Like I discussed in the book, my garden is my place to let it all go. I step into the garden and I am at peace and focused and I let the rest of the world of worry evaporate for a few minutes. Recently I rediscovered another sacred space and that is my art. I am thrilled to have participated for the last six weeks in The Sketchbook Entrepreneur Masterclass with Susie deVille. This course has helped me reconnect to my sacred space in new ways.
The timing was especially helpful because I was sick with Covid for three weeks and the temperatures outside in Arkansas were in the triple digits for weeks. I was not able to get to my garden and I was feeling a bit disconnected. Then Dave and I traveled for 5 weeks and while I was in the beautiful NC mountains, there really wasn’t any gardening to do here.
Luckily, the course and the art refueled my soul and I’d love to share some of the important lessons. This Masterclass was just a little taste of Susie’s new book, coming out September 6th called Buoyant. If you like what you read here, you’ll love Buoyant.
The first lesson that has made the biggest change for me is Susie’s concept of the 5 M’s. They are:
Morning Pages
Movement
Making Something
Meditation
Moments of Inspired Learning
For me I walk every morning so I had movement covered. The concept of Morning Pages, journaling, seemed like a well-worn record. I had tried it and it never stuck. This time though, Susie gave us some assignments and she challenged us to just write for 5 minutes. I thought, I can do 5 minutes, no problem. During the course though I started to realize that whatever was on my mind was put on paper and it released my mind. I found myself hitting the timer for another 5 minutes because I wanted to keep going.
Immediately following my journaling, I would set the timer for 5 minutes to work on a sketch or an art assignment from class. Time would stand still. I was so focused I would startle when the timer bell would ring. Then when I wrapped up my art I would meditate. Just 5 – 9 minutes. I found that my Oura ring that tracks my sleep and exercise has a great selection of short meditations.
I know many of my friends use the Calm app on their phones. The idea to just sit and be still and let all of the writing and making and movement just blend into my being to let me start the day energized yet at peace.
Throughout the day I noticed that I approached my projects and my work with more ease. I realized that I didn’t get as frustrated as quickly. In fact, I was accomplishing things at a much faster rate than in the past because I was coming from this place of creativity.
I also realized that I never got around to the Moments of Inspired Learning. As I started to evaluate my day, I realized that I had time in the evening where I would enjoy a webinar replay or an art documentary. It was much more fulfilling than scrolling through Facebook, YouTube, or watching some tv that was just mindless. Now I look forward to sitting down in the evening and finding something inspirational to learn from.
The other key learning that I want to share is Susie’s concept of Liberation Quadrants. The quadrants are for both our business life and our personal life and they house all of our tasks. Think of your tasks like this:
I love it and I’m excellent at it
I like it and I’m good at it
I’m okay at it and I don’t like it
I hate it and I suck at it
Often times the things that we hate and that we suck at never get done. Or we find ourselves grinding through those tasks we are ok at and we don’t find much joy. In fact, it’s actually a trap to spend too much time doing the things that you like and are good at if they fill your day and you never get to the things you love and excel at doing.
After spending some time developing this quadrant, I have delegated more to my team. I am making room to ensure I get to those things at are fulfilling for me and that I do so well.
These are just a couple of the many, many lessons I have learned from Susie this summer. This is my last week of classes and I’m so sad they are ending. My solace is that I get to hold her book in my hands and learn from her in that way in just a couple of weeks. Do yourself a favor and read Buoyant. I know you will find many personal and business insights in her lessons. Get your copy now!
