RBBiz Day 1: Lisa Congdon

Creative Business

As usual, the Right Brainers in Business Video Summit has me in the frame of mind to recognize personal truths and get. things. done. The synapses were firing even before the summit started!

Todd and I ended up going to Louisiana this weekend for a family funeral, and arrived back home after dark on Sunday (even with the time change). Still, I had just enough time to print out the playsheets (both the Summit-specific ones and the playsheets from the Right Brain Business Plan and Building Your Business the Right Brain Way) and bind them into a notebook so I can keep all my Summit notes together and use it as part of my right-brained plan for The Crafty Branch. As I was putting it all together, I added blank sheets of paper between each printed sheet so I wouldn’t have to worry about adding sticky-notes or loose sheets that could get lost.

First lesson of RBBiz 2015: Scarcity makes me anxious. Abundance gives me comfort.

My first day's notes and playsheet (hanging out on my planner).

My first day’s notes and playsheet (hanging out on my planner).

I realized I might be adding more paper than was necessary, but to not add them sparking a bit of nervousness and worry that I wouldn’t be able to keep each day’s notes together if I was stuck cramming letters wherever they’d fit. And I had the resources and ability to provide abundance in this instance.

But onto Monday’s interview with Lisa Congdon.

I’ve heard Lisa Congdon speak once or twice before. I was familiar with the basics of her story and process–so some of this was familiar ground for me (there was also a dust-up in the past I knew about, so I challenged myself to listen objectively and leave my preconceived notions of the speaker at the door, so to speak). It’s bound to happen when you spend a lot of time among the Internet teaching grounds, you know? But just because you’ve heard something before, doesn’t mean you don’t need to hear it again, in a new space and in a different frame of mind. Repetition is a good thing, sometimes, so being reminded of “dream big, start small,” “don’t compare yourself to others,” and “create everyday” are good things to hear and act upon.

There was a moment in the chat stream though, one of those “only happens in Summit” kind of thing, where we were reminded of the importance to let the Universe know we were out there and–very important–available. So I, and others, did just that.

I am an illustrator who LOVES to work with emerging authors and creators.

Which is absolutely true, but something I hadn’t been putting out there as much, recently. I mean, sure, I build that shiny new website, but how often have I promoted it since then? Exactly.

But in announcing my availability in the fast-moving chat, the Universe listened–or one of its citizens, at least, and I sent out my resume and rate sheet on request last night. It was also the kick in the pants I needed to finish said rate sheet and resume, so now that’s done and I have it ready to go in the future.

Nice the way that works, right?

My resume opens:

The  more I consider the hows and whys of what I do, the more I am convinced my purpose is not just to create, but to support other creators and help them reach their goals by offering my skills and expertise to their endeavors. I am not simply a pencil for hire, I am a collaborator, a co-conspirator, and a champion of the emerging author and entrepreneur.

And that’s my other big takeaway for Monday, maybe not from the presentation directly, but the chain of events and thoughts all coalesced into the realization that everything I do: my cookbook, this blog, and the store-to-be is as much about expressing my own creativity as it is about encouraging and enabling others in theirs. It’s my Helper Monkey-ness at its core, and a great way to evaluate future projects and opportunities with a very quick litmus test.

grab-your-free-tix-url

If this has you curious, there’s still time to get your free ticket to the Right Brainers in Business Video Summit. And since the replays are good for 48 hours, if you sign up today you won’t have to miss anything, you still have time to get caught up!