Gorgeous ones!

I had SUCH an incredible response to the last edition of this, and I wanted to do it again. I loved how many people found it so helpful last time, and I really do love to share!

I’ve been collecting this on scraps of paper for months now, and seeing as another round of the Business Goddess e-course is starting in a couple of days (February 1), and it’s the beginning of the year, it felt like now was the right time and energy to share it!

In this post I’ll be sharing as honestly & lovingly as I can about my gorgeous goddess business. I find it SO helpful when other entrepreneurs are willing to open up & share what goes on in their business. And I want to do it even bigger and deeper!

Again, this is a mega post. Almost 5000 words!

Imagonna cover a whole bundle of topics in this post:

• stopping my workaholic tendencies
• the lessons I learned from World’s Biggest Summit
• the team planning retreat I am organising
• where I get my insights from
• my decision to cough up buttloads of dobleros for a fancyschmancy CRM
• business coaching stuff.

Let’s get started, sweetpeas!

Not being a workaholic

This is the thing I’ve been working on for the last six months. Maybe more. Maybe my whole life time really.

How to stop being a workaholic and overachiever.

I’ve got SO much to talk about on this that I’m going to write a big post about it.

So that’s on the way.

In the meantime:

YAY! for finding ways to work and live that are sustainable, happy and fun!

A! Team! Planning! Retreat!

One month + three days to go until my amazing assistant Marissa lands for our dreaming and planning retreat.

It’s occupying a bit of my workmind lately.

I’m very, very excited we’ll at last get to meet.

I think having time to talk about ourselves, the business, where we both want to head, what we need to do for things to evolve is going to be the bestest thing ever.

How I’m preparing:

I loved reading this post on Offbeat Empire and these two posts on Promise Tangeman’s blog about having team retreats. I’d love to read more about other people’s experiences of team retreats, and would LOVE to hear if you know of any resources or inspiring posts.

I’ve been writing lists of questions we should discuss.

Me & Marissa have both committed to reading Double Double by Cameron Herold before we meet. Double Double is all about creating a painted picture or vision of your business in the next three years, and then working out the way to get there.

And hunky husband is preparing by renovating the bathroom.

When I told him I wanted Marissa to come over and stay with us, he said:

Okay. Whatever you want to do honey. Just let me renovate the bathroom first.

I love how this man’s mind works.

(After ten years of loving him, I still have NO idea what he’ll say next. True story.)

See, we bought my grandmother’s 100 year old wooden cottage.

And it’s pretty dang adorable & serves our needs really well.

But the bathroom was not serving our needs.

I remember watching my grandfather lay the tiles in there 25 years ago.

And while I love that he laid them, I did *not* love those tiles. They definitely needed a good old clearing out.

(I’m not really a things-sentimentalist. I don’t hold on to stuff because it holds memories. I’m the one that hold memories. And I don’t believe we ever lose people. They are with us all along. So I’m super happy to let go of stuff that isn’t serving me.)

And the walls are getting painted cream. CREAM!

I never thought I’d willing paint something cream, but I’ve had a love affair with cream since I had a retreat inside a cream womb.

And it felt it was just the colour it needed to make the funny lil sideroom that is our bathroom into a happy, open space.

So yay! Bathroom renovations!

And I also prepared the space for her arrival by letting go of my book collection and buying a dreamy bed for our spare room.

I’ve been making sure the bed is good for sleeping in by taking naps on it.

Happy to report:

IT IS AWESOME.

Brown paper packages! Filled with stationery!
These are a few of my favourite things!

And because stationery is UBER important to me, I ordered what I thought we’d need for our planning retreat.

When I first had that dream of having Marissa here and dreaming together, I saw us sitting in a room covered in paper, drawing out big plans and goals onto the paper with rainbow markers, and Marissa helping me decode my ideas down into doable systems over the year.

So I got four packs of 3M Giant Post it Paper & some markers.

So as far as I’m concerned:

I AM SOOO ORGANISED.

What else do I need to do?

As we get closer to her arrival, we’ll start winding down non-essential tasks & slating our plans clean for two weeks so we can concentrate on the dreaming and planning.

What do I hope to achieve out of the retreat?

1. A holiday, frankly.

I haven’t had a decent holiday for a long time. And we really, really love having people stay with us. We’re planning on taking her out to the islands, and around our favourite beaches, and for dawdles around goddess village.

OOOH! I think I’ll ask my dear friend Trish as well to do a goddess team photoshoot as well! YEAH! GREAT IDEA LEONIE!

2. Natter.

Apart from our fortnightly Skype check-ins, me and Marissa don’t get much time to natter.

I think there’s a tremendous amount of soul + business + dream goodness we are going to get from having a large expanse of time to just natter.

Nattering is very underrated I reckon.

3. Plans

I am damn FABULOUS at coming up with wild ideas and brainstorming.

I am not as brilliant once I’m in that space of brainstorming of flipping the switch back into “How will we make this happen” and “What are the systems we need to create to support this.”

For me, it feels like two separate parts of my brain.

My vision is to receive a new business download of dreams and visions over the two weeks, and for Marissa to be there to support that and decipher them into what we can do, what is possible and all the rest.

She’ll be Chief of Dream Dictation I reckon.

I’ll just be Wild Shaman Woman Receiving Da Visions.

That’s our official business titles, and I’m sticking to it!

4. Results

I hope to emerge out of our planning retreat with the next year of this gorgeous goddess business mapped out.

All the creations I want to make.

And how we are going to share it with the people who need it in the most powerful, loving, abundant, joyful way possible.

Shower Insights

SO. I wrote this note down months ago.

Just two words.

“Shower Insights.”

And looking back on it now, I think:

Hurrumph.

Well that’s nice.

What in heckeroo does that mean?

So it takes me a while to remember what I was talking about when I noodled that down before in the age before time began.

It was just this:

I get my very best business ideas, insight + clarity

NOT

when I am working

or trying to brainstorm

or typing away frantically.

I get them in the shower.

My point is

(and I do have one)

if you’re feeling stuck trying to work something else,

switch modalities. Do something different.

As Julia Cameron talked about in the World’s Biggest Summit

“Move your muscles, change a thought”

Give yourself some zen time, some noodle time, some watch-crappy-rom-com time.

The answer will find you.

How Business Coaching Was Born

I keep getting emails asking if I’m opening Turquoise Membership spots for the next year (seeing as last year’s sold out pretty dang quickly).

And here’s the answer:

I’m not.

I checked in with Great Spirit, and got told that I’m going to be getting new projects & retreats set every month or two over the next year which I’ll need to devote myself too.

BUT.

I’m offering super premium one-off business/soul coaching sessions. My lovely assistant Marissa was talking to me this morning. Marissa has kind of the perfect view of this – she took one of my goddess guidance mentoring programs a few years ago, and has been working one on one with me as a Turquoise Goddess over the last year to grow her business & make some big, transformative shifts in her personal life too.

Here’s the conversation:

SO! I needed to tell you that one of my friends is emailing you. Except since I answer all your emails I’ll be answering it.

Ha! That’s funny! What is she emailing about?

Well! She wants to get business coaching from you. She keeps hearing me rave about you & how you have this ridiculous-sized business brain & has seen how much I’ve changed from working with you, and she asked me how she can work with you too. I told her you weren’t really doing private sessions at the moment, but that she should beg you and that you would.

Well! Sounds like a plan then! I really do want to do that anyway! Can you write the page for me, because you already know exactly what I do and how I help?

Yep! Cool! Writing it on my list now. So how long will the session go for?

It will be three things: they’ll fill out a workbook beforehand about their business & send it to me. I’ll meditate on it & check out their website & what they are offering. Then we’ll do a big business brainstorm and a download of information from Great Spirit/healing/whatever needs to happen in order for what they want to happen to happen.

Right. Because you could have given me all the ideas under the sun and none of it would have happened if you hadn’t helped me heal & unblock all those other issues that were really going on for me.

Exactly!!! And then, because I’m a bit of an introverted thinker and think best of all when I’m writing, I’ll follow up with a written action plan of marketing & business & sacred tools for them to start using straight away.

How much do you want to charge? I told my friend that she should pay whatever you are charging because it is SO WORTH IT and that she would get ten times back at least what she’d spent. You just have the best ideas!

Oh YAY! That’s the best ever. Okay – so sitting with it. Well, I really don’t have much time to do these sessions. I really want to limit them. And I only want to do them for people who are totally willing and able to commit to the process. And I know my life is going to get even busier. I really need the number of this to reflect that spaciousness & expansiveness. I need to be given what feels like the best so I can pour my best into it unreservedly.

(I close my eyes and sit with it in silence for a few moments. I open my eyes.)

I will charge $1000 for the first few brainstorming sessions. After that, it might stay at that price. Or it might increase. I feel good about this number because I know they will be able to get at least $10 000 more for their business at least when they implement it. I mean, I’d prefer if they doubled their income from it, but that’s going to be really up to them.

So thus, it was born.

I’ve already done a session for her friend, and it was the most incredible download of business wisdom and advice ever. I was reeling from it. I just kept thinking to myself:

Holy dinger I have REALLY learned a HUGE amount about business to share!!!

And I’m really excited to see her business take off wildly + exponentially, and I know she is too.

If you are interested in a session, you need to email us at support@goddessguidebook.com with BUSINESS COACHING in the email heading.

I will only probably do three sessions over the next two months, but I would be honoured and delighted to help you grow your business blossom in the most incredible way. This is not for people who are just starting out. This is for business owners who have already got things moving and grooving and would like to take their business to another gorgeous level.

Okay! Yay!

Turning comments off on my blog

I’ve been asked a number of times to share why I turned comments off on this blog since I did it months ago.

My reasoning was this:

I used to think that the success of the blog post was about how many comments it received.

And I used to obsess over it. And compare myself to other people’s blogs + the number of comments they received.

But I didn’t want to misguide myself. I believe blog comments are false validation of success.

For me, the success of my blog is this:

The more money I make.

And that sounds very very decidedly UN-hippy.

But here’s the thing:

the more money I make is in proportion to the number of goddesses I am helping.

The more goddesses I help, the more money I make.

I absoloodely believe in every single one of my products.

I pour my heart and spirit and wisdom into every single one of them.

I don’t hold back.

None of them are crap.

My destiny has always been to help other people wake up and see how beautiful the world is, how amazing life can be, how good they truly are.

And this beautiful business of mine is the vehicle, the vessel that helps me do that.

I believe deeply that I help women to heal. I help women to be very, very happy. I help them to be the goddess they are.

I help them be more creative. Have more abundant businesses. Be more peaceful mamas.

And I want to help the whole world.

I truly believe I’m supposed to help millions of people.

So that’s what I’m going to do.

I’ve also learned along the way that the more money I make, the more I can help people.

When I made nothing or very little from sharing my soul’s gifts, it meant I had to spend 90% of my time in a job not helping people.

When I made more, I was able to start reducing my hours at work & help more people.

When I made more, I was able to leave my job & devote more of myself to helping people.

When I made more, I was able to hire Marissa for more hours each week to support me so I didn’t burn out, and support all our clients so they got what they were needing, and help even more people.

When I made more money, I was able to let my husband leave his job to be a stay at home parent with me, and at long last study for his dream job in Psychology. I know he will help people with his simple, sage counsel. I am grateful he has been one of my teachers for these ten years, and I am grateful that me making more money is enabling him to have a job where he can be a teacher for more people.

When I made more money, it meant my daughter could be at home with her parents everyday. She’s a lucky button.

When I made more, I was able to donate more money and give to more people. In larger and larger amounts.

I’m now at a stage in my business where I can give to SO many more people than ever before. It just grows and grows with the amount of abundace I receive. I give away more free stuff than anyone I know of. And I’m incredibly generous with the amount of stuff that comes in the Goddess Circle – over $900 worth of my products for 1/10th that price. I absoloodely walk my talk of helping as many souls as I can.

I’m not afraid of making more money.

Because I know it will create good things, for me and the world.

My dreams of money is that my business will continuing doubling in profitability each year.

I dream of being able to employ Marissa for even more hours to help me do even more.

I dream of taking more holidays. Working less. And helping even more, through my paid work, free offerings, through my blog, my newsletter, through my energy.

And I dream of being able to one day buy a sweet lil farmhouse and live in the countryside, where I belong, surrounded by trees and a horsey or three and maybe a beefalo. And have goddesses come and stay with us for live-in retreats.

Yup. So that’s my answer dearest.

Because I’ve got bigger dreams than the number of comments I receive on my blog.

And I turned them off to remember.

P.S. Also? I’d MUCH rather goddesses share along a post by Facebook or Twitter to other goddesses it might help.

And I don’t tend to obsess over the numbers of how many times it has been shared.

I do notice what posts tend to get shared along the most. Some totally surprise me. Goddesses tend to share a post if it is incredibly, wildly helpful beyond all expectations or deeply heart felt and touching.

That advice is probably worth $10 000 right there. WOO!

The Joyful Embrace of the Potty Mouth

Another thing: I’ve realised lately how dearly I love people who swear. And how in daily life, I’ve got a sailor’s mouth. And it makes me giggle a lot. But I don’t often swear here, when I write. Sometimes I video about it, especially when I meet a snake up a tree. But I’m gunna try writing it, okay? Drop the f-bomb when it wants to be dropped. Let’s face it, it’s a dang good embellishment.

If you aren’t open to hearing a well placed fuckityfuckityfuck, I understand.

And I’m also letting you know that I enjoy being a swear bear and will be embracing it even more.

Routine

SO! Our life routine is shifting & melding again which is lovely.

Right now, we wake up around 7am when Ostara wakes up. We lounge around in bed reading books, listening to music, playing & reading ipods for an hour or two. Sometimes if I’m running behind, I’ll do a bit of work in bed on the laptop.

I have phone interviews or coaching calls at 8am for a couple of hours each Tuesday & Wednesday.

When I was pulling together the World’s Biggest Summit, that ended up stretching out way longer than that.

In the mornings, I usually either take Ostara adventuring on my own so Chris can do some study for his Psychology degree. We will go for strolls through goddess village or meet friends for creative mornings or go to mums & bubs yoga. Otherwise, all three of us will go for a jaunt across the countryside to the holy mecca of Big W for nappies, stationery + gardening supplies.

Around lunchtime, I’ll nurse Ostara to sleep then head out the door to my Creative Caravan.

Chris will hang out in the cottage studying. Once Ostara’s awake, he’ll take care of her.

I’ll work for about 2-3 hours before Ostara starts getting restless & trots out into the yard & into the Caravan for a breastfeed and cuddle.

From the moment she was born, she’s always been a mama’s girl… very much a velcro baby towards me.

She loves her Daddy-o, and they have a really special time hanging out together, but she needs mama-energy often.

From the reading I’ve done, this is totes normal, and I respect that she really needs to fuel up on energy through me.

For me, it’s been about learning how to balance all of this :: my energy and needs, hers and Chris’ so we can all live happily together.

She’s 21 months and still doesn’t sleep through the night (which I know is totally normal).

It’s just working out a way for me to not live in a constant swirl of exhaustion.

It’s very much a balancing act of work, life, mamahood, alone time and rest.

I feel like I do much better at it now, but it’s definitely something I monitor on a daily basis.

So for every mama out there who is doing it out there ::

I just want to say: I understand. This is the hard work we are doing here. We are on the fast train to Buddha-hood, I tell ya. I love you and want to feed you tea, chocolate and sleep.

Now where was I?

Oh yes. After I’ve done my work for the day, we usually head out into the yard to do some gardening and playing. Or onto the verandah to make art together.

We ALWAYS have an early dinner (3-4pm) – it’s our natural inclination. Then we’ll watch a movie and nestle in for the night.

Ostara usually gets breastfed to sleep between 7-8.

Then me and Chris cozy up on the couch together and (very romantically) open our laptops for more work. He studies, I tackle my To Do list.

We head to bed around 9:30.

If I stay up any later than that, I’m doomed a day of exhaustion. So 9:30 is my limit.

On a weekly basis, we have a couple of days where this isn’t the case: Sundays which are my Switch Off Sundays and Friday nights which are date nights.

Date nights are nights we designate for couple-connection time. Once Ostara’s asleep, we either watch a movie together, or drink tea and talk talk talk.

This is gooooood.

And that’s how I run my life!

I’m also mindful of going slow and taking it easier once I start getting rundown. I’m getting MUCH better at seeing the early signs of burn out and taking the foot off the pedal before I hit Exhaustion Train.

Getting my To Do list sorted

This year my goal is to work more strategically instead of more busily.

So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a 7 on the Enneagram.

I’m overexcitable, prone to wild ideas, riding wild donkeys & basically doing extreme acts of making dreams happen.

I never thought I’d be into an extreme sport, but I am. Making-dreams-happen sport.

And it’s really really awesome and useful and all that stuff.

It also means that I can get a bit disorganised, and forget my original intention.

There’s so many donkeys in the paddock! I want to ride them all!

When really, I need to focus on the big stallion donkeys that have my name firmly branded on their bums. Donkeys that I’ve already looked at and gone “ohhhhh yeah, I be needing to riiiiide you.”

Not get distracted by those pretty young filly donkeys that flit in and out.

You know?

This year I have tattooed everywhere possible:

MAXIMUM IMPACT

MINIMUM EFFORT

Not in a lazy-ass way.

But in a “I need to do my big wild dreams above and beyond the distracting tiny little ones.”

I have a propensity to burn out, to exhaust myself, to go above and beyond my normal energy supply.

This year I am even more firmly committed to living a business and a life that is sustainable, originated from natural energy, is not generated by my overexcitable adrenals and walks its spiritual talk.

So I want to be strategic. Look at ways I can help the most amount of people in a way that is healthy and happy for everyone in my business and life including my assistant, me, my husband and daughter.

So:

MAXIMUM IMPACT

MINIMUM EFFORT

One of the ways I am doing this is having more regularly Skype team meetings with Marissa to lay down our plans for the fortnight. (Oh, and you guys in the US – fortnight is English/Australian for “every second week”. What do you guys call that? Do you have a slang for it? Because “every second week” is a pain in the butt to say! C’mon! Join the “fortnight” train! It is SO MUCH FUN. I promise you will love it! Toot toot!)

Another way I am being more strategic is by doing weekly plans of me & Marissa’s tasks. Marissa works for me about 14 hours a week, in case you were wondering. Can you imagine how much more I’d be able to do if I could hire her full time? HOLY DINGER!!!

I used to have my To Do lists ALL OVER THE SHOP… some in folders, some on scrap paper, some in a text file, some in emails.

This year I’m much more disciplined at setting out our weekly tasks up in Basecamp. Which, by ze way, is totally free. I used the free version for a gazillion years, but as part of my organisational streak, upgraded to their $24.95 a month plan. I’ve been uploading lots of my course + website graphic design assets onto there so Marissa can use them when she needs.

Once I’ve worked out my priorities for the week, I pull them back onto my desktop productivity centre to work on them.

And that’s how dreams come true…

THE END!

hee!

And with that,

I think that’s everything I can think to share right now. As it ding dang should be… over 5000 words.

Pheeeewy!

Business is ding dang RAD to talk about though. It’s totally the vessel that helps our dreams go out into the world to help people (and ourselves) heal.

I totally believe and know that to be true.

I so deeply hope this is helpful.

If you know of any dear friends who might find it useful, please do share it along.

I just want you to know that I believe in you. Your wildest dreams are possible. And I’m total living proof of that.

LOVE!!!!

Like this post?

If you are looking to supercharge your business with delight, abundance + marketing power this year, the Business Goddess e-course group journey on the Goddess Circle is starting FEBRUARY 1!.

Sign up to be a Goddess Circle member to be a part!

(You’ll also get $900+ of the rest of my goodies too!)

I wrote this post nine months ago… and just found it today, hiding out in my drafts.

What the? This baby needs to fly out into the world & change it already! Yay! On with the show!

Ya know, I think we often underestimate what we can do with our little ideas. What magic and miracles we can create by actually riding those wild donkeys & making the things that steal to us in the middle of our sleep.

I want to tell you a story.

A story of one little town. And the people who believe it can change.

Once upon a time, there was a little town.

It lived between fields of sugar cane. It had 4000 inhabitants, and most of them were related.

As a teenager, I called it a hole.

It was too tiny. Too far away from anything interesting. And far, far too normal.

So I immersed myself in my own little world. Of art and creativity and spirit and silliness.

And when I could, I moved away. I lived in a place and found my tribe of goddesses and hippies and artists and angels.

But I knew I’d always come back.

This is the place that has the songlines of my soul.

And yet… this lil country town of ours that we live in? It might be named for the Goddess Persephone, but it isn’t particularly hippy.

But for years, we’ve been talking about bringing the light here. And awakening it. Making it a thriving hippy town.

And it’s happening. It’s really HAPPENING!!!

Akiah‘s spiritual shop was the first to open two years ago. (Oh! And she’s selling it now to hand it on to the next custodian! You should totally move here & run it & I will buy you out of crystals + maca powder! YEAH!)

And in the past couple of months, on our little main street has BLOOMED.

A beautiful childrens/clothing/wooden toy store opened up next to Akiah’s. Then a Sound Healing place! Then a hypnotherapist/counsellor! And opening very soon is a yoga/massage/hypnobirthing place!!!

All on our tiny one-block street.

Ha ha ha ha ha… I am laughing so hard over this. Especially since we live in a place filled with farmers who haven’t even SEEN all the magic that is coming this way.

It’s gunna be glorious. It’s glorious now.

Oh gawd, it’s magnificent.

Anywaysies, a couple of months ago, our dear goddess circle sister Akiah Elan told me she was going to organise a spiritual market in a small park here. And that people were already excited.

“Screw the park! Take over the Entertainment Centre! Make it the North Queensland Festival!!!” I said, laughing.

And bless that brave, incredible, visionary woman… SHE DID. She hired the biggest hall here. And she got completely booked out with stalls!!!! And She D’Montford (a famous Australian psychic who was on the TV show “The One”) as well as other well known psychics decided to travel up for it!!!

And her tiny one-morning-in-a-park market turned into a two-day North Queensland Spiritual Festival in our huge hall.

And today was the first day.

It was precious and remarkable and perfect.

I had a stall for Goddess Guidebook. My sister was next to me with Angel Foods Gluten Free Cupcakes.

And the place was ringing with healers and readers and beautiful clothes and flowers and art…

There was people there all day.

My sister sold out of ALL her food. She’s now staying up most of the night to make more(!) for tomorrow.

I met so many beautiful goddesses.

The whole place was filled with the loveliest energy ever. I was BUZZING. So so sooooo excited.

I met a woman who has a tipi!!! YAY! And beautiful healer women! And instant friends!

And I got cuddled by a bazillion cousins.

And my Grade 5 teacher came to my talk about Goddess Persephone and said to me “Miss Leonie, you have not changed one bit.”

And I got gooseybumps all over me… knowing that this is just the beginning.

I totally picture the festival taking over our showgrounds and becoming a giant festival with music and a healing circle and labyrinths and a maypole and events and everrrrrrything… ya know? where people camp & disappear into the folds of magical land for a time…

Anyways… can I just say today was MAGICAL?

So much more profound than I even expected?

Anywaysies… we cleared up today, and I drove the couple of minutes home. Got home, kissed my love, scooped up Ostara….

and our house started shaking.

At first I thought it was just heavy machinery driving by.

But then the floor kept shaking and our windows rattling. I thought someone had driven into our house.

And I ran outside to see what had happened…

and there was nothing. Nothing but blue skies.

And all our neighbours came out… and they’d all felt it too.

An earthquake.

A flipping EARTHQUAKE.

Just so ya know… we don’t GET earthquakes here. Australia is one of the least earthquake-prone places in the world. We aren’t on the edge of any fault lines. And as for Proserpine? No one can remember there ever being one here.

And all I could do was laugh and smile and think in my head…

“I knew today was powerful… but an EARTHQUAKE????? Woah!”

It felt very shifting and cleansing… like the earth had cracked open to let the light in.

Old ways out, new ways in.

And I am so happy and proud to be here in the midst of it… bringing light wherever I go…

Just as you all do.

SO.

Tomorrow is a new day. New magic and miracles to be made.

Right now, I’m going to kiss my love & speak deep soul words with him. Connect, ya know?

Then I’ll go to bed, and kiss my angelic owl daughter, she who is as bright as a star.

Don’t underestimate where your little ideas may take you.

They might just be earth-shaking.

Make miracles happen.

All my love,

P.S.

I have absolute faith that things are changing, and they are all good…

And all we need do is just turn up and do our work and shine our
light, you know?

P.P.S. PICTURES!!!!

My stall!

I adore these two!!!

Ostara, me, my beautiful sissy-in-law Sharne & Ostara’s cousin Paige.

My gorgeous sissy the cupcake goddess!!!

Ostara hanging out with her Centaur Grandfather.

Postscript:

Six months later, we had the second NQ Spiritual Festival.

And guess what happened?

Our second earthquake ever, just five days before the festival opened.

Two earthquakes. Two festivals.

Totally earthshaking!

Life = awesome!

P.S. If you are looking to supercharge your business with delight, abundance + marketing power this year, the Business Goddess e-course group journey on the Goddess Circle is starting FEBRUARY 1!.

Sign up to be a Goddess Circle member to be a part!

(You’ll also get $900+ of the rest of my goodies too! Including the 2012 Creating your Goddess Year workbook… oh and you’ll get the 2013 one too when it’s released! Free!)

Hola gorgeous goddesses!!!

Found this video of mine I recorded when I was still all mermaidish & realised I still haven’t posted it.

To be honest, I’m pretty sure I’ve missed posting a bucketload of Goddess TV episodes… I’ve created so many of them now!

This one is about my story of becoming a Business Goddess + also my tips for becoming your very own Business Goddess.

Recorded underneath my blogging tree surrounded by tropical ferns & birds & butterflies!

I’m wishing for all your gorgeous dreams to come true!!!

GIANT BEAR HUGS!!!

P.S. If you are looking to supercharge your business with delight, abundance + marketing power this year, the Business Goddess e-course group journey on the Goddess Circle is starting FEBRUARY 1!.

Sign up to be a Goddess Circle member to be a part!

(You’ll also get $900+ of the rest of my goodies too! Including the 2012 Creating your Goddess Year workbook… oh and you’ll get the 2013 one too when it’s released! Free!)

P.S. If you are looking to supercharge your business with delight, abundance + marketing power this year, the Business Goddess e-course group journey on the Goddess Circle is starting FEBRUARY 1!. Sign up to be a Goddess Circle member to be a part!

Hola gorgeous goddesses!

For all those business & creative goddesses out there, I thought I’d share my current “To Do list.”

This might be helpful for you in organising your workflow + keeping your intentions + goals right in front of you!

I’ve shown before how to make a To Do Book.

For me, my laptop is my mobile office while I work from bed, my Creative Caravan, a cafe or up a tree, so I now keep my productivity centre on my desktop.

(And yup… the desktop background might give some indication of what might be released soon

Right now I use a new Mac application called Stickies that work like sticky notes on your computer desktop.

I have different sized + coloured notes for different topics ::

My TO DO list

This is the largest on the left hand side and is a revolving list of everything I need to get done. Most important stuff gets shifted to the top to do first. And I make sure I put down concrete to-do’s to fulfill the goals + dreams from my 2012 Creating my Goddess Year workbook + planner. It’s so important to both dream the big dreams AND plan out how to make them happen!

My GOALS sticky

This keeps front & centre my money goals for the month & the biggest action points I need to do to get there (for goddesses who’ve done the Business Goddess e-course, this is where you put your big important things from the Magic Money Making Kit!)

My TO BLOG sticky

This is where I pop all my ideas for future blog topics. This gets it out of my head & onto the page where I can grab & run & write blog posts. It’s served me well so far… 1700+ posts published & sent out into the world!

My LATER sticky

This is where I move stuff off my To Do list – things that I want to remember but won’t be done in the next couple of months. This is a nice way to keep things in mind without feeling like they need to be done now now now.

My EDUCATION sticky

This is where I keep track of all the books and programs that I’m currently learning, so I know I can dive into them at any time. It’s so important to keep learning new things + bringing in new downloads of information, whether that’s business, creativity, spirituality or self motivation! I go through learning cycles where I will spend about a quarter of my time or year actively learning new things.

Having all these things together in the one space – on the place where I find myself again and again – is really useful. It helps me stay focussed on what I need to do, and what it is I want to create.

Hope this is helpful, dearest souls!

Please do share it along if you think it could be helpful for your dearest hearts!

love love LOVE!

P.S. If you are looking to supercharge your business with delight, abundance + marketing power this year, the Business Goddess e-course group journey on the Goddess Circle is starting FEBRUARY 1!.

Sign up to be a Goddess Circle member to be a part!

(You’ll also get $900+ of the rest of my goodies too!)

Start making bucketloads of abundance

Let go of the job that doesn’t inspire you

Build your very own dream business

Hola gorgeous Goddess!

Once upon a time, I was convinced that I was supposed to be doing something different with my life. I wanted my dream job. The one I’d always dreamed of. One that was artistic and soulful and creative and made me glow.

I would sit in my cubicle, and I would doodle on yellow looseleaf paper, bored, eyes burning. One day, I wrote down on a piece of paper:

In the next 12 months, I want to make $30 000 doing what I love.

Then I tried to work out how I could do it by selling my art. The numbers didn’t add up. I had no idea how it was even possible.

But my heart longed for my dream so deeply that I decided I would make it happen. I got all crazy determined (like I do) & decided I was gunna find out the secret… the on

the secret of becoming a Business Goddess.

That year, I made $30 000. The next year I doubled it. The next year I doubled it again.

Next year? I have no idea what I’ll make. I just know it will be BIG. And I know for the first time that I really CAN do whatever it is I want. This numbers-phobic right-brainer happy artist hippy really can be a super successful Business Goddess!!!

Where my dreams have taken me…

I’ve quit my cubicle job. My love did the same. We had a wee little mermaid named Ostara. We both get to be stay-at-home parents. And we moved across the countryside – leaving behind the alpine city to live in tropical paradise in northern Australia.

I can’t quite believe this is my job. Of helping women remember they are goddesses. It’s my sweetest, most precious dream come true. I am grateful for every damn moment of it. I get to be a mama. And a creative goddess. A writer. A maker. A dream-believer. Everything I’ve ever wanted to be. My heart is full.

What’s next?

And so, my darling. That’s my story of how I came to be a Business Goddess.

I have another huge, big, massive dream now.

I want to help you make your dream come true too.

What would you do if you became a Business Goddess?

Where would you live? By the sea? In the mountains? In a sweet wooden cabin? In a sprawling ranch home?

How would you live? Would you spend most of your time with your loved ones? Would you spend Thursday afternoons having baths and Tuesday mornings. And Fridays? Fridays are ALWAYS for long lunches sprawled out in the sun.

What would it mean for you? For your family? To not worry about money anymore? To be able to make choices with childcare and schools and holidays and travelling.

What would it meant to your soul? To be doing a job that lights you up and makes you sing?

What I love about The Business Goddess course is that it’s fun, lush and soups-to-nuts on what you need to have a love-filled, fit-you and successful business.

 

Highly recommended!

- Jennifer Louden
Best-selling author of The Life Organizer
& creator of Savor & Serve The World (jenniferlouden.com)

 

I really want you to glimpse what’s possible, dearest…

I’m proof that huge massive dreams are possible.

I believe with all my heart that you have deep & incredible gifts to share with the world.

And that oh my gosh, how this world needs them.

This is everything I could give you – all the practical stuff, story sharing, wisdom, juju & magic – to help you on your path of being a Business Goddess.

The Become a Business Goddess e-course

So what’s in this course?

You’ll get:

• 8 Ways to make Money Online
• The Blueprint of how I did it: with all ze juicy goss
• The Practical Parts: website, pricing, techie bits
• 100 Ways to market magically, mindfully & joyously
• How to stay sane & joyful when business gets BUSY

AND some deeeelicious bonuses:

• Profiles of Business Gods & Goddesses
• The Becoming a Business Goddess workbook
• The Magic Money Maker kit.

There’s over 190 pages of wisdom + genius + experience + love in this baby. All the business goddess goodness you could need.

5 Business Goddess Classes

Class 1: The Blueprint of how I did it: all ze juicy goss

Want to know how I went from art hobby barely-making-money goddess to business goddess earning over $100k a year?

This is my story. With pretty pictures.

Secrets. Love. Seriously inspiring.

Bonus: How to create your business while you are working full time.

“This is by far the best book I’ve read on creative business –

it’s so full of love and acceptance and fire.”

Class 2: 8 Ways to make Money Online

Includes how to come up with the content, how to make them happen & how to make them SUCCESSFUL:

• E-books.
• E-courses.
• Coaching.
• Webinars & teleseminars.
• Audio programs.
• Being an affiliate.
• Creating your own affiliate program (& how to rock the buggery out of it!)
• Selling & marketing your art/books/stuff online.

And this one is chockfulla bonuses:

• Why you need income streams (SO important!).
• How to create videos.
• How to record meditations.
• How to create & sell art prints.
• Things to try when your art isn’t selling.
• How to self publish a book or CD.

This e-course is a veritable encyclopedia of creative business guidance.

I’m still kind of floored by all the things Leonie covers in it. Here was this happy hippy beach chick, thriving in her creative business, and willing to share all the millions of things she’s learned to get there.

Her advice is smart. And generous.

Thanks in large part to Leonie’s help, I feel I’m right where I’m meant to be, in my new business. I know how to do the things to help my company grow; I know the next step I want to go in. And the next step after that.

- Goddess Christine Long, artist
scatteringstarsart.weebly.com

Class 3: The Practical Parts

All the essential left brain stuff you need to wrap yourself around to be a Business Goddess:

• How to create your website
• How to write brilliantly for your website
• 5 things you must do right now for your website
• How to price your stuff profitably & joyfully
• How to set up your techie bits: e-junkie, Paypal & a mailing list provider.

“If you’re like me and you’ve been struggling with how to make your beautiful dream happen, let Goddess Leonie answer your prayers!

It will inspire you, give you courage, and fill you so full of passion that you cannot help but leap into your vision, both arms open and heart ablaze!”

- Halo from Haloquin’s studio
www.haloquin.net

Class 4: 100+ Ways to market magically & joyously

So this is the big mama of the course. Marketing is the single most important thing you need to do in order to have a successful, sustainable business.

Includes:

• Things to do every day to build your business
• How to increase your subscribers
• How to rock your mailing list
• How to make exquisite & dobleros-making sales pages
• Being a social media goddess: Facebook, Twitter & all the rest
• How to guest post like a goddess
• How to earn more from your emails
• Marketing Goddess worksheets.

Plus, you know… a bazillion more tips. This is one magic class you’ll use over & over again whenever you need to market your beautiful business.

Class 5: How to stay sane & joyful when business gets BUSY

Once you are flying as a Business Goddess… there’s SO many lessons to learn about staying sane and joyful and happy.

I downloaded all the big wisdom and huge lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Includes:

• How to stop burning out
• How to be okay about putting yourself out there
• How to stop freaking out & start turning up
• How to keep your business soulful & inline with your spirit
• How to be okay with making mistakes.

I am brimming with ideas that I am ACTUALLY implementing.

AND it also has inspired my husband who is currently working on his first ebook!!!

I think the course is so worth the money, in fact I already recouped the money by income. Crazy, or what?

- Melanie Martin, photographer
www.melaniemartinphotography.com

 

Bonus #1!!! A Pocketful of Business Advisors

Case Studies of Business Gods & Goddesses :: their stories. Their incredibly sage business advice. All in a kit.

Includes some of my favourite business gods & goddesses:

• Fabeku Fatunmise (sound shaman)
• Jenn Lee (author & creativity coach)
• Chris Zydel (expressive arts teacher)
• Lisa Baldwin (world traveller & blogger)
• Kimberly Wilson (yogi, clothing designer & author)
• Leah Piken Kolidas (artist)
• Marissa Bracke (happy business helper)
• Jamie Ridler (blogger, podcaster & creative maven)
• Julie Stuart (graphic facilitator)
• and more!!!

It’s like an angel tribe of business advisors in your pocket. REALLY powerful stuff.

“It’s just FULL of wonderful information that gives you everything you would ever need to know about starting a business online. She takes all the scary out of it and makes it accessible and fun ~ the same way she does everything.

For any goddesses out there who have been thinking about starting a business online or taking your biz to the next level and are overwhelmed with all the information out there … this course is for you. I’ve read a LOT about online business over the years and this course is tops. Highly recommended.”
- Danielle Cornelius, chiropractor, USA
www.somaphile.com

Bonus #2!!! The Magic Money Maker kit

I’ve had goddesses JUST use this kit and meet their money goals within A MONTH. When they totally couldn’t even see how it was possible before.

It’s a money + marketing worksheet that works like miracles and magic. I know because this is the system I use!!!

All you do is pull out this kit every month. Fill out the worksheets. And kabaaaamy!!! Money out the kazoo & wazoo & sometimes even the gazoo!

It’s money making at its most fun & glorious & wildly brainifing wacky!

Yay!

So that’s the course, darlingheart.

190+ pages of business genius, wise business stories, sage advice & tools you can start using RIGHT NOW to get your business soaring & supporting you.

I stand behind this course with all my heart.

I know it can do *wonders* for your business, no matter what business stage you are at.

What other goddesses are sayin about it!

It’s the best e-course on business I’ve done.

Every page is an ah-ha! moment.

It’s the most expensive e-product I’ve ever purchased, but I’m so glad I bought it!

If I implement even half of what you have shared, I’ll double my income.

- Goddess Virginia Bailey
www.ginnyjillb.com & www.newvacuumsonline.com

Goddess Leonie’s business e-course has inspired me in so many ways. Not too long ago, I started a blog, not to make money, but to share my story in hopes of helping others. However, the blog has grown beyond my expectations, and for all the time and effort I put into it, some income from the blog would make things much easier.

My husband likes to joke that I make the worst hourly wage ever. Hehe. Anyway, reading through the e-course, I realized that if I’m putting so much of my time, energy, and love into the blog, then it’s okay to view it as a source of potential revenue.

After all, “In everything, there needs to be an exchange of energy.” Now I just have to choose from all of Goddess Leonie’s wonderful ideas and suggestions and implement them. I can’t wait!

- Goddess Heather, blogger
heathereatsalmondbutter.com

Marketing has been my pink elephant in the room, but now it’s not so scary to me anymore!

This e-course really shows you how to market your business in step by step detail and in fun and creative ways.

- Goddess Petrea, therapist
Offbeatfamily.com

Who is is this course for? Beginners or existing business owners?

Short answer: No matter what stage of business you’re at, there is a mega amount of wisdom & money-making tools in here for you.

By all means, go through this baby with a fine-tooth comb to mine up all its goodness. But a short guide to where you need to go for where you are right now?

If you’re still working out what you want to do

Start with Classes 1 & 2 to get the goss behind how I did it, ideas of what you can do & worksheets to make magic happen with. Instant clarity-makers & ginormous inspiration boosters up the butt!

If you’re just starting out in your business

Start with Classes 2 & 3. You’ll find out ways you can start making even more money right now, market your business more effectively (& joyfully). Then you’ll be ready to start jiving with the rest of the classes.

If you’ve already got a successful business

Classes 4 & 5 are for you especially. And the bonuses. ZOMG. What’s it all spell?

M-O-R-E M-O-N-E-Y A-N-D M-O-R-E J-O-Y.

Woah. That was a really long sentence. But anyway!!!

You’ll discover ways to supercharge your marketing. How to plan out your business so it’s meeting your dream income. And how to stay sane and joyful when your business gets crazy busy. Mega important thangs.

I have read through this goddess ecourse twice now as I want to be sure not to miss one single juicy magical bit of this beautiful and intelligent Leonie goddess wisdom.

Although I have been a goddess business owner for more than 20 years, I find valued new wisdom in your words. It is definitely worth the money to add this to mine (or anyone else) business teachings and guidance.

 

- Goddess Deborah, child carer

How long does it go for?

I’m doing something COMPLETELY wackadoodle (by my standards). You get the FULL course & ALL the bonuses *instantly* when you buy. Why? Because there’s no time to lose when it comes to making the business of your dreams. You can grab whatever your business needs right now. You can dive in & do it at the perfect Business Goddess speed for you.

So the answer? It goes for however long you need it to.

When does it start?

Right now. You’ll get instant access when you sign up, my love. Business wisdom, right when you need it.

What do I get in the kit?

Three PDF ebooks with 190+ pages BRIMMING with wisdom, uber magical marketing strategies, behind-the-business secrets, get-with-ze-program worksheets and fiery determination sauce.

Also: gladness, wonder, hope and love. In equal portions.

What kind of business is this for?

Any and all. You can be based online or offline. Acupuncturist, VA, healer, coach, web designer, photographer, therapist, masseuse, store owner. There is a massive amount of marketing wisdom in here for *everyone* to grow their business and make more gorgeous money!

Ready to become a Business Goddess?

Home Study Business Goddess e-course

You can get the Business Goddess e-course instantly for $79.

VIP Business Goddess

But what I really recommend? Is grabbing a Goddess Circle membership instead. It’s only $99. It’s only $20 extra, but you get $900 more of my stuff. You’ll get ALL my meditations, workbooks & other e-courses AND a year’s access to the Goddess Circle private sanctuary, including the Business Goddess Circle. You can brainstorm it up & make miracles happen with all the other business goddesses. So that’s the option I’d recommend, not because it’s more expensive, but because it’s absoloodely all the support and love I can lavish upon you.

(And yup, you’ll get the 2012 Creating your Goddess Year workbook as well included… in fact, you’ll get the 2013 one as well as soon as it is released! I really have NO IDEA how the Goddess Circle could get more magical + awesome than it already is!!!!)

And there is a big, gorgeous group of goddesses working through the Business Goddess e-course starting February 1.

Ooooodles of support, brainstorming goodness + wisdom sharing!!!

Got questions dearest?

I’d so dearly love to help. Just pop me an email & I’ll do my ding dang darndest to help.

I am SO honoured to be here… and would be utterly delighted to help you on your beautiful journey.

All the love in the world (and SO MUCH more!!!)

Hola my darling hearts,

Every year, we have a competition… a BONUS for the Goddess Ambassador who tells the most people about the Creating your Goddess Year workbook, planner + calendar.

Usually, we send to the winner their ambassador monies PLUS an extra $100 to thank them!

I ding dang LOVE giving money away. True story. It just makes me ridunkulously happy.

On Christmas Eve, I donated the largest amount I’ve ever donated to help beautiful kids get what they need. I may only have one daughter, but I want the whole world to have a really, really good life.

And I wanted to send thank you monies to my incredible Goddess Ambassadors for helping me help goddesses around the world.

I SO deeply believe in the 2012 Creating your Goddess Year workbook  + planner. I KNOW with my whole heart how much it can change lives and help women. It’s been scrawled upon, cried over, referred to, loved, adored, adorned + used as a dream life catapult by over 4000 women in the last 3 years.

I know it can help women. I KNOW it can make them ridunkulously happy. I KNOW it can help women live their dreams + heal the world. And I want it to find as MANY WOMEN AS POSSIBLE. And that’s where I need your help, as Goddess Ambassadors.

I need Goddess Ambassadors to share about the workbook, about how much it has changed their life, about how they use, about why they use it, so other women can find it & understand what great miracles can be birthed from it.

And I want to support Goddess Ambassadors who do this… share the abundance, send glowing birds of love + energy back to them, for helping me live my soul’s purpose.

This is my business living my soul’s destiny. I want a business that walks its talk, is authentic, generous, abundance and tremendously loving to every soul who is a part of it :: me, my assistant, our Goddess Circle members, all our clients, our Goddess Ambassadors & all our readers.

It needs to spread abundance + miracles + wisdom into the world. That’s what it is here for.

My life has been blessed by the opportunity for me + my love to work from home + rear our daughter together. And the Goddess Ambassador program is a way for me to offer the same opportunity to other goddesses out there in the world.

My BIG BIG dream really is to be able to send Goddess Ambassadors so much money each month that they can become a full time Goddess Ambassador… make their living helping women find this work.

I am so full of hope, and faith that it’s all possible.

I totally believe in abundance, and in sharing the love, and in making our livings bringing good, beautiful, helpful things into each other’s lives. What a joy!

I’m here to put my money where my heart & my vision is.

So this year, I wanted to go above & beyond the usual bonus.

Go extra, extra shiny!!!

This year, we are sending out a $500 MEGA MAGNIFICENT BONUS…
ON TOP of the generous 50% earnings from the workbook.

It’s a ridunkulous, fabulous, abundant way to bring in the new year.

Just from telling goddesses about my workbook that can help make their year extraordinary.

HOW TO WIN

The winner will be the Goddess Ambassador who gets the most sales of the workbook by the end of the month… only 19 days to go!

GET STARTED NOW

• SIGN UP TO BE AN AFFILIATE (if you haven’t already!)
• GET YOUR AFFILIATE CODES
• GET SUPER FABULOUS TIPS TO SUPER BOOST YOUR EARNINGS
• GET IMAGES & TWEETS TO USE

and get earning magical bonuses + GLORIOUS abundance!!!!

THIS IS SOOOOO EXCITING!!!!

thank you as always for helping me to spread the word + love to the goddesses who need it… i adore you & appreciate you!

love love LOVE & bucketloads of FAITH and ABUNDANCE!!!!

Hola gorgeous goddesses,

Last night, I was laying awake in bed & suddenly had a vision… of a dream I desperately want to happen.

I had a vision of me & my beloved assistant Marissa sitting in a big room with huge big pieces of paper & rainbow coloured markers… drawing and planning out these huge big dreams of mine for what I want to share with the world… mapping out how to make it happen!!!!

And how perfect it would be: me with my wild right brained gift of brainstorming dreams so big & bright they light up the sky.

Marissa with her left brained gift of seeing it & being able to create support & systems around them to help them be born.

And the first thought was:

“oh no, that’s not going to happen… way too wild!”

***

You see, Marissa & I have been working together for three years.

She is a daily gift in my life & business.

And I’ve never, ever met her.

She lives half a world away in the US, I live in tropical paradise Australia.

And the idea of her being here to brainstorm with me?

To my brain:

Impossible.

***

But then… oh then, the holy second thought:

“but what if it IS possible? how can we make it happen?”

And just like that, the game changed.

I stayed awake, wedged between the two souls I love, staring into the glittering darkness… dreaming up ways it could come true.

And I woke up this morning & told my love “I had this big dream last night… and before you say no, I’m letting you know I absolutely believe in it. I’m going to make it happen. And it’s okay if you don’t know how right now, because I know I can.”

And he just laughed, and said “Okay. Do what you need to do!”

***

Six hours later, it was done.

An email to my beloved assistant Marissa.

And then:

the holy yes!

My darling assistant Marissa Bracke is going to be flying over here to Australia to stay with us for ten days in the next month or two!

Plus :: mango frappes, sitting in the sunshine, showing her around this incredible land I live in, having a big HUGE DREAM RETREAT with her!!!!!

OMG!!!! THANKS IM-POSSIBLE DREAM!!!! YOU WERE SOOOOO POSSIBLE!!!!!!

Where there is a dream, there is a way.

Oh I am soooo teary… this has really touched my heart and spirit in so many ways… Marissa is such a HUGE blessing in my life + business and I can’t wait to make magic with her!!!!!!!

Amazed & excited that I’ll be meeting my amazing assistant in the next month or two… For a big ole huggle fest & brainstorming wonderland session!!! Big wild dreams really CAN be brought to life!!!!!!

***

I just wanted to say:

Instead of just listening to that first thought of:
it’s impossible.

What if you say instead:
how can we make it happen?

There’s a whole world of difference in there.

A world where dreams come true.

love,

P.S. Working on my 2012 Creating your Goddess Year workbook + calendar. Making my dreams come true. What about you?

Hola gorgeous Goddesses!

I have this big glorious wild dream.

This vision, this possibility… of women becoming full time Goddess Ambassadors…

of making all the abundance they need from helping other women find what they need.

Already, over $16 000 has been sent out to Goddess Ambassadors. That’s a whole lot of joyful abundance!

And here’s to a million more…

I have a Goddess Ambassador program so I can share the abundance back, so I can say a big ginormous THANK YOU to every goddess who believes in me & wants to share my work along.

Want to help spread my work into the world

and make moolah from it?

For more information & to sign up as a Goddess Ambassador, click HERE.

In gorgeous shining love + wild lush abundance!

P.S. The system is all brand spanking sparkling shiny NEW to make it as easy as possible for you… so if you’ve been a Goddess Ambassador before, you’ll need to resign up to make moolah & have access to our amazing new Ambassador Centre for Blooming!

This is a post I get requested to write a LOT since creating the Business Goddess e-course.

Goddess dive deep into the course & make huge miracles happen & start REALLY becoming business goddesses & they want to keep building their business muscles.

So they ask:

What’s the best business books you can recommend?

So here’s the momentous list at last.

It’s just five books. A beautiful five. You don’t need that many to radically change your life, dearest heart.

And I also want to make this disclaimer: There have been a number of books that I’ve tried to read that just DON’T ding my bells but might ding yours. We all need different lessons at different times. Don’t bother forcing yourself to finish a book if it’s not rocking your socks off.

Say “Thanks” and high-fives it goodbye. And sashay your way to one that does.

And another disclaimer: normal top ten posts bore me shitless. I like stories! Interesting things! Distracted by sparkly things! So this is a very goddess-leonie list. Regular readers, you know what that means. New readers: welcome to the group hugs & scrumptious hilarity that ensues whenever I attempt to do anything normal!

Did you ever watch “High Fidelity?” No? Okay, skip this paragraph. Anywaysies, it’s totally in my Top 5 Movies Of All Time. And there’s this one scene in it – after him & Laura break up, and he decides to reorganise his record collection into autobiographical order. So instead of knowing that a record was released in 1976, he needed to remember it was instead in 1978 that he bought it, after he’d lost his favourite black shirt (or something like that). You know how it is.

Anywaysies… this is my Top 5 business books. But NOT the way you’d usually expect it. It’s my autobiographical list.

Be prepared! Mind mianderings follow! Weeeeeeeee!!!!

Retire Young, Retire Rich

Written by: Robert Kiyosaki

This was one of the very first finance books I ever read – and I’m not kidding when I say it really DID change my life.

It’s Robert Kiyosaki’s story of how he & his wife created financial freedom for themselves. About how we was born poor & how they struggled so much before deciding they would make a momentous change for themselves.

And to be honest – it’s the cover of this book that really does me in. It’s a photo of him & wifeykins horse riding in Hawaii. There’s just something about the spirit of the photo – of joy, and possibility, and totally loving your life – that totally affects me.

After reading it, I started wondering…

What if?

What if I had enough money to live where I wanted to? What if my life was lived how I wanted? What if I could go from a total right-brained hippy into being a successful business person?

It was the most delightful book for me – just to get that whole process ruling. I LOVE reading other people’s stories – they are endlessly inspiring to me – far more inspiring than “how to” finance books.

From a personal level, I remember when I read this book – my love & I lived pay check to pay check. We had credit cards that were maxed, and no savings or investments.

We just didn’t think about our money – and we certainly didn’t look at our lives in terms of investments.

But things started changing after reading this book.

We paid off all our credit cards & cancelled them all. (We have debit Mastercards instead – they rock!)

We started investing in real estate.

We went from being totally ignorant about money – just going with the flow of normal – and started being aware & proactive about it.

And now we are in a really fantastic financial position.

Totally amazing.

If we can do it – anyone can!

The One Minute Millionaire

Written by: Mark Victor Hansen & Robert G Allen

I have talked before about how this book was the catalyst for the Goddess Circle, my $100 000 idea.

I found it in a bookstore when Ostara was still a newborn. I remember we would go back to our usual haunts – this little alcove of musty secondhand book stores in Fyshwick. One bookstore spread over three unevenly floored stores, and two more. Canty’s and Barry’s and someone else’s.

We were shell shocked new parents, trying to retain some semblance of our Past Life As Individuals With Interests.

And we’d eat a curried vege paste at the pie shop on the corner, and I’d drink lemonade and feed Ostara.

Then we’d venture into our bookaphile’s wet dream. We knew we were leaving Canberra soon, to return home to tropical paradise – that for all it’s tropically paradisey-ness, it was bookstore-less. So we needed to stock up. We were bookish alcoholics, and were about to enter drylands.

So my love’s arms would start piling up with fantasy books & kid’s picture books & self help must-haves, and then Ostara would start mewing again, so I’d sit in tears in the car, feeding her again for the twelfth time that day.

And my love would come and find me all tear stained and sit in the car beside me and I would say:

My life is over, I’ll never be able to look in another bookstore again, my life is over…

And he’d listen, and then he’d say

Come on darling, let’s give it another go, just ten more minutes.

(At this point, we’d only get 10-15 minutes out of her before she wanted More! Boob! Now! She was a boobaholic. Easily settled, but only with boob. Which is cool. Except when you’re the only one with boobs & are going not-so-quietly bonkers.)

But we were valiant.

And Chris jiggled her for a few minutes as I raced down bookstore aisles, pulling Must Have Books left right & centre. And then she started mewing like a tiny kitten again, so I swapped my pile of books for baby, and then jiggled her down the Business & Finance aisle.

I crouched on the floor & pulled out everything that looked:

• newer than 1980
• not contaminated with The Plague or The Smell
• remotely interesting.

There were about five in all.

And I had exactly 7.6 nanoseconds to decide which ones I wanted before Ostara’s mews became bleets.

I narrowed it down to three, tossed them at Chris on the way out, and nestled back into BreastFeeding Station (aka back seat of the jeep) with Ostara.

I started reading it that afternoon on the couch while (you guessed it!) Ostara was on the boob.

She was going through these stints where she’d breastfeed for like 3-4 hours at a time.

(I AM NOT KIDDING.)

It was effing nuts. It did make for some awesome book reading sessions though. I even managed to do part of the Creative Goddess e-course illustrations on the sales page while I was boobfeeding her.

(HOLY DINGERS MOTHERS ARE AMAZING. SERIOUSLY.)

I know you are all pretty much riveted by my boobs at this point (who can blame you, really!)… but I did start this story with another intention in mind.

Oh yes! Because I read this book! And it’s one of my top fives!

The One Minute Millionaire is 50% a fictional story and 50% tips on how to make money.

And being who I am – totally inspired by stories instead of facts – I just read the story, with the full intention of reading back over the tips. (I never did.)

And it’s about how a mother needs to come up with $1 million to have her children.

And she works out how to do it.

And at that point in my life, I knew with this beautiful baby girl in my arms that I had a huge task ahead of me.

I wanted to move home to tropical paradise – a place that doesn’t have many jobs.

I wanted my love to be a stay at home dad with me.

And I wanted to keep making my art & books & miracles.

I just needed to work out the money stuff to make that happen.

Reading that story of a woman coming up with $1 million made me look at what I needed to live my dream.

I needed $100 000 – a number that seemed all too huge.

But I found out how I could do it in a dream – and it became the Goddess Circle.

So I can absolutely say this book was a major catalyst in my life.

I’m here, sitting in my favourite cafe, eating raw cheesecake made by my sister (who has gone on to create her own incredibly successful business), living in tropical paradise, my love at home with Ostara while I go out to write.

Our lives are a really beautiful balance of family time, with both my love and I having time to do the things we love – I get to do this beautiful goddess business of mine, he gets to study Psychology.

All because of a fraction of time, a handful of books, a moment spent dashing through bookstores in a haze of newborn mama-ishness.

Martha’s Rules

Written by: Martha Stewart

I’ll be honest:

I thought this was going to be totally crap.

I’m actually NOT a Martha fan.

I’m not NOT a Martha fan – she just doesn’t get shown on Australian TV that much.

The only thing I do remember seeing of Martha was demonstrating on Oprah how to fix that problem that everrrrryone lays awake worrying about:

How on earth do I fold fitted sheets so they sit nicely in the linen cupboard?

And me being an uber messy hippy arty type thought:

“Ummm Why The Face? WHO FOLDS SHEETS?”

Martha does, and she also folds fitted sheets like origami & ties them with satin ribbon.

So I totally crossed her off my list as Not My Type.

Then I fell upon her business book in the discount box at a bookstore. It was only $5 – crazy cheap! (Oh non-Australians, just so you know – books are *not* cheap here in Australia. Most sit around $30. I know they are 50-70% cheaper in other countries. But there you go! Expensive! Books! In! Australia! And that’s really the only reason I could say Australia is sucky. We rock at pretty much everything else!)

[Also: have you ever noticed Leonie is Queen of the Interloping Stories? No? Good! Continue on! Like I never said this!]

Anyways, I am unable to resist the allure of cheap books, like, EVA.

So I got it.

And read it in the park during lunch hour of my cubicle job.

I remember laying in the grass, the sun being so beautifully Springish, defrosting my frozen winter bones (this is when we lived in alpine Canberra – aka Cantartica!)

And DEVOURING the book, consuming it whole, thinking aloud in my head:

“HOLY CRAPADINGLE!!! THIS BOOK IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD!!!!!”

I found it so useful to see how a crafty maker kinda person had revolutionised their business to make it so profitable & ubiquitous.

Seriously inspirational.

Plus – as I’ve said – I get way more mojo out of hearing people’s stories than just reading a bland how-to book.

So, *high five* Martha.

You can come fold my fitted sheets any ding dang time you like!

The Four Hour Work Week

Written by: Timothy Ferris

I can remember exactly where I bought The Four Hour Work Week.

We were in Singapore after a month trekking around India, staying at this beautiful, lush hotel (as an apology from our travel agent who totally flubbed our booking & sent us to Singapore instead of Hong Kong. SO CLOSE, lady – only like a couple thousand kilometres apart!) But anyways, after backpacking around India & becoming the most stinky, vomety & sensory-fried version of ourselves, staying in a beautiful soft, quiet apartment with a CLEAN! TOILET! was a total delight.

After sleeping for a gazillion hours, buying Singapore Zoo t-shirts and disposing of our decomposing India attire, we started venturing out into the attached shopping mall.

Incase you are wondering, South East Asia does the shopping mall awesomely. Handy hint: they like them. A LOT.

So you can walk kilometres in them. All while staying close to bathrooms. Which we needed – just so we could periodically run to & lose a whole bundle of body weight in. Thank you, oh sweet Delhi belly. What delights you have shared.

Anywaysies! Happily, the closest store to the hotel was a bookstore. (Literally – it was the closest a store could get. The hotel was attached to the mall, so you could pop out for some crazy voodoo doll keychains (all the rage in Asian 2007) & durian flavoured cheesecake without even having to go outside.

Life is good.

SO! It was in that thoroughly dishevelled, poo-ridden, India-recovering state that I found the book. I’d seen it a zillion times before in bookstores (Dear Borders Canberra City, I’m looking at you… but I hear you are gone. Dissolved. I miss you, even though I moved away first. I think it’s better that way. I don’t think I could have watched you be dismantled. Love, Leonie.) & I’d read about it 73.8 trillion blogs (I like to be exact).

And I was really needing something new & fresh in my life after India.

I felt like India had torn away all my parts, dismantled me & brought me to my knees.

And I know I had needed it – I knew it was good medicine.

And yet I felt broken by the sheer enormity of India, of how the dirt & the poverty & the sad obsidian eyes had made my heart quake. I was disappointed with myself for not finding India this truly enlightening experience. I’d had all these nightmares before I’d left for India – that I would go, and sleep my way through it. That I would go home before it was my time. That I wouldn’t understand India.

And in so many ways that dream had come true. I’d been & had the India scars tattooed all over my skin, but I still couldn’t read them. Still couldn’t work out what they meant. Still couldn’t get over just how hard it was – on my eyes, my nose, my digestive tract, my head, my relationships, my compassion, my heart.

Have I ever told you about India?

I don’t think I did. I don’t think I even could. A little bit here, but not the great tomes I expected to pour forth. Even now, some four years on (maybe five – who counts these things?), I still search for the words that are true about India.

I am left with:

India was hard. India was sacred.
Go if you are called.
Otherwise, don’t.

I think I could say that about most of life, really.

I’m telling you all this, because I like telling stories. I like taking you in my pocket and in my heart everywhere I go. There are so many beautiful adventures to take in this world. Every.single.day.

So I found The Four Hour Work Week after India, in a country I was never supposed to be in, but was there anyway, staying in this posh hotel, sneaking durian into the hotel to eat on the balcony (that heavily-scented fruit isn’t allowed in posh spots because it stenches up the place), rushing to the toilet, re-calibrating my senses after the onslaught of India, seeking solace, and peace, and a dream of where to go next.

So it entered my life.

And it’s the story of A Dude who decides he only wants to work a few hours a week, and spend the rest of his time doing crazy shit. Travelling & breaking rules & working out new ways to work and live and everything. Dude is totally an Indigo child, no?

And the Four Hour Work Week made my head go:

Kapoooooow!

The little top on my head flipped off and clattered to the floor, spinning around like a china saucer.

And I thought:

Dude could make it happen for him. I can make it happen for me.

That’s just what I’m like. If there’s something I want that I don’t have I think:

Well, I can totally do it. I can do anything!

And then I go and do it.

So I started dreaming and scheming what was possible.

The Four Hour Work Week wasn’t the full puzzle for me. But holy dinger, it definitely was a big piece of it for me.

(And then we flew home. And I kissed the ground outside the terminal. It was so lovely! And blue! And clean! And bright! And shining! So much space! And spent Christmas totally delirious thinking back over all the magic and woo-woo and WTF just happened to me. And I read back over and over and over again the thick journal I wrote in at India. Spilled ink & photographs & words & art. One day I will show it to you. It was India in a book. The End.)

Strategy Daddy

Written by Ankesh Kothari & Michael Keesee

I met Ankesh online through a business forum a few years ago – and he immediately stuck out to me as this wildly genius business brain. He has a totally different way of seeing into business systems & marketing. I’ve been badgering him ever since to write a book.

And now he has, and of course I ordered it straight away.

It’s compelling & interesting & brilliant & smart.

I really, really dig his clever way at looking at the world of business & marketing & finding brilliant ways to change it up.

G E N I U S.

I know I haven’t said a huge amount about this book.

But I don’t really know what to say.

Just that it’s got all these flipping brilliant strategies & possibilities & ways to make your business bigger & more profitable.

And it’s flipping brilliant.

Enough said.

Ankesh! In a book! Dream come true!

Also: in true High Fidelity autobiographical style – this is the last one I’ve read. Actually, it’s still on my nightstand. There is SO MUCH in this book!

THE END.

Wasn’t this the best post ever?

So TOTALLY not about business books, and yet TOTALLY is.

The blend between money & life & heart & spirit… just the way my life is.

Yours too.

Coz you rock.

WOO!

Okay!

This was fun! I so hope this helped my dearest heart!!!!

I’m off home! Go cuddle baby! Perve on hunky love! Read books! Make dinner!

Must buy nappies on way home. Thanks for reminding me. You totes got my back.

Your best friend forever,