Life has changed a lot over the last while. I find that I’ve learned many lessons over these past two months, and after taking downtime to rest and really focus inward, I now have the energy to continue to move forward. I’ve taken a step back to understand what I want more of and less of in my life to focus on what is most important, and along the way, have rediscovered how much we as humans want connection, support, and inspiration as things start to open up again.

Over the last almost 20 years (eek!), I’ve been everything from a project manager, business builder, connector and facilitator – even if not in a formally trained way for many of those roles. About 10 years ago, with 3 other women who were close friends and had their own businesses, we started something called GMB, or Girls Mean Business – our own little mastermind accountability group of sorts, although we didn’t call it that at the time. This was a whole adventure and although Umami Marketing grew out of my trials and tribulations from this supportive group (I used to sell LED ice buckets for bars online for a short stint, can you imagine? :P), we never pushed forward with making GMB a more formal organization. Since then, I’ve been part of quite a few other similar groups and masterminds, both locally and remotely around the world, with all sorts of variations, whether I facilitated them or not. 

And here, coming full circle, I am back to something similar again – a culmination of everything along my journey so far and what has been helpful for me to create my own dream life that I do to this day. 

So on that note, I’ve put together a program, or blueprint, if you will, that will cover the following areas in order to live your bliss, and create your own tribes to feel connected, supported, and inspired. This will consist of the following modules and a couple more, including processes, templates, and support from myself and the community along the way. Keep an eye out for that, coming in early June!

Determine Your Values

This exercise takes a little bit of time and work, but when better than now! Plus it’s such a great way to understand why you do what you do. With self-reflection and quiet time on your own, you can evaluate what is most important to you, and what values you want to live by. You may already know what these are, but over the years I’ve found that 4-5 core values have helped lead me to all my decision-making, who I connect with most, and how I create my lifestyle and business. If you don’t, take a moment to stop and think about what these may be for you, as they also may have changed, and write them down somewhere that you will constantly be reminded.

Start to Dream

What is it that you would really love in your life? What does success look like to you? You’ll probably have a better sense of that once you understand your values. And from there, you can start to dream – whatever wild and crazy ideas you might have. Get your creative juices flowing and just dream and think, if no one ever heard what you’d have to say, what are the possibilities that you’d like to create for yourself. What do you want for your life, in the short time that we have on this earth?

Find Your Tribe

Now that you’ve got more clarity on what you want yourself, you can start to look outwards and see who complements that existence? I find it’s very useful to understand who brings you energy when you spend time together? And who takes it away? Focus more on that, and you’ll perhaps figure out a thread that connects a few of you together, who are also in the same headspace to collaborate and create this tribe together.

Meet Regularly

Once you’ve found your tribe, it’s helpful to formalize a bit of the structure behind what you’ll be creating together to keep moving things forward consistently. I’m all about going with the flow, but having base guidelines to follow will really move the needle and create the right environment and expectations within your tribe. How will you self-organize, support each other, stay inspired, and continue to connect how and when you need it most?

Take Action, Celebrate & Evolve

From here, the possibilities really are endless. You are now free to create your dreams by  supporting one another, celebrating with one another, and encouraging one another to make the things you love, in the way that works most for you.

Summary

To summarize, here are some tips on how we can all stay connected, inspired, and supported:

1. Determine Your Values
2. Start to Dream
3. Find Your Tribe
4. Meet Regularly
5. Take Action, Celebrate & Evolve

Regardless of the uncertainty we face, now or otherwise, having a tribe has made a huge difference for me in life, both prior to and even more so during this time.

And on that note, here is the manifesto for my own Bliss community:

Be free to create your dreams.

We are here to support one another, celebrate with one another, and encourage one another to make the things you love.

We believe in the power of community and co-creation. We believe in freedom, abundance, growth and connection. 

We bring together people who are driven by passion and purpose, confident that we will inspire one another, and inspire change around the world. 

The possibilities are endless when we act out of love. #scalinglove

May we all live a life that shatters the status quo – our own umami journeys.

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Thanks and I’ll be back again here soon!

Photo credit: Natalie Pedigo at Unsplash