A few months ago on my blog I published, If I Knew I Could Not Fail, I Would … in which I listed all the things I would do right now if I knew I could not fail. I forced myself to dream big and think a little outside of the box. I wrote down everything I could think of, but I could only think of four items:

1. Focus all of my efforts on group coaching
2. Lead live, in-person workshops for groups of 100+
3. Host a women’s retreat for 20 creatives
4. Start a podcast

I was just putting it out there for the sake of putting it out there, to demonstrate how fun the blog topic was. But in response to the article, one of my previous clients said:

You should do those things on your list even if you might fail at one or two.

And she was right. Of course she was right! Not only do I coach next-level business to clients, my own business was built on my passion for growth and expansion. I constantly envision ways to improve and upgrade my day; it’s in my nature. So why hadn’t I gone for these big dreams?

I guess I was just … scared? Waiting for permission? Hoping to be recognized? Looking for a big break? And those things are exactly what I coach my clients not to do. I certainly could not leave my career wish list hanging. It was time for a big dose of my own medicine.

Do you know what I did next?

I went for the one I wanted the most. I began planning a women’s retreat alongside an amazing line-up of inspirational leaders in our field! I’d been dreaming of collaborating with a handful of amazing ladies, so I reached out to them and pitched my idea … and they all said, “YES!”

I cannot reveal all the details yet, but I can ask you to save the date! We’ll be meeting the weekend of February 27, 2015 in the lovely, culture-rich city of Charleston, SC. It’s going to be amazing. Pencil it in on your calendar because you won’t want to miss this event!

I realized that the upcoming retreat answered one of my soul’s cravings. So, I looked to answer more …

What are you truly craving?

Over the course of the next few months, the “If I Knew I Could Not Fail” experiment evolved into this question: What am I truly craving? And one of the biggest cravings I had in online business was for a deeper connection.

I’m a creative business coach, and when I feel a big moment coming in a session – a moment in which my natural intuition is about to align what is out-of-sync in the client’s life, I have to look up into the webcam during the call (away from my client’s face), so that she can have eye-to-eye contact with me when I deliver that important message. Only one of us gets to truly connect during that powerful moment, and since she’s the client, it’s always her.

The screen gets in the way of a real connection. It’s where I look at my webcam so we can pretend I’m looking into your eyes. It’s where I pretend I’m dressed to the nines while I deliver my greatest blog post, when I’ve really just popped out of bed. It’s where I share my sunlit side.

We always envy others, comparing our shadows to their sunlit sides. – Margaret George

I crave a deeper connection, and the creative retreat I planned for next February – where I’ll be able to meet people face-to-face, look into their eyes, and feel the magic in the room – was only the beginning. Here’s what I did next:

I found a place where we truly belong.

I love that I have built my own career from scratch, but truth be told, this work-at-home business can be lonely. I’ve missed building, brainstorming, troubleshooting, and goofing off with my co-workers. I’ve missed the feeling that comes from working partnerships that evolve into comfortable friendships, and I’ve missed feeling like I knew where I belonged.

A few short months ago, I found a place filled with creative connection + co-working opportunities + an abundance of love and acceptance. I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve recently joined the Oh My! community for creatives.

Inside the Oh My! Handmade Goodness community, you’ll find forums (they’re always buzzing), big ideas and projects you can join in on, plenty of opportunity to share what you’re working on, and loads of support and encouragement. There’s even an area where members share discounts, coupons and free downloads with each other (as an example, I share a free copy of my best-selling e-program, Shop Fundamentals).

When I arrived on the scene, I was able to jump right into the discussion, which was all about what we were going to let go of in order to lasso our biggest dreams. The timing was divine.

I developed my dream client.

I’ve coached hundreds of creatives, some of them ideal and some in disaccord, and I’ve learned a lot about who I want to work with along the way. I named all of the qualities and attributes my dream client would have, and then I placed an ad (aka blog post) to find her.

Once she found the post, I let her know:

I think you’re her, my dreamy entre-prowess. From now on, I’m going to gloss over everything else so that I can focus all of my attention on you and your needs. I’m going to write to you like we’re sitting down for a steamy cup of coffee, I’m going to email you love + kindness (just as a best friend would), and I’m going to create services and products that were made with you in mind.

You know, I’ve made some big changes to my line-up this year (such as posting my monthly income for all to see), and that’s changed the face of [my] blog and the depth of our relationship. I think that’s because you’re ready to make big changes, too.

I built a coaching package that honored my natural abilities.

This might have been one of the scariest leaps I’ve ever taken. In May of this year, I decided to give up smaller, yet reliable streams of income to go all in, on my terms.

I developed a “group coaching concentrate” where multiple business owners could learn from one another and support each other’s growth over a three-month period. I called the first running, The Summer Shift, and for a limited number of clients, I offered to monitor their actions and keep a file on the progress they made towards their goals.  I promised to know their businesses as well as I know my own, and to be equally invested in its success.

I didn’t care if it failed; it felt true and right. I believed in it. 

And because I did, the most amazing thing happened: The Summer Shift filled up with dreamy entre-prowesses. My work felt more meaningful and fulfilling than ever before, while my clients saw the progress + results they so desperately craved.

2014 will go down in (my) history as the year I lassoed my dreams.

You know that saying, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”? Since opening my creative business and making big dreams come true, I’ve become a believer in the “uncomfortable zone.” Even though I often face scary challenges that leave me feeling vulnerable to failure and defeat, the rewards I’ve received have heavily outweighed the risks I’ve taken.

Here’s how to lasso your big dreams:

As we are each in creative business, I’m sure you’ve felt vulnerable about your work and business plan, too. I imagine you know how difficult “putting yourself out there” can be. I’m sure that you can relate to the fear and hesitation that feels inescapable when doing something you’ve never done before … because as creative business owners, we regularly have to try things we’ve never done before.

For the purposes of this article, I looked up the definition of “vulnerable.” From Dictionary.com, the three different uses for the word are:

1. capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon: a vulnerable part of the body.

2. open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc.: an argument vulnerable to refutation.

3. (of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend: a vulnerable bridge.

I found this interesting because the one I feel most often in creative business is definitely #3: “(of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend.” Dictionary.com used “a vulnerable bridge” as an example of the definition, which got me to thinking:

Aren’t our creative businesses just that? A series of vulnerable bridges between where you are and where you want to be?

No wonder we build armor around our dreams, which by the way, is what I used to think I had to do in order to succeed in an independent career. I was taking a leap that NO ONE I knew had ever taken before, so each time I shared my big dreams, they were open to assault and difficult to defend.

This isn’t the first (and won’t be the last) bridge to cross.

Each next step in your creative business brings you to another vulnerable bridge. Even though you’ve already crossed many vulnerable bridges to get to the safe and solid ground you’re standing on now, the next bridge to appear on your path always presents more difficult challenges to overcome. These scary and seemingly unsafe bridges can sometimes make the journey utterly exhausting.

As I was standing in front of my last vulnerable bridge, I pulled a card that read:

Be Open to Love: The intellect employs an interesting strategy to avoid feeling insecure and facing possible pain or disappointment, especially in matters of the heart: It gathers as much information as possible in advance of a commitment. This works up to a point, but it will never be a substitute for gaining the wisdom and understanding that only come out of direct experience.

Your soul’s purpose right now is to learn about love by entering intimate relationships. Surrender control, and open your heart to these lessons. Ignore secondhand opinions and warnings from others to play it safe, and give in to intimacy.

Your soul’s lesson: Stop trying to avoid pain and disappointment by withholding your heart and commitment. Reflect on and decide what type of love you want from others, and then ask for it! If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you can’t expect anyone else to know, so be honest and take your time. If you’re afraid of intimacy or fear rejection, admit it. And don’t give more to others than you feel comfortable with, only to resent it later when you don’t collect the anticipated return.

On my first visit to Camp #OMHG, I shared how to find your true north and claim your expertise. You see, I’ve come to understand that we’re each made to be brilliant at something, and it’s too often a greatness most of us never realize we’re living. Sadly, people don’t always go inward to find their true north. Instead, we try to think about what would be right, rather than do what feels good.

Therefore, I issued an exercise and a challenge: Name what you’re good at and claim your expertise! Today, I’m back to show you how to show off your individual brilliance. It’ll go a long way in creative business, because most of us are waiting to be discovered. And oftentimes, we don’t even realize it we’re doing it!

How many of you are politely waiting for someone else to shine the spotlight in your direction? Where are you hoping to finally be “featured”? Who are you secretly hoping recognize you + your amazing talents already?

In my coaching business, I often refer to the 3 stages of creative business growth. The first stage is the novice business owner, and this is where everybody begins (and hopefully everyone grows out of). In this stage, a creative sees their business as a gamble – a lottery ticket that could win! It is in this beginner stage that you operate on a Field of Dreams mentality, believing that “if you build it, they will come.”

The next stage is the amateur, and this is where the creative starts looking for a “big break.” While your focus and business mentality are improving, you probably still spend most of your time seeking instant gratification. This stage is where most business owners get stuck, waiting to be discovered.

And when you get stuck at this level, you will fully feel the stall, as if time is standing still. You will find yourself having “if only …” thoughts, such as “If only Esty would feature my shop on their homepage, then I would get sales.”  Or, “If only WordPress would share my article on freshly-pressed, then I would gain readers.”

I mean, who wouldn’t want that kind of exposure? I get it; I’m a creative business owner, too. However, that attention does not produce long-lasting success. In order to claim your expertise and become a beacon for success, you must stop seeking approval and permission from an outside source.

Enter the final stage of growth: Become a professional.

This is my hope for each of you. At this stage, you are all in and taking full responsibility for your business’ success. It is at this stage that you finally realize: Nobody is going to hand you a top-selling Etsy shop, popular blog, or social media maven status! You have to build it yourself!

The fastest way – the absolute best hack – to get to this last stage is to realize that making this business a success is your job. Once you take responsibility for your success and realize that it is up to you to make your dreams come true, you’ll be on your way to achieving them.

At the professional stage, you take ego + entitlement out of the equation. Your business needs you to run it as an objective CEO, and a professional business owner will happily assume that role.

Start with a blueprint on paper: Where do you want this business to go in the next three years? And then, work backwards. What are the milestones you’ll need to achieve to end up there? Which goals will you have to reach each year to stay on track toward your destination? And what do you have to do today to get started on your journey?

The career of your dreams is yours for the building, but you have to lay the foundation, the bricks and the mortar. Add your unique brilliance at the top, and it will become a lighthouse; a true beacon for success.

What does the career of your dreams look like?