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I like to talk about dragons. A lot. šŸ‰šŸ”„

In fact, this may be my defining quirk. (Please tell me if you notice something more obviously quirky.)

Hereā€™s how dragons came to be my friends and familiarsā€¦

When I was 19 years-old, Iā€™d just moved into my own into a studio apartment in Glenham, New York, and I had a dream:

Iā€™m flying on the back of a huge dragon. I can feel its scales and the heat of its body beneath me, and weā€™re 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 ā€œwake upā€ in my dreams in order to control them), and picked my dragon dream as my symbolic image.

I didnā€™t 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 itā€™s 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. Thatā€™s about it.

Iā€™m 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 youā€™re being yourself and letting people see it, you end up with a truly unique business thatā€™s an expression of who you are and what youā€™re here to do.

Itā€™s the easiest and most enjoyable way to ā€œstand out from the competitionā€ with a business no one can copy.

You donā€™t need to talk about magical beasts (unless youā€™re 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 ā€œunprofessional.ā€

Itā€™s 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 isnā€™t 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 ā€œmarketing,ā€ and itā€™s guaranteed to attract cool people (like you) and repel the ones who donā€™t get it.

Being yourself in business and discovering what that means is at the heart of the IMPACT membership.

Right now, weā€™re about to embark on a journey called REFLECT: Rediscover Direction, Focus and Ease. Itā€™s 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!šŸ”„)

Steph