by Laura West
I hope you are enjoying your summer so far. I’ve been working a lot as I’m going through some big changes here at the Center for Joyful Business, but I’ve also taken some time off this summer.
I’ve realized over the years that the more I take time for myself for creative adventures and to follow my passion, interests and to refuel, the more it pays dividends in fun and joy and leading a rich life…all of which shifts and shapes who I am in business.
What kinds of creative adventures have I been up to? I just took Reiki 1 training in Knoxville, TN with my good friends and leaders, Carolyn Jones and Jana Kadovitz. It was so powerful to just focus on my energy, breathe and let divine wisdom work through me.
While up in Knoxville, I stopped at Linda Bond’s amazing Stones of Spirit store. What a treat for you rock hounds and those who feel the energy of the stones or just love the visual beauty of certain stones. I came back with a few prized treasures for working with my intentional energy through the stones.
Yesterday I led a teleclass for my Creative Business Studio members called Creating from the Inside Out. I shared 10 strategies and tools for connecting to your wisdom and creating from there in your business. It’s all related to what we were just talking about.
Many of these tools are part of my daily ritual. It has totally changed my life and business.
I know longer feel like I have to massively market my business. More and more I work with energy, intention and inspired action to create success and joy.
I wanted to share a few of these tools with you so you can incorporate them into your daily success rituals.
My Favorite 3 Rituals for Creating from the Inside Out
1. Journaling
I’m a big fan of The Artist Way’s recommendation about writing Morning Pages each day. Simply stated, you write 3 pages (long hand) nonstop. That’s it. No rules. You can dump the junk (which is often what I do), note the weather and any significant events (this is how I always start…weather and where I am writing from) then drop into whatever else is on your mind.
I find that even when I resist and feel like I have nothing to say, this process has a way of calming me down and helping me organize my thoughts, clear out the mind clutter and somehow by the 3rd page I usually tap into some wisdom or idea that is so helpful or so inspiring that I can’t wait to get to it!
Doing each day makes it a ritual that reminds me to relax and drop inside. So I don’t just get up and starting doing. I align my be-ing and it makes all the difference as I move into my day to create what is calling to me to create.
I am much more grounded and connected to my inner wisdom and voice as I create articles, creative social media posts, program design, conversations, emails, and it even impacts my coaching with clients.
2. Intention Setting
When you focus and align your energy “things” happen. Something as simple as being clear about your intention for your day or for a meeting can make it go in a way that is expansive and supportive.
I do this at the beginning of each day by saying my favorite affirmation, “As I expand in love, joy, abundance, and success, I inspire others to do the same.” I end up looking for evidence of love, joy, abundance and success and inevitably, I find it. The more I find, the more I see!
This is particularly helpful when going to a networking meeting. I will set my intention like, “I am intending to meet two people who I love talking with and want to connect with outside of this meeting.” This acknowledges that I don’t have to go into a networking situation and “GET” clients. I am making connections…looking for them.
Last week I said that very intention before a luncheon and I sat next to a woman who later wrote an email recommending me as a speaker for a women’s conference. I couldn’t have predicted that or even asked for that very thing!
3. Wisdom Messages
When I need inspiration or an idea or even when I am getting clear about my intention, I often need a way to tap into my inner wisdom. Or, maybe I just need to see something from a new perspective.
One of my favorite ways of doing this is to use a wisdom tool like Oracle cards. My favorites are from Collete Baron-Reid. You can go to Hay House or Amazon and see a wide variety. I have cards focused on goddesses, fairies, mermaids, animal totems and more. (Yes, I’m an obsessive card deck lover!)
The way this works in a super simple daily practice is to just ask a question. What should I do? What do I need to know for today? What should I write about?
Then select a card from the deck. You can just look at the card and let the visual inform you or read the message that comes with the card. Just let the message soak into you and listen to what comes up for you. It always leads you somewhere.
Today I picked a card from a deck by my friend and client: Carolyn Cooper, author of the upcoming book, Simply Healed. I was feeling a bit cranky and moody. Maybe a bit overwhelmed by pressures. I picked a card that said, “Opportunities are all around me.” That made me smile and relax and say YES! I instantly transformed my overwhelm into realizing they are amazing opportunities.
Knowing how to change your perspective and shift your energy is critical to being successful in your business and your life. It’s not helpful to get stuck in a negative thought pattern or a doubt spiral. Shifting to an empowering attitude will shift everything.
I hope you enjoy 3 of my favorite creating from the inside out rituals. It’s not your typical business building methods, but they work. You align your energy and intention, ground, ask, listen and then you act.
Actions are important. It doesn’t have to be lots of crazy hustling. Just graceful aligned inspired actions.
If you want to know more about creating success from the inside out and how to bring this into your business on a daily basis then you can check out the Creative Business Studio. It’s all about creating real success based on your authentic marketing style…taking the best practices and then tailoring it to you and how you work best!
I hope you’ll join us for our next calls!
To Your Creative Success,
