[Image: National Geographic]

Have you watched the news recently?

Don’t tell me. Let me guess!

Either you have and flicked it off saying “What is this trash?” or if you read alternative news sources, probably something like “Ok, I get it. Things are rough. Now what?”

Or is it just me?

I live in NYC for about half the year now instead of full time like I used to, for a few reasons:

1. I like exploring
2. This place is a bubble, and I need to know what’s happening elsewhere, what people think like, etc. Basically #1.

And one of the things I find no matter where I go, no matter whom I meet, is that people are fundamentally the same. We all want the same things:

love
safety
family / friends
a way to support ourselves

Some people I’ve met have no concept of “thriving” at all yet. They are in a reality where they’re simply trying to survive. And this is hard to bear.

I want to shake them and say “You have options!”, and despite what it often feels like, this is true.

But I don’t walk away unscathed. I feel for them – intensely. I want to hug the world and make it a better place. I want to stop deforestation, eliminate hunger, disease, poverty, hate and selfishness. I want to see our planet whole. I want to not meet people who believe war is the only solution. I want people to smile, thrive, do what their soul calls them to do and laugh, a lot.

Sometimes I get so heart broken that I lay in bed weeping, feeling helpless and sorry for myself, thinking “I am but one.”

Yet this isn’t true.

The more I live and travel, the more I meet amazing, like-minded people, the more I realize that there are thousands, no, millions, of people with ideas and implementation to make the world a better place. Every documentary I watch changes me. I learn more; I see my mind evolve; I watch connections being made.

I CHOOSE to stay positive, despite…

Because it’s far too easy to give up and say “We’re f***ed.” It’s too easy to bury ourselves into the minutia and forget that we are a collective. It’s too easy to get scared and run for the hills that are quickly being stripped of trees.

It is too easy to pretend we have no responsibility to ourselves and one another to live lives that are reflective of the current, changing, times, lives of full self expression and generosity that become beacons for others to do the same.

And the actions we take must be in line with what we’re here to do.

For some it might mean simply being kinder to others. For some it might be planting a garden in their neighborhood. For some it might mean choosing to not send troops into death zones. For some it might mean looking about and asking “What can I do?” and allowing the answers to show up when it’s time.

It varies.

But heartbreak as a constant variable is not an option. Not anymore.

We’ve all had relationships that had our knees buckle from pain and loss. We’ve all felt that “This is it. I can’t recover from this.” But we can, and if we want to, we do.

Imagine never allowing love back into your life? What’s the point?

Same thing with the global state of things.

I personally know dozens of people whose lives are dedicated to helping the planet, dozens of people who are involved in major global projects that are MAKING the changes necessary. But I bet there were plenty of people in their world who thought they were absolutely bat$hit.

Someone always said “Relax. Have a beer. Forget.” And they tried, but it didn’t work.

So they got up and went on, despite.

They spoke about their calling, despite.

They made “waves in the pool” as the Russian saying goes (meaning making change), despite.

We can NOT do this alone. We’re not meant to.

So what can we do NOW? Where can we start TODAY? That’s the million dollar question that’s worthy of personal inquiry.

Blessings and godspeed to you all.

“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.”
So starts the first chapter of The Kybalion.

I discovered this little giant book, first printed in 1908, when I read The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, its author mentioning The Kybalion several times. Written by the mysterious “THREE INITIATES” I got very curious…

The 7 Principles of Hermetic Philosophy

The entirety of it revolves around “The 7 Hermetic Principles”, ideas simple yet penetrating. I will outline them here yet urge you to pick up a copy - the one pictured here is the Definitive version and includes a great Introduction – for it’s wonderful, not only in the simplicity and resonance of the content but also for the clarity with which these concepts are presented.

Read the rest of the post on Belinda Davidson’s School of the Modern Mystic.

Happy Monday!

I’m giddy because I’ve spent all weekend reworking my site after I was dragged out of my meditation by persistent visions of the idea I’m about to share with you.

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to reach a wider group of positive altruists, those who want to make a difference in the world, and I saw it:

The database of geniuses

It dawned on me, as most of my good ideas do, when I was least expecting it…

So What is this? Why am I doing this?

One of my jobs in the universe is to support BIG, world-changing ideas take off and make a positive global impact.

This is really what I love to do – ask my friends because I don’t shut up about it – it’s what gets me up in the morning. “Wouldn’t it be great if all the smarties who could fix the planet got together?” Literally what I said as a child.

Which is why I worked at The Earth Institute for so many years – I was SURROUNDED by geniuses who made the world a better place!

Well, you don’t need a bunch of degrees to be considered a genius.
Some of the best ideas are simple.

Ever heard of micro-loaning?
That simple concept is transforming the planet as we speak.

What does this mean for you?

Three words: COMMUNITY, INSPIRATION and COLLABORATION.

Every entry will get categorized and compiled according to its relevance to other ideas and listed on my site, serving as inspiration for others and offering opportunity for collaboration with those who are moved by what you do and want to jump in.

There is NO WAY any one person can make the kind of transformation the planet needs right now by themselves. It’s not how this works. We need to work together.

So this database is literally a way of making that just a bit easier, especially for start-ups and entrepreneurs like yourselves.

Wan to be a part of this?

Come on over, add your name and BIG idea, and I’ll let you know when the database becomes public.

Please share this! The more that know about this the better.

Put on a seat belt, bib and helmet because if you’re like me, you’ll be reading this book drooling and nodding your head so violently you might hit a wall. And have someone photograph you. Your eyes may show up the sizes of plates.

It all started for me with a dream in which I met a man with a low-hanging ponytail of white hair. “Who are you?” I asked.

“Melchizedek.” he said smiling, “Doh!”

I awoke with a start and began googling, finding the word “Melchitzedek”, a term originating from the book of Genesis and eventually finding a person currently living in Arizona, named Drunvalo Melchizedek. The photo on his site was of the man from my dream.

I gasped, put on my seatbelt, bib and helmet and purchased the digital version of The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life Vol. 1.

The Book’s 4 Story Lines

A transcription of Drunvalo’s course by the same name, this book has a very conversational feel about it. This can get confusing occasionally because he weaves in and out of various “plot lines” throughout; eventually, though, this make sense as you read on because there are 4 concurrent stories being told, and the only way to do this is to jump around.

Read the rest of this review on Belinda Davidson’s, School of the Modern Mystic.

Guest Post by Kim Roberts

Because you do.

I know, you hate that answer. So did I. But by now, you’ve probably figured out that there’s no such thing as a straight shot when finding your way in life. Four steps forward, eight steps back; three steps forward, and the ground gives way.

Progress is an idyll created by those in a hurry to escape the present moment. Click to Tweet.

Five years ago, I was on top of the world.

Literally: on the roof of the world, in the Himalayas, working in Bhutan. I had my absolute dream job, teaching yoga at a small luxury resort. I was known as an expert in my field, enjoying a reputation that I had worked fifteen years to achieve. I was being paid to live in a $1000 (USD) per night resort suite, hobnobbing with Cher and Carlos Slim and some of the world’s most successful artists. I was living legally and free in the most elusive, exclusive country in the world, where most visitors must pay a $200 visa fee for the privilege of spending one night.

I had developed personal relationships with some of the highest masters of Vajrayana Buddhism, and the time and space to go visit with them and get guidance on my practice.

I had time to practice.

My work regularly entailed hiking all day in pristine forest to little known shrines inhabited by magical spirits. A thriving business developed around leading retreats and establishing myself finally after a long journey of false starts and dead ends. People raved about my teaching, and doors opened up one after another. I forged bonds with people and established deep friendships—some of the closest friends I’ve known since embarking on this journey of expat life.

Then, as if the cake needed icing, about a year after I landed in Bhutan, I met a man. Not just any man, but The Man. The whole works.

Someone I’d already known for 12 years, the perfect kind of man for my perfect life, so I fell hard and fast. He asked me to be with him.

It was as if a pure golden bolt of light just showed up on my doorstep. I was swimming in bliss.

Finally, I got it – the magic key – life came together once you paid your dues. My dues were finally paid and I could now cruise on the open sea.

Then of course, one day, just like that, it fell apart.

The man balked, and left me on the doorstep. Someone started spreading rumors about me in the expat community. The hotel didn’t offer to renew my contract. Bhutanese administration would not renew my visa. I returned to the US to wander around homeless, jobless, in a state of shock with a shattered heart.

Boy was that fun.

But this is how it goes: shit happens.

As Shakyamuni Buddha said, all composite things will eventually fall apart. And everything is composite.

Impermanence reigns.

You may dream of the situation where you will be peaceful and happy and things will go smoothly. And these days there are so many people willing to help you do that: coaches, advisors, teachers, gurus, counselors, consultants.

But the problem with projecting into the future this way, is that you then ignore one fundamental law of the universe: what is happening right here and right now is the only thing that exists.

Even when you finally get what you want, you will worry about it being taken away, (and it eventually will be) so why waste the precious present moment in future think, when this moment is already passing away?

The result of my mini-drama was that I ended up buying a house and becoming a shut-in for a year: I wrote a memoir.

A week before I was to submit the manuscript for peer review, an agent contacted me to ask if I’d like to write a book about Bhutan. Clearly there had been forces at work steering me onto the right path. I’ve now refocused my business to make room for my secret passion—writing.

Oh, and I discovered The Man had a history of bad behavior, making our downfall the biggest blessing I could have received.

So when things are not working out, listen up and see if it’s a sign for you to shift your focus slightly.

Here’s a little map to reinvent yourself when things fall apart:

1. Take stock and identify support: Let go immediately of what wants to dissolve. The sooner you are able to let go of something weighing you down, the better. Create space for something new to arrive.

2. Preserve resources: Stop spinning your wheels and reflect on the new landscape. This is when I usually schedule a meditation retreat. Make friends with space and try not to fill it up.

3. Solitude and silence are needed for creation: Dream up a vision for yourself, whether or not you think it is realistic. What do you really want? Where does your heart tell you to go? Sometimes the big breaks can give you permission to do what you’ve always wanted to do.

4. Take one small step in any direction: Just one step, for now. A life-changing journey begins with one small step.

Though Diary of a Pilgrim has not yet found a publisher, I did just publish my first Ebook, Ashtanga Yoga for Beginner’s Mind, and am revising my memoir to include how-to advice for aspiring yoginis, who are more often than not strong, fiercely dedicated, single women trying to find their way in a confusing new paradigm.

I’ve also created a thriving business out of Northern Thailand where I teach people how to use yoga and meditation practice to move through troubling life situations.

The word “tribe” used to literally mean a tribe – the source of our survival and joy as human beings – and it had roles, responsibilities: you had to pull your weight, relate and support.

Now we throw tribe around in the world of business, which is fine, unless we secretly mean “customers” and don’t know the difference.

A little story.

One day, “customer” – a term simply meaning “one who buys from you” – was no longer big enough a container to survive the evolution of business. People began to understand that with the birth of human-to-human technology, one-sided communication that brands had gotten so comfortable with would no longer do. Humans had to be treated like people.

So businesses shifted to begin including voices of these people above and beyond simply using their responses to surveys to test a potential market. I suspect because we now had forums and Twitter and could really burn these brands online if they did something wacky. But that’s not really tribe.

So along comes along Seth Godin and says “Your people are not robots! Those that love your work are your tribe, man! Treat them well!” (in so many words), and the world ran with it, pouring this version of soy milk into their coffee instead of creamer, only to discover,  some months later, that there were side-effects of incorrect use. As with all things.

In short, we can’t keep misusing this word; we can’t play tribe without being a tribe member.

We can’t NOT participate and expect something in return.

We can’t seem holier than thou if we want anyone to play with us. 

Sandbox rules persist.

Transparency & Inclusion

What was the last way in which you invited your tribe to play with you? Have you ever? And I don’t mean just asking them to comment on your blog posts.

There are tons of ways to do this. Here are some fun ones:

• have a campaign promoting something you love (that you may or may not benefit from)
• make branded items that you sell and give away (people love those, especially if you’re not normally a manufacturer of hard goods.)
• have a sale for your people only
• post something funny and honest
• invite people some place / event you’ll be at (I met some amazing people this way)

A Good Example

Many of you who know me know that I simply LOVE Hugh MacLeod, the artist who did that great pic above. I have a print of his on my wall, have given his art as gifts and got a hilarious T-Shirt that reads: “I survived the Mayan Apocalypse”.

I adore him because his artwork is unique and fun and because he engages with people really well. I’ve even had a long conversation with him about art on Twitter and have submitted myself wearing that silly shirt to his campaign of folks who love his work.

That’s terrific tribal love, and I always tell people about him, inviting them to sign up for his daily cartoon, because it’s not only poignant, it’s consistent and puts a smile on my face.

So with all that tribe talk, please meet my new tribe member, Vas’ka.
She’s a troublemaker. But who’d expect any less.

What are some fun ways you’ve engaged with your tribe?

What are some thing you’d like to try and do?

I don’t know about you, but for me, this year’s winter solstice was intense. Not only was the end of the world chatter abound, but I found it hard to concentrate and get anything extremely mental done.

At first this was annoying. I had plans, tasks, to do lists, but when I stepped back and allowed whatever was happening to happen, I found myself relaxing, sticking my nose hard agains the Metro North train window and staring at the beautiful nature of the Hudson Valley as I sped home from my cousin’s house, crying for no reason at all.

When I got home and got quiet, easing into my meditation, nature spoke to me. Yes, I speak to nature. I don’t mention it often here, but all us “weirdos” need to come out some time. And this seems to be mine.

What I felt as I connected was tension and love at the same time. The planet is going through major transitions. And we, being deeply connected to it, whether aware of it or not, feel it too.

We are experiencing the quaking of our mother as she shifts and turns to align with the new energy flowing quickly in, and from what I heard, we need only to hold on and allow, aligning with this benevolent energy even when it may seem to be ripping our hearts (and potentially circumstances of our work and life) apart.

I kept hearing: “Be with me.”

Like all beings, wanting to be seen – really seen and understood – is nature’s want as well. It is alive, completely generous and has a spirit of its own. It wants to be part of our lives; it wants us to connect.

And even as the hows of our individual connection may vary, that we connect is essential.

There are many of us who work between worlds

We have linear-apearing jobs or businesses that seem to do straight-forward things. But HOW we take care of those tasks is often born in the subconscious, in the abstract, in the right-side of the brain, so to speak.

We get accurate messages and hunches we can’t explain the roots of, feel tension when something is “just not right” and may often have trouble opening up, coming out and expressing these talents and gifts lest the world reject us for being strange.

These fears are not unfounded.

If a doctor were to tell you that many of his – accurate – diagnoses were done with the accompaniment of their intuition, psychic vision or the like, he may lose his job, be laughed out of his practice or ridiculed. There are, of course, more and more medical practitioners who use these gifts successfully, but we still have a major disparity between the traditional institutions of science and the more mystical institutions of the softer sciences that many more are discovering within themselves right now.

These kinds of soft skills were not appreciated or understood for a very long time. More seriously, people simply feared them because their traditions and religions taught them to.

Having any set of these intuitive abilities was often a recipe for getting oneself killed, so people stayed quiet.

And where we can’t disregard our sordid human past in this realm, we can choose to move beyond it and accept those gifts within ourselves.

This may be difficult at first, but I find that the more we share, the more we accept these things within ourselves, the more we can use these talents to infuse our powerful, left-brained skills – so hard-earned in the institutions of education and work – to help the world align, balance and provide sustenance to us all.

We have powerful, natural gifts lying dormant within us waiting to be tapped and expressed.

Many of us are already hybrids.

Many of us have had years of experience surviving in the old-world paradigms of rote education and drone-like office places while beginning to acquaint ourselves with the new, mystical side of life.

And this side of life allows us to connect to nature, one another and to our particular gifts and abilities.

We are the next generation of leaders, healers and parents

We are the ones who are responsible for teaching our children in a way conducive to planetary sustainability and our world’s survival.

So do they not deserve us to be straight about who we are?

Many of you know that I have worked with sustainable development for many years and have helped sustainable businesses take off. This has been my inspiration and drive my entire life. So when I began to discover my particular flavor of weird, I noticed that the planet and its survival were all over it.

Part of my life’s work is to preserve what we have inherited.

Gosh that felt good to say.

So what is your inspiration and drive?

What do you want to create in the world?

What is your legacy, gift and ability that can help us all?

With love,
Kat

In my work lately, I’ve been seeing the same questions arise:

I have this idea but I’m stuck. How do I continue?

Or

How do I know this is the right idea?

I understand these concerns. I like to get things done, so when an idea shows up, I want answers on how to implement, what structures are needed and the rest. My mind is active, and it likes to solve puzzles.

It also enjoys tormenting me when the answers aren’t readily available, which when it comes to creative things like what to produce next can be challenging, if approached from a logical, linear perspective.

So how do we move through this space of confusion and annoyance?

Clarity is a priceless commodity.

Without it, no matter how many systems you put in place, the greater vision – if expressed prematurely – will not produce the results you’re out for because it simply isn’t ready.

Ideas need space.

You’re fired up about something, and you’ve been pushing it forward but something is stuck and you can’t understand why? Step away.

You had a daydream about a new product, but it’s hazy and it’s been on your mind for days with no additional clarity? Step away.

Not like “forget the idea”, just give it breathing room.

The point is to move from the linear space into an abstract one.

Creative (and physical) balance

I was born a lefty.

Communism didn’t prevail, and they failed to retrain me to write and do everything else with my right hand. So I happily continued being a lefty in all things, until I realized several years ago that I wasn’t.

At this point, just about the only thing I still dominantly do with my left hand is write. Other clerical things like using a mouse, cutting things and wasting time on a smartphone are done predominantly by my right hand.

This was not a huge deal – many products are designed for righties, so it’s no wonder lefties adapt.

But the big surprise was that the rest of my body had become right-side dominant too. As in, most of my knots and tight muscles were on the right side.

Now this made the least sense of all because I was a lefty tennis player (an extremely one sided sport) since I was 6.

Shouldn’t the knots be on the left?

Oh my brain!

Looking deeper into it, I was led to the brain.

The left hemisphere – controlling our body’s right side – is the logical, linear side that relates to time. The right hemisphere – controlling our body’s left side – is the abstract, artistic, emotional one that does not process time. In general terms.

Now – again, in general terms – our society values ROIs, GDPs and SATs. Those are all left-brain stats that require left-brain dominance. Right-brain achievements haven’t been valued equally in centuries, for, I imagine, survival reasons. So we were trained to count, read, chop stuff, compete, not so much to slow down, breathe and listen.

Those skills rarely generated equal income or respect, rarely translated into money – in a linear sense.

Now brain function is obviously more complex than I’ve described. The two halves share information and are meant to work as a team. But if your right brain is dominated and suppressed, the expected outcome is left-brain dominance, a more linear, time bound perspective and approach to things.

So how does all this apply?

Well if your creative imagination (loosely speaking) is birthed in the right hemisphere, and you instantly try to confine it to structure through the left hemisphere, you create nothing but unyielding pressure if the idea is not ready to be materialized.

Sound familiar?

The right brain doesn’t understand time.

It’s abstract, void of confinements; it experiences life as “IT IS”, so when something arises, it arises. When it hasn’t yet, it simply hasn’t yet.

Since most of us are left-brain dominant in just about everything we do, not having been trained to allow space to occur as diligently as doing math or reading, when the answers don’t come NOW, we think that something is wrong.

But that simply isn’t true.

Discovering that I had become right-side dominant in the way I walked, moved and the rest, I began to focus on realigning my body, removing the knots, tight muscles and returning my spine to straight. I began to find amazing deposits of space that have wanted nothing but to relax. My body felt better. My mind felt better.

We are meant to be balanced, not lopsided. We are meant to walk straight, not lead with the mind.

Same with ideas.

Ideas need to be nurtured in a state of balance, and the right-brain needs space to do it’s thing.

Via the old method of squeeeeeeeeezing it out, something will be produced, but it won’t feel as good or be as effective as when the truth arises suddenly and difinitively, your whole body zinging with truth resonance.

It’s a physical reaction I’ve noticed in myself countless times. I highly recommend it.

And as everything in the universe is holographic – as below so above, as they say – observing the body will help you see your mind and vice versa.

Creating Space

The idea is to begin using our right brain more so that it is in a healthy relationship with the left hemisphere. This way they happily share data and rely on one another for guidance, thus ultimately creating fantastic, inspiring things in the world.

There are tons of ways to do this.

Step away from the point of incessant analysis

Einstein used to just go to sleep when confronted by a seemingly unanswerable problem with the intention of waking up to a solution in the morning;  this works. I’ve done it myself.

Answers also often come after I spend time in nature, play with friends or draw – one left-handed activity still alloted to me.

I also meditate regularly, which has helped balance out my entire life in general. More on that at another time.

The body practice I’ve discovered and really enjoy is Body Rolling. It opens up your muscles and bones, allowing not only (often instant) pain relief but the realignment of your entire body. You can instantly see which side is dominant, where the muscles are contracted and have a simple, enjoyable way of shifting it. I love it.

As a result I am walking straighter and my muscles far more flexible and less tense; my mind is clearer. I feel better.

New ideas – completely unfiltered – fly in, and I now have space to watch them, surrender to the ones that persist and follow the feelings that put a smile on my face.

It’s a practice

My brain perspective above is a supposition, so in no way clinical science.

Some people have knots on the left side, some on the right. All I know is that as the study of the brain evolves, people are seeing right-brain, left-brain use in correlation to a vast array of activity, inactivity and pain in the body.

So all this not only made a great deal of sense to me but has also led me in the direction of balance in my life, physically and creatively.

Structure is important, but we must allow our inner genius free reign.

Only that way can we actually get clear on and manifest the dreams that make us giddy.

What are some ways you create space?

What do those people have that you don’t? There they are, running those mega successful businesses online. And you? Where are you at?

We respond “well” to things that hurt our feelings or remind us of things we don’t like or are unhappy with.

But I know you’re busting your hump with your new venture. It’ll just take some know-how and elbow grease. There will be a moment when you look up and say “I’ve done it. It all looks amazing and works really beautifully. It finally generates the income I want!”

We then respond “well” to things that make us feel safe after we’ve been hurt.

And by “well”, I mean: we react, predictably and sometimes strongly.

Hand on hot stove? React.
Salve to make it better? Ahh.

Someone talking about where my new business is at? React.
I am offered a solution to growing or thriving it? Ahh.

A reaction is necessary when you are doing any kind of marketing, and a reaction happens when something we care about gets addressed.

And what do we care about?

All together now:
We care about OURselves and OUR problems!

(Altruists don’t be dismayed, we all have areas of our lives causing us some level of personal concern, and we want those issues resolved.)

Trigger us, then coddle us

The goods of branding and positioning lay not in the attempt of shoving yet ANOTHER idea into someone’s head.

That’s a terrific waste of time.

Let’s play a game.

Who are you voting for?
Can we chat about how your candidate is a complete tool?
You should vote for my guy.
Not voting? It’s really necessary.

Somehow I don’t think you’re open to negotiations on this topic.

But that’s actually the case with most topics!

Most of us have made our minds up about most things

Unless something crazy happens to change us, we’re not gonna.

It’s too much work and effort. We like where we are… until we don’t…

So instead of convincing anyone of anything, the smart brand triggers beliefs that are already in people’s heads. The smart brand wants to make people feel something, to tell them in so many words, “I understand where you’re at! I get your pain.”

And sometimes they do this by hurting your feelings to remind you that the pain is in there: “Feel fat in those jeans?” “Can’t find work that really fuels your soul?”

When I don’t fit into them jeans, when I worked at jobs I didn’t like, those headlines could make my stomach turn.

Because they trigger a feeling already IN my head.

Are we that predictable?

I began watching how I browsed sites with the desire to purchase something, and here are my core 3 wants:

• To be understood
• To be respected
• To be taken care of

And then:

• A simple web process that allowed me to purchase quickly and easily
• The knowledge that if I had a problem, it would be handled

That’s it.

How do we connect genuinely?

The idea is not to be rude or a jerk. The idea is to speak to where people are, so even a “Worried those snow tires might not survive another winter?” gets you riled up if you’ve been thinking about changing your snow tires.

Notice that I’m NOT CHANGING YOUR MIND or convincing you of ANYTHING.

I’m simply accessing what’s already IN your head that wants to be heard. That’s it.

You’re so selfish!

Well we had to be some kind of selfish to evolve from cave dwellers to pavement walkers. It’s a survival skill (one of many).

I’m saying this because people don’t care about you and your site.

They care about themselves and the issue they’re trying to resolve at the moment, be it they want a good search engine to find the right coffee shop or a good lawyer to sue their business partner.

A desire is a desire, the difference being the level of pain they experience alongside that desire.

This just means that you have to speak to people about them and what they want.

So start by asking yourself:

What do they want?
What do they think they want?
What pain point is there already about the thing they want?

And then ask them about it.

Hopefully you have something that can help. Otherwise you’re just being a ____.

Or am I just nuts? What do you think?

A standard has emerged with the popularization of online courses like Marie Forleo’s B-School (I went through it in 2011), that has had a side-effect many of you have probably seen: people’s sites start to look alike.

This is normal. People with a low budget and lack of design background look for the easiest way to start a site, which is to buy a WordPress theme and copy what works.

It makes sense, but it’s not a long term brand solution and one that will cause major headaches down the line.

Short term impact is that you look like a copycat to others – and no one wants to be laughed at. You also feel like a bit of a confused liar. You didn’t do it intentionally, but you also didn’t put in the time and work to get your own brand down, so you know you’re selling yourself short by taking poor shortcuts.

And long term you really don’t know how to keep up a successful brand because your brand is a copy of someone else’s. So next steps are not obvious. I see this again and again.

So what are you doing?

When you copy someone else, your true brand identity never emerges; you continue to waffle trying to figure out how to say what to your prospective clients and how to put together that one-sheet.

When I started out on my own, my original design was very much influenced by the design firms of the time. My site was clean, neat-edged, full of gradients and moving things. But it wasn’t ME.

How did I know this?

It wasn’t bringing in the type of client I wanted to be working with, and it didn’t feel good when I looked at it. Something was off.

1. Do you feel good when you look at your site?

2. Is there a nagging voice that says: “Is that really you?”

3. Are you getting the type of client you want? Or is it more about getting any client at all?

You know what I’m going to say.

You’ve got to discover your own voice.

You’ve got to stop the mad-dashing and piecemealing your site and branding materials and instead do the work that will allow you to discover your own voice, your own art and your own approach.

That voice may be funny. Or not.

It may be candid. Or not.

It may be friendly. Or not.

And I’ll tell you, I’ve seen many a brand do really really well without trying to be the neighborhood sweetheart.

Ever heard of Gordon Ramsay? He’s extremely successful and good at what he does, and he’s not in the business of being a sweet heart to those he works with (although my sources say he’s quite sweet to friends.)

His brand is consistent: he takes no $hit from anyone, demands excellence and fills restaurants consistently.

But how do I find my brand voice?

I am working on a free home-study course to help you begin to get clear on your own voice, and if you have any specific questions, as they relate to your brand, your site design, etc., pop your question in below, and I’ll incorporate it in.

I’d love to see your big idea thrive, but we’ve gotta get you out of the copycap zone and into your own. It works a whole lot better!