If you want an effortless flow of clients and work that lights you up, knowing you’re doing exactly what you’re designed to do, it requires following the flow of nature.
Business and marketing seems so distasteful to change-making entrepreneurs because it’s typically implemented in a way that goes against our nature.
Most people are doing business (and life) from the outside-in. This looks like:
- Determine your goal
- Identify your customer
- Choose a niche
- Craft your services, offers and message to achieve that goal
It’s not that this is a bad thing. It works, as evidenced by the legions of people who create their businesses this way.
But it’s not conducive to ease, flow and authenticity.
You end up chasing external things in an attempt to find happiness, and seeking fulfillment in things that can never create what you’re looking for.
It can lead to misaligned choices and a feeling of emptiness, burnout in business, a sense of not fulfilling one’s purpose.
What if, instead, you create your business from the inside-out?
This is looking within, beginning with happiness and joy, and creating from it.
It invites you to start with the creation which is already emerging from you, to notice what is happening, and let life happen YOU.
We act as if business is separate from nature, but business arises from us.
As we are a part of nature, nothing that arises can be exempt from the principles of nature or the vast universal eco-system to which we belong.
“All those interrelationships, whether they appear to be friendly relationships as between bees and flowers, or conflicting relationships as between birds and worms, they’re actually forms of cooperation and that is mutual arising. Apply not forcing anything and you get spontaneity, a life which is so of itself, which is so natural, which is not forced, which is not duly self-conscious.”
Alan Watts
Taoism speaks of a concept called wuwei, the way of nature. It is a condition of effortless action and inexertion.
There is no forcing required for a flower to blossom.
There is no efforting necessary for the ocean tides to flow in and out each day, and yet the impact of these actions is immense.
Your business is the same. Your life is the same.
As Alan Watts explains, this doesn’t mean you don’t go out and cut wood, but you cut wood with the grain.
When you go with the grain of what’s happening in life, instead of against it, there is no forcing required.
To do this, you must notice what is already happening you. It requires presence and acceptance of what is in this moment.
That’s where we get hung up.
It seems as if accepting what is — when it’s not what we prefer — means that it will never change, but to the contrary, it allows you go with the flow instead of against it.
So how do you “attract clients” from the inside-out?
Well, first, let go of the idea of “attracting clients.”
Start within yourself. If you would be attractive to the people you wish to serve, be attracted to them.
You’ve probably heard it said that if you want to be an interesting person, don’t try to be interesting. Be interested.
If you want to experience joy in your business, create with joy. Share with joy and let this be your marketing.
You will attract what you seek as you create it from within.
This is the best news ever when it comes to your business!
You get to play the game of creating the impact and income you desire with a journey of the very happiness, fulfillment and joy you seek.
With each roll of the dice, you’re already winning, whether you achieve your goal or not, because you’re in love with the journey.
You’re also far more likely to get better results when you’re fully engaged with the game of business, and more engagement means taking more actions. You tend to do better.
There are no guarantees, but you don’t need them when you’re already having fun.
You’ll know that your business is going with the grain when you’re going for what you want and playing full out, and you’d do it anyway, even if you never achieve what you’re after.
If that’s not happening and you’d like to do business from the Flow of nature and effortless creation, this is what’s on offer in playing with me:
to discover your authentic expression and impact through a joyful business that’s wholly and uniquely yours.
I have a flexible coaching and messaging journey for coaches, healers and changemakers who are also good (or great) writers and speakers to unleash their potent message and attract soulmate clients with playful (un)marketing. Contact me to learn more and we’ll have a chat to see where nature takes us. 🙂
Yours in creative play,
Steph <3
