In Your Success Zone Blog

Venturing into the Dark Forest - and Back Again

About 4 months ago, I embarked on "discovering my brand" so that I could serve more Creative Entrepreneurs with my services and products. I began working with a brilliant small business and branding consultant named Whitney Greer. Little did I know what a creative and confronting process this would be!

To me "discovering my brand" is another phrase for going into the "Dark Forest of the Unknown". There are reasons that I haven't gone there before.

Thank goodness Whitney HAS been into the Dark Forest with others before and knows how to get me back home at the end of each conversation. She gives me exercises to do each week and helps me see beyond my blind spots into clarity.

She recently described her process as helping people realize what they do well and talk about it clearly so that it communicates effectively to others. What a gift it is to be seen and valued!

Now that we are fairly deep into the branding process and my "core messages" are becoming clearer, I am stepping up to owning them. I have faced challenges of 

• the fear of being seen and known for my true self,
• clinging to limiting definitions of myself from the past, and  
• judging myself for past disappointments.

As I face these challenges through working with Whitney and on my own to reprogram my limiting beliefs, I find that I

• know more about myself and my work,
• feel more confident about sharing my work with others, and
• am developing some good ideas about how to go about doing that sharing. 

My branding journey perfectly describes the process of being a Creative Entrepreneur - setting off on a journey into an unexplored land; facing challenges with creative instincts; experiencing confusion and doubting success, but perservering anyway; and finally seeing the end goal within reach! 

Here's to each of you who uses your creativity every day in your work and life. I salute your courage, strength, and stamina. Journey on, Creative Entrepreneur!

What Would YOU Do If You Weren't Afraid?

My dear and talented friend, Whitney Greer, is on to something. She has started asking herself, 

"What would I do if I weren't afraid?"

Kinda rocked me back on my heels - it's such a great question! My brain is scrambling to answer it.

Whitney is currently answering that question with "I'd make a video about my new book and post it on YouTube."

What about you? What would YOU do if you weren't afraid? 

[No, you can't sell your kids and spouse. You probably wouldn't want to stay in Fiji if you could run away there right now. Settle down and think about it.]

I'll be sharing my answer here soon. And I know I'll be seeing Whitney's video on YouTube some day soon. I'll share that too!

Am I a Loser If ... ?

I had a conversation yesterday with an accomplished and brilliant business woman whom I'll call "Mary". She is changing direction from consulting with major corporations to a more entrepreneurial venture of working with individual professionals.

This move is by choice as Mary matures and her interests evolve. She is listening more closely to her passions than to the "have to's" of her younger professional life.

Mary called to discuss a decision about spending money on her new logo and corporate brand. The amount she was talking about is reasonable for professional graphic design. In her past incarnation, the designer's fee would have been a fraction of her anticipated income from corporate clients.

But now her income is not yet certain and her startup resources are finite.In this context the designer's fee represents a big commitment. She said, "In the past, I would have just spent the money. But now I want to make sure this is the best decision for me and my new business. I just don't want to look like a loser." 

What I heard was, "Will I be a loser if I don't spend this money this way?"

In a word, "NO!" 

I responded to Mary that finding another way to get a quality business identity would definitely be in her best interest at this point in her new business. We discussed her options, and she thought of some other options to pursue. 

Our conversation reminded me how easy it is for a Creative Entrepreneur to doubt herself - to take her measure and come up wanting. I find this is a common theme for all the Creative Entrepreneurs I work with, including myself! What's the antidote?

Here are some simple suggestions:

1. Back off the comparisons - with others and with "how it used to be"
2. Remind yourself that you are creative and will find a way to solve the problem in front of you 
3. Realize that business is a progression of challenges - unless you've got them, you aren't in business! 

If you are a Creative, you aren't a loser. You just haven't created the resolution to your present challenge - YET! Get to Creating!

Another Gift for You

Today is Boxing Day in England, the day when the gifts are given to the community outside of one's family. I am taking this opportunity to give you a gift.

If you celebrate Christmas, did you get the gifts you wanted yesterday?

Is there anything else you would like - something intangible or spiritual?

Something like 

• more peace
• more love 
• more creative ideas and expression
• more abundance 
• more joy 
• more confidence? 

Please choose something you would like in your life.

Stop and imagine it already existing in your life.

Close your eyes and feel its presence in your life.

Savor it. It is now yours. Looks for clues of its presence and say "Thank you".

From Oppression to Passion

Oppression Card VoyagerTarot.com

Change Card VoyagerTarot.com

Art Card VoyagerTarot.com

This morning I drew the Oppression card from the Voyager Tarot for a sneak peek into what is going on with my work. [Picking a Voyager card is my morning ritual. You can pick your own Voyager card for the day on-line here.] Oppression is the principle of being snagged spiritually. It tells me to finish a spiritual lesson to get free and fired up again. Frankly, I was surprised that Oppression showed up today as I have been feeling more expressive in my work lately. So I asked "What do I need to do to free myself from Oppression in my work?" I drew Change which tells me to change my daily routine in small incremental steps for more balance. Change most certainly means - not staying up until 1 am to watch Olympics, political conventions, or movies so that I get rest and feel refreshed the next day at work, - eating what I know will agree with my system so I have stamina and feel good, and - getting to the gym more than once a week so that I am strong and energized. I get it that taking care of my physical plant (body) will help me feel more energized and spiritually connected. But I thought there was more and wanted to know, "How do I do that - really?" I pulled the Art card which tells me to - take a broader perspective, - connect with my passion, - hatch a plan with strategies that I can execute, - see a promising future for my work, and - communicate, communicate, communicate! Now I know what I need to do to get free and flying again, and I'm on it. Here's a question for you Creative Entrepreneurs: How do you work out of being bogged down and reconnect with your creative energy and business drive? I would love to hear what works for you!

Alicia Sacramone's Comeback

Earlier today I wondered what Alicia Sacramone of the US Women's Gymnastics Team would chose for herself after her disappointing performance in the team finals. In her interview with Chris Collinsworth on NBC, Alicia called her falls on the beam and the floor event "uncharacteristic mistakes". And that's when I knew that Alicia has decided she is a winner.

Tonight she competed in the Women's Individual Vault event, put in a good performance, and finished 4th. No medal, but Alicia is a champion.

And she is getting a lot of hits on Facebook where she is considered hot. So all in all, a good Olympics for Alicia. Brava!

Win or Lose - You Decide

How about those Olympics!?! I've been glued to the tube all week and am so inspired by the incredible athletes, the venues in Beijing, and the stories that have emerged.

I have seen athletes realizing their Olympic dreams:

Michael Phelps winning 8 for 8 gold medals,
Dora Torres taking 2 silver medals literally back to back at age 41, and
Usain "Lightning" Bolt cruising to a win in the 100 m to become the fastest man on earth.

I've also seen the athletes whose dreams have been dashed:

Alicia Sacramone falling off the balance beam and likely costing the US Women's Gymnastics Team the gold medal,
British champion Paula Radcliffe dragging herself over the finish line of the Women's Marathon in 23rd place,
and Aussie hopeful Eamon Sullivan failing to win gold at the Water Cube.

Win or lose, each of these amazing athletes will have to wake up tomorrow and decide his or her future.

To what will Michael Phelps devote himself now?
How will Dara Torres channel her incredible competitive spirit and body?
What else can Usain Bolt accomplish?

Will Alicia Sacramone forgive herself and move on to accomplish other goals in her life?
How will Paula Radcliffe handle not winning an Olympic medal?
Will Eamon Sullivan continue to compete or turn his attention elsewhere?

These question got me to thinking about the decisions we mere mortals (non-Olympians) must answer every day - will I win or lose today? And then I thought about what the game is.

The Game of Life is what we are playing. And each of us has our special events.

My field is the Emotions and my events are Acknowledging and Healing My Emotions and Using My Power for Good.

Your field may be Creativity and your events may be Following Your Inspiration and Allowing Money into Your Experience.

Or perhaps your field is Parenting and your events may be Learning from Your Children and Healing Your Past as You Parent.

I leave you with these questions for Olympians and the rest of us:

What is the field of your endeavor?

What is winning to you?

What are you deciding to do today about winning in your Game of LIfe?

Busting a BS Belief about Blogging

I have been wanting to blog for over two years now. I know it's the right medium for me and that I would love it if I just began.

If you know anything about blogs, you know that it's really easy to set up a blog and that a blog entry is not a master's thesis! You'd think it would be a cinch to get going.

Not really. Seems there was a BS Belief in my SubConscious Mind. Slowly I've been inching my way to blogging - taking classes with Andy Wibbels, reading blogs, reading about blogs, getting my blog set up - blah, blah, blah. Everything except actually blogging!

So yesterday, I thought, "This is crazy!" and sat down to do some Psych-K(tm) to bust through what I figured must be a BS belief. Turns out that I needed to trust my choices more. I did a Psych-K(tm) Balance for the goal of "writing my blog", and, voila! here I am blogging the very next morning!

Amazing? Yes! Unusual? No. Since I began exploring the SubConscious Mind in 1992, I have come to respect its power deeply. I have seen breakthroughs like this happen over and over for myself and my clients when the SubConscious is given the right tools to make shifts.

So if you are a Creative Entrepreneur and are doing the Approach/Avoidance Dance with some aspect of your business, take heart. Your SubConscious Mind has the answers. There are simple and effective ways to connect with it so that you can create a positive change.

You may already know some things that work for you to get past limiting beliefs. Or you may want to check out Psych-K(tm) or other productive BS Belief Busters like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Guided Imagery, or Direct Hypnosis. (I'll offer samples of Psych-K soon as well as writing more about how to free yourself from BS Beliefs in coming posts.)

As my friend Lori says, you may have to drag me away from the computer now that I've started blogging - ahhhhh! This feels GOOD!!!