Goddess,
This week is our Annual Summer Lecture Series.
This is truly an offering of love to the world of female entrepreneurs.
And it’s also a couple of other things.
It’s an opportunity to practice collaboration and create win/win/win experiences.
I win because all the experts share my event with their audiences, and I get to build new referral partnerships. Plus, it builds my list.
The experts win because they are shared with everyone’s list and their message is sent to a wider audience.
And everyone who participates (including me) benefits from the lessons shared.
It’s a little bit like going back to school with all of my favorite peeps as my professors. I learn, or I’m reminded of, something new every time.
It’s also an exercise in herding cats. To give you an idea of what that is like, I’m including the link to my favorite TV commercial of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_MaJDK3VNE
The women who are included in this Summer Lecture Series are experts in their fields. They have lots of people asking for their time. I’m honored that they said yes to us. AND… that means that, sometimes, we have to be really definite and consistent with our request to them for material for the series.
While I have a team without whom this wouldn’t have happened, it feels like a lot. Some days I stayed in my office well past my normal end of day to create marketing, work on the ritual book, review what the team was creating or communicate our needs with an expert.
That is the nature of doing any kind of launch. Then, like a rolling wave, it’s all over, and the surf is calm – until the next one!
Traditional business teaches us that we should complete a project, then immediately move on to the next. There is always more to do, more to accomplish, more to push out.
It’s so easy to get caught in the “done, what’s next” trap.
This leads to exhaustion and overwhelm, a betrayal of doing things the feminine way, and, eventually burn out. Work stops feeling fun, resulting in fewer people signing up.
Our bodies are not designed for this push.
So here is what I do at the end of launch:
Take a day or two off… breathe, walk, do a puzzle, make a Star Wars outfit for a grandkid, nap…. One of our experts, Shay Wheat, calls it the “lay on the couch and drool” day. Whenever you do a big launch, block off a couple of “drool” days after to follow the whims of your body.
In this spaciousness, I often get new downloads. Ideas that have been floating around the universe waiting for space to slip in, start whispering, “Birth me… Birth me…”.
I talk notes as the ideas drop. I draw diagrams, sketch out money flow plans. Sometimes I pull out my bullet journal stencils and add some whimsy to my notes. Eventually, the idea will become a program and I’ll make a more formal plan adding it to my calendar.
And sometimes, the idea goes into hibernation. “Not yet,” it whispers as it retreats and something else pops up.
I sometimes find myself fighting to hold off this highly necessary dream space. “It’s work hours,” my inner critic will cry. “Everyone is working. You should work.”
I smile, pat the critic on the head, and assure it that resting is part of working.
So, while I’m celebrating the Summer Lecture Series and doing my latest puzzle, I’m also gestating a new offering that I’ll be sharing soon.
Thanks for being such an important part of the Summer Lecture Series. I’d love to hear what your favorite lecture was and how we can make it even better next year. (We are taking notes!)
With all my heart,
