Being in EPM has helped me with a huge shift in me and my life. Earlier in 2020, I had an idea for a group coaching program. An extension of the work I have done with creativity challenges and also a retreat I co-hosted. I wanted to be able to support my students on more of an ongoing basis, longer term. I joined EPM to explore that idea. I joined because of a few things… Firstly, Marisa’s incredible expertise. Secondly, the stamp of approval she has from Jon Morrow, Steve Osher and Eben Pagan (who I follow and/or have taken courses from before). Next, the super fun experiential elements - in the program and the webinar itself with the dress up and ears for the webinar and then all the plane and flying references in EPM. I’m a sucker for those as aerospace engineering was my major. And then the idea of an experience product? I was so on board with that. I consider myself an experience creator (it’s even on my Instagram profile!) - I’m an event producer, dancer, choreographer, speaker and MC. I am all about creating and delivering delightful, inspiring or moving experiences across whatever medium, platform, space or venue. How amazing that the idea of that was being applied to a product! And then the individual coaching - wow, yes, please! Along with these things, another factor that played a huge part in my decision to say yes was the community and being able to stay connected even when the program was over. Yep, I was so on board. Now, let me tell you, what I listed doesn’t even begin to touch on the magic that is EPM. I thought it would be just about exploring and creating my experience product and being part of an amazing community but it actually helped to change my life in ways that I had imagined but had left on the backburner. I did not see that coming. For one, before joining EPM, creativity coaching was something I did on the side. I had wanted to make it front and center but hadn’t got there on my own. Now, because of so many things - my own experience in EPM, stories of EPM alumni, the body of work that exists when it comes to EPM products and possibilities that is proof anything is possible, the support of the community and of my new and amazing EPM friends, and the trust I have in the EPM material and in myself because I have done the work and can apply this knowledge to anything I choose to do along with some deep contemplation on what I really want for me and my life - the fire has been lit. I am stepping into having creativity coaching and speaking/work around creativity as my focus, as my main work, instead of being on the fringe. It is time :) I was editing a selfie to go along with the announcement of my EP, the Creativity Activation Masterclass. I touched the magic wand when I was editing the photo - just for fun. The woman I saw looking back at me was glowing, radiant, present and powerful. I simultaneously felt such a rush and so much peace. So much certainty and so much recognition. This is me. This is the vision I have seen of and for myself and here it is. This is me and this is what I am meant to be doing. Life has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs for quite a few years (stories for another day). Seeing this photo and being in the...I'm going to say lusciousness... of creating my EP, I feel like I have arrived. 2022 feels like magic for me. That is what I saw in the photo. My mission in life is to delight and inspire and delight others while inspiring and delighting myself. My EP, which is the next step, the expansion of my work so far, is inviting me to expand even more into this, to embody this every day and for it to be a central focus in my life. I am so inspired and delighted by this work and the transformations I have the honor of facilitating and witnessing and by the connections and community I am experiencing and creating. In a free creativity session I hosted on Zoom and invited potential students to, one of the attendees who had no previous experience with my coaching work before, in the closing of the session, shared something like "You just glow". Not just in the photo with the magic wand and slightly retro/cartoon/hand painted effect but in a session, face-to-face. My EP is called the Creativity Activation Masterclass - I feel like I myself have been activated. Time to shine. My plan moving forward is to embrace the magic ;) To have the Creativity Activation Masterclass twice a year (after proving it can fly and iterating) and to apply what I learned in EPM to design, launch and profit from a creativity related retreat and a membership program (both ideas which surfaced in my market research and chatterboxing as wanted and needed by my target audience - look at that!). To stay connected to the EPM community and my new EPM friends who made this journey that much sweeter. In the bigger picture: To embrace the opportunities that come my way that invite me to step even more fully into who I want to be and what I want to do in this life. To make a real impact in the world - to inspire thousands of people to connect with their creativity to have more fun in their lives and businesses but also because if they are inspired and embracing their creativity, the work they do will be better and their ideas will be more inspired and more plentiful. Ideas change the world. That is how I see I can help change the world: help inspire the ideas that change the world. That is a legacy I want to leave. Some nuggets that I leave for the next class of EPM: -Connect right away, from day 1, with your podmates and your fellow EPMers - they are on the same journey you are, in the trenches with you, and they will support you, encourage you, give you priceless feedback. They can also become some of your most precious friends. -Engage in the Facebook group and post your ideas, your wins, your hardest moments and struggles - you will be so held, so helped, so delighted and so taken care of by the community -Ask questions all the time and ask for feedback all the time - someone will know the answer or be able to help you. No need to struggle and toil on your own. Make use of the hive mind. -There is no such thing as “being behind” - wherever you are is just perfect. You don’t need to go at supersonic speed. Follow the pace and timing that works for you. Don’t let your position on the track distract or discourage you. Wherever you are, just take it one step at a time and once you’re done with that step, take the next one. You will make it if you just take it one step at a time. Everything is set up for you to graduate if you keep taking action. -This may be a challenging journey at times - be aware of that and be prepared for that. In those seemingly dark times, remind yourself that just on the other side stands more freedom, more joy, more fulfillment, more impact, more income and quite possibly the life of your dreams, right? In those dark times, remember that and also reach out. You have the most incredible support system with Marisa, your own coach and the whole EPM community. Trust the process and trust the support. You are never alone. A huge big thank you to Marisa, to my wonderful coach, Coach Blue, to all the other coaches for sharing their wisdom and shortcuts and being present in the Facebook group, to Murray, the EPM team and to my fellow EPMers for your energy, dedication and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone! Here’s to blue skies :)
This is the story of my “accidental launch”. I talked about my program along the way - even though I wasn’t quite done with the modules yet - and it got to the point that people were asking me for info about my program so they could share it with their audiences. Even though things were not polished by any means, I embraced the MVP mindset, put together something quick using Coach Emily's sales page template and some bits from my working/draft Bird's Eye View and put it out there. You can take a look at it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JTu5W68JCPVn24-LIcb1NhCVMw8RJ0Cwb7KL8STvzhQ/edit?usp=sharing Nothing fancy. Not polished. But I didn't let that stop me. And because of that, I launched as I was able to have 4 phone conversations where I made my offer (without having the pieces of the chatterbox campaign down!) I also had 8 other Zoom conversations that turned into referral partners and collaborators. As for how I feel… I feel so proud of myself for just going for it. And in going for it, I get my wings which I wasn’t sure was going to be possible, and I’m super excited about that! I also feel so much gratitude for these simple options - the MVP way - that make it so much easier to take action. They may seem rough but they are the diamonds :) Nuggets for fellow EPMers: 1) I am hoping this inspires some of you to go for it, even if you don't think you're ready. A couple of the people wanting to share info said to me "When you're ready, send me info" and I thought about that and realized that I was ready. I was ready enough to share some info for them to share. Maybe you can think about being ready enough to do one step - whatever that step may be... make 1 call, send 1 email, spend 15 minutes giving value in a Facebook group. You can be ready for that one thing ???? I wrote this down during one of Marisa's calls or one of the pod calls: “Now has got to be the time.” Yep! 2) The other thing I invite you to consider is this: no conversation is a loss - even if it doesn't turn into a sale, it is connection and can lead you to other opportunities and possibilities.