Elizabeth Gilbert taught me to not OVER-Give

My clients tell me it’s their biggest growing edge to say “no” to all the things they have to say “no” to, in order to grow a business and not create another full time energy sucking “job”.

SO MANY of us women have tendencies to turn our businesses into a JOB that takes over our lives, and in the process, what we lose is our inherent CREATIVITY.

You didn’t start your business to get your vitality and creativity drained out of you by over-giving.

You had dreams of contributing in a BIG WAY to people, through becoming the creative channels you were MEANT TO BE… yourself included.

You had dreams of setting yourself FREE with your business… free to have AMPLE TIME in your schedule to be the creative beings you are.

So why is it so hard to stop over-giving, saying “yes” to everything and put a boundary on that creative time we all crave?

I heard Elizabeth Gilbert speak at her book launch over the weekend in Santa Cruz. She was delightful and hilarious, her book “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” is phenomenal by the way, I highly recommend you go grab a copy.

The best part for me?

When Elizabeth was wrapping up she grew quiet, and with a very settled look on her face she told us: “I have something to tell you. This was a very difficult decision for me. I’m traveling for nearly 4 months on this speaking tour because I love sharing this work and this message. However in order to maintain the schedule I’ve agreed to, I’ve decided not to stay and sign books after my talks. I’m an introvert, and the book signings just take too much out of me. Thank you for understanding.”

She got a standing ovation by the crowd at that point, the crowd of hundreds of women and about 4 men. (LOL)

For eons authors have been doing book tours and sitting to sign books for hours after their time on stage. Elizabeth is standing for all of us saying “no” so that we can say “yes”, and not just to book signings.

Thousands more lives are going to be touched because of a 4 month book tour than would have been touched had she cut it short for fear of the hours signing books.

Now for other authors, book signings might be generative, I’m not knocking book signings. But the point here is this: We get to decide which parts we say “yes” to and which are a “no” for us, and decide for ourselves, rather than making a decision about our energy based on our projections of what we think our clients, students or audience need from us.

As I’m writing my book, I’ve also had fear of having to commit to the days on the road and book signings that can accompany a book project.

It may not be obvious from the outside, but I have a lot of introvert in me and I know a lot of you do as well.

Today, commit to saying “no” to one thing you’ve previously said “yes” to… and post that one thing below so this community can hold you accountable.

Just by making the claim, leaving your message here, there’s a commitment involved. Whether it’s asking a friend to help you take your kids to school a couple days a week or having your husband pick up dinner on the way home on Mondays, or leaving work early so you can start your dating search for the right partner for you… decide, commit and follow through for yourself.

Your clients deserve your best, you’re lit up, healthy, vibrant, fully resourced self, and so do you.

Let’s do this thing Goddess… Together.

Love,
Sage

PS. At the end, Elizabeth led us in a round of “Country Roads take me Home”… karaoke style. It was a blast. Sing along and put some pep in your day.

PPS. Join me for a stunning day of creativity and inspiration with Elizabeth Gilbert November 7th IN NAPA… to spend an entire day with Liz will be AMAZING… CLICK HERE!

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