How was your weekend? I hope it was lovely. Mine was glorious. I think it was so because last week I "weeded" a bit, although not in my garden, which is still under a foot of snow!
No, "weeding" is the term I've decided to use for what I do when I feel overwhelmed by my to-do list, as I did last week. It's when I go through my planner and take out things that I said "yes" to when I was in a state of exuberance and enthusiasm, believing that time would stretch to accommodate All the Things. This post by Elise Blaha Cripe has been super influential to me in terms of (a) remembering it is totally OK to say No to things and (b) figuring out what I want to say No to and what I want to keep on my plate. It's brilliant, definitely read it if you're struggling too!
Anyway, this weekend past was really lovely, I think, because I allowed myself free time and down time. I slept in, I read a book, I hung out with my buddy (Adam), I took some long walks and poked around in the one bed that is not under snow. And feeling the fresh air, and seeing a bit of growth, felt so amazing! I didn't realize just how long this winter has been until I felt a bit of spring again.
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So the "It's Business Time" program has started! This is the program that I thought I couldn't afford, then crowdfunded based on some encouragement from friends. And, it started last week. I am still pinching myself, as it's hard to believe it's really happening and that I'm really in it!! Thank you, for your support!
I thought I would share a bit with you each week as I go through the program. Here's how it works: on Mondays, the teachers send out a lesson and a worksheet. Then on Friday we meet via UberConference for an hour and talk about the lessons. In between Monday and Friday, and on the weekends, there is a private Facebook group for the participants to chat and share things.
The first week the lesson was about fears. What are the fears we feel that keep us from going after what we want? What do the voices in our heads -- what Michelle calls the Vampire Voices -- say to us that stop us from doing the work?
Last week, I learned that my biggest fear is that starting my own business will overwhelm me, overtake my life, and ruin my relationships. That it will be a whole lot of hard work that will totally swamp me and won't be worth it in the end.
Last week, I learned that I need to let go of the story that I cannot build a business that suits me and my family, and gives us what we need.
And here's what I'm going to do with this learning: I'm going to come up with rebuttals to those fears, to those "Vampire Voices". And I'm going to say to them, "Thanks for trying to protect me from harm, but I'm OK. I've got this. I can trust Michelle and Tiffany to help me figure out how to both build a good business, and still have a happy and balanced life."
Stay tuned! And have a lovely Monday.
xo Leah