In my first and second years of being a full time Creative Dream Incubator I was excited to write a year end review… to look over what I’d learned and how it all went and and plan out what I want to do different next year.
This year I feel very meh about that.
Though I did flip through my instagram to share some of my fave photos of the year…
Right now, what I really want is to look forward.
As I sat with that feeling, I realised that what I want to do is want to write a year end review for my business for 2014.
Do this with me… let’s zoom into December 2014 and look back on a truly sparkletastic year.
I started the year feeling fresh, focused and excited about what I wanted to create.? I had the clearest, solidest goal I’ve ever had for my business – to welcome 800 dreamers into the Creative Dream Circle by the end of the year.
This goal was a giant bundle of love.
Love for the dreamers and their courage & brilliance.
Love for the sweet, sparkling dreams.
Love for the Circle and it’s dream-growing magic.
Every time I thought about the 800 dreamers and their amazing dreams, my heart beamed.
With this much love on my side, I knew I could not fail.
With this much love on my side, I was able to heal my wounded relationship with “business”.
I have long thought of myself as “an artist, not a business person”.? I have been angry about the destructive effect a lot of big businesses have on our world – fueling my beliefs about how “business is bad”.? I have felt like I just don’t know how to successfully grow a business.
I started my business with a strong belief in the quality, power and importance of my work, fueled by purpose and spirit and love – and a belief that these things, not business skills, were enough to get me where I want to go.
As I learned more about business, I came to understand that these are 2 different things: your soul work and your business skills.
And most people are not naturally equally gifted in each.? I mean… It’s possible for lackluster products to become superstars in the marketplace.? It’s possible for superstar products to be virtually invisible in the marketplace.
And it seems true that as you polish and perfect the shining jewel of what you are here to offer you’re going to start looking for ways to get better at offering it.? For many, like me, this means a business.
So then the journey of activating and living your purpose merges with the journey of starting and growing a business.
Creativity, heart and soul cannot replace the need for practical business skills.? What they can do is fuel and activate the practical business stuff so that your business can be your (very helpful!) partner in bringing your creativity and your purpose to life.
I knew that already.? But in 2014 it changed.
It’s like I had marinated long enough in ideas about spiritual business and creative business to be able to live from them in a new way.? I developed a new sense of trust in my ability to do this.
I spent the first 35 years of my life marinating in ideas about how I am not a business person.? I needed to spend a few years marinating in ideas about how I am a capable and gifted business person before they could really clear out the old beliefs and sink in.
Ultimately what this means is approaching all aspects of my business from my creative genius, which means not being all tangled up in my limiting beliefs.? Being in the flow.
In hindsight, this harder to do before this year because I was still getting my business sea legs, so to speak.
Which is why I had to keep things smaller before.
Which is why, in 2014, I didn’t need to keep things small anymore.
I spread my business wings wildly and widely.
I tried all the things I knew to try, to get the word out about my work.? When things didn’t go as I’d hoped, I re-adjusted and tried again.
I stretched some more and sought out more ideas for things to try.? And I tried those.
I played with my business.?
I brought a whole new level of creative genius to it.? Just like being in my art studio – throwing paints down and fooling around and trying new things and experimenting and exploring.? I approached my business like a fantastically inspiring art project.
Meanwhile, I was more committed to my personal daily creativespiritual practice, to build stronger roots, so my dream tree could grow giant leafy branches.
And it worked.
My business grew wildly in 2014.
The Creative Dream Circle started to fill up… and as the Circle members practiced the art of Creative Dream Incubation and delighted in all the magic of that – word spread and momentum came to play.
The more fun I had, the larger the Circle got, the easier it became to grow it.
The important feelings + qualities of my 2014:
Trust. Alignment. Purpose. Spirit. Joy. Knowing. Stability. Growth… all of it Glowing with Love.
Writing this feels amazing.
I didn’t set out to write exactly what I wanted to have happened.? I started by looking at how I’m feeling about my goal for the year, and then followed those feelings and the story started to write itself.
When I got to the end it felt like a deep affirmation of how, as long as I stay committed to being true to myself, my spirit and heart, and to clearing/healing all the things that make that hard to do, of course I am going to get to somewhere that is gorgeous, abundant and fulfilling.
What’s your story for 2014?
Success, love, wild creative abandon – it’s all possible for you.
And I’d love to help you make it all come true, in the Creative Dream Circle.
