Exciting Things are happening around Creativity + Money

Written on May 16, 2012 by andrea

And I can’t wait to share them with you!

Look very closely at those circles:

Can you feel what happens to Money where it meets Play and Creativity?

Pure. Magic. Exploding.

Sometimes you can actually see the fireworks.

It’s the kind of magic that comes from a soul that is plugged into its greatness.

And nothing plugs you in faster or deeper than the combined superpowers of Creativity and Play.

That is why spending a whole day immersed in Creativity and Play can make a profound difference in your finances.

>>> CLICK HERE to read more + register today.

We’re going to have so much fuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

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I was in the hospital this week

Written on May 11, 2012 by andrea

I’m ok now.

But earlier this week I was lying in a hospital bed, scared and in pain and not knowing what was happening.

I had some drugs injected into my hip which started to relieve the pain and also give the doctor some clues about what was happening and what to do about it. A kind nurse brought me a heated blanket and helped me snuggle into a stretcher and left me alone for a while, to give the drug a chance to work its magic.

I lay there quietly, slowly starting to feel better.

And then my inner critics took over.

How could you put yourself in this position? What if you’re seriously sick? What if this keeps happening? OMG! YOU CAN’T RUN YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU’RE SICK LIKE THIS!

How could you leave a job that would give you all the sick time you needed and pay for medicine?

OMG! This is a disaster. This is COMPLETE AND TOTAL DOOM.

You have to sell the dream loft and move in with your parents for real.

Living your dreams was too good to be true.

How could you be so stupid? Of course you need a job. Everybody needs a job.

They were freaked out. It’s just they want me to be safe and in that moment they didn’t know if I was safe or if I would be safe.

When faced with scary situations, the inner critic‘s tendency is to want to contract.

And I don’t blame them!

Life is scary sometimes! Of course we want to move towards what looks like safety.

But I’ve had a lot of time this week to think about this, being that I spent most of my time just lying around and recovering.

And I’ve come to understand that the fact that sometimes scary things happen and you end up in the hospital, in pain and not knowing what is wrong with you, only makes living your dreams all that much more important.

If it’s true that I could die totally unexpectedly, then isn’t the life I live while I am alive all that much more precious and important?

Of course there is that very reasonable-sounding argument about the value and security of having a job with long-term paid sick leave.

But the more I thought about it the less sense that made and the less reasonable it seemed.

If you think about how powerful Long Term Disability is as an income generator, and if you think about how powerful Creative Magic is as an income generator – well. Creative Magic wins that one without even bothering to get out of bed in the morning.

Having an illness doesn’t mean you can’t generate all the money you want.

So that really sunk in for me this week.

And if having a Very Serious Illness doesn’t mean you cant generate all the money you want than being “too old” or “too young” or being a single mom or not being a high school grad or whatever other stories you’ve got running about why you can’t generate the money you want Is. Not. True.

It just means you have to find a different way.

This was a really huge epiphany for me.

It’s not that it’s harder for some people to make money than it is for other people. We live in a world where it is established that certain professions earn more money than others. Switching your mental paradigm can change that.

OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

And this actually makes me feel grateful for my trip to the hospital and all the pain and fear.

Because this is so important and so relevant to what I’m working on: The Creative With Money Online Playdate. And it gave me some amazing new ideas for the Playdate materials and more importantly it’s got me Really Very Excited about all the ways that you can get creative about how you earn money.

On Monday I wrote that I was working on the details and I’d get them to you later this week.

Of course, I was not able to do that. But the Creative With Money Playdate is still on:

It’s happening on Friday, June 8. 11am to 3pm

(That’s North America Central Daylight Time – click here to find out what time this is in your time zone)

All calls will be recorded. If you sign up and can’t make it – you can use the recordings and workbooks to have your own Creative Play-Date any day you like.

Also, this week I got tons of messages with questions about the Creative with Money Online Playdate and I wasn’t able to answer them.

And I still can’t.

I will post more information just as soon as I have it. I’m going to take it easy over the weekend and ease back into my work.

PS: If you’ve got inner critics telling you you can’t make the money you want to make being creative end doing the things you love, or that there is a limit to how much money you can make: CLICK HERE.

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Making Money via Creative Magic

Written on May 7, 2012 by andrea

I was having coffee with a friend and he was talking about his credit card.

He had paid it off (yay!) but was nervous about using it again. He found it was too easy to spend more than he realised and end up with a gigantic bill.

So his solution was to not use it at all.

Except there are times (like when buying things online) when using a card is much easier and he’d like to be able to use it but he didn’t want to use it too much. So he was feeling a little unsure about what to do.

I told him that I’d been doing coaching sessions with people about how to bring the full force of their Creative Magic into how they do money.

Because creative people are brilliant!

We have all this genius!

We can direct that genius into how we earn, save, manage and spend our money!

My friend looked at me blankly for a minute.

Then he got it.

He lit up.

You mean, what would I do with my credit card if it was a half-written play? How would I finish it?

And all a sudden there were so many possibilities his mind was blown.

And that’s what happens when you create a link between your creative genius and your money.

This friend is a brilliant playwright. So his way is writing plays.

What is your way?

What is the thing you are brilliant at? The thing that is easy for you?

NOTE: It might be hard to find it if you devalue it. If you say “Oh no, that? No, that’s easy, anyone could do that. I’m definitely not brilliant because I can do that!” then the thing you’re brilliant at is probably that.

Part of being brilliant at something is that you think it’s easy.

How can you let that show you how to make money easy?

I know, it can be really hard to bend your mind like that.

That’s what I’ve been doing in a lot of my coaching sessions lately – finding ways to create links between that thing you’re brilliant at and money.

Finding ways to bring more of the magic of who you really are into your relationship with money.

One of my clients doubled her monthly income in one month.

This stuff works.

Your creativity is genius.

Your magic is magic.

You can aim it at anything.

Aiming it at money is incredibly helpful because money makes things easier.

And it’s kind of tricky to figure it out, too.

So I’m throwing a Party where we can play with this together!

We’re going to explore and play and see how you can make this work, for you.

I’m still working out the details so it’s not open for registration just yet. But I can tell you this:

It’s happening on Friday, June 8. 11am to 3pm

(That’s North America Central Daylight Time – click here to find out what time this is in your time zone)

All calls will be recorded. If you sign up and can’t make it – you can use the recordings and workbooks to have your own Creative Play-Date any day you like.

So for now think about how you can bring more of your creative magic into your money.

What would that mean for you?

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Birthday. Plus Announcement.

Written on May 3, 2012 by andrea

Tomorrow, May 4, is my birthday.

Really, I’m still walking around with my head in the clouds from my amazing life-changing trip to Portland. And I’m trying to get ready to move into my amazing life-changing Dream Loft.

There are lots of big things happening in my world. And it feels like my birthday has been is eclipsed by these Big Things Happening.

Nevertheless, I turn 38.

And when I say that I can feel me-in-my-20s jumping up and down and clapping at how things turned out. Yay! You have so many amazing things happening you don’t care about your birthday! The struggles were worth it!

Because my birthday used to be a really big deal to me.

I’d take the day off work to do all of my favourite things and go to all of my favourite places and, most importantly, do my special Birthday Journaling ritual. Reflecting on the year past and setting intentions for the year to come.

I created that ritual out of my desire to keep moving forward towards my dreams even though Everything Felt Impossible a lot of the time. For some reason, my birthday felt like a magic day that wouldn’t let those impossible feelings in.

So in a lot of ways – every day is my birthday now.

I do journaling and being conscious and intentional for a living!

And I’m always doing my favourite things and going to my favourite places – Extreme Self-Care is built into my schedule, I don’t have to take a day off to do it.

And Everything Does Not Feel Impossible. I’m living a lot of my biggest dreams now, and working on dreaming up new ones. So in a lot of ways, every day is my birthday now. Which is amazing.

But there is one important way that I want to mark this day.

I’m raising my coaching rate.

I actually lowered my rate in the fall when I was living in the tent. I felt like I couldn’t guarantee that I’d have a quiet interruption-free workspace and just didn’t feel comfortable charging my regular rate.

It turned out that all of my coaching sessions since have been beautiful, transformative and sparkly-magic-awesome. Which is great!

In fact, one of my recent clients, who herself is a successful coach with 22 years experience, with an entire network of coaches working for her, who has worked with some of the biggest and most expensive coaches around told me that my coaching was the best she’d ever received.

And now I’m ready to put the price back to reflect the actual value of what I have to offer.

So May 4, my birthday, is the last day to book sessions with me for cheap.

Do you have dreams you want to grow into Real Live Things?

I can help!

I can help you dissolve obstacles like a sugar cube in a hot cup of a tea.

I can help turn your Inner Critics into powerful allies.

I can help you make it happen.

So let’s do this!

>>> Click here for coaching.

If you have questions leave a comment here or send me an email through the form on this page

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DESIRE Is Your SOUL Speaking To You

Written on May 1, 2012 by andrea

Desire is how your soul guides you along the path to your purpose.

This is very important. Watch this video:

(Sorry about the funny camera angles… I didn’t notice that the camera slipped.)

I made it for my Advanced Creative Badasses because our theme for May is DESIRE.

Then I decided to share it here because it’s really important.

And because it helps explain why I’ve been so stuck lately.

It’s been well over a month since I started working my way through the Creative Dream Incubator.

And I haven’t gotten very far with it.

I have met a lot of Inner critics. Obstacles. Fears. Uncertainties. I’ve experienced a lot of not being able to decide what, exactly, my dream is.

A lot of vacillating between what I really want and what I think I should want.

My relationship with desire hit a snag.

And lots of internal things had to be worked out before I could start to make any progress on this new dream.

This is exactly how the Creative Dream Incubator works. It puts you into the process of dealing with whatever needs to be dealt with so that you can get on with growing your dream.

Which is very frustrating and annoying!

And necessary.

Because if you don’t deal with this you just stay stuck. And your dream never becomes a Real Live Thing.

But like I said in the video – jumping into the river is scary! You have to take whatever time you have to take to make it feel safe. And that’s what I’ve been doing these past 6 weeks.

Also, instead of diving in, you can take some baby steps. You can just dip your toe into the river. And keep dipping your toe in until you feel comfortable slowly slipping into the water.

You dip your toe in by just noticing and acknowledging what it is you want right now.

And then doing that.

It’s usually something small like taking a nap or sending that email or making a cup of tea. Or getting the sandwich you really want to eat, not the sandwich you think you should have.

This helps you to get more in touch with your inner river of desire, and to start to make friends with it.

This gets you on the path of learning to really-fully-totally trust desire.

To start to really-fully-all-the-way-down believe that desire is your soul speaking to you and guiding you towards your purpose.

This is really important.

Building a healthy relationship with desire makes everything possible.

If you skipped it – go back and watch the video!

PS: This video was made for my Advanced Creative Badassery group. I talked in the video about journaling prompts and exploring our relationships with desire and then doing a long, thorough Q+A video on how to work on your relationship with desire. We’re going to be doing that this month in the group.

>>> If this is calling to you – click here to read more and to join us.

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Bravery, Creative Impulses + Dreams Come True

Written on April 26, 2012 by andrea

Last week I shared LeeAnn’s amazing story about how she is leaving her NYC cubicle-job behind and setting sail for Scotland – the land of her dreams.

I received an overwhelming amount of feedback to that post.

There is something about a seemingly-impossible dream coming true that really speaks to us.

Dreams that come true are inspiring in the best possible way.

Most people don’t know this but a little while I ago I started a Top Secret Advanced Practice group for my students and clients who want to take things further.

It’s called Advanced Creative Badassery because it takes a total badass to deal with the obstacles in your way and life your life on your terms and bring your dreams to life.

This group is a catalyst for Magic Things and Dreams Come True.

Effy Wild

So last Tuesday Miss Effy Wild (pajama clad mystic den mama from The Glitterhood) announced to the Advanced Creative Badasses that she had made a music video for Rev. Michael Beckwidth’s new album.

(That’s THE Michael Beckwidth. If you don’t know him, you should.)

And not only that – she was going to make sure The Rev Himself knew about it.

Bravery to the MAX!

And last Wednesday (one day later) this happened. The video ended up on Michael Beckwidth’s tumblr.

And Michael Beckwidth didn’t just know about the video:

REVEREND MICHAEL BECKWIDTH tweeted and facebooked Effy’s video!

He shared it with thousands and thousands of people.

Seriously. That happened in the span of one day.

Effy acted on her creative impulse and put it out there. She took a risk and a leap and got exactly what she hoped for.

That’s how it works.

You have to take that risk and do the work first.

If you’re waiting for the circumstances of your life to change so that you can start working on your dreams you’re always going to be waiting.

(Note that Effy didn’t wait for Michael Beckwidth to ask her to make him a video.)

Magic things happen when you are committed to doing the work right now.

It doesn’t matter if you have very real obstacles and fears.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have it all figured out.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel ready.

All you need is to be willing to keep putting one foot in front of the other – even when you’re not totally sure of where you’re going.

You need to respect your dreams enough to give them what they need to grow.

Everything is possible but what are you doing about that?

Really, think about that today.

You can start right here, right where you are right now.

If you want some help, get the Creative Dream Incubator.

Seriously! You can do this!

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Adventures in Extreme Creative Dreaming

Written on April 23, 2012 by andrea

It was eight months ago that I sold my house, got rid of 1/2 of all of my things, put the other 1/2 in storage, and embarked on an adventure.

An adventure I thought would be three months long. (But secretly I was sure it would be just 2 months)

Last fall was absolutely gorgeous and I was happy to give up the comforts of home and fill my tent up with pillows and duvets and pitch it in my parent’s back yard.I was not so happy when winter came and my adventure wasn’t over yet and I reluctantly packed up the tent and moved into my parent’s house.

What happened is that I bought the Loft Condo Of My Dreams.

Open space, huge windows, high ceilings, polished concrete heated floors. A little park outside with paths meandering through a little bridge that leads to my door. Supergorgeous award winning sustainable green design.

And then what happened were a series of construction delays.

So had I known then that it would be eight months I wouldn’t have sold my house, or I would have found an apartment, or something. But each delay has been quite short. It’s just that they’ve piled up to create a long delay.

But it all happened in such a way that I didn’t really have a lot of options because the time lines were always so small.

I packed what I would need for 2 months of camping. I figured out what to do about running my business without a workspace for 3 months. Eight months later this is not comfortable.

And it seems like people feel sorry for me.

Like “Oh you poor thing!” Like I am the victim of messed up timelines.

I’m not the victim here.

I’m the victor.

The reason why I sold my house so quickly is that my intuition said to.

The reason why I ended up in a tent in my parent’s back yard is that is exactly where my intuition told me to be.

I don’t doubt that my intuition knew exactly where this was leading.

I also don’t doubt that my intuition deliberately withheld that information from me. Because there is no way in hell I would have agreed to this beforehand. Who wants to be uncomfortable?

I also don’t doubt that this has been the best possible thing for me.

I was talking to my acupuncturist about this, trying to explain where I am and what it is I need support with. I kind of struggled for words and then said “It’s like the tectonic plates in my inner world are shifting dramatically. The whole landscape is changing.”

I really did have to come fully out of my regular, comfortable life in order for this to be able to happen.

Dude! Tectonic plates are shifting!

What used to be solid ground is not there anymore.

What used to be dangerous territory is now safe.

New hills and mountains and valleys and rivers.

A new sense of flow and direction.

An amazing new sense of flow.

In my relationship with myself. In my relationship with my creativity. In my relationship with my purpose and my business and my money.

I’m building a whole new world where all sorts of new dreams are possible.

I started out thinking it was bigger dreams that I was making space for. But that’s not it.

I’m making space for deeper dreams. For a deeper experience of my dreams and my life.

I’m making space for the kind of bliss that is rooted in simplicity.

And that is changing everything.

I love where I am today.

And I could not be here if not for the extreme discomfort of the past eight months.

If you’re waiting for your dream to come and find you while you stay in your comfort zone you’ve got a hell of a long wait ahead of you.

That’s not to say you have to go as far into the discomfort as I have.

You just have to make the first move.

Your dream is actually waiting for you. Right now! It’s waiting! Seriously!

Take a step towards your dream and it will take a step towards you.

The Creative Dream Incubator kit can totally help you do this. Wherever you are right now. Whatever your dream is.

And the Creative Dream Incubator kit has totally been helping me with this.

I’m still on Module 1. Yes – it was almost a month ago when I first blogged about doing this and I am just finishing up Module 1 now.

Because when I started, as I shared back then, I doing the Creative Dream Incubator to go after my Bigger Dreams.

And what the Creative Dream Incubator has shown me is that what I really want are deeper dreams. Truer dreams. Simpler dreams.

Working with the Creative Dream Incubator is what helped me see more clearly what is happening in my world right now, and understand more clearly what it is I need and I really want.

Thank you, Incubator, for the sweet, delicious clarity.

This is totally normal.

Lots of people come into the Creative Dream incubator with one dream in mind and end up finding a totally different dream.

Because all dreams are connected it doesn’t matter which one you start with – you’re going to end up with the on that is ready to grow right now.

(So there’s no to way to pick the “wrong” dream! Whatever you pick leads you to where you need to be!)

Because all dreams are rooted in your authenticity and your purpose and your spirit – you’re going to end up with the dream that is perfect for you. The dream that helps you grow more fully into who you really are. The dream that makes the next dream possible.

The Creative Dream Incubator is totally magic like that.

ps: I’m off to Portland today. To hang out here and have fabulous adventures. Adorable photos + updates will be on the Facebook page.

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I have been wanting to tell you this for SO LONG!

Written on April 19, 2012 by andrea

I’ve known LeeAnn for a long time and for as long as I can remember, she has had this dream.

This Very Big Exciting Amazing Dream.

And in the Creative Dream Incubator and private coaching I’ve had the privilege of watching LeeAnn take some remarkable steps towards making that dream real.

I was unable to share her story until now because she didn’t want it on the internet where her boss could find it :)

I can share it now because LeeAnn has given notice and quit! her! job!

AK! Exciting! It’s official. It’s real! Big! Dream! Come! True!

So I’ll stop now and let LeeAnn share her story….

LeeAnn in Scotland

Before the Creative Dream Incubator, I wanted to live in Scotland. That was my dream.

But how was I supposed to do that?

It seemed like a pretty daunting task to achieve. Sort of unrealistic and far fetched…Like something out of a book.

I was unhappy with a lot of things…most specifically with living in New York City…and didn’t know what to do to get out.

I was stuck in the how’s and all the fear that comes from the thought that you want/need to shake up and change your whole life.

I was holding on to what was because I couldn’t imagine how it could be. I had made the commitment to change but needed some guidance in a big way.

I was convinced I had to set up my new life before I left my old one behind. My energy was spent trying to manifest some sort of remote business so I could support myself while spending time in Scotland. How I would earn money was the first thought in my mind. How would I support myself if I left everything behind?

So I figured I needed to make that happen before I could leave. It was like I wanted to line up a new boyfriend before breaking up with the old one.

I was also going through so many changes…still working a cubicle job while pursuing an herbal apprenticeship and Reiki studies, writing a blog about following my bliss, being an artist.

I was slowly feeling pulled into a simpler, earthy lifestyle (and that scared me too because I didn’t know HOW to make the total shift).

It had become increasingly clear that I needed to live one life not split my energy between office and earthy. But HOW could I let go of the person I was in order to step fully into the shoes of the woman I was becoming?

I completed the last week of the Creative Dream Incubator while on Iona, Scotland.

In Iona in Scotland

It was synchronicity to the max, I tell you.

I followed it up with some private coaching with Andrea and felt so incredibly grounded in the dream even though the how was still floating around my head.

Then I applied to volunteer on Iona. Baby stepping it all the way.

When Andrea offered The Creative Business Incubator I jumped at the chance since I was still thinking I had to quickly get my business going in order to move onto the next phase. And a funny thing happened. I realized that I needed to stop.

Before, all I thought about was building UP. Doing the Creative Dream Incubator made me realize that, in my case, I needed to tear everything down; become vulnerable and learn again from the ground up.

I needed to truly embody simplifying my life.

And now, after the Creative Dream Incubator….

Currently, I am preparing to leave my cubicle job, apartment, and the city I’ve lived in since I was in college, to spend 6 months in Scotland.

I will be volunteering in the kitchen and in housekeeping for The Iona Community and then traveling a bit. I have no real plans, and it feels so good!

The Creative Dream Incubator helped me realize that the only way to figure out what comes next is to jump and see where I land. To go with no ties and see where the journey takes me next.

This is something I couldn’t have imagined happening at the start of this journey and it feels so right.

As soon as I started letting go of the hows and embracing the essence of my dream, everything started to flow to me. I learned the healthy balance of surrendering and taking action. Focusing on the feelings rather than the hows and whys.

I feel so much freer now…and the support has been amazing.

I had gone through a lot of guilt regarding leaving…that I’d be letting people down or worrying others. But I have learned that doing what I am called to do is the most important thing I can do for me and everyone around me.

I have also become so much more immersed in the flow with my life.

Trusting that things are working out the way they are supposed to, even when it seems dark. It’s not always easy but giving up control has been a huge thing for me. And learning how to let go an amazing gift.

LeeAnn's Creative Dream Creative Journal page

Another surprising thing that has happened, is that my dream has opened up. It has become so much bigger than “living in Scotland.” Funny thing about letting go of everything…it can bring in so much more.

_____________________________________________

Thank you for sharing that amazing story LeeAnn.

Follow LeeAnn’s continuing adventure on her beautiful blog. I know there is a lot more amazing stuff in store for her!

I also want to add that when LeeAnn started out – there were a LOT of hurdles in her way. Among other things – she’s paid off an amazing amount of debt in order to be able to make this happen.

LeeAnn’s story is proof positive that even when your dream is so huge it would demand radical life changes in order for you to make it real – you can still do it. You can still find ways to baby-step it.

LeeAnn’s story also shows how many other gifts open up when you start the process of making such a big dream real. The way she learned so much about herself and what really matters to her. The way she learned how to really get into the flow and trust the process of life.

Making a dream real is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Big or Small, the Creative Dream Incubator will help you Make Your Dream Real.

Click here to get started today.

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I don’t have enough time to dream

Written on April 18, 2012 by andrea

I am constantly hearing from people that they don’t have enough time for their Creative Dreams.

This makes me sad.

So I am happy to share something that can help: A brand new book called Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life by Marney K. Makridakis.

This book is a creative revolution.

And it’s entrance into the world is being (rightly!) celebrated with a big party called the Creating Time Mega Event.

>>> Read all about it, join the party and order the book here.

Personally, I don’t think time is really the problem. I don’t think anyone needs more time.

What you need is a new relationship with time.

And a deeper sense of sovereignty around making choices about how to spend your time.

But I know it often feels like you need more time. And that’s why I’m so glad this book exists!

I was lucky enough to receive a copy from the author and I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her work.

Why did you write Creating Time?

Like most people, time has been a big challenge for me throughout my adult life, but it escalated to an extreme after I gave birth to my first child in 2008, and struggled in vain to find the time to “do it all”. I devoured every time management book I could get my hands on, but still found myself exhaustively chasing time.

I finally put myself on mission to find a new solution, and began to explore ways that I could apply my best resource (imagination) to my biggest problem (time).

I passionately researched and experimented with imagining, viewing, and experiencing time in new ways, and at last, felt time expand and change at my design. I created an online course to help others do the same and saw that other people had success with these techniques as well. After that, I finally felt able to sit down and write a longer work that developed these ideas much more fully.

Creating Time is for people who feel like they don’t have enough time to live the kinds of lives they want to live. I want everyone to know: when we don’t have time, we have to create it, and the incredible news is that we can do so using one of the greatest resources ever to exist on our planet: human creativity.

What does “Creating Time” mean?

To me, it means that there is amazing power held by each of us to imagine, create, and completely reshape the way we experience time.

For too long we have been servants of time when in fact, time that can and should serve us. We can finally drop all the archaic view and limitations of time that have held us back from fully embracing the wild beautiful truth: time is not a defined line; it is instead a vibrant, completely moldable, layered, multi-faceted work of art that is in your hands to create and design, each and every day.

How is your book different from a typical “time management” book?

Time-management books, as well as the latest time-tracking and productivity aids, can certainly be of help to us on the practical level, but they are limited in their long-term effectiveness, since the true nature of time extends beyond the chronological hours displayed in our calendars, wristwatches and smart phones.

I really wanted to dive into the psychological, philosophical and emotional aspects of time, to help readers come away with a liberating new view of self and a fresh perspective on the meaning of being human, empowered, and fully alive. So while the book is definitely filled with practical, hands-on tips for creating more time in your day, it’s also about finding a new way to experience time in its entirety, your full time on this earth…shifting our focus away from how we spend time to instead reveling in what we receive from our time.

And, besides, most time management books won’t guide you to make collages and design offbeat new clocks and creative time-pieces! While intensely practical, I also wanted the 14 time shifting projects in this book to be a lot of fun and inspire a sense of playful abandon and freedom.

What are the main challenges with time that you’ve identified, and how does this book address them?

To personalize the reader’s process, Creating Time contains a “Time Diagnosis Chart” which identifies 14 of the most popular time complaints, and recommends which of the book’s tools are most effective in addressing them.

I find it interesting that, while everyone’s specific time complaints are unique, they usually boil down to one very primal theme: I don’t have enough time to live the life I want to live.

For most people, time is the biggest challenge in fulfilling their potential. Whatever improvements or changes we want to make in our lives, it often seems to go back to the topic of time; we need time to exercise and eat right, time to establish and strengthen relationships, time to pursue a meaningful hobby, time to follow a dream.

Our perceived lack of, and limitations on, time affect all areas of our lives, especially our hopes and dreams. Time is the ultimate scapegoat when things aren’t going our way. But this book shows that time is also is the ultimate resource when we can tap into its expansiveness and partner with it in new ways.

Thanks so much, Marney.

This is a brilliant highly recommended book.

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Your Infinite Creative Potential (and how it means that ALL of your Creative Dreams are possible)

Written on April 16, 2012 by andrea

Infinite creative potential is what you have and it’s what you are.

When you really get this – everything changes.

(If you don’t see the video, click here)

I’m really glad I was asked this question and I’d love to continue the conversation. Please leave your questions and comments below.

Are you ready to Discover + Explore your Infinite Creative Potential?

The Creative Dream Incubator kit guides you through every stage of the process of accessing and using your Infinite Creative Potential to bring your dreams to life.

>>> Click here to get started for only $37.

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To put it mildly: Your dreams are tremendously powerful.

Written on April 5, 2012 by andrea

As I shared last week, I’m working through my Creative Dream Incubator course and I am in a bit of a confusing place with it.

I want to share my process here but right now – it’s pretty messy and nonsensical and I don’t know what to write that would actually make sense.

I discovered that actually I don’t want what I think I wanted. And now I’m working on being ok with what I really actually do want. Which is surprisingly complicated.

And that is often how dreams work.

And when you’re right there in it – it’s messy, awkward and uncomfortable.

So I’m super grateful to me-from-then who created the Creative Dream Incubator because I know that if I just keep working through it – I’ll get there. It doesn’t have to make sense right now.

I don’t have to know what I’m doing.

I don’t have to see how it’s all going to work.

I just have to keep showing up, messy or not.

This is where it’s helpful to remember that there is only ever one Creative Dream: To be who you really are.

And then to live your real, authentic, creative life.

Your Creative Dreams are rooted in your purpose.

Your purpose is rooted in the infinite creative potential of your spirit.

To put it mildly: Your dreams are tremendously powerful.

If you hand over the reigns to your dream, it may get messy there for awhile but you will end up where you want to be.

I love the way Jane’s Creative Dream Story illustrates this and I’m so happy she is here today, sharing her story.

__________________________________

Before the Creative Dream Incubator my dream was to run creativity weekends in my home town.

(and of course secretly around the world because connecting to creativity changes the world and who doesn’t want to change the world?)

I had images of my local hall, messy tables, happy women, lives changing, energy building, heart healing… it all felt like amazing and juicy stuff.

And then I got into the Creative Dream Incubator and got a very clear message:

“NOT RIGHT NOW!

THIS IS ACTUALLY WHERE YOU ARE HEADED AND I WILL MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU BECAUSE HERE IS THIS IDEA IN ITS ENTIRETY, BUT YOU CAN WINDOW DRESS IT TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS YOURS IF YOU LIKE”

No kidding. I couldn’t believe it.

The work with Andrea was gentle and loving and very clarifying but I totally had to put my creative women dream in a warm soft place and take on my new dream it was demanding!

My new dream is Reframing Your Story.

I listen to Reframers tell their stories with my heart wide open and use my passions for story telling, faerytale, art making and healing to create a new story for them.

Their old stories can be ones of heart ache or triumph but through reframing thy get to experience their story from a new perspective and offer themselves a new possibility for the way they see their lives and therefore how they treat themselves, whey they tell themselves and how they move ahead.

I had reframed some of my own stories and I tell you it is POWERFUL medicine. I am so glad to be able to offer it to others, who once learning how it works can go on to use the Reframing skill in everyday life.

I love the way that this has been received by those who have been brave enough to try it. The shifts truly happen and the magic is palpable. To be able to offer that kind of wonder up is a gift to me as well as the Reframers.

From this work has now come the opportunity to teach in an online course (which in a round about way is going back to my first dream) the course is called WILD: The Woman’s Way of the Wild Creative Heart and is a chance for women to gather around a virtual campfire and heal the Wild feminine nature.

Being open to one dream and following the path there has opened the way to another.. magic is like that.

I really don’t think that this dream would have happened without Andrea’s guidance through the Creative Dream Incubator.

Honestly her understanding of the Alchemy of bringing magic into the world defies description but I go on at every opportunity about how awesome she is and I am big on telling the truth!

If you feel like you have a dream that is tapping quietly on your shoulder (so quietly that you don’t even know its name or can’t see it but you know it is there) I can’t recommend the Creative Dream Incubator highly enough.

____________________________

Thanks so much Jane. It’s amazing to see what magical things can happen when you listen to the messages and act on them.

And do check out Jane’s Reframing and her WILD: The Woman’s Way of the Wild Creative Heart course!

PS: Have you signed up for the (free! online!) Creative Dream Day Spa? Free Spa Treatments to get your dream sparkling, shining and ready to GROW:<

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The Creative Dream Day Spa

Written on April 1, 2012 by andrea

Yesterday I woke up with a brilliant idea: To create a (free! online!) Creative Dream Day Spa with treatments that get your dream sparkling and shining and ready to grow.

Of course, I already have all of this stuff (workbooks, videos and guided meditations) available for free. My Fabulous Free Stuff page is overflowing with useful things.

But I know some people see all of the options and don’t know where to start, so they don’t.

So the purpose of the Day Spa is to make it easier for you to get what you need, right now.

Doubt-Eliminating Exfoliating Scrub
Creative Dream Clarifying Treatment
Fear-Dissolving Full-Spirit Massage

There are short videos everywhere where I lead you through the Day Spa and explain how everything works. Super simple, clear and easy to navigate.

So I woke up Saturday morning with this idea.

I grabbed my laptop and headed straight to the coffeeshop where I mapped out the whole thing before lunch. Back home, I recorded the videos and drew out all of the artwork and scanned and edited and uploaded.

I invoked the Superpower of Everything Comes Together Easily.

Inspiration, synchronicity and magic sparkles were flying.

And voila. The Creative Dream Day Spa was born in one day.

>>> Check it out right here.

If you’re already on my email list check your email for the location and password of the Creative Dream Day Spa. I sent it out on Saturday evening.

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I’d rather just run away.

Written on March 29, 2012 by andrea

On Monday I said that I was done keeping my bigger dreams on hold. I announced that this is it. No more waiting. I’m going after my bigger dreams. Now.

And you know what I’ve learned/remembered this week?

Good Lord it takes a LOT of courage to go after a dream.

I mean, really.

A lot and a lot a lot a lot.

So I’ve been struggling with resistance and fogginess and inner obstacles and fears this week.

But I’m forcing myself to sit down with the Creative Dream Incubator assignments every day, even on the days when I’m not sure what my dream even is. Even on days when I don’t believe in myself.

And you know what? Stuff is happening. Shifts. Clarity. Movement.

This is how it works. Sometimes I forget this. But it’s always true.

You don’t have to know what your dream is.

You don’t have to feel ready.

You don’t have to be sure.

You just have to find the courage to do it anyway.

I am consistently blown away by the levels of courage I see in Creative Dreamers!

To face all of this, the fear and resistance and obstacles, and do it anyway.

And of course, the beauty is that once you face that fear it never ends up being as big as you think it is. And all of this magic and beauty opens up.

But you’ve got to take that first step first, not knowing exactly where it’s going to lead.

If that’s where you are right now, you’re going to love Meg’s story.

And even if that’s not where you’re at – this is one heck of an inspiring story! I’m so grateful Meg has offered to share it.

So take it away Meg:

Angel

Before I signed up for the Creative Dream Incubator, I had been stuck for a long time. I was in stasis—paralyzed by fear, convinced that my dream was impossible, and feeling increasingly like I wasn’t “good enough” or “brave enough” to move forward.

Fun times, let me tell you. FUN. TIMES.

What did my dream look like?

A far off spark glowing at the end of a terrifying and seemingly impassable path. With lions. And possibly a mountain in the way. Or a crevasse. And I didn’t have any climbing gear. And OMGWHATIFTHELIONSEATME?!?!

I felt helpless and scared, and mostly I just wanted to run far far away. Or eat an entire chocolate cake while hiding under the blankets.

I was too scared of my dream to do anything but squint quickly at it and then look the other way, too convinced it was a fantasy to put it into concrete terms.

But, if you’d forced me to tell you about it, it probably would have been explained like this, complete with uncomfortable foot scuffing and shifty eyes:

“Umm…I’d like to, you know, combine dancing and teaching and writing. Somehow. And work from home a lot. Yeah.”

And then I signed up for the Creative Dream Incubator. And things began to shift and change.

In the year since I spent time in the Creative Dream Incubator…

-I booked space and advertised my first dance classes in more than three years (no one came, but I learned a TON from that experience. And then I did it again. And someone actually came that time. And now I’m practicing for a new bunch of classes this spring.

Decorations for Spirit Dance Workshops

-I was featured on Jamie Ridler’s podcast, Creative Living with Jamie

-I revamped my wordpress blog and made it into my official website

-I made my first-ever e-book as part of Goddess Leonie’s 30 Days of Goddess e-course and made a revised version to use as a free-gift-with-newsletter-sign-up on my site

-I contributed to my first-ever collaborative e-book, Lori Race and Rachel Cole’s Choose Love Project

-I wrote my first-ever newsletter

-I did my first-ever giveaway on my blog

-I posted my first-ever dance video on Youtube

-After making just two dance videos in the span of 6 months, I joined a dance-a-thon challenge in January, and successfully created 12 improvised dance videos in one month (I loved it so much that I recently began a new collaborative project with a friend, and I have a ton of other video ideas in the works)

-I quadrupled my daily blog traffic

-I started my own Right Brain Business Plan, and really began to dig into the nuts and bolts of my business idea.

Meg's Right Brain Business Plan

-I played with a second business idea, and that led to an editing gig on a Real Live Book, Beautiful At Any Size by Stephanie Rainbow Bell (this is a major dream come true for me).

What the Creative Dream Incubator gave me goes beyond a list of the things I’ve achieved since I took the course. It taught me that it’s actually more painful to stay in a place of fear and stuckness than to try something and then “fail” (in quotations because failures are essential parts of success, and they teach us SO MUCH).

Even if your worst fears are realized, like if you host 5 weeks of a dance class and NO ONE COMES, it feels a million times better than not trying. For real. Promise.

Looking back over the past year, I see a winding path. It was full of pauses and full-tilt rushes, of detours and backtracks, of lessons and dreams come true. The mountains and crevasses weren’t so hard once I moved past the fear and actually tried tackling them.

And the lions? it turned out that most of them were just my imagination.

I feel like I spent the past year building the foundations for Spirit Moves Dance and finding my way to the heart of what I wanted.

And I’m poised and ready to leap to the next stage of building my dream.

It feels Real and Possible and Clear. It feels 100% ME. And it looks so very, very beautiful.

Dancing Meg. Look at that smile!

I still struggle with fear and stuckness sometimes. But my dream doesn’t feel impossible anymore.

I KNOW the reality that I want to build, and I know that the fear I feel doesn’t mean that I’m not “brave enough,” it just means that my dream is important to me.

And now I have tools and experiences that I can draw on to calm the fear (or to keep moving through it, which amounts to the same thing) and to find my center again.

If you have a dream, an idea, or even just a quiet and undefined ache for something more, then the Creative Dream Incubator is for you.

__________________________________________

Thanks so much for sharing your story Meg! It’s so amazing to see everything you’re doing!

Check out Spirit Moves Dance for more amazing stuff from Meg and her growing Creative Dreams.

And check out the Creative Dream Incubator if you’re ready to take some big bold steps of your own. Or even if you’re not ready (like me!) but you want to do it anyway.

The Creative Dream Incubator is a self-paced wish-fulfillment master class to help you GROW YOUR DREAM, by guiding you through every stage of the Creative Dream Process. Dreams Growing! Obstacles Shrinking!

New Budget-Friendly Option: You can buy the Incubator one Module at a time.

Get started today for only $37.

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Big Dreams That I’ve Been Too Scared To Do Anything About

Written on March 26, 2012 by andrea

I woke up this morning not feeling ready to face the day. Didn’t want to do Shiva Nata or Creative Journaling or any of my regular morning things.

I checked my email and there was a message from my friend who is attempting to travel the world by bike. In his latest blog post he talks about some of the problems he’s facing – like crashing his bike into a hedge.

And yet his enthusiasm is still so there! His love for what he’s doing is still so there. Passion. Enthusiasm. Adventure.

He reminded me about what’s true.

Dreams are exciting!

Last spring I drew a map of my biggest dreams. And it included all the things I thought were wayyyyy farrrrrr away in my future, like living/working in the loft space of my dreams, having some of my kits + courses turned into published books (preferably published by Hay House) and traveling to amazing places (like the finest spas and retreat centres in the world) to lead workshops based on the books.

These were my way-far-off dreams but I have already bought that loft (!) and it’s now in the final stages of being built.

There is nothing scarier than getting what you want.

I can see that I’ve stalled out a bit because the Dream Loft has created an ungodly amount of upheaval in my life. That upheaval has left me craving settling into my calm new space before reaching out and dreaming bigger dreams.

But that’s not how it works.

You’re either growing your dreams and participating in your personal evolution or you’re standing still and fighting against your natural inclination towards growth, purpose and fulfillment.

And I have been trying to do both, at once. Which doesn’t work.

And life isn’t really long enough to sit around and wait.

So here I go: I’m going to work through the Creative Dream Incubator Kit to help me get back on track with my bigger dreams.

I’m going to stop waiting for the timing to be right. I’m going to stop waiting until I feel ready. I’m going to stop waiting until I have more time and a peaceful quiet space to work in.

I’m going to let go of the excuses to make space for possibility.

For some inspiration to help me get started, I wanted to talk to someone who has done what I want to do.

And guess what? The lovely and amazing Susannah Conway who recently led a photography retreat in Marrakesh (swoooon!) based on her new book: Instant Love.

Susannah Conway is the author of the forthcoming book, This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart (Globe Pequot Press/Skirt!, June 2012). A photographer, writer and e-course creator, her classes have been enjoyed by thousands of women from 40 countries around the world. Co-author of Instant Love: How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids (Chronicle Books, 2012), Susannah helps women reconnect to their true selves, using photography as the key to open the door.

You can read more about her shenanigans on her blog at SusannahConway.com and connect with her on Twitter @SusannahConway.

>>> http://www.susannahconway.com/books/

Instant Love: 13 women. A shedload of instant film. A guest house in Marrakesh. Sounds out of this world amazing! Can you tell me how the retreat came about? I’d love to hear about the process of how it came to be.

We knew we wanted to do something special to celebrate the publication of our book, Instant Love, and we knew it had to be somewhere amazing. As it was going to be a Polaroid photography retreat we wanted to make sure there’d be plenty to photograph! When we were brainstorming ideas together the possibility of holding a retreat in Morocco came up — I’d recently visited Marrakesh and was crazy about the shots I’d got there and, as luck would have it, Jen just happened to know the owner of a fabulous guest house just outside the city… We decided to be brave and go for it!

How long did it take to go from that first spark of an idea to actually being there in Morocco?

Not long at all, actually. Because Jen was already in touch with Maryam at Peacock Pavilions all it took was an email and us nailing down the dates. This is why finding a place that already organises retreats is such a great idea. If we’d had to organise the retreat from scratch — where to stay, where to go, food and entertainment — it would have taken us a lot longer to create. Once we knew where we were going (and what we’d be doing) we put together a retreat brochure (in PDF format), made a one page website and sent it out into the world. The retreat sold out in two weeks.

I love the way you have taken the things you love the most and have turned them into your work. This is the thing I am asked the most often by people – how do you do that? Clearly you do it with a lot of integrity, creativity, hard work and deep soul love for what you do. Do you have any wisdom, tips or ideas for people who are working on turning their creative thing into a fully functioning business?

1. Be ready to work harder than you’ve ever worked before.
2. Invest in yourself — training, books, courses, coaches… whatever you need to grow.
3. Learn how to market your business with integrity.

What would you tell someone who doesn’t believe that her dreams are possible?

In my experience what you believe is impossible is exactly that — impossible. However, what you DO believe is possible IS possible. But here’s the secret: nothing ever lands in your lap fully formed — the trick is to work your guts out making it happen. Once you’re on the right path then more opportunities and synchronicities will come your way as you’ll be in the flow and attracting them (you’ll also NOTICE them more) but when it comes down to it, hard work makes dreams come true. Seriously.

Thank you Susannah! It is so super inspiring to be able to talk to someone who’s been there.

Talking to someone who has done what you want to do shows you how impossible it’s not.

Susannah is a Creative Superhero in the same way that you and I and my friend who is traveling the world on a bike are Creative Superheros. We can all do amazing things.

You just have to put one foot in front of the other and do the work.

And that’s what I’m going to do.

And I hope you’ll join me!

This week I’m starting with Module One of the Creative Dream Incubator: INCEPTION. Planting the Seed of your Dream in the Soul of the Universe.

Over the weekend I added a new budget-friendly option for the Creative Dream Incubator!

You can now buy the modules one-at-a-time, so you can get started today for only $37. Click here to read more.

I’ll be sharing stories and insights as I work through the kit and inviting you to share yours also.

We can do this together!

The Creative Dream Incubator is a self-paced wish-fulfillment master class to help you GROW YOUR DREAM, by guiding you through every stage of the Creative Dream Process.

New Budget-Friendly Option: You can buy the Incubator one Module at a time.

Get started today for only $37.

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You don’t need to know what your dream is

Written on March 22, 2012 by andrea

There is this assumption floating around that you have to know what your dream is before you can grow it.

And that does seem logical. But logic isn’t exactly a powerful tool for living your magic. Logic doesn’t generate miracles and dreams come true. And letting logic lead the way is not likely to get you to anywhere interesting.

What’s true is that you don’t have to know what your dream is.

Because your soul knows.

Your soul is keeping careful track of your dreams because each dream is an aspect of your purpose.

And if your give your dreams a chance, your soul will take that opportunity and make magic things happen.

But don’t take my word for it!

Let’s look at what happened when Angel brought her vague blob of ideas, thoughts and hopes into the Creative Dream Incubator:

Angel

What did your dream look like before you signed up for the Creative Dream Incubator?

Before I signed up for the Incubator, my dream didn’t look like anything! There wasn’t really any solid form to it whatsoever.

It was really more of a blob of ideas and thoughts and hopes… with no structure.

No solidity to it.

What does your dream look like now? Tell me all about it! (With links and photos if you’ve got them!)

Now my dream has some real shape.

The Incubator helped me to create a container, of sorts, for my dream to begin to come together into something meaningful. Each module lit a part of the staircase for me, while also becoming the guardrail to keep me on track with what I was growing.

I’ve come to understand that My Mosaic Life (Angel’s juicy website) will be ever-evolving, and that’s totally cool… but I know now that what it’s all about at its core is helping women find the pieces of their most meaningful lives.

What could be better than that?

Angel’s dreams, which are now clear, shining gorgeous real-live-things-that-actually-exist-out-in-the-world include:

My Mosaic Life: Women finding the pieces of their most meaningful life.

Simply Juicy Websites For the creative solopreneur, healer & coach, the digital home your business craves, brought to life.

Both are loaded with juicy freebies, services and products, like these:

__________________________________________

Thanks so much Angel. It is a delight to share your work and your story.

So many people assume that if their dream is not this clear, focused thing then there’s no use working on it. Your story shows how that is not true.

You don’t need a crystal clear vision in order to take the first step.

As you take steps towards your dream, your dream will take steps towards you.

Imagine right now how it might feel to have your vague blurry hopes transformed into real life dreams come true.

Mmmmm. Best feeling ever.

The Creative Dream Incubator is a beautifully designed self-paced wish-fulfillment master class to help you GROW YOUR DREAM, by guiding you through every stage of the Creative Dream Process.

Dreams Growing! Obstacles Shrinking!

>>>Woot! Click here to read more + get the kit.

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