From Overwhelmed to Empowered

Are you sometimes overwhelmed with negative thinking – perhaps being downright rude to yourself? Criticizing yourself for not doing enough?

I guess we’ve all been there; having bad days and moments of self-doubt. Days in which you fall short of your own expectations, and instead of treating it as a learning opportunity, you beat yourself up about it.

The frustration that comes from trying to turn your creative passion into a profitable business can quickly turn into a long rant of self-critique.

The pain of being the starving artist, the struggling creative, overworked with little or no money is REAL.

Fighting to figure out how to do it. Constantly looking for the missing piece to get clients, build an audience and harvest a great income. It´s scary, it´s frustrating, and it´s the situation for so many creatives out there.

I get you! I’ve been an entrepreneur for 28 years. I launched my first clothing line at the age of 15. Started my own dance studio at age 18. I´ve been a full-time artist, a personal trainer, an interior designer and created three 6-figure businesses, including a coaching business, a photography business and numerous of online training programs.

Bringing my creative ideas out into the world is my passion – I love to see my vision grow into empires.

And if there’s ONE THING I’ve learned from my many years as a creative entrepreneur, as well as from coaching thousands of clients, it’s this:

There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with YOU!

If you struggle with growing your business, it does not mean that you are incompetent or incapable. Not at all! It simply means that you are an entrepreneur without a compass. It´s that simple.

Going from struggling artist/creator to a running a profitable business isn´t so much about hard work, brilliant plans, talent or luck as it is about confidence, thoughts, and emotions.

With the right mindset in place, there ain´t nothing you can´t do!

I want you to remember:

YOU can start over, each day. The best time for new beginnings is NOW. It´s okay to have setbacks… it´s okay to draw a line in the sand and start over. Just make sure you are moving the line forward – in a positive direction.

Move in the directions of your dreams and goals. Take baby steps, but take steps that stop you from being stuck.

We all want to reach the top of the mountain and feel that we have achieved something amazing. We want to feel alive, happy and excited. We want to be financially independent and work with what we love.

Whatever you are working towards, and however far you still have to go, let me tell you that; YOU CAN DO IT!

Keep chasing your dream. Don´t give up! It doesn’t matter if you are moving fast or slow, only that you keep moving AND that you STOP criticizing yourself!

Because the truth is; every time you criticise yourself you take a step back – away from your desired destination called your dream life.

When you Play BIG in life fear will be a constant shadow following your every footstep.

Fear will show up asking if you’re sure – if you’re really, really sure you want to take this big risk? And you start to feel shaky.

You start to fear entering unknown territory. You think of all the things that could go wrong.

But, If you spend your life playing it safe, sticking to what you know and what’s comfortable (even if those things cause you unhappiness), you’re missing out on the incredible possibilities of what could be.

Sometimes the biggest risk is taking no risk at all. And oftentimes in taking the biggest risks, you find yourself living your dream life.

Here’s the thing…

The quality of your life and the success of your business is directly affected by how you FEEL about yourself, and how you THINK of yourself?

That’s why I want YOU to make a firm decision TODAY to boost and improve your self-esteem! Give yourself some credit for ALL that you DO and ALL that you ARE.

Doing so will empower you to do more, love more, give more, become more and live more.

All success in life comes from a place of self-confidence. A deep trust in yourself, that you are worthy of it all and that you deserve the best in life.

Abandon the idea that you are not good enough. Stop trying to ‘fix’ yourself; you’re not broken. No one is! You might have some bad habits, you might be a bit out of sync with yourself from time to time- just like the rest of us. But you are not broken, and there´s nothing wrong with you.

You are a perfect, beautiful, unique human being with perfect imperfections. Instead of telling yourself little lies about who you are and what you can and cannot do, focus on your potential, your passion and spread your message with the world.

With love and excitement,

How To Become Unstoppable – Even If You’re Not Ready

7 / 4 / 172 / 10 / 20

My biggest struggle in running my business is this; I suck at grammar and spelling! You see, English is not my first language, and after living in three countries, mixing different languages, I’m a pretty grammar-confused woman in general.

I’ve grown to embrace and attack this challenge with playfulness and optimism. Luckily, I love to learn. I see myself as a longtime student of the beautiful English language.

When it comes to my blogging, I sometimes get emails from readers telling me how they love what I write, but that they find it full of spelling and grammar mistakes.

I don’t get offended by this, and I don’t consider these individuals language bullies – the opposite actually. They kindly offer to help me proof edit my writing for free and honestly, I love them for that! These people have big hearts. They mean well.

I always give them the same reply though, because the thing is; my errors and flaws are important! Why? Because my life purpose is helping creative women believe in themselves and follow their dreams – even if they are not ready and even if the circumstances are NOT perfect.

Here’s an example of how my usual reply sounds:

Dear x

Thanks so much for you kind words and concern about my writings.

With time I´ve come to love my grammar and spelling mistakes. In the past, it was a huge confidence struggle for me, and I´ve also had proofreaders employed earlier in my career.

But I learned along the way to embrace my imperfections – I can´t be perfect in all areas – nor do I want to. And if I waited for perfection I would never write a single word,

I want to show my audience that it’s possible to grow a successful business – even though their grammar/spelling is not perfect.

Many of my students and clients are not native English speakers. They come from all over the world and many struggle with English grammar, and it keeps them from moving forward with an International career.

If I can inspire just one person not to hold back from writing. If I can inspire just one woman to start a blog/creative career/magazine/business/online course in English – even though English is not her first language – I´m happy. It can be the key to changing her life!

Thanks again for your kindness,

Christina

You see, I used to believe I needed to be perfect before I could do anything! And it limited me big time!

Luckily, I soon realized how wrong I was! Like-minded creatives started to follow me even though I was a complete novice in photography. (This was back in 2009).

People liked my photographs even though my results were far from perfect and they started reading my blog despite ALL my spelling mistakes…

By being myself with all my flaws and imperfections, I was able to build a solid client base + a great network of creative people. I grew my business from scratch with a simple Blogspot blog and a lousy camera.

Many things have changed since then. I finally have a better website and an excellent camera – and though my writing is still full of errors, it has improved tremendously.

The key is, I don’t worry about it anymore. I know now that I don’t have to be perfect to be successful. I just need to be me – and ask myself how I can serve the world?

One of the biggest causes of creative dry spell is the need to “get it right.” We strive for perfection, and when we fall short, we feel less than and worthless.

What we don’t seem to realize is that CREATING something and being WILLING to put ourselves out there is an accomplishment in itself, regardless of how many times we “don´t get it right.”

NEVER let spelling/grammar struggles stop you from doing what you love.

Never let the lack of applause keep you from creating. You don’t need to be the best to succeed.

You don’t need to get it perfect all the time. And you certainly don’t need other people to approve of your skills.

The moment you realize that being kind, loving and supportive towards yourself and those you serve – everything changes. Your creativity will blossom, and you become unstoppable.

Don’t wait for everything to be perfect to create your dream business. Start without the perfect circumstances, begin without that beautiful logo, offer your service even though your product or skills are not fully developed yet.

Don’t wait for doors to open! CREATE your own door and invite abundance in.

BE the best YOU you can be and step out of the shadow to shine in your own wonderful accomplishments.

Success isn’t about your circumstances it’s about your thinking and your habits. The fastest way to let go of your limiting beliefs is by taking action. Just start. Take one tiny step every day.

You can do this!

With Love & Passion

Slow Down & Make Things Right

4 / 27 / 172 / 10 / 20

We humans tend to make the worst decisions when stressed or overwhelmed. Our lives are so busy with constant deadlines and crammed schedules. The pace itself can create stress and burnout over time, but even worse it can clutter your focus and dis-connect your senses.

Some old sayings state that “life happens when you are busy making other plans” and that we should “stop and smell the roses”.

I’m sure you´ve heard it before – but the thing is, we tend to forget it when life gets busy.

Don’t get me wrong, slowing down is not about moving through life at a snail’s pace. Slow living calls for you to bring intention + attention to the tempo of your life and your mental state.

It’s about slowing down to make things right – for you and your loved ones!

It’s about finding a “sweet spot” for living; a personally optimal rhythm for life that serves YOU the best. So you can be challenged without being overwhelmed and you can feel recharged without being passive.

When life get’s hectic, you begin to miss out on the nuanced textures of life – the delicious taste of a good cup of coffee, the subtle changes in a flower, the quiet beauty of a Sunday morning, or the feeling of a warm bath. Time and mental space is critical for this absorption and for stimulating your senses + it improves your creativity!

The truth is that to re-connect with yourself and find more peace and calm in life, you don´t have to make BIG changes. Think baby steps. Just breathing deeply and becoming present in the moment is enough to activate calmness and positive change.

Pay attention to the small stuff. When you take little moments during your day to notice these “small” everyday things, you will automatically reduce your fast pace and live more mindfully.

When you slow down and become present you make better decisions, because you´re able to focus on what matters most.

With mindful gratitude,