The Feeling Of Your Future Business
“Whenever I stop and remember how relaxing it felt to sit by that fireplace, wrapped in a cozy blanket, just hanging out and sipping my tea, I feel more able to say “No” to anything that stresses me out or violates my boundaries now. That feeling is affecting how I do my life now."
I did a little shimmy of joy when I heard these words.
They came from a therapist who had attended the Cozy Forest Retreat that I co-led with my friend/colleague Cindy back in November, and they captured the exact reason we had planned the event in a restful, elegant, nature-based setting the first place.
-Aside from being a not-so-subtle plug for our upcoming Spring Forest Retreat, this little nugget illustrates an important principle for you as a solopreneur:
Don't just set goals in your business.
Imagine how you want to feel in your business (and life) once you've achieved your vision, and “step into” that feeling now.
When you find small (or large) ways to step into your future, everything else in your life starts to want to align with that feeling.
(I'm trying really hard not to use words like “manifesting" or “vibrations", as some of the woo-woo jargon in the coaching world is so confusing and overused that I want to jam a fork in my eyeball. But I digress).
Stepping into the feeling of your future business can inform all kinds of practices, decisions, and habits (small or large), like:
Turning down that extra project or client that you'd only be taking on for a little more money, knowing that you want to be a solopreneur who has plenty of down-time and energy.
Renting the nice office (the one that feels just out of reach), instead of subleasing the crappy one by the hour. Your future business wants the nice office.
Paying somebody else to do the tasks you really, really hate. I recently talked to a client who despises folding laundry. “Does a 6-figure solopreneur have a sofa that's constantly covered in unfolded laundry?” “Hell, no!” She's hiring someone else to do it-- and using that time to work on marketing and get closer to that 6-figure goal.
Practices or experiences that elicit the feeling of your vision:
Give you a surge of motivation ("I want more of that!")
Help you step out of the identity of the stressed out, always-behind person and into your new identity as the joyful, balanced, ease-ful solopreneur.
Make decisions (small or large) easier. ("What would my future-vision-self do?").
So first, take a minute to close your eyes and imagine how you'll feel (in your body, your heart, your life), when you've created your business vision.
Then ask: what's one thing you can do in the next few days to connect with that feeling? Even if it's small, like stopping work at exactly 5pm, or buying the expensive coffee drink… what's that one thing?
Then ask: what's one thing you can do in the next few days to connect with that feeling? Even if it's small, like stopping work at exactly 5pm, or buying the expensive coffee drink… what's that one thing?
I'll be sitting by the fireplace sipping tea while I wait for your response in the comments ;)