2020 has been a year, hasn’t it? From going to an office every day to working at home full time. From the kids out of the house at school to home learning at the dining room table (that you need to oversee). From casually running errands to hoarding toilet paper. From social gatherings to isolation. And the reality is these situations are the new normal for the foreseeable future.
We’ve all learned to pivot and adjust, adapting to the constant that is change. I’m changing too, specifically another shift in my business. Today, I thought I’d share a bit about the direction I intend to go.
Where I’ve been…
If you’ve been around the Studio for a bit, you know we relocated across country in the early days of the pandemic. Prior to the move, I was focused on my coaching business, out networking at least once a week, generating buzz and connection to create clients. I was gaining some traction as a leadership coach.
After the move, as we settled into a new home in a new location, confined to the house, I began to give serious thought to being a coach. It no longer felt aligned, so I made the decision to pivot my focus to my art and turn that into my business. And that was fun…until it wasn’t.
It didn’t take long for me to realize I’m not prolific enough to generate a full time income from my art. I enjoy taking 4 to 6 weeks to create a single piece of art. The slow, steady pace allows me to sink into the feeling I’m creating, to feel it, to observe it, to process it, and to discover what lesson the feeling has to teach me.
Our feelings are meant to guide us to transformation and my creative process, as is, serves that purpose.
The more I pushed myself to make more, make faster, the more out of alignment I felt with my art. I discovered I want to create my art for the pure joy of creating. If others want to purchase it, that would be lovely, and I’ll continue to offer it for sale but I won’t look to it as my primary income source.
This left me struggling and I sank into a depressive episode that lingered for several months. I continued to show up here with weekly articles and on social media with daily posts but I felt disconnected. Did I have a business? Did I want a business?
The answer to both of those questions was yes, so the next question became: what did I want my business to be?
Where I’m going…
Once I determined I did want to continue as a business owner, I found myself returning to coaching. I realized my thought that coaching wasn’t aligned in the early days of the pandemic, after our move, was actually just fear getting in the way. I’m no longer fearful, so I’m returning to my dream of owning a coaching business where I can help others every day.
I’m still working out my focus. Each day, I’m gaining greater clarity around who I want to work with and how. As that solidifies, I’ll share it here with all of you. For now, I’d like to share my Big Why for owning a business and doing the work I know, deep down, I’m called to do:
I believe joy and ease are our purpose. These are our birthright, our soul right, the way we embody our spirit life during our human life. Anything we want can be realized when we finally and forever release the “hustle” to embrace, integrate, incorporate, and LIVE from a place of joy and ease.
Work and life can feel easy, all in flow and joy-filled, even when you’re busy. I believe it’s important to take a stand for down time because its daily inclusion in your life leads to joy. I believe a person can be astoundingly successful without being Type A.
Including relaxation and recharge time in the schedule feeds the heart, mind, body, and energy field, giving each of us the mental, emotional, and spiritual food we need to carry us through the obligations of the day.
The world needs to slow down. We’re missing the beauty of being “off”, of the power of a good nap, a good book, a long walk. We need to have more fun.
I believe in making joy, ease, and fun a priority. These produce peace – personal and global.
I believe the purpose of our human existence is to learn how to embrace joy and ease in all aspects of our lives, which connects us to our spiritual home in the Universe. Life is meant to be fun.
I’m passionate about living a life of joy and ease, seeped in creativity and personal leadership, with a foundation grounded in spirituality. It’s all about shifting your mindset. If I can shift mine, I can help you shift yours.
With joy and ease…
My business is changing direction, back to coaching. I’ll still create my art and share it here as each piece progresses. I’m doing the work to define who I want to serve and how, which I’ll share with you as the plan develops. I believe experiencing joy and ease are the purpose of life. By connecting to your most dominant negative feeling, you can observe it and learn from it. Once the lesson is clear, it’s about doing the work to shift your mindset from the negative to the positive feelings of joy and ease.
I’m an expert at joy and ease. Let me help you feel more of these in your life.
If you’re ready to finally shift yourself away from the frustration of “hustle” to experience more joy and ease, drop me a note at hilaryclarkstudios@gmail.com and we’ll set up time to chat.
If you’re ready for a private (virtual) showing of my art, you can schedule an appointment here.
To discuss commissioning me to make a textured fiber painting specifically for you or someone you love, please schedule an exploratory commissioning conversation and we’ll see what we can create together.
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Hilary Clark Studios 