

You are invited to come and explore this with me, and with other committed creative dreamers, in my Creative With Money e-course which you get inside the Creative Dream Circle.? We use creativity, imagination and play to lead you around the very sticky terrain of exploring your inner relationship with money and laying the foundation to create a whole new money story for yourself.

I can promise you that you’ll meet money in a totally different way than you ever have before – this is not like anything else out there.

Creative Dream TV: Money & Healing Read More »

What I learned from my (former) naivete about making money online.

By Andrea Schroeder / March 31, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life, money

When I first set out to learn about how to take my small creativity and meditation workshops and put them on the internet and let them be my, like, real actual income, I sought out coaches and mentors who were making real money.

That was one of my main criteria for wanting to work with someone: how much money do they make?? Because if they have figured out how to make a lot of money online surely they can help me do the same.

Now all I can do is smile in embarrassment about how naive I was.

The truth is, size doesn’t matter.

What you need to live a happy, inspired and meaningful life is different than what I need.? More is not better.? Just right is best.

I’ve stopped reading all blogs where people talk about how much money they make, and use it as a selling point.

Not only am I not interested,? I am turned off by the energy that’s driving it and the message behind it.

I think they’re missing the boat completely.

The trick to money isn’t about hitting certain numbers.

It’s about being in right relationship with it.? FLOW. LOVE. CREATIVITY.

About how much easier it is to grow a dream when you can give it the material things it needs.? About how much sparklier life is when you’re indulging in the exact kind of soulful self-care that fills your well, and not making compromises in order to save money.

Because when you’re making compromises in order to save money, you’re out of alignment with the richness of your soul.

You can feel it, how you’re pinching yourself off and collapsing your brightest possibilities. And it hurts.

But you live in a world that is profoundly fucked up about money, and you don’t want to go over to the other side where it’s all about the money and not about the love, so it’s hard to even know that another way is possible.

Most of the problems of creative dreaming are actually money problems.

Like wanting to earn a certain amount and getting caught in a pattern of needing external validation.
Or playing the martyr.
Not having time for your dreams because you’re giving all of your energy to a job that does not make your soul sing.
Dulling your dreams down because you don’t have the right space for the kind of creative work you really want to be doing.
Playing small, thinking this is financially safer.
Putting your dreams on hold until that magical day when you’ll suddenly have more money.
Not quite trusting yourself to do that thing you really want to do and find a way to make it work financially.
Not seeing the infinite possibilities that swirl around you in every moment of your life because you’re afraid of what may happen if you go after them.

What it really comes down to is trusting yourself to create an outer life which is in alignment with your inner magic.

EMPOWERMENT. TRUST. ALIGNMENT.

I’m not going to promise you some ridiculous 3 step program for overcoming all of this, but I do want to invite you to come and explore it with me, and with other committed creative dreamers.? Together we can bring in the superpowers of love and healing and transformation.

My Creative With Money e-course uses creativity, imagination and play to lead you around the very sticky terrain of exploring your inner relationship with money and laying the foundation to create a whole new money story for yourself.

I can promise you that you’ll meet money in a totally different way – this is not like anything else out there.

And I can promise to be there with you on the journey.? I’ll be active in the class forum, answering your questions, helping you get through the stuck places and cheering you on.

I know you can do this.

Creative With Money e-course starts on April 3 (this Thursday) inside the Creative Dream Circle.

When you join the Circle you get an annual membership.? This means you get ALL of the courses I run all year long.

One year from today you could be living in your new money story – the one that’s all about love and flow and creativity and possibility and magic.

What I learned from my (former) naivete about making money online. Read More »

Update 18: Why Being Stuck is Very, Very GOOD

By Andrea Schroeder / March 28, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life

(you can read my original post about this here)

At this point though, it?s less about the numbers and more about growing 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.

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

A part of me is frustrated that this is not happening faster.? She reminds me that my goal was to stop doing one-on-one sessions and have the Circle be my main income and that I should be there by now.

And also: I know more than anyone about bringing a dream to life, so why am I taking so long with this?? This is so stupid.

This part of me wonders if? making this journey so public is messing with my ju-ju and wants me to stop posting these updates.

I send this part of me a lot of love and a teeny tiny little reminder that I know it feels like it, but it isn’t really taking “so long”.

Which she tries to brush off.? I don’t need love, and I sure-as-fuck do not need patience!? What I need is for you to get your shit together and get this done. NOW.

I put her in a sound-proof bubble of love and compassion and gentleness.? Slowly, she starts to mellow out.

The truth is, if all I cared about was reaching my goal – I would be there by now.

I have learned so much about online marketing and sales, I know if I was doing certain things I would have more sales.

That is not how I want to get there.

How I do this is way more important to me than how fast I do it.

I spent two years developing the Circle while it was relatively hidden.? What if it takes me two more years to get it to optimum capacity?

Right now, the Circle feels absolutely blissful to me.

When I look at what it offers people, what happens for them when they join, what happens as they work with the tools over time… bliss.? I am so proud of what I have built and the impact it is having on the people who choose to join.

The relief they feel that now they have a place where they can go any time they feel scared, stressed, angry, stuck, unsure… and transform that feeling, and leave feeling connected and bright and happy and knowing what to do next next.
The amazement they feel at discovering aspects to their creative genius they didn’t know where there.
The miracles and adventures they find as they use these tools to excavate and transform their inner worlds.

What happens inside the Circle is delicate and vulnerable – that’s the nature of TRUE healing and transformation.

So even though outside of the Circle – my blog and social media streams – is not the same kind of container for transformation, it needs to be somewhat in alignment with the deep magic of inside the Circle.

I mean, that only makes sense, right?? I can’t use standard internet sales & marketing approaches to push more people into the Circle then suddenly demand that they get vulnerable enough to do the work.

Trust, safety and sovereignty have to be a part of this EVERYWHERE.

But just because I don’t want to go the traditional sales & marketing route does not mean I don’t do ANYTHING about sales & marketing.

For every strategy and tactic that I am saying no to – I need to find something to say yes to.

What I’m doing is exploring the essence and looking at where the essence of the marketing tactic meets the essence of my work and then exploring what I can do with that.

Much, much longer process than simply following proven tactics.

Also: richer.

Frustrated little me in the sound-proof bubble has found a deck of index cards and a marker and she’s sending me a message:

Yes, I like this.? I see that this is what you have been doing but you’ve been doing it a bit haphazardly.? Let’s make a list of tactics and strategies that are effective, put it in Evernote, and make a plan in your calendar to work with one every week.

“Working with” meaning: doing that journal thing you do where you draw out the essence of the thing, put it beside the essence of the Circle and then find the places where they overlap.? Then brainstorm ways to work with the essence in ways that are in alignment with the Circle.? This probably won’t take more than an hour.? And then of course you have to implement what you learn.

See what happened there?

I started by giving some space to the frustration I was feeling.

Rather than try to pretend it’s not there or bury it in positive thinking, I listened to what it has to say, and what it wants me to do.

Then I made space for my centered myself, to listen to what I have to say when I’m not listening to my frustration.

Then I showed my frustrated self what I want.

Then my frustrated self and I were able to work together to create a plan that makes us both happy.

This is the essence of healing and transformation. It doesn’t obliterate the parts of you who are afraid, it embraces your inherent wholeness and wisdom.

This is what I teach, in step-by-step detail, in the Un-Sticking Station in the Creative Dream Circle which is basically, a recipe for a miracle.

Nothing, EVER, has to stay stuck.

Having an Un-Sticking Station is soooo important because getting stuck is part of creative dreaming.

The whole concept of stuck = bad is a muggle concept.

But when you’re a creative dreamer you’re working with the unknown so of course you’re going to get stuck.? That’s just a natural part of it.

Learning how to recognize a stuck, and then un-stick it quickly and effectively is a necessary skill for creative dreamers.

And more importantly – it’s in the stucks where you find the gifts – the gifts you use to build your unique & gorgeous path.? That’s where the magic is!

Update 18: Why Being Stuck is Very, Very GOOD Read More »

Spotlight!

By Andrea Schroeder / March 27, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life

One of my favourite parts of my job is supporting amazing people in bringing amazing (often IMPOSSIBLE) dreams to life.

My clients and Circle members are brilliant bright stars who are making a big difference in the world.

I want to share more of their stories here because they are so super inspiring, and today I am super excited to share Corie Weaver‘s story about her “impossible dream”.

?Tell us about yourself!

I didn?t grow up planning to be a writer. I was never one of those kids scribbling stories in a notebook, or submitting to the school paper. But I?ve always been a voracious reader.

A few years ago, I realized I had some of my own stories to tell. I?ve been lucky enough to have participated in some fabulous crit groups, and to have attended the Taos Toolbox Workshop.

I love reading. I love stories of adventure, stories that grab me and won?t let me go. Stories that will stay with me for years. Old and new, paper books, digital and comics ? anything with a good story is fair game. And I love writing, telling stories, creating worlds and people and histories? and then doing terrible things to them!

My background is in medieval history (Spanish manuscripts of the apocalypse, if you were wondering), but as I?m fond of being able to pay the bills, I work at our local university, as well some freelance work as a web designer. I live in Las Vegas, New Mexico (the smaller, older, and much quieter one) with my husband and our two cats and two dogs. We travel as much as possible, and are active with our local animal rescue group.

Tell us about your dream!

To write stories full time, reach young people and their parents, and to create a platform for more stories than I can personally write to reach more young people!

Dreaming Robot Press focuses on publishing science fiction and fantasy novels for a Young Adult and Middle Grade audience.

We believe stories shape our reality.
We believe this is especially important for stories that we are exposed to growing up.
We believe novels can be excellent in both their stories and in the effects they have.

In order to ensure that all children can find models to identify with, we?re committed to publishing stories about a diverse range of characters and situations.

Today there are more options than ever for a writer to explore. If you have a great young adult or middle grade science fiction or fantasy manuscript and you?re considering going indie vs a small press, we?d love to talk with you.

Right now we?re very interested in receiving young adult/middle grade novels featuring strong female heroines, without a romantic subplot.

How has the Circle helped you with your dream? What are you doing now that you are in the Circle that you weren’t doing before you joined?

I never really believed I could make a living from my writing.

As I’ve been working deeper and deeper into the heart of my dream, I’ve realized that I’ve been telling stories to myself as a younger girl. And then with the help of LOTS of dreaming and journaling, and talks with friends, I uncovered something deeper that had bothered me.

In the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy, there aren’t a lot of young adult and middle grade books for girls that don’t have a romantic sub-plot. Its as if we’re telling girls that sure, they can go off on adventures, they can have a ‘hero’s journey’ – but its not complete until they find true love, or something like it. Even great books, with totally kick-ass heroines seemed to always have some level of romantic tension.

And I thought… I can do something about that.

Years ago I worked at a small press, and now in the world of digital publishing, a lot of the gates are opening for writers to bring their work out. I’ve started a small, electronic first, publishing house to focus on girl-positive young adult and middle grade science fiction and fantasy. Self-publishing is great, but there’s a number of hurdles that are easier tackled in a group 🙂

What’s your favourite part of the Circle?

The playdates!! I seldom have a chance to listen in realtime, but I love going back and making that special time for myself and my dream to get closer and reconnect.

I feel like I’m glowing for days after.

I’ve been known to run through the recordings again when I need a pick-me-up mid-month, and I’ll get a whole different set of insights.

I hope you go visit Corie nd check out her?Dreaming Robot Press – she is a gorgeous soul and great person to know!

Spotlight! Read More »

Creative Dream TV: The Truth about Money and Creative Self-Employment

By Andrea Schroeder / March 25, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life, money, Vintage Creative Dream TV

Some days it feels like the only people who talk openly about money are the people who are making millions.? And it starts to feel like more money = more success. Which is not true.

Being successful with money is about having what’s right for you.

Being successful with life is about living in a way that lights you up with joy.? For me, this has to include being my own boss so that I can be doing the work that is the most inspiring and fulfilling to me.

While I’m feeling a little uncomfortable about sharing this today because it’s just more personal than what I am used to sharing publicly, I also feel like it’s really important that I do share it.

We need more not-millionaires sharing their happy money stories.

So today I’m sharing my actual story about money and being a creative entrepreneur.

I am 100% self-employed. I am single and don’t have anyone helping with the bills.? Of course, this story changes from day to day and week to week, but this is where I am right now:

If you want to become a more conscious, empowered and deliberate creator of your money story, join me for the Creative with Money e-Course.

This course is deeply healing and magically transformational.

You can get it inside the Creative Dream Circle.

Creative Dream TV: The Truth about Money and Creative Self-Employment Read More »

Spotlight!

By Andrea Schroeder / March 20, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, journaling, Manifest Your Dream Life

One of my favourite parts of my job is supporting amazing people in bringing amazing (often IMPOSSIBLE) dreams to life.

My clients and Circle members are brilliant bright stars who are making a big difference in the world.

I want to share more of their stories here because they are so super inspiring, so I’m starting today with Angel Sullivan, who generously shares her story and some LUSCIOUS pages from her creative journals.

?Tell us about yourself!

hey gorgeous, i’m angel… and i’m a beauty, meaning, and depth junkie {all-together now “hi, angel”}.

i’m always looking for the light in the depths & for the deeper connection. i talk a lot about connection to self, Self, Mama & others… and have little to no patience for small talk & surface interactions.

i’ve been creating simple & soulful websites for solopreneurs for the last three years & before that worked for various companies in IT Support/Training roles.

now, i’m gearing up to shift my focus to bringing more soul to solopreneur. in other words, i want solopreneurs (everyone, really) to step back from all the marketing messages & ‘expert advice’ we’re being spoon fed… and instead to remember how to tap into our own inner gurus for the answers we seek & for the decisions that need made (this is what i love about Andrea’s work. she consistently points us back to ourselves, and that’s where the real answers are).

the primary way i’m going to do this right now is by creating a way for us to do luminous communion together (you & me = serious magick!). we’ll spend the day (plus some follow up time) bringing *you* back into your business so that it’s drenched in heart + soul *and* supports you financially. if you’re interested in hearing more, you can get the details here.

i believe that doing this will create a shift in the consciousness of our species that leads to a more just, peaceful, and equitable world for all of us (humans, plants, and animals alike… not to mention all of our living waterways etc… as well).

Tell us about your dream!

before this year, my dream has been to figure out my dream!

now, my dream (since i’ve gotten more clarity) is to help solopreneurs remember how to access the magickal & luminescent parts of themselves & bring that into their businesses so that their depth (their big truth) can spread out from their businesses into the larger world (and feed their souls and their bank accounts at the same time!).

How has the Circle helped you with your dream? What are you doing now that you are in the Circle that you weren’t doing before you joined?

my dream is pretty freaking big.

so it needs some pretty solid structures & foundations to support it.

two of the ways i build those structures are to create maps & collages. i never really did anything like either of these (at least in the ways that i do now!) before joining Andrea’s Circle.

i never would’ve thought that activities that seemed so simple would lead to the insights and clarity that they do. but it never fails. they always do.

what i find most helpful about The Circle is that the group calls (the Playdates & the HOLYdays) always have this amazingly luscious energy about them. this energy that i just cannot seem to conjure on my own. and when i listen in on the calls, i become part of that energy. i feed into it, it feeds me, and we have this gorgeous regenerative & interactive cycle that transports me to a place within me, where the magick just freely flows.

What’s your favourite part of the Circle?

that’s not an easy question given all the luscious resources & connections available!

i think when it comes right down to it, though, my very favorite part of the circle is knowing that i can participate as much or as little as i am able / would like to… and that regardless of my participation level, i always feel included and welcomed.. and i always benefit.

so if i’m able to be on a call live, rock on. if i’m not, i can look forward to the recording & playsheets. either way, i feel like i’m part of the circle, and never feel slighted for not participating in the way someone else would like me to.

(this is such a big deal to me because so many other group facilitators {in my experience} tend to be so concerned that folks participate in the way that *they* want to happen, that i end up feeling guilty or otherwise less-than if i don’t connect in the way that i’m expected to. blegh.)

Let’s peek inside Angel’s journals!!

I am so grateful that Angel was open to sharing some photos of her creative journals.? We go pretty darn DEEP and PERSONAL with our work in the Circle, and most members (understandably!) prefer not to share such delicate work in a public space.

So it’s always a special treat when we get to take a peek….

I hope you go visit Angel and check out her new luminous communion – she is a gorgeous soul and great person to know!

Spotlight! Read More »

Update #16: Energy Attunements

By Andrea Schroeder / March 14, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, intention

(you can read my original post about this here)

At this point though, it?s less about the numbers and more about growing 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.

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

I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon and I am all floaty because yesterday I spent the day at the mineral spa with a friend – celebrating our 40th birthdays.? Hers was 6 weeks ago, mine is 6 weeks from now.? In my bubble of post-spa bliss I have to say that things are going very, very well.? Here I am:

Besides the spa, I am super happy because I’ve been doing intense creative soul alchemy work, every day, three times a day.

This is working with my energy body and the energy of the essence of what I want to create – and aligning the two.

I’m running the energy of the essence of my dream through my own energy body which is ridiculously happy-making and it attunes me to my dream.? I’ve been doing this all along, but now I’m doing it more often and I’m noticing it’s making a big difference.

It changes how I see things.

It opens up new channels of inspiration.

It helps me grow into the me who lives my bigger dream. And it makes me very happy.

This is fueling my work right now.

I’ve got a very full schedule these days and could not be happier about that.? Working with one-on-one clients to get their dreams sparkling and shining, creating my new courses for 2014 and exploring the ways that my business needs to change to accommodate more dreamers in the Creative Dream Circle.

I’ve got some ideas for that that last part that are inspiring me like crazy.

Like about how to describe my work in a different context that will speak to people more clearly and I’m thinking about creating a new free e-course that will change the way people think about their dreams.

Very, very inspired.

But my brain is still a little mushy from a full day of mineral spa-ing and my arms are a little sore from a 90 minute massage that helped counter the effects of too much typing and so… this week’s update is short & sweet.

Update #16: Energy Attunements Read More »

Too many soulful creative beings are STUCK when it comes to money. It’s time to change this.

By Andrea Schroeder / March 13, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, Manifest Your Dream Life, money

Money is an energy.

You are either using money to nurture your dreams or you are using money in ways that sabotage your dreams.?

There is no grey area.

It’s not about how much you have.? It’s about how you’re using what you’ve got.

I repeated that because the idea that If I had MORE money it would be easier to have what I want is keeping you from using what you’ve got to grow your dream NOW.

I’ve never heard of anyone saying “If I had MORE money it would be easier to have what I want” and then going out and GETTING more money and *pouf* dream life achieved, happily ever after.

I’ve heard TONS of people say “If I had MORE money it would be easier to have what I want” and then be annoyed and frustrated and stuck about it.? Myself included.

Money is a tool.? How you use that tool is everything.

Do you spend money every month on things that support you in living your best light and light you up with joy?

Or does that seem frivolous?

Do you feel like you have CHOICE when it comes to what you spend your money on, or is it all gone as soon as you get it?

That’s an ENERGY MANAGEMENT problem.? You do NOT have to wait until you have more money coming in to solve it.

In fact making more money won’t solve this one at all – the more money you’ve got coming in the faster it will be gone.

How does money FUNCTION in your world?

Money can either support DREAMS and GROWTH or it can support STUCKNESS.

We all have fear around money.

We live in a culture that is completely fucked up about money.? You don’t grow up in this world and magically end up with a healthy relationship with money.

It’s something you have to work on.

It’s something you have to consciously choose to create for yourself.

You absolutely have the ability to have a healthy and happy relationship with money – it’s in your nature.

You can start by getting out your journal and answering the three questions I asked in this post.? Next week I’ll share a whole bunch of creative journal prompts for exploring your relationship with money.

In the Creative With Money e-Course we use creativity, imagination and PLAY to make working on your relationship with money accessible and interesting and even (gasp!) FUN.

Too many soulful creative beings are STUCK when it comes to money. It’s time to change this. Read More »