How to grow into your dream

November 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

Last week I wrote about the most important work you’ll ever do, which is getting out of your own way so you can make your dream real. Along the way, you’ll also need to grow into and trust your dream.

Growing Into Your Dream

You’ll also need to allow yourself to grow into your dream over time.

Here’s how:

  • Step 1. Get Clear: The first phase of making a dream real is getting clear on what it IS, even if the details are fuzzy. What would be deliciously fun for you? What would you be thrilled beyond reason to do? I want to be a published writer.
  • Step 2. Own It: The second phase is owning it — being clear, inside, about who you are, what you are going to do, and why you are doing it. Still okay if the details are fuzzy. This looks like believing and knowing in your heart you are an artist or healer, even before you are doing it in the world. I am a writer!
  • Step 3. Envision It: Now start to imagine the possibilities for HOW this dream can come into being. What kind of writer (or X) do you want to be? What would you be writing about (or working on)? What would be fun? I want to write a sci-fi script.
  • Step 4. Do It: The fourth phase is where your dream become external — where you start taking action in the outside world, without indulging that part of your brain that wants to give up before you even start because it’s too hard or because you think you have to be perfect before you’ll even attempt it. Remember, this whole idea that we can figure it all out before we start is just a way of playing it safe. I am writing — and people know about it.

Then, it’s time to trust and take action.

Trusting Your Dream

Trusting your dream means being willing to pursue it even when the going gets rough (and even when you aren’t totally sure it’s quite the right dream and maybe your mom was right and you should have just stuck with that graduate school degree after all).

Trusting your dream looks like:

  • Showing up daily and doing the work, bit by bit, come hell or high water.
  • Getting up and writing or painting or working even when you don’t want to or when you’re not in the mood.
  • Believing in the project you picked and seeing it through to the end.
  • When you think what you’ve created is pure crap, you don’t give up, but see it as an opportunity to do better.

Can you allow yourself to grow into your dream and trust it?

Your Turn

I always love hearing from you in the comments on my blog.

 Jenna

 

Coming Attractions

~> November 10th. My next Life Purpose Breakthrough ‘Big Vision’ Group. Sold out. Details about future groups — yes, you might want to get on the waiting list.

~> Wednesday, November 16th at 3 p.m. Pacific Time. Something free, fun, and writerly: A Writer’s Chat. Registration details TBA.

~> November 28th. The next session of my Writer’s Circle starts. Sign up here.

 


~> This weekend. Right Brain Business Planning with my buddy Kris Carey. Last two chapters to go!

~> Ongoing. Writing for the ProSeries class at ScreenwritingU. Now working on “plotting and outlining.”

~> FRIDAYS & now daily too. Sacred writing time. The Do Not Disturb sign is up.

Filed Under: Creativity, Dreamification, Vision Tagged With: , , , ,

The most important work you’ll ever do

November 3, 2011 by 5 Comments

Once you’ve gotten clear on your dream — the Big Thing you Believe Beyond Reason, or what you really, truly, deep down want to do — the most important work you’ll ever do is to get out of your own way so you can make that dream a reality.

Getting out of your own way looks like:

Cleaning up all the ways you stop yourself, all the negative things you tell yourself, all the fears that get in your way, all the stories, all the doubts, all the old creative wounds that hold you back, and doing something about them. This is the place for thorough examination, exploration, discovery, and recovery.

For instance:

  • Pay attention to where you are procrastinating and get to the bottom of it. Sometimes you don’t have enough information, sometimes fear is coming up, sometimes you haven’t hit the right thing yet, sometimes you really need some down time. Figure out what it is and resolve it for yourself so you can Do The Work.
  • Pay attention to the limits you put on your own dream — how are you limiting your own thinking about what is possible? How have you crimped your dream by being reasonable or realistic? (Again, I’m not saying that you don’t have to pay the bills, trust me, I do too, but I still let myself dream about what I really want because I know that’s the only way I’ll ever accomplish it.) This is often a way that we play it safe and hold back from pursuing what we really want.
  • Pay attention to the stories, fears and doubts running through your mind and get help to address them on a deep level so they don’t stop you anymore. This might look like coaching, energy work, therapy, training, talking with a friend, or journaling. The main thing is to look directly in the face of the fears, doubts, stories and old wounds to say, “Really? You sure about that?”

If you want to write, act, sing, paint — whatever your dream is — your most important job is to clear out anything and everything that might stop you from doing it so you can get on with doing the work you were put here to do.

Your Turn

I always love hearing from you in the comments on my blog.

 Jenna

 

Coming Attractions

~> November 10th. My next Life Purpose Breakthrough ‘Big Vision’ Group. Sold out. Details about future groups — yes, you might want to get on the waiting list.

~> November 28th. The next session of my Writer’s Circle starts. Sign up here.

 


~> Next Tuesday. Right Brain Business Planning with my buddy Kris Carey.

~> Ongoing. Writing for the ProSeries class at ScreenwritingU. This class is brilliant! I’m already thrilled with my results and we’ve really just gotten started.

~> FRIDAYS & now daily too. Sacred writing time. The Do Not Disturb sign is up.

Filed Under: Creativity, Dreamification, Quiet Your Inner Critic, Vision Tagged With: , , , , ,

I Can See Clearly Now, The Rain Is Gone

April 14, 2011 by 3 Comments

One of my Life Lessons is confusion. I can easily fall into confusion and uncertainty about what I want to Do or how I want to do It or if I even want to do It at all.

I can end up spinning in circles pretty easily. So I thought I’d remind us all about what confusion looks like and how to get out of it.

Confusion shows up when:

  • You aren’t listening to your deeper self.
  • You aren’t speaking the highest truth you know.
  • You’ve lost touch with your Big Dream or Big Idea.
  • You aren’t taking Right Action on making your Big Dreams real.
  • You aren’t in connection with your Big Dream Believers — the people that believe in you even when you can’t believe in yourself.
  • You’ve bumped into an unexpected obstacle and you aren’t sure what to do next.
  • You have lots of ideas and you don’t know where to start.
  • Your creative fears are masquerading as confusion or apathy (jackpot!).

Here’s what you can do to find your way out of the fog to the rainbow of clarity you’re looking for:

  • Tap into your deeper self — visualizations, coaching with a spiritual coach, or automatic writing are all powerful tools to help you get there.
  • Speak your truth until you can’t think of a single other thing to say. 
  • Write like your life depends on it. Write morning pages, write words, write articles.
  • Remind yourself of your Big Idea and what it is that you were put here to do. I have my clients craft Vision Intention statements so they can go back to their ideas when they lose their way. Get your hands analyzed if you haven’t already so you know your life purpose.
  • Take action. “Sometimes you have to make the right decision and sometimes you have to make the decision right,” as Dr. Phil likes to say. If you find out you’ve taken the wrong action, try something else.
  • Put yourself in a safe situation where like minded folks (other Big Dream Believers) can truly support you to find your clarity (come to my Voice Your Vision retreat in 2 weeks if you’re wanting this kind of support).
  • Take an objective look at your obstacles. Is there a way around them you haven’t already considered? Some radical or risky step you’ve not allowed yourself to consider but might actually be the exact solution you need? (Sell the house. Move to another area. Quit the crappy job. Ask for a loan. Tell off your grouchy cousin. Find a way to forgive yourself.)
  • Pick a place to start. You can always change your mind. If you had to pick one idea to start with right now, what would it be?
  • Core dump your fears onto paper until they lose their power.

One of the funny things I’ve noticed is that deeper down inside the quiet that is my higher, Essential Self, the truth is consistently there, reminding me of what I really want despite all my head spinning to the contrary. My deeper self ALWAYS knows what the Real Plan is, even when I’m thinking I’m I have no idea what to do. And if I just give her a chance to show up, she does.

Then I find out that I’m a lot less confused than I thought I was.

What about you?

 

~~~~~

What’s Jenna Up To?

~> April 19th, 2011. My Artist’s Way Accountability & Support Group continues. Details.

~> April 20, 2011. Speaking at the Thriving Practice Workshop Series in Berkeley, California on creating a web presence and using social media to reach clients.

~>April 23, 2011. Next broadcast of my Radio Lightworker radio show “Dreamification” on “Visioning and Moving Ahead With Your Dreams Even in the Face of Fear.” Details. Listen from anywhere in the world to this Internet radio show.

~> April 29th & 30th, 2011. My next Voice Your Vision retreat in Berkeley, California. Registration CLOSES APRIL 18th . Special savings if you’ve already had your hands analyzed. Check out this video to get a sense of what it’s like to work with me in this way.

~> May 26th, 2011. My first Life Purpose Breakthrough Group. The special focus is: Intuition & Inner Wisdom — discover how your intuition shows up in the gifts markings in your hands. Registration CLOSES APRIL 28th .

Filed Under: Creativity, Life Purpose Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Big Dream Actioneering Report #2: Baby Steps

February 19, 2011 by 12 Comments

And we’re back. And it’s Saturday again, not Friday. Hmmm. Oh yeah, my son’s preschool was closed yesterday so it wasn’t a work day. Seems like there are always wrinkles in my schemes and plans.

So here’s my second official report. I ultimately want to do these with video reports, but I have to admit that make up on Saturday afternoon is not a high priority, LOL.

Challenges

Again with the cold. I have a lovely new cold to layer on top of my last one. Whimper, moan. It’s not that bad, but it’s definitely adding a layer of je ne sais quoi to the whole thing. Apparently having a little kid in their first year of public daycare = continuous colds. My girlfriend said that during her son’s first year of school they pretty much had colds the whole time. At least I can say that I don’t feel that bad, just a little less motivated than usual.

And again with the public communication. Seems like every time I’m about to settle down and write I remember an email I haven’t sent out yet. Hmm. Something’s got to change.

So in the end, I am still not yet getting to my full, dreamed of time each week for the Big Writing project.

Progress

Okay, the good news is that despite the lack of extensive sit down and write time I still managed to work through enough of the holes in my storyline and start writing a proper story treatment. That felt great! And I know I can keep going with it. Right now, as soon as I finish this post. (Seriously.)

Second, I also feel good about doing just a little bit of work on the screenplay even when I couldn’t do the full hour I want to do. I just read in Hugh MacLeod’s nifty new book, Evil Plans, “Like a very talented pianist once told me when I was a boy, it’s better to practice a musical instrument for five minutes a day than to practice for two hours once a week.” And Miriam essentially told me the same thing too, so even if I can’t do the full monty, I’m at least making progress and I know I’m keeping the dream in motion.

~~~~~

What about you? What did you accomplish with your Big Dream this week? Join me with your challenges and celebrations in the comments below.

~~~~~

In the spirit of Havi Brooks’ “Comment Zen,” I have this request:

Since I am exploring how to be more transparent, raw, vulnerable, and in my full, messy delicious creative energy in my posts, here’s what I would love to hear:

  • How YOU are taking action on YOUR big dream <— This is my favorite!
  • How you personally are doing whatever I’m writing about for yourself.
  • How my writing sparks something for you.
  • About your own stories, ideas, musings, and wonderings.

And I would love to skip:

  • You feeling like you need to take care of me, give me useful suggestions, or other well-meaning but unsolicited advice.

Thank you!

~~~~~

p.s. The Artist’s Way Accountability & Support Group is forming! It starts March 1. We need 16 people to make it a go, so if you’re interested sign up NOW. Plus the people who commit this weekend (by Monday) will save a bit on the fee because it helps us know we can go ahead with it. Send a blank email here and you’ll get instant details right in your email in box or you can email my assistant Jamie here with your questions and we’ll get them answered for you.

p.p.s. If you missed my free call Friday before last on “Finding Your ‘Big Thing’,” you can check out the recording here. And it’s not too late to get in on my Claim Your Calling course. Details here.

~~~~~

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Big Dream Action Reports Tagged With: , ,

Focus and Structure and Goals, Oh My!

January 25, 2011 by 5 Comments

I’ve had this post title in mind for about 6 or 7 years, inspired by a conversation then with a long-time favorite colleague. Now is apparently just the right time to share it. :)

At the time, we were wrestling with the concepts of being unscheduled and unstructured to stay in the intuitive flow and to follow the energy of what was coming up. We were also talking about not wanting to feel limited by “defining” a niche. My friend didn’t want to be tied down by “focus and structure and goals.” As she said it, an “Oh My!” popped involuntarily from my mouth, à la The Wizard of Oz. We both laughed.

Structure Can Feel Like Death

To an intuitive, right-brained, creative genius, setting up schedules and picking goals can feel like a death-knell.

And yet so can not being paid well for your creative work. Or not getting the clients you want or feeling the satisfaction of seeing the project through ALL THE WAY to completion.

As a Big Dreamer and also a Big Doer, I love to Get Stuff Done.

But isn’t it funny how our Big Dreams can take a back seat to managing the minutiae of life? It’s all too easy for me to get swept up into catch-up work and meeting other people’s needs (School of Service, watch out) before meeting my own.

That’s where focus, structure, and goals can be quite handy.

Tools to Go

Here are a few of concepts that help me tremendously:

  1. Recognize when you’re procrastinating on the big stuff by taking care of the little stuff, and nip that in the bud.
  2. Put the “hard thing” first in the day and the rest will be downhill from there.
  3. Get clear on what your Big Dream is, commit to it, and make it a priority (see number 2).
  4. Block out specific chunks of time in your calendar to DO the Big Dream. I just made space in my calendar for my Big Writing projects. So far, going okay — a few temper tantrums and some conscious choices, but all good.
  5. Avoid multitasking (I still struggle with this one — it’s so easy for me to try to do multiple things at once but I know it doesn’t really work).
  6. If you can’t do the BIG thing for as long as you had planned, just do a LITTLE bit of it to keep the energy moving forward (Thanks, Miriam!)
  7. Stay accountable. Get a partner or join a group or participate in my weekly accountability group (see below) to help keep the commitment to yourself.

~~~~~

Big Dream Actioneering

And speaking of weekly accountability:

Once I’m done with my traveling this week, I plan to get into a regular rhythm of posting about my own progress on my Big Dream — writing my screenplay. I’ll post on a weekly basis and I’ll invite you join in and celebrate your progress and challenges as well.

For now, I’m going to post this here:

Challenges: It was HARD getting myself to write in the midst of all the busyness. Last week I was getting ready for my Voice Your Vision retreat and this week I’m getting ready to leave for Los Angeles (in just a couple of hours!). Making my writing a priority has not been easy. Knowing you all were out there waiting for me to report in about it helped. :)

Progress: I DID write. I made one conscious choice not to write on one of the days I had blocked out for writing so I could breathe a little easier about my other projects. But the other days I did write, and it felt great! My story has already evolved significantly and I think the title will shift as well. Good thing to find out. :) My characters are shaping up nicely and I am full of visual ideas and story milestones. So I’m looking forward to being back in the saddle again next week when my schedule settles down a bit.

How about you? What did you accomplish with your Big Dream this week?

~~~~~

In the spirit of Havi Brooks’ “Comment Zen,” I have this request:

Since I am exploring how to be more transparent, raw, vulnerable, and in my full, messy delicious creative energy in my posts, here’s what I would love to hear:

  • How you personally are doing whatever I’m writing about for yourself.
  • How my writing sparks something for you.
  • About your own stories, ideas, musings, and wonderings.

And I would love to skip:

  • You feeling like you need to take care of me, give me useful suggestions, or other well-meaning but unsolicited advice.

Thank you!

~~~~~

What’s Jenna Up To?

~> January 27th & 28th, 2011. “Powerful Strategies to Slay Your Inner Critic Demons So You Can Leap Into the Creative Spotlight.” Appearing as a guest expert at Baeth Davis’s “Claim Your Spotlight” program in Los Angeles, California.

~> NEW DATE: February 22, 2011. Virtual Workshop: Claim Your Calling: 5 Steps To Get You Back On Track With What You Were Put Here To Do. Details. Early registration ends February 11th.

 

Filed Under: Creativity Tagged With: , ,

Commit to Your Big Dream

January 18, 2011 by 27 Comments

Because Dreaming Big is the best place to start…

My Big Dream (in addition to making a Big Difference in the world for others) is to be a writer — a Sci Fi writer no less, though most likely also a self-help writer Revolutionary Philosopher as well.

About a week ago I wrote my very first sci fi screenplay, under the gun of a competition deadline no less (big yikes). It may not be my best work ever, and it may not win the round I was competing in, but I DID IT. That’s what counts to me.

Since then, as I’ve been crafting and clarifying my next Big Direction for my coaching business (seems like everything is getting Big around here all of a sudden; I like it!), I realized that I need to make a much Bigger :) commitment to my own Big Dream.

… And does even better with a commitment

So, I just cleared space in my calendar every workday (that’s Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) for one hour of writing time. And during that time, I will NOT be writing ezines, or blog posts, or articles, or web copy. Oh no.

What I WILL be doing is writing my feature length screenplay, come hell or high water. I will allow other Big writing projects during that time, e.g. writing my book, “Hey Folks, We’re Doing It All Wrong,” if I’m overcome with a massive inspiration. But it has to be Big Writing to qualify for that time block.

… And follow through

I intend to let you know how it’s going on the blog as a weekly accountability deal.

I’m not quite sure how I’ll handle it when I’m away or facilitating retreats quite yet (probably I’ll have to do a little schedule rearranging), but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

(I’m also sure my organizing coach will have some suggestions, and she’s the only one allowed to comment on this matter (see my request below). :) )

Drum roll, please, for the Big Invitation

This is where you come in: I’d like to invite you to join me. What’s your Big Dream? How have you committed to making it happen? I want to help you get your art, your message, or your movement to your audience, too.

Take a moment to think about your Big Dream and share what it is in the comments section below. Then tell us, how are you committing to making that happen?


~~~~~

In the spirit of Havi Brooks’ “Comment Zen,” I have this request:

Since I am exploring how to be more transparent, raw, vulnerable, and in my full, messy delicious creative energy in my posts, here’s what I would love to hear:

  • How you personally are doing whatever I’m writing about for yourself.
  • How my writing sparks something for you.
  • About your own stories, ideas, musings, and wonderings.

And I would love to skip:

  • You feeling like you need to take care of me, give me useful suggestions, or other well-meaning but unsolicited advice.

Thank you!

~~~~~

What’s Jenna Up To?

~> January 21st & 22nd, 2011. Voice Your Vision Mastermind Retreat. In-Person Workshop in Berkeley, California. Clarify your unique vision to implement your Life Purpose in a specific, step-by-step plan. Details: www.VoiceYourVisionWithJenna.com

~> January 27th & 28th, 2011. “Powerful Strategies to Slay Your Inner Critic Demons So You Can Leap Into the Creative Spotlight.” Appearing as a guest expert at Baeth Davis’s “Claim Your Spotlight” program in Los Angeles, California.

~> NEW DATE: February 22, 2011. Virtual Workshop: Claim Your Calling: 5 Steps To Get You Back On Track With What You Were Put Here To Do. Details. Early registration ends January 27th.

~~~~~

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