Are you doing things that make your soul sing and bring joy to your heart? Or are you dragging yourself through endless lists of to-dos and should-dos that are slowly sucking the life force out of you? Is it possible to live and work from a place of joy? Can you let joy be your homing beacon? Can you really thrive instead of survive when joy is your guide?

Yes. Absolutely, unequivocally, Yes!

When I first launched my business in 2009, I came at it from a practical goal-setting and planning approach that I learned so well in my corporate marketing job. The thing is, I’d set goals, create a marketing plan, schedule things to do, make lists of services and classes to offer, and products to create, and then hit a wall of resistance and procrastination. As a high achiever, A-type personality, I was frustrated by my inability to make myself show up in my business. So I went to different coaches and marketing gurus and learned about selling and client attraction and writing compelling copy. Yet it still felt like slogging through mud. I didn’t feel inspired because of all the structure I was imposing on myself.

My business would get going and stall. I’d get a creative burst and then not follow through. My website went through at least 10 copy overhauls. And I struggled to stay focused every single day. My inner kid was having a temper tantrum and just wanted to play. But how could I allow myself to play if I wasn’t getting serious work done and meeting my goals? I had a business to run. I so did not want to go back to a corporate job again.

Not only was this frustrating me, it was making me feel burned out and depressed. I was trying to create my business following other people’s blueprints. I wasn’t being me or following my heart or my inner guidance (all things I know and teach, by the way!). And I was flailing about, reinventing my business every few months. Exhausting.

Aha Moment…

I’ve always been a rebel. Rules were sort of like suggestions, or didn’t necessarily apply to me. If I could come up with a creative work-around I did. It drove my corporate bosses’ nuts that I got results without strictly adhering to plan. Yet here I was trying to make me use those tactics in creating my own business when those tactics never worked for me in in any corporate job I ever held. Holy moly, I was becoming my own bad boss, building an inhospitable work environment for my creative spirit.

As a numerologist (among other things) I went back to look at the numbers for my business name and “birthdate”. The answer was hiding in plain sight. My business is a 3 vibration which is about joy, playfulness, self-expression, creativity, passion, nurturing, and communication. Yet I was attempting to run my business from a super-serious, practical, task-master approach, which is the opposite of what was needed for me to thrive in my business.

A major shift was required. Instead of letting logic mind dictate what to do, I checked within to feel it out. I tried an experiment: planning and managing vs. joyful expression. What I discovered was that when I came up with classes and services from logic mind, they weren’t as successful as when I sat down and wondered what would be fun to offer or teach.

When I let joy be my guide in my business, things just came together. I felt lighter and was more enthusiastic about what I was offering. After all, if I thought it was going to be fun or interesting, wouldn’t others want to participate too? I noticed I’d avoid marketing the things that I thought I should offer, and had no trouble talking about (aka marketing) the things I was truly excited about offing. When I was coming from a place of joy, my vibration was higher, I felt lighter and more enthusiastic. That energy attracted others to join in the joy vibration with me… even when we were doing deeper transformation work.

And I realized that you can indeed create a successful business when you let joy be your guide.

Are you ready to create your life, your career or your business from a place of joy?

Great! Here are some journal questions and exercises to help you: