Simply Authentic...Your Soul Voice is Calling. Fake It If You Have To

Fake It If You Have To I went out of town on a creative excursion/working retreat not long ago with more must than mojo. I did intend to have a good time, and the Enchanted Cottage (Enchanted Cottage) was lovely. Yet I also went with jaw-clenched determination to create my 90-day strategic business plan no.matter.what. I was hell-bent on completing that project along with two specific writing tasks I hadn’t been able to wrap my head around in the home office. After settling into the cottage Wednesday evening, I tossed and turned much of the night, not sleeping well. Nonetheless, I woke up Thursday morning bound and determined to Get This Thing Done. I made a cup of tea and pulled a couple of oracle cards before beginning my work. The Nine of Swords from The Goddess Tarot deck spoke of nightmares, dreams bringing up worries, a woman being tortured in her sleep, no rest. That kinda sucked. So, I pulled another. Which happened to be the “Laugh” card from Sonia Coquette’s (http://www.soniachoquette.com/) Trust Your Vibes deck. “Life has become way too serious for your own good, and you’ve temporarily forgotten that all is well. To connect with higher vibration and easy rest, laugh (emphasis mine)…” Oracle cards are funny this way. If you approach them with an open heart and prayerful attitude, intending to receive guidance, you pretty much always get it. It’s like randomly opening a book to just the right page. So what did I do? I sat there cross-legged on the rug on the wooden floor in the Enchanted Cottage, and started to laugh. At first it was forced, yes. It sounded silly and I felt silly. But before long I was truly laughing, full out belly expansive, bouncing off the ceiling laughter. I got a bit giddy. My single-minded determination to complete this project, and make it a big grueling task while I was at it, suddenly seemed ridiculous. It’s not like my big bully boss told me to make this excursion. I’m my boss. I did this because I wanted to move forward in my business model. I realized it was up to me to make it fun. So, I did. I decided to make it fun. I was done in an hour and a half, then I blew south and hiked for even longer.

My strategic business plan looks like this.

When one process is complete, I pull off that sticky note, add another, and move them forward. “What?” you may ask. “That’s it?” Fair question. When I started Wishweavers, I slaved over an executive summary and traditional business plan, printed it out in sections, put it in a nice covered binder…and never looked at it again. If you have a brick and mortar store or are seeking investors…you very well may need a “real” business plan, so ignore me, please. For me, however – at this juncture – the sticky note strategic plan is extremely effective. I’ve also learned to wait for the right time, instead of pushing/pulling/striving, forcing something to happen that simply doesn’t want to happen right now. If there isn’t a sense of ease, energy and momentum behind a project or task, I don’t push it like I may have in the past. That’s likely another post for another time, and it’s not the easiest philosophy to incorporate when you – say – have a job as a claims examiner. You may have 85 claim status reports to complete before the claims review with your biggest client a week from Friday, a supervisor breathing down your neck, and a foreboding sense there’s no way around this other than to work on Saturday. Having been in that particular traditional office environment for over 13 years, I completely get it. Yet all of us – whatever our line of work or current circumstances – can intentionally change our mind about the task before us and approach it with a sense of fun rather than duty or dread. Completing a claims report may never be as much fun as, say, going to a Chicago concert, like George and I are Sunday evening (woo-hoo!) Yet amping up the feeling energy by even a notch or two will help you move through the task more smoothly, with less angst. So, go ahead and laugh! Even if you have to fake it to start. And tell us on the blog what one upcoming task you can make more fun. Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin. –John Lubbock If you found this post helpful, please share it with your friends! Authentic Performance: Fundamentals of Acting begins July 7th at Mad Stoat Maskworks Gallery and Thing Shop – first class free! With an emphasis on Emotional Espressivity, learn: *How to speak in your authentic voice *Fundamental acting tools, such as:

1. The Five ingredients: Who, Where, Relationship, Conflict, Want

2. How to Listen/React

3. Emotional Transitions

4. Motivated Movement on Stage

5. How to work with a partner in scripted scenes and improvisations No acting experience required! Here’s what students have to say! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uZAuecAkYU&feature=youtu.be Authentically Yours, Laura