received this note from the universe today and thought I'd share it ....

Cat , please help spread the word. Here are the top 10 ways people give away their power:

1. Asking others what they should do.
2. Thinking God decides who gets what.
3. Worrying about how their dream will come true.
4. Thinking they have dues to pay.
5. Attaching to unimportant details and outcomes.
6. Believing in soul mates.
7. Thinking karma or spiritual contracts are absolute.
8. Fear of anything, especially falling in love.
9. Waiting for their ducks to line up before acting.
10. Choosing to be unhappy.

Understand the truth, little bird, and you will soar.

Caw-caw,
The Universe

*don't shush your inner voice print by emily mcdowell draws

Pricing for our Skillset - Part II - why we had better be doing whatever it is we are doing very, very well

Skillset is the tricky part of a maker's pricing formula.

This is probably why no one talks about it very much.

(skillset can sometimes be offset with the uniqueness of the maker's makings and their presentation and, yes, I know that kind of offset can annoy makers with practiced skillsets over thousands of hours, but it is just the nature of business right now - unique trumps better but unique lasts about 5 seconds and then you had better get yourself some more unique - or some better skills)

If we are not continually improving our craft, even the best marketing and sales skills won't save us in today's competitive environment over the long haul.

Wait- what the hell are we hauling? Forget I said it. Let's just call it building a sustainable business - no long hauling here - I am way too lazy for that.

We need to stay on top of our craft and be learning new things - this means taking courses, reading books, experimenting, exchanging ideas and best practices with trusted peeps.

Skillset matters. Producing something of quality matters. Producing something that matters matters.

And lots of other stuff that goes into crafting a successful product and creating a successful business matter, too, but we need some maker chops for people to take us seriously.

We need to know what you are talking about. We need to know what we are doing. We need to be doing good work - no, we need to be going great work (not flawless work - because where's the soul in that) - and we need the skills to do it.

(And yes, we also need to pay attention to developing trends - where is the market heading? Are customers' budgets shifting? What are we being asked about the most? What's being talked about? This is not always something we need to take action on, but we do need to be aware of it and a huge plus to being a small business is that it allows us to be fast on our feet and pivot and change direction and even move backwards if we do want to take action)

Now at a certain point our skillset will start to matter less than our reputation and the uniqueness of our offerings because life is a giant circle after all or a spiral really, bringing us back again and again to the same place at a different level - a place where we bring our experiences to bear on a similar situation allowing us to choose differently. It is no different for our businesses.

With a maker business our most important asset is us. So making a commitment to invest a reasonable percentage of our energy (time and money) into improving our skillset will sustain us over the long haul (I can't seem to escape the pack mule verbage - ugh).

Back to tie this in with our pricing models in Part III - for the maker who needs (ie heartful yearning) to make stuff and Part IV - for the maker who needs (ie heartful yearning) to use certain skills

* surrender print by the talented jessica grundy of solocosmo

getting off my a$$ - the true story of a crafty solopreneur's adventures standing up for herself

this is my chair ---->

this is the chair that sits in front of my computer ---->

this is the chair you will not find me sitting in for the next 7 days ---->

You may be asking yourself -

Is she going on vacation?

(I wish, but dammit, no)

Did she get a new chair?

(no again, although this one does have some rips - they don't bother me though)

Well, fo' sure she's not going to stand up for a week, is she???

(because in my mind you all talk like Eminem)

YES, I am getting off my a$$ (the dollar signs are my way of not cursing at you) for the next 7 days.

I have a chair at my work bench of course, but the rest of the time I will be (cue the Jaws theme song) STANDING UP.

I am determined to cut down on unnecessary web-browsing time (why does checking one little thing turn into a 30 minute distraction for me) and get myself into a more active position with the goal of working smarter

(I always stand up for important phone calls - and now I will get to pace again, like I used to when I had a real job and an office and a door so no one could see just how much pacing I was doing, in fact I hardly ever sat down to work and now I am mostly always sitting down)

I'm going to put my computer on a higher cabinet - I'm not going to be all scrunched up over my keyboard, don't worry - I will be standing tall - in fact I plan to be 3" taller by the end of the week.

(kind of picture Brooke Shields printing paypal labels - without me actually looking anything at all like Brooke Shields)

Desperate times call for desperate measures folks- I will let you know how this goes , but I have to go now - my back hurts.

what's in your wallet ....

A few years ago I took some feng shui classes and when cleaning out some boxes of clothes yesterday

(our bedroom closets are finally finished - yay - I will post pics soon)

I came across some of my notes.

Feng shui is the 3000 year old Chinese art (science?) of balancing the energies in a space to assure the health and good fortune for the people using it. It's based on the idea that the world is alive and filled with chi or energy.

During the class we used a compass and made a Ba-Gua of each room in our house (an octagonal grid containing the symbols of the I Ching). It was fascinating and has made a big difference in my life and especially how I look at the things I surround myself with.

One of my biggest aha moments from the classes

(you have to picture Oprah for this)

was about the way I cared for and carried money.

I used to have a wallet crammed with cash and notes and receipts - I was buying a bigger messenger bag every year and could never find what I needed when I needed it anyway.

Anyhoo, some of the changes I made from this class that I think have helped change my financial life are:

1. Carry your cash in order with the biggest bills on the top, always face up (I did this instinctively from my banking days) - you want to see the large bills when you open your wallet so you tell yourself - I am prosperous and always have more than enough money.

2. Have a large enough wallet that the cash is not crammed in there and separate the cash and coins.

3. Do not carry receipts in your wallet because they represent money going out

4. Do not carry photos in your wallet or notes, etc - your wallet is about attracting money and taking care of yourself with your money and nothing else

5. If your wallet is falling apart or is hard to close (money will be flying out of your life) or hard to open (you will be too tight fisted with your money) - get a new one. Buy one that you love.

6. Carry credit cards that feel good to you - if you have cards that represent debt to you keep them somewhere else. If you have a credit card that means abundance to you in some way put that on top so you can see it when you open your wallet.

(debt has gotten a bad rap the last couple years, but if you can look at debt as society's belief in your future earning abilities and are not afraid of it, it doesn't have to be a bad thing - it is always your belief that makes something good or bad)

7. Take care of your wallet. Know where it is.

8. Do not keep stagnant money in your wallet. Use it. Bring in new bills. It needs to flow.

9. Don't be all - "this cash is dirty I have to wash my hands" - there is a money exercise HERE (I haven't tried it yet, if you do, let us know how it goes) that you might resonate with.

Now, life is all about paying attention to your intention and our money doesn't work any differently.

* beautiful handmade wallet by Tanya Ivanova of Tizart