 the SPARK 137 ~ How trust = half a million in sales
When my son was eight years old, he went through a serious Indiana Jones phase, which was fun because I love those movies (and WOOHOO, to getting a new one SOON!).
My kids were already immersed in setting intentions and putting out to the world whatever it was they wanted.
I used to make collages (vision boards) with them on New Year’s Eve when they were young.
During his Indiana Jones phase, he took a piece of binder paper, drew Indiana Jones on one side, along with a plane, and then cut out a coupon for Legoland from a magazine my Mom had brought over and added this to his piece of paper.
He pinned this to his bulletin board and let it go (the beauty of children and their ability to be present and in the moment). This was sometime during the first quarter of the year.
At the beginning of summer, my neighbors (who had three boys) invited him to go to Legoland with them. ✅
A few months later, I decided to take the kids to Disneyland in October of that year for their fall break. Where there is an Indiana Jones ride and, of course, merchandise. ✅
As for the plane, we also flew to Coeur d’Alene, ID (a beautiful lake), with my parents for a vacation. ✅
And before you roll your eyes and think I’m going sideways with manifesting or being a little woo-woo, here’s why I’m sharing this:
You can’t hit a target you don’t see, let alone one you don’t have.
As business owners, we get super caught up in the day-to-day tasks and short-term goals.
- Get this project done
- Create this product
- Launch this course
- Write the newsletter 😉
Our “why” for what we’re doing starts fading into the background.
Before you know it, you feel like you’ve created a job for yourself.
Then you end up with lesser goals.
And hear my heart; when I say lesser goals, it’s not about a dollar amount, quantity, or “thing” you want to achieve.
Lesser goals refer to those activities that only help you check things off your to-do list, not create the life you truly want.
I shared in an email this week that one of my goals is to take a month off from my business every year. Eventually, working up to 3 months… every year (h/t to Mike Michalowicz for his incredible book, Clockwork – Designing Your Business to Run Itself).
Along those same lines, the last week of the month becomes a quiet week.
Where I spend time reviewing things:
- Profits
- Expenses
- Quality of the work
- Quality of my LIFE… more time outside, more time with people I love, more time to pursue non-work activities
Here’s the kicker: you have to be willing to have faith and trust in the bigger picture.
Maybe this means you let go of products and services that aren’t going to support your bigger vision.
Just because it makes money or you’ve been doing this for a while doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.
However, if this is your primary source of cash flow, there may be a few months of overlap where you keep doing the thing that pays the bills while working on what it is you really want to do.
And for all the people who tell you that you should stick with something because they think it’s a better route…
I encourage you to listen to this podcast episode with my friend Maritza Parra.
Maritza spent years in the digital marketing space focusing on list building. When she got really honest with herself, she decided to go back to her creative roots and do work she truly loves.
Last year she hit half a million in sales and is well on her way to at least one million this year.
It wasn’t without hard work and risk, but I’d say it’s paid off.
And this was after coaches and people in a mastermind told her no one would pay for doodling and Heartwork™ journaling.
Now she has a business that completely supports the lifestyle she wants and is creating even more freedom.
Decide to create what you want to create and go all in.
The SPARK Spotlight 
Along with Mick Michalowicz’s book Clockwork, this book resonated with me on a deep level.
This is for those of us who need to pull in more right brain into how we operate and run our businesses.
Check out Free Time by Jenny Blake: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business
This issue of the SPARK is brought to you by:
Featured Articles 
This SEO expert shares all her behind-the-scenes of what she’s doing. Read “4 Ways to Monetize Your Website From An SEO Expert.”
Telling your personal story isn’t easy. Here’s a thread that walks you through doing it well. Read “How to use The 5C Framework to sell your story with a personal brand.”
I was recently interviewed for Devrims TechTalk. Here’s a peek into my journey and what I’m doing with AI.
Tool Time 
This is a free course but is kind of like a secret weapon when you learn this skill. Eddie Shleyner is a brilliant copywriter and founder of Very Good Copy.
Get his free course on Mastering Fascinations – The Single Most Important Copywriting Skill.
- Organization: If Notion isn’t your thing, Anytype is a nice alternative (a little prettier, if I do say so myself). Download Anytype free here.
- Notion + Testimonials: Collect and display testimonials using Notion. Use Notion Testimonials free here.
- Google Docs to WordPress: If you use Google Docs to write your posts, automate publishing with Docwrites.
- Scheduling: Find the right time and location to meet everyone’s availability and preferences. Join the waitlist for Slated here.
Isn’t this the truth 
It finally feels like summer… and this girl is thrilled!
I’ll be down at my sister’s next week and will be doing lots of floating in the pool. 💦
I’ve got some pretty exciting things to share with you this month… including hosting my first retreat in Costa Rica this fall! 
This is the first of many, and I’m starting by reaching out to a handful of women I know personally, then will open it up for the remaining spots (this is small, 10 people max).
I’ll share more about that as soon as we have the landing page up and I know exactly how many spots are open. I’m going to share how this all happened (in the span of a few days) in a podcast episode next week.
If you’re in the States, I hope you enjoy a long holiday weekend with loved ones.
I’m ready for July and warm summer nights.
Have a wonderful day,
Kim
