﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus]]></title><description><![CDATA[Celebrate the beautiful reality of your dream life and business right here, right now. 
Updates from a slow-lived life on the Northumberland Coast, thoughtful tools to help enhance your creativity and wellbeing. 💫]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qp-s!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2be6faba-3499-47b2-9ba9-a37213b2d70e_480x480.png</url><title>Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus</title><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:55:23 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Creatively Conscious]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[creativelyconscious@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[creativelyconscious@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[creativelyconscious@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[creativelyconscious@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Real Numbers and Wobbles Behind My Mid Year $14k Live Programme Launch ]]></title><description><![CDATA[(including the Friday I hit my own crap and wanted to give up)]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/real-numbers-and-wobbles-behind-my</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/real-numbers-and-wobbles-behind-my</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:01:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="callout-block" data-callout="true"><p style="text-align: center;"><em>For paid supporters - come on behind the scenes of my live programme launch for - </em></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em>Your Beautiful Digital Magazine on Substack, The Live Build.  Numbers, feelings, ideas - the whole thing.</em></p></div><div><hr></div><p>I want to tell you about a Friday afternoon in June when I accidentally sold out my own course.</p><p>Not in a good way.</p><p>I was adding people to a bundle tag in Podia<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>; routine admin, the kind of thing you do on autopilot and without realising it, the tag was linked to the course. It triggered the enrolment cap. And just like that, mid-launch, anyone clicking my sales link was hitting a sold-out page.</p><p>I didn&#8217;t know straight away - I was at the park with my kids living my best chilled life chatting with my mum friends. </p><p>Which means for a window of time, real people who wanted to join were being turned away without me even knowing.  In your mind you think people will reach out but they don&#8217;t tend do they <em><strong>just crack on with the next shiny thing&#8230; </strong></em></p><p>When I found out, I was back home -  my kids were noisy in the background, my husband was in the fridge asking about what I thought we should have for dinner - I wanted to close the laptop and start my weekend - pretend I have a 9-5, give up. </p><p>I was embarrassed - I genuinely considered just leaving it and calling it done. We had good numbers already - the community was gathering - I could feel it was going to be totally magical.</p><p>I told myself maybe this was the universe tidying things up and keeping me contained and safe.  (There are a lot of internal thoughts inside of launches).</p><p>I fixed it, wrote a recovery email and left it, made a cuppa - let it go - I sent it out the next day after I&#8217;d slept on it - I still got my chilled Friday evening. </p><h4><strong>It&#8217;s all energy&#8230; &#10024;</strong></h4><p>I threw out old flowers and tidied all my vases with fresh peonies and allium from the garden, I tidied up, decluttered the house, did laundry, hung out with my family. </p><p>Then&#8230;</p><blockquote><p>OVER 20 MORE people enrolled over the weekend and into Monday when the doors closed.</p></blockquote><p>Even though I&#8217;d worked hard to unsubscribe from the negative voices -<em> &#8216;why Q2 is slow, why your audience aren&#8217;t buying, online business isn&#8217;t what it used to be etc etc&#8217; </em>- I feel like it crept in and I made it all true a couple of times before I&#8217;d even finished my launch.</p><p>NOTE - unsubscribe to ALL negativity especially in a launch!    </p><p>Like an angel singing to me and combing my hair to soothe my system, I could hear my mentor&#8217;s voice in my head - <a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a></p><blockquote><p><em>Claire MOST people come in just before the doors close&#8230; don&#8217;t stop now&#8230; </em></p></blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png" width="468" height="539.0016313213703" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1412,&quot;width&quot;:1226,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:468,&quot;bytes&quot;:287960,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/201306802?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oeM2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9278e10-7a1e-486c-993c-1151f7ebd550_1226x1412.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Some folks pay the full amount, others opt for payment plans, tax is variable&#8230; </figcaption></figure></div><p></p><h4><strong>The actual numbers, feelings, things I did to get there&#8230; </strong></h4><p>Keep reading if you&#8217;re a paid supporter - I share more intimately behind the paywall and will answer all and any questions you have&#8230; </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[💝 The Blind Box of Life ]]></title><description><![CDATA[The missing piece + why surprise features so much in my creative practise.]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-blind-box-of-life</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-blind-box-of-life</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:01:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2731c556467ce89b409618bea9f" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi all,</p><p>I hope you&#8217;ve had a great and sunny week. </p><p>I took myself on a little wander a couple of Fridays back - the sun was shining bright in the sky, the tourists were in town - it always looks so pretty, shimmery, possible.  </p><p>It&#8217;s a complete contrast to winter here in Northumberland where everyone is treading carefully over cobbles to dash into coffee shops and around for errands.   </p><p>I bought an iced coffee and a brand new vibrant blue bag from Oxfam.  </p><p>I drank my coffee through a paper straw and posted on instagram about Substack myths.  I took deep breaths in prep for the demands of half term and a heat wave ahead.  &#10024;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png" width="218" height="330.0921985815603" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:854,&quot;width&quot;:564,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:218,&quot;bytes&quot;:259989,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/198932443?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RerD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F009c8f1c-024e-4e9d-8472-5b2738196cac_564x854.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1>Surprise has always delighted me.</h1><p>I&#8217;m not one of those people that say they don&#8217;t like surprises - I <strong>love</strong> them - they totally delight my spirit.  If I&#8217;ve started carrying too much weight of things they enchant me back into romanticizing my life.  I also love planning surprises for others too.  TOTALLY love it.  I often bring &#8216;just because&#8217; gifts when I meet up with friends or send or pick flowers for no reason. </p><h2>Wonderland is a real place&#8230;     </h2><blockquote><p>I&#8217;ve created a whole fairy wonderland for our five year old daughter in our front garden under a blossom tree - she writes letters and leaves them at the roots or hung in branches.  The fairy (or fairies) leave her gifts, cards, letters, signs.  She&#8217;s been waiting four months for her &#8220;bone to come true&#8221;.  She found it on the beach and wanted to bring it home so we told her to plant it and wait to see what happened.</p><p>When she finished school for the holidays, I left a book (about fairies) I&#8217;d picked up for free and some new neon gymnastics gear.  </p></blockquote><p>After Easter it was a tiny tin with more chocolate eggs.  We&#8217;ve also got a very generous tooth fairy who is excited about the next tooth because there&#8217;s a USD $1 and some glitter in a drawer.  </p><p>My daughter of course is totally enchanted by all of this.  She makes wishes and dreams in technicolour&#8230; she checks the tree often.  I am the universe that surprises and delights her - I get to be that for her and I just think it&#8217;s the best, best thing.   </p><h3>Dance&#8230; and delight&#8230;      </h3><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>When I met my friend to go see Lady Gaga in concert in Manchester last year, he presented me with a gift when we went out to dinner.  It was a blind box - a Labubu.  </p><p>We did the whole &#8216;film it for content&#8217; thing - it was <em><strong>such a laugh. </strong></em> AND THEN another gift - a tiny lady gaga inspired outfit for her.</p><p>My little powder blue Labubu is attached to my bag (now my new blue bag)&#8230;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic" width="258" height="343.9409340659341" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/abb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1941,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:258,&quot;bytes&quot;:921861,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/198932443?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5kuU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fabb8776d-acb5-4207-b8bc-dcf4d366c81c_2316x3088.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I love it!  It reminds me of one of the best nights of my life, a friend who cares about me.  It also reminds me that having fun isn&#8217;t just for everyone without responsibilities&#8230; is it &#8216;on brand&#8217; - who knows but I&#8217;m here for it&#8230; </p><p>&#10024;   </p><h3>A place to hold it all </h3><p>Your inner child, teen and the parts of you who stay&#8230; </p><p>Life can get serious as you grow up.  Gosh, it can be serious when you&#8217;re younger too.</p><p>I&#8217;ve always been connected to my inner child at different ages and my inner teen.  I did some deep work with my first yoga teacher around this and found some parts that got lost along the way in place of fierce societal conditioning.  The thing is about conditioning is everyone repeats what they&#8217;ve been taught - you get to be the one cocking your heat and saying Mmmm but running FAR away from any of the B.S - thanks to my pal <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lee Griffith&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:99387129,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R78p!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5a94e470-68ab-4d90-aadc-abba15e506eb_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;07e2cf06-1730-4803-8c3c-3763674a5d0c&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> who always inspires me to have more of these convos&#8230;    </p><blockquote><p>So yes surprise - it&#8217;s easy to access&#8230; </p></blockquote><p>Wearing a fun outfit, buying myself an iced coffee and a new bag is something my inner teen would have LOVED.  </p><p>I worked two jobs as a teenager so I did have money but I don&#8217;t remember feeling carefree around spending it EVER.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>  Sure the sum total was &#163;23 (this time) but the sentiment is the same.   My teenage boyfriend had a full time job so gifts were always things I loved but never would have bought myself (remember the Paul Frank Brushed Cotton PJS circa 2000 - had a pair!)  </p><p>Later in life, I made some choices to feel into what it would be like to re-enchant a new version of myself&#8230; when I bought a designer bag (by Vivienne Westwood) for &#163;600 in my 30s  I remember the feelings so well.  </p><p>It wasn&#8217;t like I was going to start buying designer bags as markers of success (although no judgement if you love them).</p><p>It was a particular moment in my career I felt proud of and wanted to mark.  </p><p>I remember, I wanted the cashier to be more excited about my investment but it was just a normal day for her - I remember she was quite edgy and cool.  I wondered how much discount she got for her outfits.  I used to get 50% when I worked in retail.  I don&#8217;t have any of the things I bought back then.  </p><p>This is the main thing that stops me impulse spending; you learn that you only love the things you love. </p><blockquote><p>I was also curious about keeping it to pass onto my future kids - I like legacy pieces&#8230; it&#8217;s the storyteller in me.</p></blockquote><p>I didn&#8217;t save the bag for best.  </p><p>I took it to work every day.    </p><p>I popped it in the front basket of my white and orange bike and rode along the Quayside to a tall office block where I worked on the 9th Floor.  </p><p>I dumped it on desks, floors, kitchen tables, hooks.  Then I stopped using it.  </p><p>I got it out again last month and took it a few places with me.  It felt great!      </p><h3><strong>&#127897;&#65039; Karaoke and songs for the soul </strong></h3><p>I went out for a friend&#8217;s birthday.  I was struggling with crippling anxiety and bringing myself back to centre again and again throughout the day.  I could have cancelled of course but I wanted to push myself.  To be around celebrating people - bank holiday heat waves and the excitement of a long weekend.</p><p>The karaoke was ABSOLUTELY EPIC&#8230; I wasn&#8217;t drinking alcohol but we were up dancing and being impulsive backing dancers from song 3!  </p><p>And it turns out my friend has an epic singing voice (and so did most people in the pub.)  I was like <em><strong>how</strong></em> did that voice come out, where did it come from&#8230; </p><p>&#8230;it made me realise you don&#8217;t really hear people sing very often&#8230;</p><p>There&#8217;s a lot of miming on IG reels, funny dancing, there&#8217;s a lot of singing to ourselves in the car, in the shower but then get a few drinks into a bank holiday crowd and the bar is reduced to either tears of emotion with a big balad or sheer delight and dance.  </p><p>The surprise really does unite us all. </p><p>I wonder if you&#8217;ve had nice surprises in your life recently?  This month&#8217;s gratitude thread is open to all and it&#8217;s all about suprise and delight.</p><p>I can&#8217;t wait to hear from you in the comments below...</p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><p>P.S - here are two of the epic songs from the karaoke night&#8230; </p><iframe class="spotify-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;image&quot;:&quot;https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2731c556467ce89b409618bea9f&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Foundations&quot;,&quot;subtitle&quot;:&quot;Kate Nash&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.spotify.com/track/6lUk96KJPMHWdhEy6rmwxt&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;noScroll&quot;:false}" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6lUk96KJPMHWdhEy6rmwxt" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen="true" allow="encrypted-media" loading="lazy" data-component-name="Spotify2ToDOM"></iframe><iframe class="spotify-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;image&quot;:&quot;https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2733a9ad390e0635b43ff01d250&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Come Undone&quot;,&quot;subtitle&quot;:&quot;Robbie Williams&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.spotify.com/track/6mZCiuIXcA12syIS23Dyxa&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;noScroll&quot;:false}" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6mZCiuIXcA12syIS23Dyxa" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen="true" allow="encrypted-media" loading="lazy" data-component-name="Spotify2ToDOM"></iframe><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>The money work is the work - money holds such a lot of power and status in our capitalist society.  <a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/17743/diVNyJhq">Here&#8217;s the first course I took in 2020 </a>and <a href="https://www.denisedt.com/quiz">here&#8217;s the framework I use in my work. </a></p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[❤️‍🔥 The Human Heart doesn’t need AI ]]></title><description><![CDATA[but here&#8217;s why our consciousness craves it. &#43612;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-human-heart-doesnt-need-ai</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-human-heart-doesnt-need-ai</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 06:54:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="pullquote"><p>&#8220;The AI revolution has begun, and I need to learn as much as I possibly can and share it with all of you.  To be clear, no one is paying me to talk about this. I&#8217;m just a curious human. It&#8217;s so, so important that women are involved&#8230;and you can be sad and lament it all you want, but the change is here.&#8221;</p><p><em>Multi millionaire founder <strong>Reece Witherspoon</strong> speaking on the topic of AI across IG, glamour magazine &amp; Fox News </em></p></div><p></p><p>Loves, </p><p>In less than three years, more than 1.2 billion people have used artificial intelligence (AI tools), a rate of adoption faster than the internet, the personal computer, or even the smartphone.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> I&#8217;ve been reflecting a lot on it, my own use of it inside my business and how it&#8217;s freed up time in my life and supported my relationships.  </p><p>The shift of humans using ai (especially personalised chat bots) for support in their work (and life) is tangible.  Should we spend our energy being worried? </p><p>No - I actually think we should spend it <em><strong>being savvy about how to protect and stabilise our creative businesses with us at the heart as the biggest asset.  </strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2>So you want to use ai?  (It&#8217;s a great time to be an ai teacher!) </h2><p>Unless you&#8217;re a straight A student&#8230;</p><p>Hands up if you are?</p><p>You&#8217;ll be like me, never feeling quite &#8216;good enough&#8217;, waiting to be chosen.  Always on a quest to learn more, to know more, to seek more, to self improve, to create systems that help in both your work and life.   </p><p>My mother in law used to say to my husband; </p><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;There&#8217;s a want in you lad.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote><p>It&#8217;s normal to seek to understand, to feel accomplished, to look for the peaceful stillness after the work is done.  Human curiosity is part of the plan.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.alicemastersart.com/autumnschorusprint" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png" width="546" height="498.1864406779661" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1292,&quot;width&quot;:1416,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:546,&quot;bytes&quot;:2477266,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.alicemastersart.com/autumnschorusprint&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/196816890?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kUgu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbe89b8a-9665-4b22-8cc3-ae117dcec163_1416x1292.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">&#8216;The Garden&#8217;  - Disco Ball Paintings by Alice Masters </figcaption></figure></div><p>&#10024;</p><h2>BTS - When you&#8217;re a mother and a business owner, the work is never &#8216;done&#8217;.  </h2><blockquote><p><em>I want to get the grease stains out of my daughter&#8217;s school uniform and make it pristine white again, my son&#8217;s grown out of his football boots.  I want to go on a writing retreat with a friend but I need a minute to look at train tickets and times.  Spring is here, summer soon and I&#8217;d love to grow seeds but I&#8217;m afraid I won&#8217;t be able to look after yet another thing.  I&#8217;ll plant the tubers instead - 80% success rate.  I want to overhaul my website it&#8217;s embarrassing - that&#8217;s too big a job I can&#8217;t and I don&#8217;t have the capacity to work with anyone who will ask me questions about it&#8230; I should be working on my book, the deadline is fast approaching. </em></p></blockquote><p>&#127795;</p><h2><strong>AI Sycophancy and the echo chamber of narcissistic mirrors</strong></h2><p>I was talking to a friend who is a life coach the other day on voice notes and we were reflecting on how <em><strong>quickly the ai trust shift </strong></em>has taken hold.  </p><p>We&#8217;re in a position where it&#8217;s unsaid but we KNOW our clients often prefer ai chat bots to human coaching.  People have replaced google search with ChatGPT searches and then go to google to sense check.  Google know this and are running to catch up.</p><p>As consultants, mentors and coaches, we hold up a mirror and there&#8217;s no closed loop to an uncomfortable feeling - with world events right now, we don&#8217;t have enough breathing space to be uncomfortable that&#8217;s the issue.  Our entire nervous systems are running on red alert and have been for some time!<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a>  </p><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8fcb2e73-576d-477f-9f5f-153d9152d423_3276x4096.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5097555a-e4e7-4f86-ae45-0e5c11c8c6f8_610x492.png&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a5008ee8-98e0-43c7-aaaa-246dabdd29a4_734x1214.png&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Handwriting is my favourite, coming back to IG after a digital detox - red alert hearts, stuff to do or noise -you decide - mirror ball art I found on IG.  (Linked) &quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus - Substack Educator &quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/33de38e4-b3fe-4a67-bbea-190028aea6f8_1456x474.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div><p>Maybe it&#8217;s not <strong>all</strong> ai, because we&#8217;re on the edge of a global economic downturn.  (I certainly felt the weight of paying over &#163;1000 for oil and &#163;700 to have our boiler fixed this month.). </p><p>Yet I still booked and paid for an INCREDIBLE coaching session with <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Tamu Thomas&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:45063937,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b9149fdb-45d6-4e3c-b9c4-6cd697b12d7f_1166x1168.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;6aee9eea-e2db-4a64-81c8-bacadd6c3af0&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> - the cost of living didn&#8217;t stop me moving my career forward.  </p><p>I didn&#8217;t book her group programme though which was around the same cost I paid out for our home to be warm. But it wasn&#8217;t the cost it was because I have my own group programmes with people I called in and adore.  As an introvert I have to mind my &#8216;performance&#8217; energy.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a> </p><p><strong>Don&#8217;t believe the hype&#8230; or maybe believe the hype but stay humble?  Do we all just want to be seen and praised? </strong></p><p>Human communication can be messy, uncomfortable - AI is trained to agree with you and not push back.  If chat bots endlessly agree with you and inflate your ego, soothe your nervous systems through slick conclusions it&#8217;s tempting to stay there - there&#8217;s no off switch and you start to believe and embody everything ChatGPT tells you - I&#8217;ve seen it.  </p><p>Or maybe they are just overwhelmed and will circle back&#8230; one thing&#8217;s for sure though things have changed at human fingertips and FAST!  </p><h3><strong>&#128079;&#127995; AI and the impact on hands and hearts at work.</strong></h3><p>Our heating engineer hasn&#8217;t had a day off (including weekends) since Christmas.  He&#8217;s worked 133 days in a row.  He felt proud showing me his online calendar&#8230; I&#8217;m glad I didn&#8217;t reference retirement as I later found out he&#8217;s the same age as me!</p><p>My web designer friend&#8217;s work has tailed off - she tells me she finds it strange - we wonder if Claude&#8217;s producing the web pages now. </p><p>For the last two years, I&#8217;ve been booked out with 1-2-1s - this year just 3 or 4 bookings so far. My membership was growing at a rapid pace, now members trickle in.  I&#8217;m not worried - my business is robust, but I&#8217;m tired of performing for a world that is internally itchy for people who won&#8217;t stay still&#8230;</p><p>Are we all standing on a podium over exposed hoping someone will give us 7 seconds minutes of their time&#8230;.? <a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-4" href="#footnote-4" target="_self">4</a></p><p>I didn&#8217;t get worse at my job, AI got better, way better and then maybe we all got way more insatiable in the quest to be soothed.  </p><p>I know my work is good, great actually. I know I offer a perspective and lens no one else can. </p><p>So what&#8217;s really going on with business?  </p><p><strong>Here&#8217;s what I think and I&#8217;d love your take on it too&#8230; </strong></p><ol><li><p>General overwhelm/ nervous system overwhelm</p></li><li><p>Full trust/ outsourcing/ preference with ai bots </p></li><li><p>More people doing a similar things (I did pretty much have most of the monopoly on Substack Education for a while back in 2023/24) and my business BLEW up because of my ability to hold it all. </p></li><li><p>SEO has changed (and I made some MASSIVE tech mistakes with this when I set up meaning all of my product pages have not been showing up in searches)</p></li><li><p>Lots of people are at <em><strong>online consumption capacity </strong></em>and cannot take in any more info.  We&#8217;re buying up Bricks, looking at balance phones or choosing to watch funny ai generated cats or dogs whilst scrolling past your sincere business content that took you an hour to create.  (Sorry). </p></li></ol><p>What about Art?  Paul Black at <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;The Bright Agency&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:433597749,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Mppg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd13b280-5329-417b-b70e-8c53c18d54dd_1080x1080.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;194a478c-ecff-49a4-835d-179d7d516b43&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> and I discussed art generation through a lens of ai on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEWw1jYPGeQ&amp;t=8s">this podcast.  </a></p><h3>Human Creativity Cannot and Will Not Die but&#8230;. </h3><h4>&#128150; Here are some of the difficult things I&#8217;ve had to process as a space holder for human centric creativity&#8230;</h4><p>Real people in my work told me&#8230;</p><ol><li><p><em>&#8220;I gave this to ChatGPT and asked it to make me sound more like </em><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Emma Gannon&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1347124,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/49603278-05c1-42c3-a894-058aa15e3f2b_1290x1292.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;04b1155e-9cdd-4d9f-bb8b-3a0b2d357d61&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span><em>. She gets great engagement and it worked - I also have great engagement now.&#8221;</em></p></li><li><p><em>&#8220;ChatGPT has supported me with every area of my life from my relationship to my hormones to a whole new business launch plan - it knows me so inside out.&#8221;</em></p></li><li><p><em>&#8220;I have a project for every area of my life in ChatGPT - it knows everything about me.&#8221;</em></p></li><li><p><em>&#8220;I asked ChatGPT and it told me this about VAT and refunds on Substack - can you confirm it&#8217;s right?&#8221; </em>(it was wrong)</p></li><li><p><em>&#8220;I used Substack Notes to grow x million subscribers&#8221;</em> - blatantly written by a chat bot - shame on us for <strong>clicking the slop</strong> and believing (yet again) in the emperor&#8217;s new clothes! </p></li></ol><p>I felt physically sick and shocked in these conversations - there&#8217;s no judgement but if you&#8217;ve not had any of these types of chats they are coming!!  And here&#8217;s why I think it&#8217;s a GOOD thing this mess is all happening <strong>right now </strong>and we <em><strong>need</strong></em> to be part of the conversation especially as women..:<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-5" href="#footnote-5" target="_self">5</a></p><ul><li><p><strong>Humans have learnt ai quickly</strong> - it can save them time in their lives. And I should add - not all humans - in my circles the opinions are very much divided - my business owner pals all use it and rave about it publically.  My writer friends wouldn&#8217;t be seen dead typing anything into gemini, claude or Chat GPT and often write condescending notes to remind us all to go back into our shame caves with it. </p></li><li><p><strong>The opinions are varied</strong> - there&#8217;s pro ai, there&#8217;s anti ai and then there&#8217;s neurodivergent shame in the middle - we&#8217;ve named it!<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-6" href="#footnote-6" target="_self">6</a></p></li><li><p><strong>AI can never be art of &#8216;good&#8217; human writing</strong> - I don&#8217;t think that needs saying but I&#8217;ve said it. </p></li><li><p><strong>We know tech, we know online, we know communications </strong>- this is all of that sped up. </p></li><li><p><strong>Slow living is a privilege</strong> - for me my ai (Claude ai) has built capacity -  I have MORE time in my life - instead of toxic positivity working for &#8216;the man&#8217;, we have space to to slow down and have sophisticated thoughts, create with our hands, make loose leaf tea and sit and enjoy it in the garden, research financial future planning without being sold to - there&#8217;s JOY in the slowness and with analogue way more than there&#8217;s ever been?</p></li></ul><p>So in a world of self compassion and kindness&#8230; (this one) </p><p>I&#8217;m sending some to you along with this pandora&#8217;s box article. &#129299; &#127873; &#128064;</p><p>I&#8217;m also sharing my Claude ai knowledge in <a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/blog/how-i-use-claude-ai-creative-business">this blog </a>and reassuring myself and you that I&#8217;ve found AI builds more human capacity for creativity, for writing for art.</p><p>Maybe this is a capacity argument more than anything else?  </p><p>We&#8217;ve had plenty of online dopamine rich toys to play with, this is just another one of those we handle with more care?   </p><p>Where do you sit with it all?  Do you have a chat bot you&#8217;ve humanised or are you steering clear of being sucked in?  Are you curious about it and how it can help run your business or are you worried we are giving all of our power away? </p><p>I&#8217;d love to know - I&#8217;ll meet you in the comments and don&#8217;t worry I&#8217;ll always take care of your heart and your consciousness in all of the work I do. I&#8217;ll always write my own work but Claude can have all my maths and data processing work.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-7" href="#footnote-7" target="_self">7</a>  </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><em><strong>(*) The I don&#8217;t use ai argument - hidden in plain sight - ai is already running your life&#8230; </strong></em></p><p><strong>Shopping recommendations</strong> Product suggestions like Amazon&#8217;s &#8220;Customers also bought...&#8221; and the ads that follow you around after you&#8217;ve browsed something. <strong>Search results</strong> The order Google ranks pages isn&#8217;t random. AI decides what you see first, every single time. <strong>Your phone keyboard</strong> Autocomplete and predictive text are quietly learning how you write and finishing your sentences for you. <strong>Spam filters and email sorting</strong> AI reads every email before you do and decides what&#8217;s junk, what&#8217;s important, and what goes where. <strong>Streaming and social media feeds</strong> Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram. none of them show you things randomly. AI is curating everything you see and hear. <strong>Your phone camera</strong> Portrait mode, face unlock, and automatic photo enhancement all happen before you&#8217;ve touched a single editing tool. <strong>Fraud detection</strong> When your bank flags an unusual transaction, that&#8217;s AI noticing something&#8217;s off, often faster than any human could.</p><p>The common thread here is that AI tends to be invisible when it&#8217;s working well. It&#8217;s usually only when something goes wrong (a weird recommendation, a blocked transaction) that you notice it was there at all!</p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-2" href="#footnote-anchor-2" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">2</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>I&#8217;ve talked about it many a time but we don&#8217;t watch or listen to the news - you find it out though and certain people will present it to you as Gospel as if they had a powerpoint and a factual degree in it. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-3" href="#footnote-anchor-3" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">3</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>For my worldwide readers - we rely on heating oil in our little cottage which tripled in price, we ran out and our boiler broke (they don&#8217;t like running out), I then got ripped off by a local company fixing things that didn&#8217;t need fixing, found a new guy and paid &#163;660 and &#163;550 for two lots of oil that should have been around &#163;300 each. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-4" href="#footnote-anchor-4" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">4</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>The advice from IG educators is to make 7 second video reels with a strong curiosity inspired hook and an even stronger headline - if you don&#8217;t catch their attention in 1.5 seconds, you&#8217;ve lost them.  </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-5" href="#footnote-anchor-5" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">5</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a good thing the way we are manipulating AI or trying to take people&#8217;s voices or jobs - I think it&#8217;s a good thing we are being curious because it&#8217;s here anyway - you could turn your back on a bin fire or you could grab some water and some neighbours to put it out. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-6" href="#footnote-anchor-6" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">6</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Every ChatGPT conversation uses roughly the same water as a bottle of Evian and at scale, across billions of users, that&#8217;s not nothing. If you use Microsoft products, you&#8217;re connected to military AI contracts that have prompted mass employee walkouts at some of the biggest tech companies in the world. I&#8217;m not here to tell you what to do with that. But I do think conscious creatives deserve to know the backstory and do their own research.</p><p></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-7" href="#footnote-anchor-7" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">7</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>This is a safe space for nuanced thought and debate - I won&#8217;t tolerate bullying or judgement! </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Oz]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#10024; and the scroll hole.]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/oz</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/oz</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:40:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OjHU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b11aa99-b500-493f-bf3d-3944766995f8_866x692.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="callout-block" data-callout="true"><p style="text-align: center;">Members - our gratitude circle is open <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/april-presence">right here </a>if you </p><p style="text-align: center;">would like to chime in? </p></div><p>When I was a kid I was obsessed with watching <em>The Wizard of Oz.  </em></p><p>There&#8217;s never been another movie that impacted me like it.  We would create a &#8216;magic bubble&#8217; with blankets on the sofa, pop in the VHS and press play.  (I&#8217;d then discover it hadn&#8217;t been rewound so we&#8217;d do that, the VCR whirring away, wait patiently) and then settle back down. </p><p>We&#8217;d watch the whole movie from start to finish, I knew exactly what was going to happen next, what the characters were going to say.  My body braced at the scary bits. </p><p>If we try and watch a family movie now (with my 5 and 11 year old), I try and create the same aesthetic feeling - phones away, snacks ready (so no one asks during the film), dog cuddled in under a blanket.  I&#8217;ve never felt more &#8216;at home&#8217; than I do when we&#8217;re all together on the sofa.  My daughter is super high energy and I enjoy the stillness after the &#8216;work&#8217; has been done.   </p><p>My favourite scene in <em>The Wizard of Oz</em> is when Glinda first appears like a vision as Dorothy is just settling into munchkin land.  </p><p>I also loved the part when Dorothy got into the hot air balloon to go home.  There&#8217;s truly no place like home and when I younger and travelling, I would find ways to be &#8216;home&#8217;. inside my heart if I missed the feeling of it.  Especially useful on delayed planes and trains.   </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2>Like how totally magical?!  &#127880;</h2><p>Have you ever been inside a hot air balloon?  I haven&#8217;t.  </p><p>Although when I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I woke up in Italy to catch our flight home at sunrise and the sky was full of hot air balloons - it' was incredible.  One of my many <em>art imitating life moments. </em></p><p>Dorothy was a strong heroine in so many ways - a beautiful female role model for me as a kid and I&#8217;m sure helped influenced a lot of my adventures solo travelling as a young adult.  </p><p>And of course our lives and this movie are made up of many many parts - I once saw the ruby slippers on display as part of a fashion exhibition - they were beautiful and a lot smaller than I thought they&#8217;d be.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p><p>I wouldn&#8217;t say they were magical, the movie is bigger than the sum of it&#8217;s parts though - that&#8217;s the magic my love? </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3><strong>Space to dream</strong></h3><p>It occured to me whilst scrolling IG for hook ideas the other day that we are presented with an extraordinary amount of stuff from other people&#8217;s lives.  </p><p>We can curate our feeds but ultimately if we fall into a scroll hole, the algorithm remembers and shows us more of that.  It&#8217;s like falling down a rabbit hole into the witches castle when you meant to stay in munchkin land.</p><p>Actually I think it&#8217;s the vortex of spiritual warfare to forget what we&#8217;re here to do. (no judgement but we&#8217;re smarter than this - we operate on so many levels). </p><p>But here&#8217;s the thing about opposites&#8230; you can&#8217;t hold both&#8230;</p><p>This is why I love yoga nidra so much - <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lauren Barber&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:20671602,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F16069469-9ba6-4bc7-9928-3bf08dcf5ebb_1170x1170.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;86b348f7-cb78-48f4-b589-429dc36f72c6&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> is one of my favourite teachers and she has many yoga nidra meditations here.   It gives me so much insight and helps me remember&#8230;    </p><h4>Opposites teach me so much&#8230;</h4><p>&#8230; as do contrasts&#8230; </p><p>I guess once of the things I love to do as a space holder is remind you of your potential, get you truly connected to what you&#8217;re here to do.</p><p>We are all mirrors for each other&#8217;s potential&#8230;</p><p>&#8230;reflecting back the essence by noticing and being kind, saying the things we feel and think - helping each other come back to centre.</p><p>If you are feeling a little untethered and missed our visioning session at the start of the year, it&#8217;s below&#8230;you can use it for the start of your <em><strong>new chapter this Spring/ Summer?  </strong></em></p><p>I can&#8217;t wait to tell you more about what has come to fruition through the intention setting work I did in this class - maybe next week?  </p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;0e70e2dd-a5b7-4c93-862a-5824e46f8d3d&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;lg&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;REPLAY - Visual Journaling and Visioning into 2026... &quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8406699,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Building here with you since '22. Authors, creatives, founders-come share your voice, find your readers &amp; make Substack work JOYFULLY inside your business. Substack strategist with 25+ years audience dev. experience. Masterclass in welcome email. &#128171;&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BI28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc17c79e6-284d-49c8-a5dd-7310133a4080_481x481.jpeg&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-26T07:23:56.390Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/a8-zXfTY6r8&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-visual-journaling-and-visioning&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:185814917,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:5,&quot;comment_count&quot;:2,&quot;publication_id&quot;:842217,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus&quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qp-s!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2be6faba-3499-47b2-9ba9-a37213b2d70e_480x480.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><p>I also wanted to share another workshop on storytelling and our origin story which prompted this post and me telling you about my passionate obsession with all things OZ.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a>  </p><p>It&#8217;s called <em>&#8216;Your Origin Story is your Superpower&#8217; </em>and it was delivered by <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Tomkins&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:91739830,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4758becc-e5fe-447e-a4bb-dbd9372a9efc_1047x1047.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;41551d79-edbc-4243-9d78-547b0c5d2e32&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for my members yesterday</p><p>You can watch it below if you&#8217;d like - I think you&#8217;ll adore the writing prompts and unlocking new parts of YOUR story.</p><p>With love for the next chapter of our story and huge thanks to my friend <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Hannah Harvey&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:253888798,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BIis!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7aa9ca7-8983-43af-af4d-708d3f6d1b04_2316x2316.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;df638e54-66ed-4e45-a34f-5925616f066e&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> who inspired this post.  </p><p>Let&#8217;s lean into whatever helps us remember our unique magic!? </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><p><a href="https://emojis.wiki/tornado/">&#127786;&#65039;</a> <a href="https://emojis.wiki/rainbow/">&#127752;</a> &#128054; <a href="https://emojis.wiki/man-mage/">&#129497;&#8205;&#9794;&#65039;</a> <a href="https://emojis.wiki/high-heeled-shoe/">&#128096;</a> <a href="https://emojis.wiki/house/">&#127968;</a> <a href="https://emojis.wiki/lion/">&#129409;</a> &#128171;</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[💬 April Presence ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Use this thread to notice the things in your life have made you feel grateful over the past couple of months...]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/april-presence</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/april-presence</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:34:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CcEJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2791ec6c-a7ba-4366-b5a1-88871fcc9b88_1074x1384.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="pullquote"><p>&#8220;Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.&#8221; - Melody Beattie</p></div><p>Hi loves,</p><p>As you know I&#8217;ve added in a monthly participatory element to my community here for 2026 which is around the themes of<em><strong><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/abundance-and-gratitude"> gratitude and abundance.</a></strong></em></p><blockquote><p>I&#8217;ve had this practise since I started my company and it&#8217;s been so beautiful to lean into bo&#8230;</p></blockquote>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Well I won't do that again... ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Reflections on Chapter One (Jan, Feb, March) of 2026]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/well-i-wont-do-that-again</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/well-i-wont-do-that-again</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:02:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8d0a48b9-9b3e-4b47-98dd-9b5a423fd284_1238x1416.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi Folks,</p><p>Happy Friday!</p><p>As you probably know I share more about the behind the scenes of my creative online business as part of my <em><strong><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/self-seeded-business">Self Seed your Business and Grow</a></strong></em> section here.  I&#8217;ve built quite the archive.  One of the mottos I work and live by is to <em>&#8216;create the things you wish existed&#8217; </em></p><p>When I was trying to build a business away from freelance work (in 2017), I couldn&#8217;t find anything like this.  Sure there was the odd female founder who would speak about a &#163;10k launch but there was no nuts and bolts of &#8216;the how&#8217;, the behind the scenes, the hard bits.  I felt like I was learning through frosted glass.    </p><p>I&#8217;ve been self employed since 2008, started my company in 2017 (when my husband bought me the domain name), started an IG account at the same time&#8230;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg" width="390" height="390" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1456,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:390,&quot;bytes&quot;:1868277,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/193326148?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3UXi!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8d18883-da16-4981-8fd0-dcc82a259af0_3024x3024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The first time I wrote my company name on a Notebook</figcaption></figure></div><p>Oh and actually started making things happen in it as a business in 2020!  </p><p>The timeline between 2020 to now was fast, multilayered and magical.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg" width="560" height="557.3076923076923" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAXA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c699b5d-da48-48fd-aef4-9a35a6c69998_3035x3021.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Self seeded wildflowers doing their thing. </figcaption></figure></div><p>And so here we are&#8230; I like the concept of <em>self seeding our business </em>because every action we take impacts.  Even if you can&#8217;t see what&#8217;s going on below the surface;</p><ul><li><p>the way we feel about ourselves inside business (the soil) </p></li><li><p>the way we feel about doing business (the seeds/ growth) </p></li><li><p>the way we understand our online audience/ customers who support our business (the weather) </p></li></ul><p>I&#8217;ve written on visibility, growth, money and self development (for paid subs) as it&#8217;s more personal (behind the paywall).  </p><p>In a nutshell, January felt kinda slow but was my biggest income month this quarter, Feb was a bit of an &#8216;in between month&#8217; and March was MAD for visibility. </p><p>Here&#8217;s the breakdown of how it all panned out. </p><p>I&#8217;m an open book so do ask questions if you have any - it also makes me feel less weird about writing this stuff online. &#129392;</p><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3d788f4c-c962-4fd9-a853-bda8fe6381e6_480x600.png&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bbb945a2-de48-44d5-ba2e-321ea09a9822_1080x1080.png&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Cike!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b6b2eb0-e558-4918-b854-0a088329fb9e_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3a6c464c-a25f-4e6f-adfc-f4f027cd7263_3024x4032.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780ff225-1ba0-4d6b-a5ad-771866865687_1440x1914.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/aa2ee5a8-276e-4804-ba3f-d7f0688791a7_3024x4032.heic&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Recently in life and biz... &quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/88261b7a-4b05-4069-8541-4e3803d334b7_1456x964.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div><h4><strong>January - April 2026.</strong></h4><p><strong>Visibility</strong></p><p>I&#8217;ve consciously diversified my online visibility away from Substack and into other spaces.  I did this for three reasons&#8230;</p><ul><li><p>because I wasn&#8217;t seeing the results I wanted on Substack</p></li><li><p>I didn&#8217;t want to exhaust my audience </p></li><li><p>I wanted to test my funnel for beginners and the impact. </p></li></ul><p>I was ready to get back out there into other spaces where I feel more awkward (hello linkedin and trial reels) and alchemise the experience. </p><ul><li><p>I was photographed with my family for <em>The Sunday Times. </em> The headline made me feel SO over exposed but I&#8217;m doing it as a practise and nervous system exercise ahead of promoting my book next year.  I didn&#8217;t read the online comments. </p></li><li><p>I was also in the ipaper talking about being a beta mum (i.e not an alpha &#8216;pinterest mum&#8217; )- although I do still love crafts lol.</p></li><li><p>Both of these opportunities came from <em><strong><a href="http://hannahfearn.journalist@gmail.com">this facebook group. </a></strong></em></p></li><li><p>I&#8217;ve been chatting to someone who&#8217;s podcast I love on IG and she bought my Substack book and tagged me - over 50 followers arrived overnight thanks to her tag - it&#8217;s so beautiful to see reciprocity in action - I&#8217;m a huge fan!  I think you can start to feel like the online space is a bit clique with everyone either obsessed with their own ego, what best serves them or how they want to be seen so it&#8217;s always a delight when people play by different rules.  </p></li><li><p>I was on two of my DREAM podcasts.  I pitched for both of them.  You can listen <strong><a href="https://leoniedawson.com/which-courses-will-be-impacted-by-ai/">here</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://myanichol.com/2026/03/18/join-substack-in-2026/">here</a></strong><a href="https://myanichol.com/2026/03/18/join-substack-in-2026/">. </a><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Mya Nichol&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:112297702,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/53280400-e5d9-4f14-8ba8-61beaddab3e9_680x678.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;4a40b3df-edc5-43e4-b873-ec0d38eef1eb&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> has nearly 300k instagram followers and she added a tag to my account so it was great to see the impact of that and how many people commented using the <a href="https://sparkleon.substack.com/p/using-instagram-you-need-this-tool">many chat function </a>for the link (100+)!  </p></li></ul><p><strong>Growth</strong></p><p>January saw the launch of my brand new live programme Audience Alchemy which was WONDERFUL.  I also co-hosted a month long challenge around joyful growth on Substack. </p><ul><li><p>The main growth (in audience numbers for my email list) came via two challenges, a summit I took part in and through my instagram network.  My IG was up over 300 followers which is alot for me with many checking out my free class and getting onto my list.  I also had LOVELY chats in the dms with great fit clients, some of who signed with me or booked me for their pods/ communities.     </p></li><li><p>I also worked on trial reels and got my views up from 40k a month to 250k a month which felt like a fun way to get infront of new audiences - it feels like a slot machine over there so I play in fits and starts.</p></li><li><p>Because I promote freebies (free classes) a lot on Substack Notes, I noticed people would sign up without liking the post&#8230; the format for best success on clicks on external links is; storytelling, social proof, link in the comments below. </p></li><li><p>I&#8217;ve also noticed people are trending towards being less generous on Substack Notes and way more self promotional.  Cultures change and shift all the time but I think this is more of a collective nervous system (a fight for survival)?  I actually find endless self promo posts quite boring but maybe that&#8217;s something I need to understand more of because it must work lol?  </p></li><li><p>In terms of customers - people seem more cautious to invest and buy at the moment - the price and promises impact but testimonials and case studies plus people building trust is the alchemy we all need.  Video builds trust faster than anything else&#8230;low ticket is easier than higher&#8230; <a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>   </p></li><li><p>I also held a fair few sessions for <strong><a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/12-chapters-club">my free 12 Chapters (writing) Club </a></strong>which has over 500 sign ups this year (I promoted this heavily in between Christmas and the first week of Jan) </p></li></ul><p><strong>Top takeaway </strong>- they might not remember your name but people don&#8217;t forget how you made them feel. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><strong>Income, Money and Self Development </strong></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[I built a 'successful' personal brand in plain sight but I somedays I just want my old friends to 'like' me... ]]></title><description><![CDATA[On our deep need to be 'liked' and understood.]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-built-a-successful-personal-brand</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-built-a-successful-personal-brand</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:14:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi folks,</p><p>It&#8217;s a bit of a personal one today.   But first, some science&#8230; </p><blockquote><p><strong>Needing to be liked is wired into our survival system</strong><br>Humans evolved in groups. Being accepted meant safety, food, and protection. Rejection, historically, could mean danger and our brain still carries that wiring today.</p><p><strong>Your brain rewards social approval</strong><br>When someone likes, praises, or accepts you, your brain releases chemicals like <strong>dopamine</strong> (reward) and <strong>oxytocin</strong> (connection).<br>It literally <em>feels good</em> to be liked because your brain treats it as a win.</p><p><strong>Rejection activates pain centres</strong><br>Studies show social rejection lights up similar brain areas as physical pain.<br>That&#8217;s why being ignored, criticised, or excluded can feel <em>viscerally uncomfortable</em>, not just &#8220;in your head.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Belonging is a core psychological need</strong><br>In psychology (especially attachment theory), humans have a deep need for connection and belonging just like food, rest, and safety.</p></blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 1272w, 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eSHV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59d1b0fb-c37d-412a-8ee4-81ac4493b0ed_680x182.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 848w, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:2196,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:302,&quot;bytes&quot;:445117,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/192383389?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0oyy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65211a35-84d6-4eb3-839e-375ea77b7183_2045x3085.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>A few years back I taught a class called <strong>&#8216;The Reframe&#8217; </strong>which was about stepping into holding yourself in a new frame to do the work you&#8217;re called to do online.  I talked about some of the hard things that had happened online and where they landed in me back then - I knew more was coming but I held myself and a group of women in it anyway. </p><p>You might have read this sentiment before; </p><blockquote><p>What strangers think of you online is none of your business. </p></blockquote><p>I&#8217;ve made the Reframe class free for <a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/the-reframe-creating-a-hologram-of-yourself-to-meet-your-work-online?coupon=NEWME">everyone here</a> as I&#8217;m going to teach an updated one soon. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/emma_giacalone_textiles/" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png" width="372" height="487.3926247288503" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1208,&quot;width&quot;:922,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:372,&quot;bytes&quot;:1650040,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.instagram.com/emma_giacalone_textiles/&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/192383389?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tc5V!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F119ba5c6-152e-4be4-9c93-c9ab7e6d2eec_922x1208.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The biggest compliment I&#8217;ve had from people I met online who are now friends is;</p><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Wow, you&#8217;re exactly the same in person.&#8221; </em></p></blockquote><p>Because apparently not everyone is.</p><p>But here&#8217;s the other thing&#8230;</p><p>This evolved version of me has outgrown friendships, had deeply unsettling experiences.  One in particular still makes me shudder when someone I considered a friend close by stalked my socials and then shouted at me in on my own street.  I&#8217;ve had friends follow, unfollow and re-follow me on instagram. </p><p>I get it - I feel like I get whiplash myself from trying to understand incongruent or peacock-ish behavior online but we all need to do what helps us feel safe&#8230; but we must always be kind.  </p><p>This week I was in the ipaper, talking about being a Beta Mum (rather than an Alpha) and a lovely mum from school who I don&#8217;t know very well send me a lovely text - how thoughtful is that&#8230; we had a nice chat after. </p><h4><strong>Judgment Detox </strong></h4><p>I&#8217;ve listened while friends have slated someone they&#8217;ve never met because of them being &#8216;too much&#8217; or posing with their kids or taking up too much space online.  Not being a horrible person or a sleazy pyramid scales or NLP charlaton just shining their light. </p><p><strong>Not everyone presses the like button</strong></p><p>I&#8217;ve posted to social media and whilst on there seen my own friends &#8216;like&#8217; other friends posts - friends they met through me thought - Oh god they never like mine, should I text them, ask how they are, apologise for my muchness?     </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png" width="410" height="416.4263322884012" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:648,&quot;width&quot;:638,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:410,&quot;bytes&quot;:76777,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/192383389?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rrvH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72fc4f7e-03b3-434d-8ce8-e4426ca9180e_638x648.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I&#8217;ve chatted with colleagues with big online profiles and understand their personal brand.  We&#8217;ve talked about the vulnerability of what works and what doesn&#8217;t&#8230; staying congruent and authentic.</p><blockquote><p>Take up space, but not too much, be vulnerable&#8230; but not like that.  </p></blockquote><p>Share but process it first, be relatable, be human, capture attention, curiosity, move into the frame but make sure you do it within the first 1.5 seconds&#8230;.   </p><p>Sometimes I worry I&#8217;m not relatable at all, that it was easier when I had less eyes on what I&#8217;m doing - then a testimonial drops and someone tells me I&#8217;m full of grace and they have learnt so much from me.  </p><p>I don&#8217;t want to &#8216;harden&#8217; myself but I have learnt to move through the triggers more quickly because being triggers keep me small and stop me showing up&#8230; </p><p>I&#8217;ve talked in depth about where rejection lands in the past and even published a whole anthology about it, it&#8217;s a tricky topic but healing is possible. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png" width="1200" height="300" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:300,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:65816,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/192383389?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDJX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7c2f0b94-1567-4d52-86cb-67e66ed0cba4_1200x300.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Completing the vision - adding to my press line up after being featured in two papers last week! </figcaption></figure></div><p>&#128171;</p><h4><strong>How about you?  </strong></h4><p><strong>Have you started to find it easier to show up online, to share your beautiful work? </strong></p><p>Here&#8217;s what my colleagues had to say on the topic of being perceived and seen&#8230;</p><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:234203800,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:234203800,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-27T16:36:37.119Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;I think the hardest thing to accept is the fact that not everyone will like you. In fact some people will downright hate you - and to make peace with that. \n\nWhat other people think of you is their business, not yours.&quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I think the hardest thing to accept is the fact that not everyone will like you. In fact some people will downright hate you - and to make peace with that. &quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;What other people think of you is their business, not yours.&quot;}]}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:0,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:2,&quot;attachments&quot;:[],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Louise Tilbrook&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:6042223,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd29749d-5fd6-480c-924b-bdac3dc05985_640x640.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:100,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:100,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:10,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:{&quot;ranking&quot;:&quot;paid&quot;,&quot;rank&quot;:71,&quot;publicationName&quot;:&quot;Everyday Knitter&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Art &amp; Illustration&quot;,&quot;categoryId&quot;:&quot;15417&quot;,&quot;publicationId&quot;:436865},&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bestseller&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:100},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[1903258,2768005,1557332,245598,1827884,2139984,1635715,2328962,440539,1086949,1141428,919560,842217,1376077],&quot;subscriber&quot;:{&quot;publicationId&quot;:1827884,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Paid subscriber&quot;}}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:234067108,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:234067108,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-27T11:52:41.090Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;I started in the late 90s with a blog for About.com. Since then I've kept it up at one location or another. I do it because I am compelled to write and to share with others my discoveries in living. Maybe it's the way a mother hopes to share with a child. I didn't become a mother so instead I write to all of you as though you were my children. And still somehow I feel I have to prove my right to do it, to show my expertise before I can speak. I'm old enough now to know there is no expertise in living, but we still need the support of those brave enough to share their way through. And I need readers for the same reason.&quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I started in the late 90s with a blog for &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;About.com&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://about.com&quot;}}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;. Since then I've kept it up at one location or another. I do it because I am compelled to write and to share with others my discoveries in living. Maybe it's the way a mother hopes to share with a child. I didn't become a mother so instead I write to all of you as though you were my children. And still somehow I feel I have to prove my right to do it, to show my expertise before I can speak. I'm old enough now to know there is no expertise in living, but we still need the support of those brave enough to share their way through. And I need readers for the same reason.&quot;}]}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:0,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:3,&quot;attachments&quot;:[],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Trevy Thomas&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:15668944,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sXtu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd7167ac-fd10-441d-9b79-49928c29b6c2_1309x3024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:null,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:5,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;subscriber&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:5,&quot;accent_colors&quot;:null},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[1376077,1223483,1648974,3078900,1887091,20533],&quot;subscriber&quot;:null}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:234237393,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:234237393,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-27T17:42:31.139Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;I think a good reframe for me was to realise that I don&#8217;t like everyone, I read strangers social media or articles or whatever and internally judge them and have negative opinions about them. But me not liking them or judging them isn&#8217;t harming them and so others doing this doesn&#8217;t harm me. I have never chased visibility really or tried to create a huge audience as it&#8217;s not what I want. I want to be known and understood and hopefully liked by the right kind of people and that&#8217;s enough. &quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I think a good reframe for me was to realise that I don&#8217;t like everyone, I read strangers social media or articles or whatever and internally judge them and have negative opinions about them. But me not liking them or judging them isn&#8217;t harming them and so others doing this doesn&#8217;t harm me. I have never chased visibility really or tried to create a huge audience as it&#8217;s not what I want. I want to be known and understood and hopefully liked by the right kind of people and that&#8217;s enough. &quot;}]}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:0,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:2,&quot;attachments&quot;:[],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sarah Raad&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:96142548,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe52fa743-3f8b-4e04-b26c-04f55d49daf7_823x675.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:null,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:1,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;subscriber&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:1,&quot;accent_colors&quot;:null},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[779708,842217,643527],&quot;subscriber&quot;:{&quot;publicationId&quot;:842217,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Paid subscriber&quot;}}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:234289536,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:234289536,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-27T19:31:00.897Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;I just think it&#8217;s so unsettling to be online because as humans, we seek to be understood fully, and our online presence can never be that. In a way, by trying to build or grow any public presence online or off, we are working toward a goal we will never achieve. \n\nWe think we have control over what people will think of us - what we write or say or our appearance or our actual voice - but the truth is that other people&#8217;s perceptions of us do not belong to us.\n\nI&#8217;ve written and appeared online since around 2013; not much in comparison with some but far too much in comparison with others. \n\nI do it only because I feel I have something to say that people want to hear, and it gets hard to do that in times when there&#8217;s not much personal validation. I know that I can only show up online if certain conditions are met in my head and my heart, in the moment and in the context of my whole life. I just try to honor that as best I can. &quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I just think it&#8217;s so unsettling to be online because as humans, we seek to be understood fully, and our online presence can never be that. In a way, by trying to build or grow any public presence online or off, we are working toward a goal we will never achieve. &quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We think we have control over what people will think of us - what we write or say or our appearance or our actual voice - but the truth is that other people&#8217;s perceptions of us do not belong to us.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I&#8217;ve written and appeared online since around 2013; not much in comparison with some but far too much in comparison with others. &quot;}]},{&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I do it only because I feel I have something to say that people want to hear, and it gets hard to do that in times when there&#8217;s not much personal validation. I know that I can only show up online if certain conditions are met in my head and my heart, in the moment and in the context of my whole life. I just try to honor that as best I can. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;}],&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;}],&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;}},&quot;restacks&quot;:0,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:1,&quot;attachments&quot;:[],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Christine Staricka&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:40070489,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbb5eeef8-194c-43ff-bc68-d7f0c2e2479f_349x681.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:null,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:5,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;subscriber&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:5,&quot;accent_colors&quot;:null},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[1762231,5691124,583036,1444411,1827884,4621556,1716094,1634946],&quot;subscriber&quot;:{&quot;publicationId&quot;:1827884,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Paid subscriber&quot;}}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:234121049,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:234121049,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-27T13:57:44.277Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:null,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;I started on instagram around 2014 when it was just sharing pictures of pretty things. I shared pics of what I was growing in my garden as I recovered from burnout as a way to prove to myself that I wasn&#8217;t completely shit at everything. Redundancy twice, workplace bullying and doing 3 people&#8217;s jobs will do that to you. It progressed into selling jewellery and sharing my story about how the community of women I&#8217;d found at the jewellery company helped me find a bit of myself again. And then in 2015 it pivoted back to the garden and how I could help other women find small moments of calm in and around life&#8217;s pressures and responsibility. Instagram has always felt a bit soulless and cliquey to me (especially the gardening community). Since then I&#8217;ve moved my long form home to Substack in an attempt to deepen my connection with my audience and enable us to really get to know each other and have the deep and meaningful chats that are missing on IG. My neurodivergent mind just wants to know everything about people and I&#8217;m a pretty open book once I feel comfortable which Substack enables me to do. I&#8217;m still working on making my nervous system feel safe when I get a shitty comment from someone but my RSD is so much better than it has been historically.&quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;I started on instagram around 2014 when it was just sharing pictures of pretty things. I shared pics of what I was growing in my garden as I recovered from burnout as a way to prove to myself that I wasn&#8217;t completely shit at everything. Redundancy twice, workplace bullying and doing 3 people&#8217;s jobs will do that to you. It progressed into selling jewellery and sharing my story about how the community of women I&#8217;d found at the jewellery company helped me find a bit of myself again. And then in 2015 it pivoted back to the garden and how I could help other women find small moments of calm in and around life&#8217;s pressures and responsibility. Instagram has always felt a bit soulless and cliquey to me (especially the gardening community). Since then I&#8217;ve moved my long form home to Substack in an attempt to deepen my connection with my audience and enable us to really get to know each other and have the deep and meaningful chats that are missing on IG. My neurodivergent mind just wants to know everything about people and I&#8217;m a pretty open book once I feel comfortable which Substack enables me to do. I&#8217;m still working on making my nervous system feel safe when I get a shitty comment from someone but my RSD is so much better than it has been historically.&quot;}],&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:0,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:1,&quot;attachments&quot;:[],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Kendall Marie Platt &#127793;&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:12492228,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ef5debb9-0ef3-4b82-a6b4-921348b20685_1365x1365.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:null,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:1,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;subscriber&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:1,&quot;accent_colors&quot;:null},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[779708,1827884],&quot;subscriber&quot;:{&quot;publicationId&quot;:1827884,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Paid subscriber&quot;}}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><h4><strong>Light, Dark, People pleasing and Blind Spots</strong></h4><p>I don&#8217;t have all the answers but I know my work isn&#8217;t supposed to make others shrink or feel bad, quite the opposite actually.  </p><p>How do we keep doing the work to support a generation of women who feels safe to be seen, misunderstood and judged as we burn the scraps left over from internalised patriarchy and rise HIGH from those damaging ashes?</p><p>If my presence online makes people (especially those who knew me before) uncomfortable, I can be sad about that (and often am)</p><p>&#8230;but then it&#8217;s time to move on, stand tall and continue doing what I came here to do because it&#8217;s worthwhile and I&#8217;m super proud of running the business I run.</p><p>As we head into Quarter Two, I have some new plans for visibility I&#8217;m excited to try - I&#8217;ll share them with you of course.  If you&#8217;re inside <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sparkle on Substack&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1827884,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkleon&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780b9c55-dede-4148-adf8-ed8796bc9c41_280x280.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;e31bb4f6-6884-49f9-b5b7-d9bff8b72d33&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> we&#8217;ve got our goal setting class coming up.</p><p>I&#8217;ll leave you with this thought - &#8220;Your new life will cost you your old one&#8230;&#8221; - I&#8217;ve found much comfort in that. </p><p>Claire </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg" width="366" height="274.5" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:480,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:366,&quot;bytes&quot;:115927,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/192383389?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9Ik!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58942c17-2ba8-4112-9ce5-6a4a162be9e2_640x480.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><p>P.S - Mentors, authors, voices who support you with personal brand and personal separation from your perceived internet self&#8230; </p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/lucywernerpr/">Lucy Werner</a> - jump in her membership &#8216;Hype Yourself&#8217;.</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tamu.thomas/">Tamu Thomas </a>- listen to her private podcast or <a href="https://tidd.ly/3NKDkWA">buy her book.</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/_laurencurrie_/">Lauren Currie </a> - read <a href="https://tidd.ly/41vwRlp">her book</a> Upfront. </p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/the.kat.river/">Kat River </a>- follow her IG stories</p></li><li><p><a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2147692365/diVNyJhq">Leonie Dawson </a>- jump in her <a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq">annual membership </a>&#8216;The Academy&#8217; with me? </p></li></ul><div><hr></div><p style="text-align: center;">&#10024;</p><p style="text-align: center;">You can join<strong> Leonie Dawson&#8217;s academy</strong> with me.  A few of us are taking her new programme<strong><a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq"> &#8216;Million Dollar Memberships&#8217; </a></strong>together so you&#8217;d be welcome to join our chat group on telegram.  If you buy an all access pass for &#163;70/ $99 you can access for <strong>a whole year</strong> and get access to a tonne of other helpful courses too. <a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">&#128214;</p><div><hr></div><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>This email contains affiliate links, if you check out I receive a small commission which helps fund my coffee habit - it doesn&#8217;t cost you anymore but I&#8217;ll get a happy little email to say I&#8217;ve made commission.  I&#8217;m also in the running to receive a prize for Leonie&#8217;s affiliate competition. &#128150;.  </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[💌 Open the envelope to your future self. ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who else's name is written inside? &#128171;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/open-the-envelope-to-your-future</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/open-the-envelope-to-your-future</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2026 08:02:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi folks,</p><p>Happy Sunday.  I am SO beyond delighted that (fake) Spring has Sprung - we&#8217;ve been outside all day for like 2.5 days - BEAUTIFUL.</p><p>I wanted to write today on mentorship because when <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lex Hearth&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:74075535,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TBeR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f98dc3d-c778-46ab-8d5d-903ec814b246_1758x1758.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;c0ce4cc4-5ea5-4652-a94f-ab7277e2d6c3&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> interviewed me for her podcast she asked me a question I&#8217;ve never been asked before;</p><blockquote><p><em>Have you always had a mentor?</em></p></blockquote><p>This is honestly one of the reasons I like podcasts as they remind me of things, of stories or pieces of my own inner world.  </p><p>So to answer the question.  Yes!  Since being 17 I&#8217;ve always had a mentor - I counted and there have been 13 of them&#8230;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png" width="402" height="470.8508287292818" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1272,&quot;width&quot;:1086,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:402,&quot;bytes&quot;:1472605,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/191736433?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mkFH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b2403b7-2c63-4854-9b6c-9f1b2c349610_1086x1272.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In name; </p><blockquote><p>Jill, Dezrie, Maddie, Steve, Jo, Jude, Rachel, Sara, Sarah, Mya, Leonie, Denise, Jamie.</p></blockquote><p>Some of these names are people I had mentor relationships with, spent time with, had structured meetings with.  Others are people I bought into programmes with and stayed obsessed with.  In 2026, there is SO much beautiful mentoring available in so many unique ways.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>  </p><p><strong>Mentoring is such a beautiful exchange of energy</strong> - from my experience one of it&#8217;s main jobs is to increase self belief and that&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve stayed in mentor roles for over 25 years - who wouldn&#8217;t want to be that catalyst for someone else?  It&#8217;s just GORGEOUS work and I must have mentored 1000+ people now - wild. </p><p>&#10024;  </p><p>When I was working in the cultural sector (in festivals and events) pre 2020, I noticed a pattern in some of the &#8216;more experienced&#8217; women I asked advice of.  </p><p>They had embodied the belief there was a<strong> ceiling of opportunity</strong>, things should be done a certain was.  I don&#8217;t know where it&#8217;s because I&#8217;m a millennial and I was looking to Gen-X women or because I was called to a different path BUT <em><strong>I never believed it!  </strong></em></p><p><strong>There is NOT a sealed envelope</strong> with a letter about your future written inside it - people with self limiting beliefs do not get to determine who you are and how you evolve.  Write that letter yourself love!?  &#128150;  </p><p><strong>Reminder</strong> - ANYTHING is possible especially with the healing and tech we have available in 2026. </p><p>I always had a thirst for MORE and working in a different creative system.  To understand the system you are stuck within you only have to listen to the subtly (and sometimes not so) embodied patriarchy in women.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a>  I was also DOG tired of the feast and famine fundraising cycle and planning my life around whether I could write a good enough funding bid<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a> </p><p>Which is why I sought out <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Leonie Dawson&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:3970015,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/13e96b5d-6b67-452b-96cd-32e5f02ff804_1080x1080.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;74dc9b8f-ed5f-49db-8cfa-9e6c5bf53c7e&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> in the pandemic as a new mentor.  Leonie does things completely on her terms and has made millions doing so.  Learning from her blew my mind.    </p><p>There was something so beautiful about the timing; the world was quieter, birds were louder, I was growing my daughter in my womb - everything felt possible and impossible all at once.  </p><p>I remember being in one online class and she was talking about taking out a plain piece of paper and figuring things out.  Sounds so simple doesn&#8217;t it.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-4" href="#footnote-4" target="_self">4</a></p><blockquote><p>And we do look to teachers, to mentors, to coaches for answers but a GREAT space holder will always leave room for you to <strong>unearth the answer. </strong> It&#8217;s often about remembering what we&#8217;re here to do and nervous system work.  Being brave you know? </p></blockquote><p>I remember buying Leonie&#8217;s online course &#8216;<a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/17743/diVNyJhq">Money, manifesting and multiple streams of income&#8217;</a> (the first online course I ever bought after hovering over SO many for SOOOOOOO LONG) and it felt stretchy to trust someone I&#8217;d never met but I also felt an instant connect and my illustrator friend <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Katie Chappell&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:7456227,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Axlg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca07cee9-1a83-48b4-852e-ac7f86355163_1158x1156.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;d78d8d2c-0c03-4240-a1c4-1134ae9d1af8&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> was doing it too so we went all in.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-5" href="#footnote-5" target="_self">5</a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png" width="1456" height="517" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:517,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:3018252,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/191736433?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GVEm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2b6131-f0df-4fb6-b5f7-8cfe961ec53b_2446x868.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Working with <a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2147521458/diVNyJhq">Leonie </a>was SUCH a permission slip to <em><strong>dream bigger, to get expansive, to see the opportunities that were already in front of me.</strong></em>  </p><p>Infact, one of the reasons I started writing here on Substack was because Leonie had opened me up to thinking about being paid in new ways.  When I was called to start a membership here, Leonie&#8217;s voice was in the back of my brain telling me; <em>You&#8217;ll figure it out.    </em></p><p><em>&#10024;</em></p><h4>Maybe it&#8217;s your time now?  If you feel a bit funny in your tummy reading this then it definitely is!!</h4><p>In just a few days Leonie is teaching on how to create (and keep) a membership.  I remember a colleague telling me memberships were dead and me thinking;</p><blockquote><p><em>how interesting of you to see the world this way.  </em></p></blockquote><p>She earned three times what I earn, had a team of 11 and embodied wealth the old way - I moved on. </p><p>For me the opposite is true - my membership and community is very much <strong>ALIVE </strong>and a beautiful piece of the business I run.  </p><p>In 2026, I believe this is one of the most secure elements within a creative business and you can get access by<a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq"> joining the academy (Leonie&#8217;s membership) for just USD $99 for an entire year.  <a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-6" href="#footnote-6" target="_self">6</a></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png" width="622" height="790" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:790,&quot;width&quot;:622,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:396226,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148248998/diVNyJhq&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/191736433?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!izRb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa0345015-4591-4c8b-8904-ef11d480d1a6_622x790.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">It&#8217;s not USD $99 and then loads of payments/ upsells/ confusion it&#8217;s literally $99 and then you&#8217;re in!  Best money I&#8217;ve spent in my business year on year!! </figcaption></figure></div><p>If you want to hear more I&#8217;m going LIVE on Substack with Leonie to talk about this new programme.  You can join us<a href="https://open.substack.com/live-stream/134867?utm_source=live-stream-scheduled-upsell"> here.</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-7" href="#footnote-7" target="_self">7</a></p><p>I can&#8217;t recommend Leonie enough and have been in the academy myself for five years now.  I&#8217;ve also been part of &#8216;grow mastermind&#8217; and taken almost every course inside there.  I got good at business by being encouraged that we can ALWAYS figure it out.  </p><p>If you have a creative brain there is literally nothing in your way but yourself.  Foundational work is important both for the energetics and for that day where you open the envelope to your future self.  </p><p>Cleanse your essence of the <em><strong>old voices that don&#8217;t belong. </strong></em> Let&#8217;s get clear, determined and creative and build something really special together!  Always here for your questions.  I hope you can come hear us chat live about it - it will be hilarious and soulful and a really special chat. </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Ask me about the ways I connect with other mentors in the comments - always happy to chat and share. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-2" href="#footnote-anchor-2" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">2</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>One of my more uncomfortable lessons from Leonie is when she talks about what a &#8216;straight, white boomer gen man&#8217; would do in business.  I&#8217;ll leave that there.  &#129488;</p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-3" href="#footnote-anchor-3" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">3</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>I&#8217;m actually really good at writing funding bids and I am writing one on a voluntary basis at the moment that isn&#8217;t bringing me out in hives. &#128171;</p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-4" href="#footnote-anchor-4" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">4</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Don&#8217;t knock it until you&#8217;ve tried it - if you come to my <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sparkle on Substack&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1827884,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkleon&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780b9c55-dede-4148-adf8-ed8796bc9c41_280x280.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;f32421da-600f-40d1-bef5-05230dca1337&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> membership calls you&#8217;ll know how big a fan I am of the plain piece of paper and a fist full of sharpies. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-5" href="#footnote-anchor-5" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">5</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>I remember turning on zoom at 8.30pm at night and HUNDREDS of other women being in the room with Leonie.  Me and <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Katie Chappell&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:7456227,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Axlg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca07cee9-1a83-48b4-852e-ac7f86355163_1158x1156.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;e5acd335-a64a-472e-89ce-965d8d87d575&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> in the comments - I had never seen anything like it.  The energy was electric and the laughs were off the scale - I realised I&#8217;d been SO serious about everything for like so long.   </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-6" href="#footnote-anchor-6" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">6</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Affiliate link - I receive commission on spots sold through my link but it doesn&#8217;t cost you any more to join through my link. </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-7" href="#footnote-anchor-7" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">7</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Click the link and it will add to your calendar and you&#8217;ll get a notification inside the Substack app.  I&#8217;ll post the recording over on <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sparkle on Substack&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1827884,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkleon&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780b9c55-dede-4148-adf8-ed8796bc9c41_280x280.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;fdfdb233-2267-4381-995f-ff04a5be2490&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> and on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@creativelyconsciousUK">YouTube too. </a></p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Possibility ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Notes from the Sea - March 2026]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/possibility</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/possibility</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2026 08:02:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kBCh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36b0cbf2-619b-4247-9dad-416ceccba99a_3024x4032.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi folks,</p><p>I&#8217;ve been thinking on possibility.  </p><p>My intention for this year for my business is expansion (in nervous system safe ways).</p><p>For <em><strong>expansion</strong></em>, I&#8217;ve realised you need to better understand <em><strong>possibility&#8230;</strong></em></p><p>Being a parent is great for this because we naturally have conversations most days about what&#8217;s possible in life.  </p><p>My son wants to work with animals - he weaves in and out of talking about moving to Africa.  He&#8217;s done this since he was very small.  I can see that&#8217;s the path for him so I actively encourage it.</p><p>When I knew I wanted to work in &#8216;the arts&#8217; lots of people told me it&#8217;s not about &#8216;what&#8217; you know it&#8217;s about &#8216;who&#8217;.  I must have heard that tens of times before I was 15.  </p><p>When you&#8217;re making decisions about GCSEs (topics) and other pathways in a school system you really only have the choices put in front of you.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg" width="382" height="472.1448598130841" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1587,&quot;width&quot;:1284,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:382,&quot;bytes&quot;:173537,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/190914831?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-KgA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d0d2438-4a03-4f15-ab7d-34e147980dfd_1284x1587.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Case Kenny on IG</figcaption></figure></div><h4><strong>What if it&#8217;s not about that at all? </strong></h4><p>I often tell my son most of the work I&#8217;ve done in my life didn&#8217;t exist when I was 15.  </p><p>The organisations didn&#8217;t exist or they didn&#8217;t have the departments I worked in.  I&#8217;ve encouraged him that in the entrepreneurial space anything is possible.</p><p>That&#8217;s what&#8217;s different now.  The internet has changed EVERYTHING. </p><p>It&#8217;s not about what or who you know anymore although of course doors can be opened and nepotism is rife in the entertainment industry.</p><p>What if it&#8217;s now more about <em><strong>how you are known.</strong></em></p><p>It&#8217;s about what&#8217;s memorable in you. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://healing-sounds.com/blogs/spirituality/law-of-attraction-vs-assumption" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fq3B!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3e9ec0a-c634-4413-97c8-8126ad9da231_1418x956.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fq3B!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3e9ec0a-c634-4413-97c8-8126ad9da231_1418x956.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fq3B!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3e9ec0a-c634-4413-97c8-8126ad9da231_1418x956.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fq3B!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3e9ec0a-c634-4413-97c8-8126ad9da231_1418x956.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fq3B!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3e9ec0a-c634-4413-97c8-8126ad9da231_1418x956.png" width="408" height="275.06911142454163" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h4><strong>Journal Prompts </strong></h4><ul><li><p>What is it that you want to be known for?</p></li><li><p>What is one tiny tweak you can make online to support this vision?</p></li><li><p>If your best friend/ biggest cheerleader was celebrating the work you do in a room with people who could change your life, what would they say?</p></li><li><p>What happens next? </p></li></ul><p>&#10024;</p><blockquote><p>We are the architects of our stories but we have to make aligned moves.  We have to pay conscious attention to our language.  We have to fill our lives with people who know it&#8217;s possible&#8230; we have to change the vibration. </p></blockquote><p>My husband&#8217;s dream as a kid was to be a stuntman for film.  He&#8217;s not a stunt man, he&#8217;s a therapist and holistic healing coach.</p><p>My guess is people told him &#8220;that&#8217;s nice&#8221; but didn&#8217;t open up the channel of expansion and possibility. That he practised the physical side but didn&#8217;t get an anchor into the practical side.  I would argue his military background showed him his childhood visions but in a new way.  When we first met, he was always climbing walls and things while I held my breath and our baby in my womb.   </p><h4><strong>Write your own name badge.    </strong></h4><p>Before I founded my company, I knew what it was called and I would write it on my name badges for events.  I would talk about what I did as part of the work and as part of it try and piece together what it would look like in the future. </p><p>I&#8217;m writing this in real time and my five year old daughter has woken up and is singing whilst drawing and colouring a big pink fish.   It&#8217;s a happy song - she&#8217;s storytelling.  </p><p>She found a huge bone on the beach last weekend and brought it home.  She said she wanted to wish for a cuddly fish to appear magically in its place.  </p><p>I looked for one briefly in London for her but I didn&#8217;t find one.</p><p>The search continues.  She might forget but if she doesn&#8217;t - you bet I&#8217;m manifesting/ buying her a bright pink cuddly fish, leaving it on the doorstep and burying the bone under dahlia tubers in the back garden!</p><p>If you see one, let me know?     </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kBCh!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36b0cbf2-619b-4247-9dad-416ceccba99a_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f5dc704c-1f28-43e7-9b2c-18e4c8f54d40_3024x4032.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ENy5!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb017a8fd-dc8b-4057-93d5-de7370b36fbf_2316x3088.heic&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZiEx!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7f24b3aa-fb0b-42ee-b749-95c3cc59cec2_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L5i4!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc9d534f-e71a-4059-bfbc-5ff8a4ccd0c1_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/91f024fe-fcb6-4e6a-a5aa-be491e8ebf73_3024x4032.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aodH!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38037b20-6236-4d23-b246-5594695b2c69_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rIrS!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0daebff3-24ec-4716-9338-60e0527fa491_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77139ac3-fa01-4470-a55d-d4f129dbd901_3024x4032.heic&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&#10052;&#65039; Life, art, motherhood and work this winter &#10024;&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d375e6dc-0610-4d84-be48-b15635b70495_1456x1454.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div><div class="pullquote"><p>If you&#8217;re accidentally signed up here but you want Substack education over at <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sparkle on Substack&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1827884,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkleon&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780b9c55-dede-4148-adf8-ed8796bc9c41_280x280.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;39018d49-5c18-4ac3-a506-aa0b32d21f1f&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> head on over love, there are free classes in your welcome email. </p></div><p>  </p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[✨ Weaving 7800 miles in an instant]]></title><description><![CDATA[Celebrating International Women's Day - IWD this Sun 9 March 2026! &#129697;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/weaving-7800-miles-in-an-instant</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/weaving-7800-miles-in-an-instant</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:00:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I heard you all is good with you through a mutual friend.  </p><p>I thought about writing to you and then the moment passed.  </p><p>I was up to my eyes in nappies, baby led weaning and post covid chaos all in the same year.  </p><p>Sometimes I&#8217;d feel the labyrinth of my days in energy - some rooms would glow red hot from how much time I&#8217;d spent moving around them, others were stone cold.   </p><p>I wondered how you were often. </p><p>I started working with a new team member who lives where you live.  I think I messaged to tell you or maybe I just told her - I forget.  She has purple and bright pink feathers woven into her hair.  I heard my Grandad&#8217;s voice in my ears; </p><p>&#8220;What will they think of next?&#8221;</p><p>I loved the creative expression of it and the thought of someone doing something with my hair other than washing or cutting it.  </p><h4><strong>The Death of Bad Omens </strong></h4><p>Last summer, I found myself in London thinking about that ridiculous weekend we had in our late 20s/ early 30s? there.  </p><p>It felt like we were co-creating with time and space, everything was so funny and cute.</p><p>It was also SO vibrant, like we were players in the great game of life and winning.</p><p>I could almost laugh just as much thinking back as I did back then.    </p><p>Things are more &#8216;serious&#8217; now.</p><p>There are crows that nest and fly high in the Yew trees aligned with my view from the gym. An old church yard; still just as noisy and ridiculous. </p><p>On the crosstrainer, I remind myself to laugh because it turns out the invitation is always there.  (and people are quite serious at the gym) </p><p>Smiles get buried in laundry and holding things.  I held less all those years back but I also wanted desperately to hold more.  It was a paradox. </p><p>When people tell me they are consciously child free I can&#8217;t connect to it.</p><p>I knew from being a little girl I wanted to have children; two of them; I could see my future in the daydreams.  </p><p>An older boy and a younger girl.  This is now my life.  I&#8217;m beyond grateful.</p><p>They are wonderful.</p><p>I didn&#8217;t know what would happen after they were here but I know I&#8217;ve learnt more about myself, self compassion and generosity than I have of martyrdom. </p><p>I&#8217;ve also learnt more than I&#8217;m comfortable with about the real passage of time. </p><p>A moment in a mundane school run infused morning and I noticed an eight minute voice note from you on whatsapp.  </p><p>That&#8217;s nice I thought.  </p><p>And it was.  </p><p>I listened twice before I replied. </p><p>It turns out you&#8217;d met someone that morning (in real life) over juice and coffee who knew of a different version of me - the online version; the one who teaches people about voice and audience and Substack.</p><p>Parasocial meets the past and there was sparkle in-between.  </p><p>That&#8217;s how you knew.      </p><p>It was soothing and special and wildly strange.  </p><p>I love that you chose it as a moment.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 848w, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1092,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2361803,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/189878755?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vtmm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5624fc2-1d7f-40c9-bb38-e332e1e39ba8_4032x3024.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Life, milestones, space and time separates us.</p><p>Then we choose how to spend the present moment and <em><strong>everything </strong></em>slots back into place.  </p><p>It&#8217;s familiar and life affirming.   </p><h4><strong>I wonder if I&#8217;ll ever visit.  </strong></h4><p>It feels strange to think about leaving the kids&#8230;</p><p>but then</p><p>&#8230;maybe there&#8217;s a day when it won&#8217;t.</p><p>Probably when they are older.  </p><p>Or maybe we can all go and live like wildlings and digital nomads for a bit.  </p><p>The flight feels impossible - 22 hours but then maybe that&#8217;s my resilience piping up and I actually need to speak more with my sense of adventure. </p><p>I can imagine the flight screens in my head - choosing myself and the adventures, sitting on the plane and being served drinks and tiny pots of food. </p><p>For now I weave thoughts of the possible with the impossible just for fun.  </p><p>I smile at the vortex of time and the possibility of laughing about nothing for hours.  </p><p>Freedom from this life for a while. </p><h4><strong>Faces on a screen</strong></h4><p>I taught a class online and there were 14 people all from different parts of Europe.  </p><p>I don&#8217;t know if I did a good enough job of convincing them they all had something to say.  You can&#8217;t really tell online.  It&#8217;s odd.  That&#8217;s what I miss the most about working in person.  Vibrance and heartbeats.  Eye contact and empathy.  </p><p>Afterwards, I reflected on my own story of arriving online  - what made me want to write and be perceived all those years ago?  </p><ul><li><p>How did I pick up the permission?  </p></li><li><p>Why did I think it was important to take up space?  </p></li><li><p>How did I get over imposter syndrome? (any day now) </p></li></ul><p>There was a reality at the start of my career and for LONG years afterwards where I felt utterly stifled by glass ceilings I didn&#8217;t invent.  </p><p>Too young to have anything of my own, not educated or important enough&#8230;</p><p>Maybe all three were true maybe not - maybe other women projected their insecurities on me.  I feel that as I re-write the neural pathways over and over again.  </p><h4>The next day.  </h4><p>I found this;</p><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;What&#8217;s the best that could happen?&#8221; </em></p></blockquote><p>scribbled in an old journal in pink pen and underlined.  </p><p>I&#8217;d written it once with an exclamation mark and once with a question mark.   </p><p>It waded right through my hazy cotton wool infused memory like a circuit board lighting up inside my heart.</p><p>I&#8217;ll know what to say next time someone asks for some advice to live and write by. </p><div><hr></div><div class="pullquote"><p>Thanks to B and S who inspired this story. &#10024; &#129697;</p><p>Thanks to W who supported me with a wonderful contract in the pandemic that enabled me to do the work and I love to do.  Thanks also to D and E who inspired me to start writing on Substack.</p></div><p>&#10024;</p><p>Thank you to <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:108735837,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F531a21b4-6e5f-4f28-bcac-84297bcac9cd_1367x2048.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;5021c840-c7a6-47a9-b483-8ffef689063f&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>, <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lauren Barber&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:20671602,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F16069469-9ba6-4bc7-9928-3bf08dcf5ebb_1170x1170.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;8f5afd25-3f5d-4e6c-94b1-1610fe7ae0c0&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>, <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lyndsay Kaldor&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:5901502,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ENdr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7393a42-3167-4d17-bb54-d397e889d72a_1170x1170.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;db945518-c587-42fe-96b8-3d16d4b05b9f&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>, <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Laura Durban&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:112586421,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a6b7972c-1fb4-4478-9085-1603dbc4656c_687x687.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;efa62152-788f-4021-a918-3192d4627339&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>, <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Laurita Gorman&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:23920697,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36746002-ec6a-4ef5-9c20-6fb02119eee9_2866x3840.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;18856318-35e2-4f7d-a60e-e1bf7a9e9f8d&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for hosting another <strong>International Women&#8217;s Day </strong>Call Out with me.</p><p>There&#8217;s still time to join in - we are publishing all weekend.  If you tag us in your post or in Substack Notes we&#8217;ll share yours with our audiences too. </p><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:214935183,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:214935183,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-15T18:03:21.109Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:&quot;2026-02-16T15:48:02.996Z&quot;,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;Women Weaving - an international women&#8217;s day (IWD) invite for your creative expression right here on Substack.\n\nInspired by the traditional Scottish act of Waulking (Scottish Gaelic: luadh) - women weaving, finishing tweed cloth in community together while singing.\n\nWe&#8217;re inviting you to our 21st Century version;\n\n\n\nStitching, writing, tagging, inviting you to write on the theme of women weaving and what that means to you this international women&#8217;s day (Sun 8 March).&nbsp;\n\nWhat&#8217;s in the legacy you weave, word after word, note after note, post after post here?  What impact do you have? &nbsp;\n\nWhat are your hopes for women in community online or where you live? &nbsp;\n\nHow to join in;\n\n\n\n\n\nTag a friend in the comments who you think might like to be part of this year&#8217;s call?  We&#8217;ve had hundreds of entries the past two years - it&#8217;s been epic.\n\n\n\nMake an art work, a song, a poem, read something, share some writing in a post by or on 8th March 2026 inspired by this year&#8217;s theme (Women Weaving).&nbsp; \n\n\n\nTag all six of us in the post so we can share and see it. \n\n\n\nWe&#8217;ll weave them together and amplify your words as part of IWD 2026.&nbsp;\n\nWe&#8217;re so looking forward to flooding the ether with your beautiful words and creative thoughts this IWD and raising the vibration of visibility and women&#8217;s voices together, here right now! \n\n&#128150; @Claire Venus &#10024; , @Lauren Barber, @Laura Durban, @Georgia, @Laurita Gorman &amp; @Lyndsay Kaldor\n\nImage sourced by @Georgia and re-imagined by Claire&quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Women Weaving - an international women&#8217;s day (IWD) invite for your creative expression right here on Substack.&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Inspired by the traditional Scottish act of &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Waulking &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;(Scottish Gaelic: &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;luadh&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;) - women weaving, finishing tweed cloth in community together while singing.&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;re inviting you to our 21st Century version;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;blockquote&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Stitching, writing, tagging, inviting you to write on the theme of women weaving and what that means to you this international women&#8217;s day (Sun 8 March).&nbsp;&quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;What&#8217;s in the legacy you weave, word after word, note after note, post after post here?  What impact do you have? &nbsp;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;What are your &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;hopes for women&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; in community online or where you live? &nbsp;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;How to join in;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bulletList&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Tag a friend in the comments who you think might like to be part of this year&#8217;s call?  We&#8217;ve had hundreds of entries the past two years - it&#8217;s been epic.&quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Make an art work, a song, a poem, read something, share some writing in a post&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot; by or on 8th March 2026 inspired by this year&#8217;s theme (Women Weaving).&nbsp; &quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Tag all six of us in the post so we can share and see it. &quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;ll weave them together and amplify your words as part of IWD 2026.&nbsp;&quot;}]}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;re so looking forward to flooding the ether with your beautiful words and creative thoughts this IWD and raising the vibration of visibility and women&#8217;s voices together, here right now! &quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&#128150; &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:8406699,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; , &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:20671602,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Lauren Barber&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:112586421,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Laura Durban&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:108735837,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:23920697,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Laurita Gorman&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; &amp; &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:5901502,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Lyndsay Kaldor&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Image sourced by &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:108735837,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; and re-imagined by Claire&quot;}]}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:24,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:73,&quot;attachments&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;a048de85-8be9-4242-9444-05132f18c7e2&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image&quot;,&quot;imageUrl&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd5a24e7-cc6e-49aa-85eb-0b19741a02fb_928x1156.png&quot;,&quot;imageWidth&quot;:928,&quot;imageHeight&quot;:1156,&quot;explicit&quot;:false}],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:8406699,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BI28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc17c79e6-284d-49c8-a5dd-7310133a4080_481x481.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:100,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:100,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:1,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bestseller&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:100},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[779708,4329870,1164082,1498118],&quot;subscriber&quot;:null}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><div class="pullquote"><p>Happy International Women&#8217;s Day to you all - may we rise together always and work together to smash and dismantle the systems built around to keep us tethered to smaller versions of women we never asked to be.  </p></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[I want to completely ignore trolls on the internet and re-watch a film called 'George' for the first time.]]></title><description><![CDATA[On February Presence &#10024;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-dont-want-a-facelift-i-want-my</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-dont-want-a-facelift-i-want-my</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 06:27:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/I_bVHR1sRyY" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi loves,</p><p>As you know the focus of my writing and community here this year is <strong>abundance and gratitude for the life I&#8217;m in.  </strong></p><p>I&#8217;ve had this practise a long time but going deeper with it has taught me that life will present things I <em><strong>should</strong></em> want and have me untangle that.  It&#8217;s not all consumption and capitalism but that is probably the noisiest part of modern life? </p><p>A female comedian I admire popped up on my IG explore page talking about having a facelift.  She&#8217;s two years younger than me.  She looks great but I would have thought she looked great <em><strong>before the surgery</strong></em> anyway.  </p><p>When I was in my early twenties<em><strong> two people close to me told me I needed botox. </strong></em> </p><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Just a bit around your eyes.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote><p>I embodied it and believed it and sometimes look at myself knowing what society really wants of me as my face slowly disappears into irrelevance. </p><p>Our obsession with smoothing lines isn&#8217;t a new thing - society has wanted to <em><strong>smooth out lines to make us more palatable</strong></em> for a long time.  There&#8217;s a darker side about being obsessed with youth but I&#8217;m not writing on that today.   </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><strong>What about what I want though?  </strong></p><p>I want to go live online in service to my community without thinking about filters.  I want to be fit and strong without being taunted by the lure of easy fixes and weight loss jabs. </p><p>I want my children to see me smile, a real smile -  not be consumed for the rest of the life I have left about lines and aging.  </p><h4><strong>Yesterday one of my trial reels on Instagram went viral.  </strong></h4><p>A man waded in and commented on my appearance and perceived insecurity.  The paradox is shown to us day in day out.  It&#8217;s in everything.  We can&#8217;t move without the shadows but we can choose to hold our faces towards the sun produly.   </p><p>It is my hope those type of men would have died out before my daughter stood on her podium to speak but given current world events I&#8217;m not so sure.        </p><p>In being brave, in feeling the guttural need to self express AND to circle, I know this; <strong>we are the first women in our bloodline to have access to these beautiful tools. </strong> To have power in our voices and feel compelled to share them globally.  I refuse to waste that privilege worrying about what I look like. </p><p><strong>I&#8217;d also love for it not to feel like a struggle - more a softening&#8230; so I&#8217;m leaning in&#8230;</strong></p><p>Like tears accidentally breaking through when you&#8217;re completely immersed in empathy witnessing someone or something poignant and beautiful.</p><p>In grief we find more love than we&#8217;ve ever known possible - we all know that to be true.   </p><p>&#10024;</p><div class="pullquote"><p>My husband and I watched this BEAUTIFUL (but sad) short film the other week.  </p><p>It&#8217;s part of the Banff Film Festival and is available to watch on YouTube - just 30 mins long&#8230;</p></div><div id="youtube2-I_bVHR1sRyY" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;I_bVHR1sRyY&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/I_bVHR1sRyY?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p>As soon as it ended I wanted to re-watch it again<strong> but for the first time. </strong> It&#8217;s creator is <strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobtonk/">here.</a></strong></p><p>Do you ever feel like that?  Life passes us by unless we pause and deeply experience the moment we&#8217;re in.  </p><p>Paid readers, our gratitude circle for February is open for you <strong><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/abundance-practise">here.</a></strong> </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024; &#128171;</p><p>P.S - want to join us behind the paywall?  Here&#8217;s some more information on what this space holds and why I set it up&#8230; </p><p><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/our-year-of-abundance-free-creativity">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/our-year-of-abundance-free-creativity</a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[6 Ways I added an extra £30k ($40k) into my business in 2025]]></title><description><![CDATA[in a joyful, sustainable way!]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/6-ways-i-added-an-extra-30k-40k-into</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/6-ways-i-added-an-extra-30k-40k-into</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 07:30:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1vXv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbf28a5f0-432b-4bcb-a6dd-d1f3a8092238_1720x1344.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi folks,</p><p>It&#8217;s been a while since I wrote about business stuff.  It&#8217;s all done with heart to inspire you and act as a log for me to celebrate myself too.  You can read past articles here at <strong><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/self-seeded-business">Self Seed your Business and Grow. </a></strong></p><p>2024 was a MEGA year in my business.  I hit over &#163;100k in revenue and sorted out so many systems and ways I wanted to grow sustainably.  </p><p>In 2025, I didn&#8217;t set any mad goals about being a millionaire, I just wanted to feel safe in holding the income level and re-investing back in the things I needed to do that.  I have nine income streams into my business which might sound a lot but two of them are very light touch.  </p><p>There&#8217;s so much nuance in the way we run our businesses, so much unseen.  I write these posts because they are the thing I wish existed when I started building.  I wanted to find examples from women who were building without the security of other family income in new creative ways that spoke to me.  </p><p>Now I have to have those conversations with myself.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1vXv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbf28a5f0-432b-4bcb-a6dd-d1f3a8092238_1720x1344.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1vXv!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbf28a5f0-432b-4bcb-a6dd-d1f3a8092238_1720x1344.png 424w, 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class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h4><strong>Here are 6 ways I added an extra &#163;30k into my business last year</strong></h4><ol><li><p><strong>Valuing my time more.  </strong>All the time inside my business needs to help the cogs turn AND build more evergreen income.  In 2024, I got really close to burning out and so I worked with a <strong><a href="https://yay.leoniedawson.com/a/2148096228/diVNyJhq">mentor</a></strong> to unpick and understand what was going on there in 2025.</p></li><li><p><strong>Turning programmes off and on </strong>- I found having everything turned on all the time so tiring.  I wanted space in between launches so I turned off certain things like my 1-2-1 consults and my Diamond Membership at <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sparkle on Substack&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:1827884,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkleon&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/780b9c55-dede-4148-adf8-ed8796bc9c41_280x280.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;02489050-5dfa-4ff5-99bd-2dc6d70c73c1&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> periodically. Scarcity mindset and cashflow are interesting elements to play with together when you&#8217;re used to being able to invoice monthly! </p></li><li><p><strong>Tuning out the noise of others</strong> - if a person shouting online about how easy it all was didn&#8217;t align with my values I muted/ blocked them and re-curated my feed.  It&#8217;s so important to surround yourself with positive examples and retrain your brain and your subconscious that <em><strong>everything is possible. </strong></em> Looking for examples where you see yourself reflected back, scratch the surface with colleagues - our brains play huge tricks on us when it comes to us understanding ease and privilege. </p></li><li><p><strong>I got granular about the numbers.</strong>  I used to resent paying &#163;44 a month for xero now I use it like a finance manager.  I have monthly money dates with my business; look at my profit and loss and my balance sheet.  Everything I offer is coded so I can see which elements bring in the most income.  </p></li><li><p><strong>I pushed more of the levers that worked without my input.</strong>  Affiliate income was a big one for me in 2025, bringing over &#163;3000 into my business with very little effort on my part.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p></li><li><p><strong>I said yes to guest teaching</strong> - I love guest teaching - in memberships, on other people&#8217;s courses - it&#8217;s such a nice thing for me because the host holds it.  I didn&#8217;t have this as an income stream in 2023/4 because most of the pop up classes I did, I did for free.  <em><strong>I&#8217;m going to add more in the comments about this&#8230; </strong></em></p><p></p></li></ol><p>I hope that&#8217;s an interesting read for you today and gives you insight into the possibility of running a business with multiple income streams or even a little side hustle?</p><p>I always love to hear from you so let me know if it sparks ideas or you have questions?</p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><p>P.S - you are SO welcome to join us as a paid subscriber here if you want to dive deeper into my back catalogue of four years of weekly posts on running my business, behind the scenes and join us for our abundance and gratitude circle.  <strong><a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/our-year-of-abundance-free-creativity">Here&#8217;s some more info&#8230; </a></strong></p><div class="pullquote"><p>Incase you missed it.  Our annual IWD invite is up&#8230;</p></div><div class="comment" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/&quot;,&quot;commentId&quot;:214935183,&quot;comment&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:214935183,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-15T18:03:21.109Z&quot;,&quot;edited_at&quot;:&quot;2026-02-16T15:48:02.996Z&quot;,&quot;body&quot;:&quot;Women Weaving - an international women&#8217;s day (IWD) invite for your creative expression right here on Substack.\n\nInspired by the traditional Scottish act of Waulking (Scottish Gaelic: luadh) - women weaving, finishing tweed cloth in community together while singing.\n\nWe&#8217;re inviting you to our 21st Century version;\n\n\n\nStitching, writing, tagging, inviting you to write on the theme of women weaving and what that means to you this international women&#8217;s day (Sun 8 March).&nbsp;\n\nWhat&#8217;s in the legacy you weave, word after word, note after note, post after post here?  What impact do you have? &nbsp;\n\nWhat are your hopes for women in community online or where you live? &nbsp;\n\nHow to join in;\n\n\n\n\n\nTag a friend in the comments who you think might like to be part of this year&#8217;s call?  We&#8217;ve had hundreds of entries the past two years - it&#8217;s been epic.\n\n\n\nMake an art work, a song, a poem, read something, share some writing in a post by or on 8th March 2026 inspired by this year&#8217;s theme (Women Weaving).&nbsp; \n\n\n\nTag all six of us in the post so we can share and see it. \n\n\n\nWe&#8217;ll weave them together and amplify your words as part of IWD 2026.&nbsp;\n\nWe&#8217;re so looking forward to flooding the ether with your beautiful words and creative thoughts this IWD and raising the vibration of visibility and women&#8217;s voices together, here right now! \n\n&#128150; @Claire Venus &#10024; , @Lauren Barber, @Laura Durban, @Georgia, @Laurita Gorman &amp; @Lyndsay Kaldor\n\nImage sourced by @Georgia and re-imagined by Claire&quot;,&quot;body_json&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;doc&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;schemaVersion&quot;:&quot;v1&quot;},&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Women Weaving - an international women&#8217;s day (IWD) invite for your creative expression right here on Substack.&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Inspired by the traditional Scottish act of &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Waulking &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;(Scottish Gaelic: &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;luadh&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;) - women weaving, finishing tweed cloth in community together while singing.&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;re inviting you to our 21st Century version;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;blockquote&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Stitching, writing, tagging, inviting you to write on the theme of women weaving and what that means to you this international women&#8217;s day (Sun 8 March).&nbsp;&quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;What&#8217;s in the legacy you weave, word after word, note after note, post after post here?  What impact do you have? &nbsp;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;What are your &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;hopes for women&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; in community online or where you live? &nbsp;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot;How to join in;&quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bulletList&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Tag a friend in the comments who you think might like to be part of this year&#8217;s call?  We&#8217;ve had hundreds of entries the past two years - it&#8217;s been epic.&quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Make an art work, a song, a poem, read something, share some writing in a post&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;marks&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bold&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;italic&quot;}],&quot;text&quot;:&quot; by or on 8th March 2026 inspired by this year&#8217;s theme (Women Weaving).&nbsp; &quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Tag all six of us in the post so we can share and see it. &quot;}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;listItem&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;ll weave them together and amplify your words as part of IWD 2026.&nbsp;&quot;}]}]}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;We&#8217;re so looking forward to flooding the ether with your beautiful words and creative thoughts this IWD and raising the vibration of visibility and women&#8217;s voices together, here right now! &quot;}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&#128150; &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:8406699,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; , &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:20671602,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Lauren Barber&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:112586421,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Laura Durban&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:108735837,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;, &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:23920697,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Laurita Gorman&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; &amp; &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:5901502,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Lyndsay Kaldor&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}}]},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;paragraph&quot;,&quot;content&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Image sourced by &quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;substack_mention&quot;,&quot;attrs&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:108735837,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;mentionType&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null}},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;text&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot; and re-imagined by Claire&quot;}]}]},&quot;restacks&quot;:18,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:57,&quot;attachments&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;a048de85-8be9-4242-9444-05132f18c7e2&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image&quot;,&quot;imageUrl&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd5a24e7-cc6e-49aa-85eb-0b19741a02fb_928x1156.png&quot;,&quot;imageWidth&quot;:928,&quot;imageHeight&quot;:1156,&quot;explicit&quot;:false}],&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;user_id&quot;:8406699,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BI28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc17c79e6-284d-49c8-a5dd-7310133a4080_481x481.jpeg&quot;,&quot;user_bestseller_tier&quot;:100,&quot;userStatus&quot;:{&quot;bestsellerTier&quot;:100,&quot;subscriberTier&quot;:1,&quot;leaderboard&quot;:null,&quot;vip&quot;:false,&quot;badge&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bestseller&quot;,&quot;tier&quot;:100},&quot;paidPublicationIds&quot;:[779708,4329870,1164082,1498118],&quot;subscriber&quot;:null}},&quot;source&quot;:null,&quot;forumChannel&quot;:null}" data-component-name="CommentPlaceholder"></div><p>   </p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><strong>ANYONE CAN BE an Affiliate</strong> - I&#8217;m teaching a class on affiliate income for writers, creatives, business owners and authors even if you have a small audience on 9th March - it&#8217;s 50% off until the end of Feb). <a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/affiliate-income-for-writers-creatives-and-entrepreneurs"> Check it out her. and grab your spot </a>before the price doubles on 1st March.  Replay available and a month long portal for questions and community. </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[🍃 Abundance & Gratitude Practise ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Noticing the ground beneath our feet this February]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/abundance-practise</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/abundance-practise</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 08:39:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1521624213010-9fb0f30dcd20?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwzfHxzbm93ZHJvcHxlbnwwfHx8fDE3NzE2NTk3OTN8MA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi all,</p><p>This is our thread for Abundance Practise thread for February - noticing the ground beneath our feet&#8230; </p><p>As the days start to creep into feeling more open to light, as the shoots rise from the ground, more feels possible than it perhaps did before&#8230;</p><p>Could hibernation be over?  My Spring time practise feels more possible and I have to find paper to spi&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/abundance-practise">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Carry Me ]]></title><description><![CDATA[I can&#8217;t sweetie&#8230;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/carry-me</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/carry-me</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:01:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I can&#8217;t sweetie&#8230; </p><blockquote><p><em>But my legs are tired&#8230;</em></p></blockquote><p>I know your legs are tired, although we&#8217;ve only walked a few steps&#8230;but love;</p><p>If I&#8217;m honest&#8230; really really honest;</p><p>My heart is tired from fighting my bosses to get paid for you.</p><p>My tummy is empty from making your portions big enough for you.</p><p>My head is dizzy from all of this days I&#8217;ve stared at the computer screen for you.</p><p>My eyes are tired from crying real tears and swallowing my pride for you.</p><p>My spirit is tired because despite it all, it suits people to continue to reflect their fears on me.</p><p>If I bend down to pick you up and carry you, could I ask you to hold all of that for me? </p><p>Just for a moment?</p><p>If you will, if you could, it would mean the world and just for now we can both feel free! </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png" width="1456" height="1086" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1086,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:4136105,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/186866611?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DLUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7362ebbc-dda1-49f3-a65d-b9a29bec58c9_1912x1426.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Me and my son at our local beach YEARS ago.  I&#8217;m wearing his Grandma&#8217;s ring in this photo because we were meant to meet a photographer for a photo shoot - she got the wrong day so it was just us but we couldn&#8217;t leave until we&#8217;d got as few shots of the beautiful poppies. </figcaption></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>I&#8217;m doing some research into my new book and I came across this old blog I&#8217;d written when my son was two.  I&#8217;m putting it here because reading it reminded me of the feelings I had then, the difficult and beautiful.  </p><p>It reminded me of waiting to be paid and being frightened I wouldn&#8217;t be able to afford bills/ to eat and it made me grateful of the work I&#8217;ve done to feel safe and really far away from that way of living. </p><p>I hope it&#8217;s a balm for you today and abundance finds its way to you in the most unusal of ways.</p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[REPLAY - Visual Journaling and Visioning into 2026... ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your Golden Timeline and what we see above and below...]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-visual-journaling-and-visioning</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-visual-journaling-and-visioning</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 07:23:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/a8-zXfTY6r8" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[
      <p>
          <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-visual-journaling-and-visioning">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[I don't want to go to Bali, I want to bleach my kitchen sink ]]></title><description><![CDATA[January Presence]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-dont-want-to-go-to-bali-i-want</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/i-dont-want-to-go-to-bali-i-want</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 08:15:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mso1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc5607bf-351a-4894-a683-f89d2cfaf802_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="pullquote"><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cc5607bf-351a-4894-a683-f89d2cfaf802_4032x3024.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/aceab198-f34b-4f7d-bb45-8c3727294ed4_3840x2160.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/dfad0b6b-fa38-4ca7-bd74-50860c82c7f4_4032x3024.jpeg&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;A few examples of visual journalling which we'll learn in our 2026 Vision Quest&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ccb55d62-8806-43b0-ac99-4e625966e38b_1456x474.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div></div><blockquote><p>Today, I&#8217;ve written about being present - there&#8217;s a strong pull to escapism this time of year - to live in the future or outside of your life.  I find the practise of gratitude a beautiful partner for my word of the year &#8216;serenity&#8217; and this piece tumbled out because of it.</p></blockquote><p>&#10024;</p><p><strong>I don&#8217;t want to go to Bali, I want to bleach my kitchen sink&#8230;</strong></p><p>&#8230;then I want to flick on the kettle and stare out of the window to sea until it boils.</p><p>I&#8217;m want to feel gleamingly accomplished and not unravelled in a process of exhaustive striving inside of impossible roles. </p><p>I don&#8217;t want to rush to put the pots away, then stumble into the 2pm scaries cramming all my work in order to be ontime for another school run. </p><p>I want to feel - every mug, tea spoon, the way the washing up bubbles feel on my hands as I turn over Internal Family Systems in my mind and embody yet another breakthrough. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>I don&#8217;t want to climb the ladder corporate or any other ladder really.</p><p>I want to greet my daughter open armed as she arrives home from school realising she&#8217;s lost her first tooth.</p><p>I want to make up wild stories about a pint sized tooth fairy called Florence and her bright pink coloured pet frog.  I want to share in her excited giggles of infinite worlds and possibility from her &#8216;Lilo and Stitch&#8217; themed bed.  To see her as a five year old even though it&#8217;s hard a lot of the time.  I don&#8217;t want to wish time away.  </p><p>I want to be present for all of it.  To absorb it as the happiest moment of my life.   </p><p>I don&#8217;t want to go to networking events, I want to show up to online calls and have at least one minute to apply hand cream and lipstick before I say hello.   </p><p>I don&#8217;t want to spend &#163;5000 on a two day trip to Lapland to &#8216;make memories&#8217; to post to social media.  I want to grow my children&#8217;s bank accounts before I can&#8217;t anymore.</p><p>To find romance in building snowmen at home and hear stories of my husband building an actual life size igloo with the kids while I&#8217;m home watching <em><strong>Call the Midwife</strong></em> with a stomach bug.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png 424w, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1362,&quot;width&quot;:1110,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:368,&quot;bytes&quot;:1474150,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/185050817?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IeTL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b841ab2-702a-47f5-9e37-1049b366ee7f_1110x1362.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I don&#8217;t want to fill my weekends full of activity and adventure to win the award of &#8220;fun mum&#8221;.  I want to drive my 11 year old son to the local Barbers on a foggy Saturday afternoon.  </p><p>I want to listen to him tell me what he&#8217;ll ask the barber for to get his haircut <em>just right. </em>He&#8217;ll then tell me blue is the rarest colour in nature and we&#8217;ll absorb that majesty somewhere in our minds.  It will cut right through the grey coloured rain and the noise of the window wipers I know we should replace.  </p><p>I want to sit and wait for his haircut to be finished and listen to enchanted prayer music in a language I don&#8217;t know.  I want to watch passers by outside in dull coloured raincoats and think about world peace.  And inside, watch blue and green budgies fly to a black clock opposite ceiling tiles of clouds that light everything up.  </p><p>I want to hear my daughter squeal in delight at the magic of the ordinary and while I&#8217;m distracted in the midst of buzzing noises see a pale pink lolly pop appear as if my magic in her hand.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586454624115-4017beba702b?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2fHxidWRnaWV8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4ODIwNzc5fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" 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branch&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="blue white and black bird on brown tree branch" title="blue white and black bird on brown tree branch" srcset="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586454624115-4017beba702b?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2fHxidWRnaWV8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4ODIwNzc5fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 424w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586454624115-4017beba702b?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2fHxidWRnaWV8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4ODIwNzc5fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 848w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586454624115-4017beba702b?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2fHxidWRnaWV8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4ODIwNzc5fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1272w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1586454624115-4017beba702b?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2fHxidWRnaWV8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4ODIwNzc5fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@biancablah">Bianca Ackermann</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>I might find myself thinking about the restaurant in the clouds I went to in Bali and remember how sad I was.  As we leave, I might wrap my arms around the sad version of myself, hold my children&#8217;s hands and feel the warmth of how content I am now.</p><p>I was thin then but I don&#8217;t want to daydream about how skinny I&#8217;d be on GLP-1 if I was brave enough to mess with my hormones even more - I want to live in a body I&#8217;m proud of.  </p><p>One that is now middle aged but before grew and birthed two children, ran half marathons and climbed a glacier in New Zealand.  I want to understand self love away from the insatiable narrative of magazines, striving for youth and a toxic gaze.</p><div class="pullquote"><p>Sometimes the experiences we had in escapism or earlier life give us the most connection to home.  A place I&#8217;ve learned that we can truly arrive in gratitude.  </p></div><p>Welcome home to yourself.  </p><p>This month&#8217;s gratitude thread<a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/january-presence"> &#8216;January Presence&#8217; </a>is live if you&#8217;d like to join us in circle and go deeper with us into your own, I&#8217;ve also included the link for our class on Sunday there&#8230;as you know I don&#8217;t usually do live classes but felt so called to kick start the year with you all for this wonderful practise.  </p><p>You can join us for just &#163;5 a month or &#163;40 for the year.    </p><p>Claire </p><p>&#10024;</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;d2d530af-37c8-4730-9197-66c1af3e7970&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&#8220;Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.&#8221; - Melody Beattie&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&#128172; January Presence &quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8406699,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Grounded Substack and Audience Development Mastery for writers, entrepreneurs &amp; creatives. TOP 10 Bestseller! &#127775; Share your voice, find your people + grow joyfully. Free classes in your welcome email!&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BI28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc17c79e6-284d-49c8-a5dd-7310133a4080_481x481.jpeg&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-19T12:16:00.571Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1668027400307-c316968e8015?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxNXx8Z3JhdGVmdWx8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4NzMxMTA2fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/january-presence&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:185055678,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:0,&quot;comment_count&quot;:0,&quot;publication_id&quot;:842217,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus&quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qp-s!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2be6faba-3499-47b2-9ba9-a37213b2d70e_480x480.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[(Replay) Audience Alchemy Content Planning ]]></title><description><![CDATA[(ai) Summary thanks Claude]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-audience-alchemy-content-planning</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-audience-alchemy-content-planning</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:09:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/185170695/39421a42-1b98-4703-8e91-63f22d28695e/transcoded-00001.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>(ai) Summary thanks Claude </p><h1><strong>Main Takeaways from Claire&#8217;s Content Planning Party Class - Jan &#8216;26</strong></h1><h2><strong>Core Framework: Say, Share, Sell</strong></h2><p><strong>Three Types of Content:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Say</strong> - Your voice articulated safely online; deeper, nuanced thoughts and expertise</p></li><li><p><strong>Share</strong> - Easy lifts like behind-the-scenes, coffee photos, daily snippets that build connection</p></li><li><p><strong>Sell</strong> - Invitations to your off&#8230;</p></li></ul>
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          <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/replay-audience-alchemy-content-planning">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[💬 January Presence ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Use this thread to notice the things in your life that make you grateful]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/january-presence</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/january-presence</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:16:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1668027400307-c316968e8015?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxNXx8Z3JhdGVmdWx8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY4NzMxMTA2fDA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="pullquote"><p>&#8220;Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.&#8221; - Melody Beattie</p></div><p>Hi loves,</p><p>As you know I&#8217;ve added in a monthly participatory element to my community for 2026 which is around the themes of<a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/abundance-and-gratitude"> gratitude and abundance.</a></p><p>I&#8217;ve had this practise since I started my company and it&#8217;s been so beautiful to lean into both as&#8230;</p>
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          <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/january-presence">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[❄️ Welcome to 2026 - our year in circle with gratitude and abundance practise ]]></title><description><![CDATA[+ what's your word of the year? Share in the comments? &#128171;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/welcome-to-2026-and-our-year-of-gratitude</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/welcome-to-2026-and-our-year-of-gratitude</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 10 Jan 2026 07:59:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LHiG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06d9e352-f167-4f8b-af6c-d30556b6d0be_1200x1600.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="pullquote"><p>2026 Visioning Class with <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Tanya Lynch&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:28746943,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3ba7e9d5-c5e5-45fe-b1d9-32780364a8ac_1176x1177.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;91f3c534-d508-4d54-93a0-e0a6636158ce&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> - Join us. (free for paid subs) </p><p>Sun 25 Jan, 2-4pm UK time.  That&#8217;s 9-11am in New York! </p><p><a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/2026-visioning">https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/2026-visioning </a></p><p>Harnessing the &#8216;true&#8217; start of the year and the turn toward the year of the fire horse we will journal on those big expansive dreams and learn how to step in and see our vision for wellness, creativity and work as it plays out in front of us each and every day.  This is deep mindset work and will be a magical class with so much heart.  We can&#8217;t wait. &#128171;  </p></div><p>Hello lovely ones,</p><p>Happy Saturday! &#10024;</p><p>There are currently 95 of us sat in circle for the year&#8230; some folks might come, some might go, some might circle back. I&#8217;m SO glad you are here truly.  I imagine we brought our own yoga mats, some snuggly socks, a flask of our favourite tea.  </p><p>We make moments to pause together&#8230; throughout a whole year of life - how special is that?  This work is about being informed enough to shut the world out in devotion to the softer feminine things - the things we can influence and change internally and at grass roots level.   </p><p>If you&#8217;re on the edges and here for the free posts - you&#8217;re so welcome.  If you&#8217;re here for the deeper magick - or think you are I&#8217;m simply inviting you in as we open the doors to 2026&#8230;   </p><h4><strong>This is a paid newsletter but there are also elements above the paywall and always will be. </strong></h4><p>It&#8217;s a tricky balance but I love writing more intimately and not feeling as &#8216;on show&#8217; which is the primary reason for hosting a paid newsletter here for another year (going into my 4th year now). </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>I know some of you don&#8217;t have time to engage/ leave comments but you value reading - that&#8217;s cool too.  I see you and I&#8217;m grateful you&#8217;re part of the circle.  &#11093;&#65039; &#128171;</p><p>I thought I&#8217;d set out some (snowy) footprints for our path ahead for those of you who just bought the annual subscription - I&#8217;m so grateful for your support and this intimate container we have for our year long gratitude and abundance practice.</p><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/06d9e352-f167-4f8b-af6c-d30556b6d0be_1200x1600.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a7334532-1351-4b4f-9424-4eb0f48e8bb2_1440x1914.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e14b52d5-1623-408a-bc9b-e3c95fa12d51_3024x4032.heic&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Christmas in reverse... I took the tree down as the snow arrived. &quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bed4f01e-9260-405f-882f-3576aa6e1742_1456x474.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div><p>&#10024;</p><h1><strong>Here&#8217;s the plan for 2026 here behind the paywall&#8230; </strong></h1><p><strong>We love a plan hey?</strong></p><p><strong>The days </strong>- I&#8217;m going to move from publishing on Sundays to Fridays or Saturdays at 8am&#8230; this is in order to create more space for you to read over the weekend and to hopefully stop me going online on Sundays. &#9749;&#65039; &#128171;  I have a tendency to &#8216;over work&#8217; if I don&#8217;t feel safe enough to rest so working on that this year.&#128150; </p><h4><strong>The 2026 Practise and your Invite </strong></h4><p>I started 365 days of creativity last year and it went well for about 6 months.  I love to invite participation and shares.  This year I&#8217;ll be happy for participation and if the shares are quiet I&#8217;ll trust you got what you needed.</p><p><strong>So to gratitude -</strong> I do a daily gratitude and abundance practise. It&#8217;s based on being content, happy, finding joy in the now.  It&#8217;s not about anything in the future - it&#8217;s here and now.  It&#8217;s massively helped my mental health as I&#8217;ve navigated the rollercoaster of perimenopause.    </p><p><strong>In practise - </strong>So yesterday, my gratitude was for my daughter in the snow discovering her own ways of playing.  Sure we can suggest; this is how to make a snowman, snow balls but she found pleasure in shaking tree branches and filling a large bucket and I found joy in that.  In her unique self expression.  </p><p><strong>New ways - </strong>I also have a gratitude jar based on &#8216;the law of assumption&#8217; - this jar contains hand written pieces of paper with things I hope and vision to be true in the future.</p><p><strong>A partner for gratitude - </strong>My abundance practise is about community work, about giving back to help folks live a more creative life.  I&#8217;m on a mission to raise funds for my daughter school and I give a percentage of my income to the rainforest.</p><p>It&#8217;s also about buying luxury items for the food bank in every single grocery shop.  </p><p>It&#8217;s about feeling safe to give away my energy, my money my time and trusting abundance will return.  I&#8217;ve been doing this practise for around 5 years now - I&#8217;ll write more invites to help you start if you&#8217;d like? </p><p><strong>For you - </strong>Every month I&#8217;ll send a post so we can share our gratitudes and our abundance practise in real time and how it&#8217;s impacting magically in our lives and on how we feel.  I&#8217;ll take you deeper with this work and we can celebrate the shifts and the alchemy together. </p><h4><strong>Writing </strong></h4><p>I will write in real time about life, business and the pieces in between.  I&#8217;ll share how tos and behind the scenes of how things are working for me and my business.  I&#8217;m an open book so please do ask if there&#8217;s something you want me to share more on?   </p><p><strong>Everything is always fuelled by creativity and wellbeing. </strong>These will be emailed twice a month.   </p><h4><strong>The Archive here at </strong><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:842217,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;pub&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://open.substack.com/pub/creativelyconscious&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2be6faba-3499-47b2-9ba9-a37213b2d70e_480x480.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;109145da-dc78-4ea6-8fe9-c198ac77f93e&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> </h4><p>I&#8217;ve been writing for three years now so there are over 400 articles here.  You can find my more vulnerable writing about life <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/wholehearted-living">here </a>and my behind the scenes of my business posts <a href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/t/self-seeded-business">here.</a>  You can track my journey to 6 figures of income and holding it for 2+ years if that&#8217;s interesting to you?  You can also learn more about how I built nine income streams to help me feel safe when my husband got sick.  </p><p>You can also find tutorials and gifts&#8230; head here for those&#8230;</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;e2b69ccc-0e08-441c-bb11-0b02483059cd&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;WELCOME to Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Welcome and Contents Page &#128171; &quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8406699,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Claire Venus &#10024;&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Grounded Substack and Book Writing Mastery for writers, entrepreneurs &amp; creatives. TOP 10 Bestseller! &#127775; Share your voice, find your people + grow joyfully. Free classes in your welcome email!&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BI28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc17c79e6-284d-49c8-a5dd-7310133a4080_481x481.jpeg&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2024-07-12T10:10:13.411Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9cUX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff60c3355-058e-43b0-99cf-02026019f7b5_1084x1112.png&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/contents-2024&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:146537975,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;page&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:3,&quot;comment_count&quot;:0,&quot;publication_id&quot;:842217,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus&quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qp-s!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2be6faba-3499-47b2-9ba9-a37213b2d70e_480x480.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h4><strong>Live Classes</strong></h4><p>There&#8217;s an archive of classes as a gift for you and we are meeting to vision together at the end of the month.  (link below)  I&#8217;m not feeling called to do any other live classes.  This is primarily a paid newsletter and a community container.  </p><p>I will be very present here in the comments - I love chatting with you all.  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The real work of 2025 was learning how to hold abundance... ]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#10024;My annual review is in. &#128171;]]></description><link>https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-real-work-of-2025-was-learning</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/p/the-real-work-of-2025-was-learning</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Venus ✨]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 10:15:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="pullquote"><p>Join us as a paid subscriber and get a year&#8217;s access for just &#163;20/ $25 - you&#8217;re so welcome.  Archive access, my 2026 visioning class and a &#8216;creatively conscious&#8217; community embodying gratitude and big dreams!  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/1a552ff6&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;50% off - expires 2nd Jan&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/1a552ff6"><span>50% off - expires 2nd Jan</span></a></p></div><p>Hi loves,</p><p>HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  &#10024;</p><p>This is a bit of a vulnerable share so 2/3 of it is behind the paywall.  It&#8217;s part of my Self Seed your Business and Grow section here which has lots of behind the scenes info about running my creative business. </p><p>I touch on some of this topic (holding more) in my new book - <a href="https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/invisible-trust">Invisible Trust - the Hidden Rules of Influence and Reciprocity Online.</a>  I was only just starting to unravel the lessons in the edits so this is the real time update.</p><h4><strong>Oh hello internal wiring - I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve met? </strong></h4><p>We are hardwired to seek out safety.  </p><p>Even if we&#8217;ve had a charmed (ish) life, the patterns of what we understand about the world are formed before we are 12 and we basically seek out repeat patterns (even if they are painful) as we meander through our life.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p><p>I&#8217;ve written about it before -  I had regular therapy sessions for about two years and just wrapped up last month.  </p><p>It was brutal and confronting, comforting and reassuring too.  I don&#8217;t think therapy is ever really &#8220;done&#8221; but I do feel &#8220;done for now&#8221;.</p><blockquote><p>That&#8217;s mainly because I realised I had WAY more power over my subsconscious wiring and my nervous system than I&#8217;d ever realised before.  Not power over the past but power IN the moment - and that&#8217;s the power that mirrors what we do (and what we don&#8217;t do) in our day to day&#8230;</p></blockquote><p>My path through healing hasn&#8217;t been linear; it started in solo travel, took a round turn into CBT, went deep into yoga and shamanic practise and later into re-building what family looked like brick by brick as we brought an old cottage back to life.  Therapy has been most recent.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png" width="1456" height="838" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:838,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:3719286,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/i/180944173?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Nld!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf908c4-25aa-4e87-87cf-bf7dc8a6c245_2124x1222.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h4>The path is the path is the path&#8230; </h4><p>As entrepreneurs, we make bold choices.  It&#8217;s not a path that&#8217;s mapped out for us.  Yes many have walked it before but we literally cut down whole jungles to make the path that feels &#8216;just right&#8217; for us&#8230; then technically all we have to do is walk it again and again until it gets worn down. </p><p>I love this time of year because we are invited to vision.  This time last year my visions were smaller, cuter, less specific because I&#8217;d literally manifested everything I&#8217;d dreamed of.  It felt like I was inside of the vision I&#8217;d dreamt up for myself.  </p><p>I was nervous to &#8216;take more&#8217; space, ask for more and I was terrified to hold more or let any more run through my nervous system.  </p><p>In 2026, I&#8217;m ready but I&#8217;m also nervous.  What happens if I fail?  Oh but also - what happens when we fly?  I&#8217;ve felt both - I now know - my nervous system will recognize both. </p><div class="image-gallery-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;gallery&quot;:{&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/413ddf87-dd5c-4ee1-b416-3911b26d36ad_1200x1600.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bb81c420-ad0e-407e-b015-a1b2f998f25e_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iOfc!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae9d28c-a69b-4d30-bbe5-d4ff9fd7cc91_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ce8fb6f9-2268-4e16-9633-ac6eff627ad8_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/dbee28e2-0c62-47bc-aa9a-c68ad138cd3a_2969x3959.jpeg&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6BCm!,w_200,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5d6c555-20bc-42ee-ab97-c46d20f9d472_3024x4032.heic&quot;},{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e4510eaf-d2d4-44cf-9637-9ab9bdb8406b_4031x3023.heic&quot;}],&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Some lovely wintery highlights I'm grateful for.&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;staticGalleryImage&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3997b380-5bce-44b4-990d-4d1133219824_1456x1946.png&quot;}},&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true}"></div><div class="pullquote"><p>If you&#8217;d like to join us as a paid subscriber this year you can do that here for JUST &#163;20 or USD - $25 for the whole year - it would be my honour to share this space with you.  You get access to the paywalled archive of posts and classes and I&#8217;m so looking forward to launching our monthly gratitude practise too.  You also get FREE access to my vision board class which takes place at the end of a nine year cycle and the end of our year of the snake on the first New Moon of the New Year. (worth &#163;45). </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/1a552ff6&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Upgrade and join us for 2026&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://creativelyconscious.substack.com/1a552ff6"><span>Upgrade and join us for 2026</span></a></p></div><p>&#10024; </p><h4>Beliefs I held in 2025 that no longer serve me and I won&#8217;t take into 2026 plus some celebration of things I&#8217;m proud of&#8230; </h4><p>The narratives of things I found evidence in that no longer serve me in 2026&#8230;</p><ul><li><p><strong>&#8220;My competitors are &#8216;better&#8217; than me.&#8221; </strong> I have always struggled with understanding my position.  I am comfortable with being &#8216;good but not the best&#8217;.  We have a poster up in our bathroom that reminds me of the concept.  I do brilliant work, I&#8217;m proud of it and it&#8217;s transformational but there&#8217;s a shadow side. I sometimes let other people&#8217;s &#8216;more slick&#8217; marketing messages blind me like a deer in the headlights and it doesn&#8217;t serve me, it isn&#8217;t helpful and I don&#8217;t need it in my peripheral vision. </p></li></ul>
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