Ten Things I Learned In 2021
Hello Beautiful Soul!
Let Us Acknowledge & Appreciate The Lessons & The "B"Lessons of this year.
Here are my Top 10:
Be Open To Trying Something New! 2021 started with me trying out Clubhouse which became a game changer for my business and produced prosperity both in the form of money and new clients as well as in the form of new relationships with people I otherwise might never have connected with. Yes there was a learning curve - just enough of one to stimulate my inner "lifelong learner" and not so much that it felt insurmountable.
Be OK Not Knowing! Trying something new requires both willingness to learn and willingness to "Not Know". I learned this year that it was in high service to LET GO of that part of myself that always felt almost REQUIRED to have the answer. This was the year of being in beginners mind. Not Knowing allows you to be both humble and curious and it also allows for the presence of magic and mystery to both surprise & delight.
Be willing to ASK QUESTIONS - another new thing I tried out this year was mushroom foraging. It started with an online course from learnyourland.com that I bought for myself last Christmas and studied all winter, then I proceeded by the time warmer weather rolled around to start "photo foraging". It wasn't until I went on a foray with a local mushroom club who had an expert taxonomist identifying our finds that I was willing to actually harvest and EAT what I was finding in the world of fungi and that was as a result of asking what may to him have seemed like "stupid questions". Also learned it's a good idea to DYOR (Do Your Own Research!) - like really stop acting entitled to have other people stop everything and give answers and also stop acting like I needed to provide all the answers that I have accumulated in my life journey just because someone asks a question (usually this is a social media bad habit - aka being the one who is in the know).
Be willing to be "stupid" without shame, blame, judgement, guilt, or self-punishment. You don't know what you don't know and you (and I) are just doing the best possible with the limited information, experience, and awareness available in any moment. As the summer of foraging progressed and I asked a TON of questions of my various online mushroom hunting, identifying, harvesting & cooking groups and then started to "give back" to other newbies with my new found knowledge I prefaced every comment I made on someone else's request for affirmation of identification with "I'm New and I really know nothing, but it looks like "XYZ" mushroom to me and I'd harvest and eat it! (or not depending on what they posted!)
Be willing to invest! Almost any new endeavor is going to require some type of gear/tools/support system to get off to a good start. I invested in the course, then I invested in a knife, a few baskets, some mesh bags, some paper bags, the cast iron frying pan, books for field identification, joining the local club and investing time going out on group forays, etc. etc. etc. Don't half ass it when you dive in to something new but don't blow your brains out investing either. Get the basic stuff you need (do I need a microscope?? Not yet!) and then if you want to continue to expand, be mindful and conscious with each new level about what will be best for you to invest in next.
Be Aware of Your Bandwidth! More specifically ONLY Say YES to what you can give yourself to WHOLEHEARTEDLY!! Especially when it comes to working with clients - I had the immense good fortune this past year to draw forth EXCEPTIONAL clients from the well of the world! I supported one of them to develop her WHOLEHEARTED METHOD and it's not lost on me that every client I work with is bringing me as much if not more than what I am bringing to them. The money exchange (and in her case she invested close to $50K to work with me) is the least of what we are collaborating and cocreating around. I'm so intensely delighted that not only was she able to come out of our work making her first 5 figure payday (within 75 days of her big whole hearted YES to investing to do this work with me) but even better than that she's completely recouped her entire investment that she made to work with me and is literally now SET FOR LIFE to be able to serve her purpose, her people and her pocketbook prosperously! I took this year to really scale back on number of people I was serving so that I could easily and joyfully serve the most highly invested with the deep spiritual technologies and nearly 40 years of multiple award winning entrepreneurial practical strategies that I bring to the table.
Be EAGER To Say NO & Let Go - Certainty is sexy. It's also a key component to success. Don't be a fence sitter and don't worry about anyone being offended, upset, angry or unsettled by your NO. Your NO is a powertool. The more you say NO to what's no longer serving or what will never serve, the stronger your self confidence becomes, the deeper your trust in yourself, and the more solid your structure of your business endeavors. If you have been given an offer and need a little bit of space to sort out how to make the financial piece of it work that's ok - everything can be worked out. But if you are using those words as an excuse to not say no directly then you are disserving yourself, the person you have been in an enrollment conversation with and the entire enrollment process. If you give someone an offer and they can't come to a clear decision then you need to go back to look at where YOU were unclear in what made you spend the time having the conversation with them in the first place. One thing I said NO to this year in particular was any form at all (even super subtle because this is definitely a sneaky one!) of "chasing". I no longer chase ANYTHING. And when it comes to clients I CHOOSE whether or not I'm even willing to make an offer - I have to be really compelled and excited at this point to take on a client to work with me 1-1. I'm going to pour in like crazy and spend time that I could be otherwise engaged in self care or other fun pursuits like foraging fungi, so I have to be sold myself on why I'd want to take someone on as a client before I'm even going to make an offer.
Be Mindful of Your RESOURCES - I believe that wealth is the sum total of all the resources we have available to us - Time, Health, Imagination, Energy Exchange (this is the money part - only 20% of the whole!), & FUN with Friends, Family & Fellows on the path. Are you balanced and well in the stewardship of your resources? Or do you ever find yourself being a THIEF? Stealing Time is one of the ways I discovered that I was poorly stewarding my wealth. I've also stolen in the past from my health, and certainly from the fun aspects of life. I made another big decision this year that I was going to engage in a summer of "no squishing" - this is the way I steal time - I squish - believing that I can get more done and taking on way too much without taking into account the cost of the squishing. After practicing all summer when I hit the fall I caught myself starting to slide back into squishing again and got clear that it's no longer acceptable. No squishing is now an ongoing practice so that I can steward my resources well and live my own personal vision of a Wealthy Life by Design!
Be Grateful for the People Who CHAMPION YOU! Whether it's your own coaches, mentors, or consultants or it's your clients - when we all elevate, congratulate and spotlight each other and express how appreciative we are for the contributions we are all making to make the world keep working in spite of all the challenges that have been hard on everyone for a prolonged period of time then we are all filling the bigger well of gratitude that is a communal resource for all of us. I believe that Gratitude is the Currency of the Universe & Currency is Gratitude in ACTION. Sometimes the most important way we can fully and wholeheartedly express our gratitude is via transmission of fun funds to support and more fully resource those who are providing for us. I sent gratitude in the form of currency this year to 4 different organizations - Life Is Good Playmakers, The Nature Conservancy, The Society For The Protection Of NH Forests, Beaver Brook Association In Hollis.
Be Enthusiastic & Celebrate What's Been Accomplished - One thing I'm accomplishing is following more of my own guidance - specifically the guidance of "Don't Be Seduced By The Culture Of Busy". Which means that for me this year has been one of relatively "fewer" accomplishments but greater satisfaction in what has been accomplished. Continuing to invest in the building out of the Wickedly Smart Women brand and more specifically the podcast has been the main focus - and while last year at this time the intent was to have the brand merchandise store up and really running, along with a more robust and thriving online community of listeners, and even the launching of an academy, all that went on the back burner when I got the call to GO OUTSIDE and I dedicated hours on end to tromping through the woods, learning about mushrooms, and expanding my heart, and my health into higher realms of wellness. We did however accomplish the winning of 3 different awards, along with ranking in the top 100 of ALL PODCASTS (not just business or entrepreneurship categories) in Iceland! #2 in both biz & entrepreneurship categories is where the show is also ranked there. Additionally we charted in the top 100 in Canada in Entrepreneurship Category, Top 25 in Cambodia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jamaica, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, & Ukraine in Entrepreneurship Category, #1 in New Zealand for Entrepreneurship #25 for Business, #180 for Marketing & according to ListenNotes as of 12/20/21 the show is in the top 1% of all podcasts globally out of 2.7 million shows. We also increased downloads by 2.5 Times year over year and are now downloading in 94 Countries around the world. Thanks to my team and the great guests who have collaborated in creating award winning content and spreading the messages around the world.
I celebrate YOU for being alive and adding your spark of light to this lovely planet. May the year ahead be one to SAVOR (my word for 2022!).
Do let me know what you think of these reflections by commenting below and certainly feel free to share some of your own so I can celebrate you!
It’s officially 2022!! If NOW is the time for you to step into the creation of your own Wealthy Life By Design & if you feel the calling to explore what’s possible when you let go, look in and leverage your own highest gifts then I invite you to apply for a Wealthy Life By Design Clarity Consultation with me. If you qualify my team will be in touch to get you in the schedule.