Reflection is our secret weapon when building a creative livelihood that is impactful, fulfilling, and sustainable along the way. 

Running an intentional business means we have to refuse to run on autopilot; we have to pay attention, feel all the feelings, and face our highs and lows head on. Reflection is tough, it means we have to ask ourselves the tough questions from time to time and be okay with the discomfort of our answers. 

Reflection helps us make space for a more meaningful, impactful, and purposeful creative journey. I want to share with you today 10 of the questions I ask both myself and my creative coaching clients when we’re making the space to dig deep, be honest with ourselves, and reach for more in our lives and our work. 

I am super, super, excited to share with you today that season 2 of Make It Happen, my podcast for creatives, is finally here.

Make It Happen is a podcast for curious, big-hearted, purpose-driven creatives and it's here to shares stories, insights, and conversations to encourage and empower you to make things happen for your creative life and business on your own terms, in your own way, and by your own rules. If you're aching to build an impactful, fulfilling, and sustainable creative life, this is the podcast for you.

And Make It Happen finally has a home all to itself over at makeithappenpodcast.com. You can find today's brand new episode over there featuring the awesome Caroline Winegeart of Made Vibrant - this was one of my favourite episodes ever to record so I'm super excited to be sharing it with you today.

One year and over 50 clients later, my first year as a creative coach has taught me so much about what it really means to make things happen in our lives and our work along the way.

I’ve seen my clients quit their day jobs, launch booked out services, create podcasts that cultivate raving fans, build websites that make people pay attention, and create content that resonates with the people they’re aching to connect with. But so much more than that, I’ve seen them overcome the fears and mindsets that have been holding them back for years, and truly take ownership of their gifts, strengths, and creativity along the way. 

For me, making things happen is about cultivating a creative livelihood that is impactful, fulfilling, and sustainable along the way, and it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside purpose-driven creatives this past year to help them do exactly that. 

Today I want to share with you seven of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this year about making things happen, from both my own journey and my clients too. 

Here are things I’ve seen both myself and my clients struggle with at times this past year:

Feeling like our business and our work doesn’t matter.

Creating copy that really capture our brand's message and purpose.

Attracting dreamy clients and repelling the not-so-dreamy ones.

Feeling like we just sound like everyone else instead of like a creative expert with a vision.

Maintaining momentum, confidence, and creative energy in our business.

We’re all pretty much trying to cultivate and build the same things:

• A business that feels true to our vision and our values
• A sustainable income that allows us to thrive in our work
• The space to hone, develop, and expand our skills and expertise
• Clients who we’re able to do our best, most impactful, and purposeful work with
• Freedom and personal fulfilment along the way
• The confidence and inner peace that we’re doing work that matters
• Creative energy that fuels and guides us along the way

Either you’re not booking as many dream clients as you want to and you're starting to worry that you’ll never find stability with your business.

Or you’re feeling disconnected from the words you’re using to describe and define your brand and you’re afraid nobody will truly see and understand what it is you do and how it is you can help them.

Or self-doubt and fear are holding you back from truly moving forward with confidence and inner peace that your work matters and that it's impactful and purposeful for the people you’re here to serve. 

What do I encourage you to do next?

Listen to your clients.

Earlier this month I shared a post called Let’s Talk About Work Ethic, Rest, & Guilt. In it I talked about my journey of losing the guilt that had been holding me back so far from truly prioritising my need for rest and wellbeing in my life and my routine.

I shared that as I head into 2016, I was intentionally choosing to embrace a slower season of rest. Coming to this decision has been one of the hardest I’ve had to make since I started my business; intentionally deciding to slow down and make space for rest is so hard when there’s work to be done, bills to be paid, and life to be lived along the way. 

But it’s a decision I am so, so glad I made.

If you’re thinking about making space for a season of rest too but you’re afraid it’s counterproductive in your pursuit for an impactful, fulfilling, and sustainable creative life, I want to share with you today what I’m learning so far and encourage you to know that it is possible to rest and thrive in our work at exactly the same time. 

As purpose-driven, service based creatives, we all want the same thing:

To work with dreamy clients who we can do our best, most impactful, and meaningful work with.

And I believe that creating content of meaning that resonates and connects is one of the most effective (and authentic) ways we can make that happen. 

But I also know and understand how hard it can be to create that kind of content. I even explored the discomfort of creating content that matters in a post just last week. That’s why I’ve created this content creation exercise for any big-hearted, purpose-driven creatives who want to carve out some creative space to dig deep and write directly for those dreamy clients that they’re aching to work with along the way.

That’s what Writing For Dream Clients is all about.

I’m a big believer in doing things on our own terms, in our own way, and by our own rules - especially when it comes to building our own creative life and careers.

And this isn’t just my authority issues talking; I really do believe that the best things happen when we question all the “rules” that constrict us along the way, develop the ability to push through boundaries and see things differently and, most of all, protect our creativity and our vision from being stifled while we work hard to make big and beautiful things happen with our work and our lives.

We’ve all heard the phrase: comparison is the thief of joy. In this digital age, it’s so easy to see what’s going on around us and compare our own life, our own decisions, and our own highs and lows to other creatives in our industry. We can start to make decisions in response to the decisions and values of others, instead of developing our own ability to listen to ourselves. This is a sure fire way to find ourselves with a creative career that is unfulfilling, lacking in impact, and dissatisfying along the way. 

Every curious, purpose-driven, big-hearted creative I’ve worked with as their content coach has ached for exactly the same thing when it comes to creating and sharing content online:

To create something that matters.

Something that resonates. Something that connects. Something that can go deeper. Sometimes it’s also something that will sell, but it’s always, always, something that is way more than just empty words on a screen.

And together here is what we always discover and learn: discomfort is part of the process when you’re creating content that matters.

I’ve been battling with two intentions that seem to contradict and work against each other in my work and my life:

My desire to hustle, and my desire to rest.

Work ethic, rest, and the guilt so many of us can feel as we navigate these waters have been heavy on my mind recently. And it’s an inner battle that I know I’m not alone in facing each day. My clients tell me often how guilty they feel when they make space for their need to rest and forgo those 15 hour workdays that are so glorified when you’re running your own business. They feel guilty when they admit to themselves that they don’t want to build a business that demands 60 hour weeks and all of their energy to build and sustain, and making space for time off and doing it without guilt or shame is something I’ve personally battled with in recent months and I’m  certain that I’m not the only one.