The magic I watched unfold

Have you witnessed magic lately?

I am delighted to say that I have.

Not only has it been magical to be in Paris for nearly 3 weeks, a few days ago I reveled in the joy of witnessing real magic unfold.

This is what I was privileged to see.

A group of remarkable women spent three days with me (virtually) at the winter Live Big Live! retreat, shaping their personal visions. Each faced the doubts and fears that cropped up for her, and each made concrete plans for how she will make her vision real.

The truly exciting thing was seeing how each woman found profound and deep insight about herself as we moved through the retreat.

Their discoveries not only helped them shape their visions clearly, they helped them commit to creating the futures they dream of.

Why the women came to Live Big Live!

Some of the women are launching new businesses, reshaping existing businesses, or envisioning new possibilities for their work. 

Some have recently embarked on a new professional journey. Some are focused on how they will simultaneously pursue two significant interests with ease.

All got clear about what they will do to propel their endeavors forward.

And excitingly, each is now aiming higher than she ever dared before, and each is excited to have a new level of impact.

This ambition is grounded in a solid foundation of belief in all that is possible.

And as each woman mapped out how she will actually make her vision real in the coming months, she was guided to focus on and value more than just her work.

Each is also considering the ways her relationships, her care for her physical health and well-being, attending to an environment that will support her, nurturing her spirit, and considering her legacy will help her enjoy the best quality of life.

The creation I saw unfold

All of the magic I witnessed at the retreat was fueled in significant ways as the women had a big creative experience each day.

(It’s likely, as a reader of my Big Ideas, that you are aware of how strongly I believe in the creative power we all possess, and that I advocate for both expressive creativity — think singing, drawing, writing and lots more — and appreciating and adopting the mindset of a creator.

With the mindset of a creator, you are able to create all day, every day. As you make each decision, and as you consider your response to each new possibility, challenge and opportunity, you stop reacting and are able to generate new ideas for what is possible.)

On each day of Live Big Live! I introduced a specific creative experience to support the focus of our day.

These experiences facilitated deep access to emotion, resulting in new insights and perspectives for all.

And the visual power of everything they expressed was remarkable!

Check out the images below to see some of what emerged.

What are you ready to create now?

If you are thinking about the truly fulfilling life you yearn to live — whether you have had a setback, are at a crossroads, yearn for something to change, or have a burning desire or dream you want to make real — let’s talk about it.

I believe in the power of a great conversation. I can share more about the ways Creative Core Coaching leverages the power of creation, and we can explore whether the next Live Big Live! (or other support) may be a good fit for you.

Whatever the outcome, I will be happy for us to connect. 

I invite you to email me, or find a date on my calendar.

Here are two wonderful collages (each with the front of the collage on the left and the back of the collage next to it), that were created at the Live Big Live retreat last week.

How to connect to your magic and light up your life

Something interesting happens when I mention the title of my book, Live Big: A Manifesto for a Creative Life in a conversation with someone I have just met.

More often than not, people look me in the eye and say, “Oh, I'm not creative.”

I am on a mission to dispel that common belief.

I want to help people understand, and experience, that they are filled with creativity. I also want them to know how powerful their creativity is.

We all came into the world filled with creativity

Yes, creativity is in all of us. It’s a kind of magic we all possess.

When we are small, and given some crayons and paper, we do not fret at a blank page. We do not worry about what to draw. We pick up a color that appeals to us and start making marks.

When I observe my 3-year-old granddaughter as she draws, and ask what she’s drawing, she tells me incredible stories about the scenes (that look to me like excited scribbles).

Whether she is serious and focused, or laughing, she is fully engaged in expressing herself. And it is clear that she loves it.

When we, as adults, tap that creative energy — or expand and accelerate it, for those who do feel creative — we give ourselves a huge gift. We connect to the magic inside.

Creating is not just for “special people”

The opportunities to create are vast.

While many feel intimidated because they think they are not “talented”, I’m here to bust that myth. You do not need to be a virtuoso musician, a great actor, a brilliant writer, or a gifted dancer to create!

All forms of self-expression are terrific.

Do you love to putter in a garden or build in a workshop? Do you like to cook or make things with your hands? Are you a visionary thinker, or love embarking on adventures to explore in nature? Do you like to play with paint or clay?

Any and all of these ways of creating are fantastic.

What happens when you create

When you create in any way with a feeling of curiosity and freedom, when you are able to to play and be surprised, you connect to your desire and something incredible happens.

Your spirit opens.

You get out of your head (where most of us spend most of our time) and connect to your heart and your intuition.

And you make discoveries.

The discovery may be about new ways to produce a result that pleases you. Or you may discover that something you thought you’d enjoy was not that great, and move on to new ways to explore.

The most important discovery?

Connecting to new parts of yourself and experiencing more of who you are.

And when that happens, your expanded, lit-up spirit can show up in other parts of your life.

I witness this phenomenon all the time with my clients. They show up differently at work, and great things happen. They navigate relationships with more insight and less reactivity. They look and feel alive in remarkable ways!

I rejoice with them as they open to and share more and more of their greatness.

You can start today

I invite you to do one thing (or one new thing) today to express yourself.

It may be simple and you may do it for a mere few minutes, but choose one thing and go for it.

Maybe you will share it, or you may choose to have a private experience. Maybe it will be exciting, or comfortable, or perhaps it will feel awkward.

In any case, take a moment to think about how it felt to create.

Consider how it felt to experiment with new flavors rather than following a recipe. Or put a small arrangement of objects on a shelf in a pleasing way. Or pull out an instrument you haven’t played in ages, and your response to the sounds you made.

Then commit to creating in some way again tomorrow.

In time, you will not have to plan to create. You will find your creative spirit showing up all over the place!

The more that you create in these ways, the more you will come to understand the power of creativity to support you to show up fully. In time, this expansive magical feeling can be a regular part of your daily experience.

And it is a game-changer to show up fully in the world.

Do it for yourself, and do it for all of us. We need the gifts, the fully expressed genius, that only you can contribute.

Imagine the impact we will have when we all live big.

(I would be delighted for you to share the ways you love to create, and new ways you bring creativity into your life. And please share the impact it has for you. Leave a comment or email me.)

Live Big Live! is back — is it right for you?

I am frequently in conversation with accomplished women — women who are admired, have done great things, and often seem to have it all going for them.

When they share their biggest wish with me, it's to make the next part of their lives truly fulfilling.

They often describe themselves as living life in overdrive. Many feel unclear, stuck, or question themselves about what's possible for their future.

Whether they are at a crossroads, thinking about what is next, or know there is something more that’s possible for them — related to their professional direction, their personal life, or a combination — many know it’s time for this tension to be addressed.

They want to get on track, take action that is intentional, and move forward in their lives with confidence and enthusiasm — to be able to plug a great destination into their GPS.

As we can all agree, every new thing needs to be created. So to achieve our goals, each of us needs to focus on what we need to create to get the fulfillment we yearn for.

It’s easy to feel alone with our questions

Have you heard the phrase, “You can’t read the label when you are inside the jar”?

It is a great catchphrase to express how hard it is to identify, much less solve, your own problems because you are so very close to them.

Yet asking for help does not come easily for many accomplished women. (Years back, I was a textbook example of that resistance!)

What I know is that when we struggle on our own, we prolong dissatisfaction, frustration and stress.

It does not have to be that way.

What if you chose to be supported?

Rather than spinning your wheels you can choose to be guided and receive support to create your path toward fulfillment and start moving along it.

You can not only be guided, you can also travel with a small group of other amazing women, each there for her own growth and eager to support the other women in the cohort.

This is what that loving support looks like.

Live Big Live! is designed for big results

I carefully designed the Live Big Live! program to guide you to clarity, to help you set clear intentions, and to start creating the fulfilled life you dream of.

And it is designed to bring dynamic results to your life in a short time.

Live Big Live! is a proven program

Offered just 3 times each year, 6 groups of women have already moved through the Live Big Live! program and the outcomes have been remarkable.

The women gave themselves the gift of focused time to bring their true desires and concerns into the light, and to envision the futures they wanted.

They were guided to tap the clarity inside them with subtly powerful tools, in an inspiring process that unfolded organically.

They gathered at a retreat for 3 incredible days of exploration, discovery and creation.

And, each completed the program with a concrete plan to live into the vision for the future that she shaped.

(We have all experienced the high of feeling inspired and then having it quickly fizzle out when real life takes over. Live Big Live! is designed to have lasting impact.)

Each Live Big Live! participant has reported deep, meaningful, lasting change in her life. The women have amazed themselves at all they have created, and are delighted about the fulfillment they are experiencing.

I invite you to learn more and explore this opportunity

The Fall Live Big Live! program launches soon.

Some past participants are returning, and there is space for 6 new women to join us. We are excited to engage in this experience with the fresh energy that new people will bring!

Whether you are unsure of your next big step, or have a direction in mind and do not know how to start moving toward it, or you have been trying to move ahead and not progressing as you wish, Live Big Live! is meant for you.

And, it has to be the right fit for both of us. We can discover that in a conversation.

If you are ready for more insight, ready to free your spirit and expand the joy in your life, and ready to learn how to open the creative power that is waiting inside you so you learn to find your answers and take clear action, I invite you to schedule a call with me soon.

There’s no obligation — just an opportunity for you to share what’s going on in your life, and for me to share insights and perspectives that may help you.

Whether or not Live Big Live! turns out to be a fit for both of us, we will have a great conversation.

My wish is to help you set your GPS to a truly fulfilling destination, and to move along your path with joy.

Here’s how to schedule our call:

LiveBigCall.com

A life-changing gift you can give yourself now

As we move through the final days of 2021 we have a great opportunity — to look back and reap the rewards of the past year (try the process I shared last week), and to look ahead to a new year full of possibility.

Harness the power of creativity in 2022 — it’s available to all of us!

I invite you to embrace yourself as a powerful creator as you head into the new year. It’s easy to do when you focus on activating creative expression.

You can create expressively in a multitude of ways

Any way you choose to create will enrich your day-to-day life. Think about what delights you.

Maybe you love to dance up a storm, or draw or write. You may feel free and enjoy experimenting as you cook, playing with new flavor combinations or ingredients. Maybe you love to research and plan your garden, and get your hands into the dirt as you plant and tend it. Do you play an instrument or want to try learning a new one? Maybe you collect things that fascinate you, or find joy when you sing, or keep a camera on hand to take photos throughout your day. Maybe you love to tinker and build things, or learn new craft techniques.

Allowing yourself to play and explore in any of these ways lights you up and fuels enthusiasm for everything in your life.

When you are lit up, new ideas show up. You feel excited about exploring them. This positive energy not only carries you forward, it supports you at those times when you need to be resilient.

Your creative journey can be a great teacher

While I rarely share my personal creative journey, my studio time has been a great teacher for me, especially this past year.

I began painting in 2015 after a lifetime of feeling challenged to create for myself. As a graphic designer (my first career), I could create to solve my clients’ problems, but personal expression (like painting or sculpting) felt impossible.

Knowing what I know today, I look back and see that in those years I indulged in creative expression, though not in ways I thought “counted.” I loved (and still love) to create beauty in my home, sharing beauty with others, using color in interesting ways, and more.

But I did not dare to make art until 2015, when I took my first painting class. It was intimidating, but I had the opportunity and decided to go for it.

And it changed my life — really! I have continued to paint, studying with an amazing teacher, ever since.

As frustrating as it was to be a beginner, needing to master technique and decide what I wanted to paint, this journey has enriched me in enormous ways.

Each time I stand in front of my easel, I meet myself in a way that is different from the rest of my life. I tap into my intuition and I connect to my desire — what color calls to me? What kind of gesture or mark do I want to make?

Finding my way in the studio has been a great journey. I have had times when the work flowed and I was having fun. And I have had times — especially early in COVID, and after my mother died in August 2020 — when I felt completely lost and unsure about what I was doing.

With the encouragement of my teacher, I simply let myself not know, make a mess, and see where I found myself. Allowing myself to explore this way, without caring about making a “good painting” has led me to new places that have surprised me — and sometimes delighted me.

I have learned to trust myself and experiment. I have slowly been able to let go of the perfectionism that’s been a struggle for so much of my life. My heart has expanded in ways it never had before.

(If you are curious about my art, you can take a look at my work, from 2015 up to the present, here.)

What will you discover when you create?

The new year beckons. Think about the gifts you can give yourself in 2022 when you allow yourself to step into creating in new and bigger ways.

If getting creative is new for you, start by playing and see where it takes you. Ask someone to join you and make regular dates to create. And celebrate the outcomes of everything you explore!

And consider this:

Whether you choose to activate creativity or not, the new year will be full of change.

Why not light yourself up, feel inspired, and bring that positive energy into your life?

Wishing you a new year filled with joy, vibrant health and abundant creative energy.