I like to talk about dragons. A lot. šš„
In fact, this may be my defining quirk. (Please tell me if you notice something more obviously quirky.)
Hereās how dragons came to be my friends and familiarsā¦
When I was 19 years-old, Iād just moved into my own into a studio apartment in Glenham, New York, and I had a dream:
Iām flying on the back of a huge dragon. I can feel its scales and the heat of its body beneath me, and weāre soaring through the clouds over blue water. The wind whistles past my ears and blows my hair wild.
As the dragon swoops low over an island, suddenly our bodies merge.
I am the dragon.
The dream was so powerful and vivid that I cried upon waking.
Shortly afterwards, I started listening to subliminal hypnosis audios with the intention of getting myself to lucid dream (aka to āwake upā in my dreams in order to control them), and picked my dragon dream as my symbolic image.
I didnāt manage to become lucid in my dreams, but apparently, I hypnotized myself into a full-on dragon obsession. Ever since, I talk about dragons pretty much every day, without really understanding why.
A normal dragon obsession (is that a thing?) would probably manifest as reading dragon books, collecting figurines, and wearing poofy dragon sweaters.
I mostly just talk about them all the time because itās so much FUN!
When people who are into dragons and other magical creatures discover my obsession, they ask me very serious questions about my relationship with dragons, if I channel or do magic with them.
Sadly, my dragon obsession is pretty boring.
I write stories about them (like this one and this one) and sometimes their images as a virtual background on Zoom. Thatās about it.
Iām not sure when I started talking about dragons in my business, but it was a turning point.
I realized that it was not only okay to be me in my business ā my business came alive when I did so.
Giving myself permission to write and speak about whatever I desired unleashed my creativity. I began to attract cool people who resonate with me and appreciate my quirks.
When youāre being yourself and letting people see it, you end up with a truly unique business thatās an expression of who you are and what youāre here to do.
Itās the easiest and most enjoyable way to āstand out from the competitionā with a business no one can copy.
You donāt need to talk about magical beasts (unless youāre obsessed with them, too, in which case, tell me about it!) but share your passionate interests and point of view as a human, even if some dumb people call it āunprofessional.ā
Itās REAL and people can feel it.
Maybe you talk about rock climbing, or your kids, or baking sourdough bread or painting your toenails. Being radical isnāt the point.
You being you in your business, and letting people see it, is the point.
Being you is also the best marketing, without feeling like āmarketing,ā and itās guaranteed to attract cool people (like you) and repel the ones who donāt get it.
Being yourself in business and discovering what that means is at the heart of the IMPACT membership.
Right now, weāre about to embark on a journey called REFLECT: Rediscover Direction, Focus and Ease. Itās the perfect place to begin or expand the creation of your authentic, one-of-a-kind business in service of the lifestyle you desire, with all its funky quirks.
You can get REFLECT with your IMPACT membership:
https://theawakenedbusiness.com/reflectjoy
Yours in love and play (and dragons!š„)
Steph