The Creative Process: A Roadmap
Here is my secret not-so-secret obsession:
Understanding the creative process.
I mean this in the nerdiest way possible – not because I am trying to find a shortcut or a hack. No, no, nope.
Because here is what’s up:
There ain’t any hacks, my friend.
This article is just a tiny glimpse into my nerdy brain. You will get more glimpses soon in future articles.
There is so much to unpack when it comes to the creative process. This is only the beginning.
The creative process: frameworks
I have done quite a bit of research and I cannot find a resource on the creative process that feels satisfying to my brain.
There are a couple of frameworks out there, but I don’t find them very helpful – or necessarily true.
There is one that keeps popping up – it is by political scientist and psychologist Graham Wallas, who divided the creative process into four stages and came up with this framework:
Preparation
Incubation
Illumination
Verification
It might all sound sophisticated, but it’s too simple for my taste.
Most other resources you find on the creative process are mainly based on Wallas’ work.
The only unique one I found that inspired me is by Scott Jeffrey, who came up with four archetypes that correspond with each of Wallas’ four stages:
The Student = Preparation
The Wanderer = Incubation
The Light = Illumination
The Scientist = Verification
I believe that the reason it’s so hard to create a truly valuable framework for the creative process is because it’s a complex and messy one.
“Creative people have messy minds. Creative people also tend to have messy processes.”
– Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire
Creativity is many things but it’s definitely not linear.
This is why I don’t believe in a step-by-step approach or a clean framework to explain the creative process.
Also, I find existing frameworks very simplified and well, to be honest: boring.
It’s not rocket science to understand that first, we need an idea, which we then prepare and elaborate on to then take action.
Different creative ideas have different needs
Every idea and every craft has a different way it wants to be treated:
Sometimes an idea starts out small and incubates into something huge.
Sometimes it starts out small and stays small.
Sometimes it starts out big and ends up small or medium.
Sometimes an idea marinates for a few minutes, other times for weeks and months. Some even more years!
Often, our ideas are subject to and influenced by limiting beliefs and fears in the process and end up getting stuck in the pipeline.
So, you can’t tell me that the creative process is a straightforward concept.
It’s everything but.
What is the creative process really?
It is a journey that takes you from nothing to something; from no idea to the finished creation.
It is a sequence of thoughts and actions that lead to a creative product that you can share with the world. Or not. Whatever floats your boat.
It’s the act of making new connections between old ideas and then turning these into something tangible.
The process is like undertaking an adventure that involves a whole lot of exploration, experimentation and walking into the unknown.
It could be the creative process of:
writing an article (like this one)
creating a YouTube video or client video project
designing a workshop, course or coaching program
composing a piece of music
creating an app or a website
designing a logo or other graphics
creating photographs
Ingredients of the creative process
Instead of suggesting another framework, I propose a bunch of “creative process ingredients”.
Even though what I am about to outline here is technically a list, don’t see it as a series of steps or stages.
Be aware that there is a certain sequence of things, but that eventually the different stages start to overlap and you go back and forth between different ones.
The creative process is messy after all. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be creative.
Also, this is all very general and general is usually not very practical. Hence, keep reading.
Idea Inception
Information intake
An open brain
The Hunch
Flash of insight and eureka moments in the brain —> combining old ideas – connecting already existing ideas or to improve existing ideas – this usually happens when we least expect it
Note-taking system and apps
Incubation and marination
Talk about it
Be a sponge – soaking up lots of ideas around the idea
What’s my Why? What’s my mission with this? How will it help people?
Do I need to learn something new to create the thing?
For bigger projects: How do I validate my idea?
Taking in inspiration
Research
Optional – comes with pros and cons
Before and just before doing the work and during
Setting the environment
Computer or offline
Place and surroundings
Music
What tools/apps will I need?
Workspace rituals
Doing the work
Outline and formulate own ideas about the thing
Write out steps to take and timeframe / deadline
Make it, build it, create it
Brain dump – no editing
Focus and attention
Edit
Usually takes place over several days or weeks
The creative shadow
Confusion / Fear / Darkness
Doubts
Self-confidence and imposter syndrome
Breathe and step away
Let it all marinate more
Get feedback from trusted friends etc.
Give yourself and the project space
Breakthroughs and new ideas
Change/ Adjust
Add on new ideas
Edit more
Completion
Know when you’re done and finish the thing
Take your deadline seriously
Ship the thing
Publish
Launch
Share with the world
Get feedback from the world
Reflect on the process
[This not-a-list list would probably work well as a mindmap. I might create one soon.]
Mapping the creative process for a project
Even if you are now aware of what the general creative process entails, the big scary part is actually doing the work and implementing the ingredients – especially if it’s your first time creating a particular thing. Doing it for the second or third time will be THIS much easier, I promise.
I see so many people get hung up on getting started because they don’t know how to start or feel overwhelmed.
This is due to several reasons, but a big one is that they don’t map out the exact steps they have to take from little or big idea seed to finished creation and sharing it with the world.
This is also where all the theories around the creative process fall short.
They are all highly theoretical but lack practical steps to take, which is probably why they are called theories and not practical steps. (Duh, Conni!)
But seriously – if you want to be a successful creator, then you have got to start with mapping out your creative process for the project idea that you have.
What I mean by this is:
You have to write out all the necessary steps you have to take. At best, you go into a lot of detail with all the little steps.
For example, when I signed a contract to write a book with a publisher, I was intimated and procrastinated to start writing for ages, because “writing a book” sounds absolutely overwhelming and scary AF.
BUT writing 1000 words a day sounds totally doable. That was my simple (but not easy) plan.
Or, let’s say I have an idea for an online program I want to launch.
It’s too easy to procrastinate on the idea without a detailed creative roadmap.
So I sit down and create one, possibly like this:
Identify mission and learning outcomes
Outline and research course
Gather ideas and content for each module
Write out content and create PPT
Record content and edit
Set up an online platform and upload content
Create a sales page
Plan pre-launch and launch and create launch content
Post-launch strategy
These are still very rough steps and in actuality, I would include even smaller steps.
Examples of different creative processes
Here is a little selection of resources outlining processes for various creative projects:
How to Write a Book in 2020 – A Definitive Guide for Writers
How to Create and Host a Live Workshop or Event (in 10 Steps)
These are all very tutorial-style and step-by-step-ish, thus leaving out a lot of ingredients I outlined in my list above.
For whatever you create, I highly recommend that you map out your own creative roadmap by doing some research around your specific creative idea and google eg. “How to create a short documentary” or “steps to write a book”. YouTube is also an amazing resource do go deeper.
In addition, there are a ton of online courses out there that teach you entire creative processes from start to finish in lots of details – let it be from indie creators or platforms like Skillshare and Udemy.
No course, tutorial, and framework can replace your personal unique creative process. It is as individual as we are as humans.
The more you create, the more you learn about yourself and how your creative brain and energies work (or not work – and procrastinate).
Eventually, you create workflows and systems that keep you creative and productive on a regular basis. For me, my system is: create something every day. That’s it.
And even when I have a nice established workflow for my videos or podcasts – each one is different.
There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter process for any project because if it existed, we would take the “creative” out of “the creative process”. Which would leave us with a mere process, which is something we can outsource to robots and artificial intelligence and then that would be the end of art and humanity.
Creativity is one of the most important skills going forward. As of right now, robots don’t have this ability, which is why it’s a little like magic.
Create your heart out.
With love,
Conni.
Mindfulness as a Superpower: How to Upgrade Yourself
We as creators have such a huge responsibility – our work and ideas reach hundreds and thousands of people.
Sometimes hundreds of thousands and millions.
And even if your work currently “only” touches a few people…
That’s a PRETTY big deal.
Think about that for a second.
Your energy level, your mental health and your emotional state influence everything you do – and thus, they also affect all the people you and your work come in contact with.
Also, consider just the act of putting ourselves and our work out into the world – it is a massive undertaking in itself with added stressors and challenges that the average person might never experience.
Apart from supporting our mental and emotional health, integrating mindfulness into any creator’s life will supercharge their creative potential in so many ways.
I have been actively practicing mindfulness and meditation in various forms since 2012 and couldn’t imagine myself and life without it.
I look at it as a way of being and living, as its effects are so wide-ranging and compounding. Especially as a creator, I draw very profound benefits from my daily mindfulness practices.
The mainstream take on mindfulness and meditation is pretty one-dimensional: it helps with anxiety, stress, and depression. It definitely surely does that and is important on a fundamental human level, not just as creators.
This article outlines the state of mindfulness science.
There is actually so much more to mindfulness that makes it essential for any creator with a vision and who has a message to share with the world.
The awesomeness of mindfulness and meditation
Mindfulness practice and a mindful way of life impact us in three really big ways. They are related to the mental, physical and emotional sphere.
At its core, THE big reason I practice meditation and mindfulness is that they connect me to me. I get to create a deep connection to myself, which is essential for healthy levels of self-worth and self-love.
Here are the three ways in which mindfulness allows me to do that:
A. I become the observer of my thoughts
Once I understood that I am not my thoughts and that I don’t have to believe everything I think, that I am merely the observer of my thoughts, my whole world shifted.
It means: My thoughts are not the absolute truth – they are only my interpretation of my experience and old conditioned programming (well worn out neuro-pathways in my brain).
B. It helps me cultivate a connection to my body
In our mind-heavy Western world, our bodies are reduced to the level of a “meatsuit” that carries us through the world. It’s time we all find back to our mindbody connection.
For me, mindfulness is mainly about getting out of my mind and into my body.
C. It’s a way to consciously process and regulate my emotions
It helps me to consciously feel my emotions instead of avoiding them (eg. distract myself, dissociate or numb out).
The upgraded benefits for creators
1. You gain more confidence in yourself and your own work
A big part of mindfulness is that at its core it is the practice of accepting the moment without judgment. It helps us to fully accept our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perception of the outside world without judging or criticizing.
This in itself makes this practice so powerful, because as humans we are heavily conditioned to judge everything including ourselves and our work. This causes us and others a lot of misery and suffering.
Through mindfulness, you practice to judge yourself less and in the process, you judge others less and you also judge your ideas and your creations less. By silencing your inner critic, you are able to feel more confident about your creations and more confident to put them out in the world. By understanding that there is no right or wrong in others, you accept the same truth in yourself.
2. You create more meaningful content and work
As we embrace mindfulness and sit with ourselves in meditation, we create a deeper connection to ourselves, which is required to create truly meaningful and high-quality work.
Why? Because the more connected we are to ourselves, the more authentic we are – which leads to more authentic work (which is what the world needs).
The more connected we are to ourselves, the more conscious we are, and the more conscious we are, the more we are in control of our lives, our work, our happiness and ultimately our human experience.
This heightened level of self-awareness and a deeper connection to self enable us to create from a place that is truly you. Plus, when we are more in touch with ourselves and our bodies, we are more in touch with our emotions, which have huge effects on the quality and depth of our work.
3. You boost the superpower of creators: self-awareness
The power of mindfulness practices is that they enable us to observe our mind (thoughts), our emotions and our body (sensations). This awareness of ourselves connects us to ourselves: the more awareness of self, the more connected we are to ourselves in our everyday life. This state of connection is the natural state as a human being, it’s how we are as children. As we grow up and adjust to the rational, body-mind-separated world, we unlearn, we forget this connection.
It’s time to bring it back. Mindfulness and meditation are amazing tools to explore ourselves, who we are, our programming, what’s truly important to us, our values, why we do the things we do, why we have certain blockages and fear, and our motivations.
Being a self-aware creator will leave you more empowered, more confident and more creative. When you are self-aware, you know who you really are, you know your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, your shadows and ego patterns. In this way, you can be way more authentic in your work and how you show yourself to others (and on social media).
4. You have more creative and original ideas
I personally have some of the best ideas during my meditation sessions, let them be guided or silent. When we slow down and anchor down into our bodies and the present moment, we create space for the really good stuff to come through.
Especially in times of constant distraction by digital devices, by tuning down the noise, we can actually hear our own voice, which is essential for us creators to create unique work.
By consuming a lot of social media content, we are constantly being exposed to other people’s ideas and voices. That makes it harder to connect to our own inner voice – apart from the fact that the more consume content, the more we compare and judge ourselves and our creations. Coming back home to ourselves through consistent mindfulness practices helps us to stay grounded and connected – which is the space from which we can truly create original work.
5. You have a deeper connection to your audience
We can only connect to others on the level we are connected to ourselves.
Thus, the deeper we are connected to ourselves, the deeper we are able to connect to others.
Because I am more vulnerable with myself, I can also be more vulnerable in my work and on social media – vulnerability creates connection and I believe there is nothing more important than a deep and authentic connection with the people we serve.
6. You are automatically more authentic and real
This is probably what I appreciate the most about creators who practice mindfulness and who are in touch and connected to themselves.
All this leads to more authenticity and realness. If you don’t come from a place of seeking approval and attention, you can be truly genuine without having to be someone who you think you should be.
Plus, the increased self-awareness is giving you an organic authenticity boost, which is extremely attractive and will attract followers without you having to do much. People love people who are authentic and self-aware, it’s like a magnet.
7. You enjoy more mental clarity
When we practice mindfulness in meditation and daily life, we are more in our bodies and less in our minds. This means fewer thoughts and slower thoughts. None of that crazy overthinking rollercoaster chaos that takes up a lot of physical energy.
With more mental space, we also can think about and perceive ourselves and the world more clearly. This in turn leads to better decisions, higher-quality ideas and inner peace. With less energy spent on overthinking, we have more energy for creative work.
Mental clarity is crucial for creators. Without it we are lost in the wilderness of our minds and controlled by our thoughts and fears.
8. Easier to access the flow state
When you are able to be more aware of the present moment, you are literally opening the door to flow. Flow is the space all creators aspire to be in when we create because it’s the state in which we have the best ideas and are most productive.
So each time we practice focusing on the present moment, we train our focus muscle when we are creating. More focus means less distraction means more productivity.
Also, the more you can be immersed with mindfulness in an activity such as writing or editing or shooting, the better you are at it. That’s just what’s up.
Like right now, if I can get myself to be more present with my writing, the better my writing will be.
9. You upgrade the secret creator sauce: curiosity
If you’re curious, you want to find out something new – you want to gain some new knowledge. A curious person is fully connected with her senses. If you’re curious, you look around intently and earnestly, to see something you haven’t seen before. You ask lots and lots of questions, both of yourself and others.
As you practice mindfulness and meditation more deeply, you are asked to become more curious about yourself, your mind and body.
This will translate into your everyday life and naturally, your creative work.
Since being present and aware is important to foster curiosity, your mindful muscle will automatically boost your curiosity.
The more curious you are, the more inspired you will be, the more new solutions you will find, the more in awe you will be about your own field of work, the more passionate you will become. And there is nothing like a passionate creator whose soul is on fire every day.
10. Helps you become aware when you procrastinate
We often go unconscious and don’t even notice when we are scrolling on Instagram or multitasking. Procrastination mostly happens mindlessly.
When you practice mindfulness, you become more aware of your patterns and can catch yourself earlier and bring yourself back to the task at hand. It also gives you the opportunity to inquire within about your procrastination patterns and understand what the underlying root is so that you can be empowered to transform and make changes.
11. JOMO (Joy of missing out) instead of FOMO (fear of missing out)
Being more connected to myself and the present moment helps me attach less importance to the outside world. I just don’t care much about what everyone else is doing, all the events I’m missing, all the videos I’m not watching – instead, I can focus more on my own work and ideas without comparing them to those of other people.
It gives me an inner peace, a knowing that right here right now is where I need to be. That creating something is always better than feeding my fear of missing out on something.
12. It’s an awesome de-stress tool
Stress and pressure is no joke as a creator. Most of it is self-made, but nevertheless, it’s real.
The problem is that when we are stressed, our inner systems and brains prevent us from creative thinking – it’s just not a priority when we are anxious or depressed. The energy is used to manage our nervous system and our fight/flight response.
Thus, you could say that the more stressed, anxious or depressed you are, the less creative your ideas will be. The more at peace you are internally, the more creative and in the flow you will be.
Also, most creators burnout because they are disconnected from themselves and their bodies (and because they are chasing extrinsic values and want to fulfill their own and other people’s expectations, which is also rooted in a lack of self-worth and self-love). They simply don’t realize or acknowledge the stress their bodies are experiencing and chronic stress also numbs us to its effects – until physical symptoms appear – or burnout.
Through mindfulness and meditation you are more in touch with yourself, which helps you notice signals of stress in your body earlier.
Mindfulness is one of THE tools to help you chill, relax and self-sooth/self-regulate your emotions. Just sayin’.
13. You make better and more conscious decisions
The more mindful you become, the more you raise you awareness and thus your consciousness. This gets you out of autopilot, which is the place from which most people run their lives and make decisions – and into the driver’s seat. Your decision-making will be upgraded on a conscious level but also on an intuitive level because being more connected to your body enables you to trust its subtle signals more, to hear the messages from your intuition.
14. You open the door for more and profound synchronicities
This one is totally underestimated. As our subconscious becomes more open, we become more aware of associations in the external world.
The more I meditate, the more I experiences synchronicities and the more serendipitous events occur in my life. It’s really fascinating. I believe it has to do with the fact that we are more at one with everything and thus mystical experiences can enter into our awareness.
15. You have more clarity on your mission and purpose
With heightened mental clarity and a deeper connection to self, we create the space and open our consciousness to our calling and purpose in life.
Once I started embracing mindfulness as a way of life – which is like taking the red pill – and my level of self-awareness increased, I couldn’t ignore the ways that my life wasn’t in alignment with my soul. Impossible.
And since then, due to my mindful practices and connection to my body, I receive regular downloads and messages as to where I am being guided in my work and when it comes to living on purpose.
16. Your intuition gets A MEGABOOST
Our sixth sense or your inner GPS sits in your body, not in your mind. Thus, once you are more connected to your physical senses and your emotions, and once you turn down the noise in your life and slow down your thoughts, you can actually start hearing your intuition. You also learn to trust the signals from your body more and you connect to your inner wisdom.
Going inside, where we are present with ourselves, is the place where all the answers are. It sounds cliché, but damn, it’s just so true. We keep searching outside, but our intuitive knowledge is so incredibly powerful.
I live 99% based on intuition these days – and that’s 100% thanks to meditation and mindfulness practices.
17. More aware of patterns, shadows and self-sabotage mechanisms
This is a big deal.
The more we are conscious about our shadow parts, the less we are controlled by them: money issues, fear of showing our selves and our work, imposter syndrome, procrastination, perfectionism – in essence, all the fears and inner blocks that keep us from fully showing up and expressing our true potentials.
So here we are.
Wouldn’t you agree that mindfulness and meditation are pretty powerful tools for us creators and entrepreneurs?
Love + Peas,
Conni.
My Personal Growth and Healing Journey (Version 1.0)
ℹ️ This resource documents my healing journey from 2012 until about 2019.
I am currently working on version 2.0 (2019 until 2023).
This personal growth and development resource outlines the tools, people, healing modalities and events that helped me in exploring consciousness, emotional healing and essentially in becoming myself since 2012.
It is my complete personal growth master guidebook about my continuous upgrade and development as a human soul.
It’s a living document listing everything I have done, am doing, and will do on my inner spiritual journey.
This is my unique and individual path.
Please do know that you might require very different healing modalities, teachers and tools.
I do hope that it serves as an inspiration, especially if you are just starting out.
Because I remember well just how unbelievably lost I was at the beginning of my journey.
Everything that I listed below served as a puzzle piece.
Some might say, I’m a personal growth and development junkie.
I say:
I fucking love learning and understanding and growing.
That’s how my brain and soul are wired in every area of life.
But even more so:
I have a profound urge and desire to get to know myself deeply, on all levels:
who I am
what my needs are
why I react the way I do
why I do the things I do in the way I do them
why some patterns repeat themselves in my life
what my limiting beliefs are
what my potentials are
what my purpose is on this planet…
It has been the most magical journey to dive into who I am.
And I am incredibly open to whatever comes my way.
Most of what I list in this resource I didn’t have to seek out.
They presented themselves and entered my life without me having to go out and look for them.
I just got out of the way and said yes to the experience.
You know, Law of Attraction and stuff (duh, it works).
How I Started Evolving and Embracing Personal Growth and Development
I am very passionate about evolving my consciousness and learning more about myself in the process.
Through this journey that started in 2012, I have grown and expanded my mind, my soul and my body so much.
Before, I was sleepwalking through life. Unconscious.
Since then, I have found home to myself.
I am becoming myself, I am getting to know myself every day more. And most days, I love myself and treat myself with a lot of compassion.
I still struggle at times these days (cause, you know, I’m human still), and that’s ok. I have tools now to help myself and I know how to ask for help. Not to mention, I have an awesome support network.
I know my path. And I know what I still need to learn.
And then there are a lot of things I don’t know, but I am so damn open to receive.
What has changed and shifted for me over the years (an excerpt of a long awesome list):
got rid of many limiting beliefs
found a deep connection with myself
know my needs and what is good and not good for me
have deeper connections with friends and attracted many new inspiring, wonderful friendships
generally feel more connected and very rarely lonely anymore
developed a strong intuition that I fully trust when making decisions
worked through a lot of old stories and traumas, shed a lot of weight and stuck old energies
silenced my inner critic (to a very low volume that only sometimes comes up still)
I am way softer in my being and my heart is soooo much more open
de-shamed a lot of old stories and areas in my life (sexuality, body insecurities, vulnerabilities…)
got a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities
not afraid of feelings and emotions anymore (I can feel!!)
know how to handle depressive episodes better
learned so much about life, myself and consciousness
living my higher calling
developed self-love and awesome self-care routines
connected to my physical body and its energies
So yes, it’s worth it.
Transforming your shadows into light might not always be a joyful experience, but it is the shedding of the veil that will reveal the true you.
Because in the end, the journey into ourselves is the journey home to ourselves and becoming the ones we have always been all along.
And once you know, once you have seen, once you have awaken – there is no un-seeing, no un-knowing, no more going back to unconsciousness.
My Awakening Initiation
The event that broke me open and got me onto my inner journey to myself was my first real breakup from my first girlfriend at age 28 in May 2012.
It shattered me and my world into a million pieces and I faced immense emotional pain.
(you can learn more about the entire story here)
Since then, I have been on a big quest for personal growth:
to heal unhealthy relationship patterns and my tendency to be co-dependent
to heal from being in the closet until I was 26, to embrace my sexuality as a gay, androgynous woman
for emotional healing and healing depression (eg. deep sadness, anger, shame, loneliness, being lost, obsessive thinking patterns)
to embrace and express my feminine energies
to work through old childhood and other trauma and the relationships with my parents
for transforming limiting beliefs and old emotional conditioning that keep me stuck
to learn self-love and self-compassion
to find meaning in my life and purpose in my work
Healing Modalities, Events, Practices and Tools
What is not included are the countless conversation I had with many amazing friends and amazing people I met on on my path. The infinite list of inspiring blogposts and podcasts I have consumed (but you will find some good recommendations at the end). And some smaller events and gatherings I was part of.
Please note:
I am not sharing some details on purpose, such as the names or websites of some practicioners etc. I still honour my own privacy in some ways – so if there is no link or name, don’t ask me for it.
if you don’t know what something is, follow the link or google it.
there are many untold stories hiding within this blogpost – this article is just scratching the surface of my journey and gives you a little glimpse. I have plans to possibly write a book, maybe.
Here is what I have experimented with since 2012:
Classic Psychotherapy
several rather unsuccessful attempts
at age 17/18/19 after my parents divorced
sometime again in my twenties
in 2012 after my first big breakup
last time in its classical form for a few months in Berlin in 2014 – but I quit after a few months as it wasn’t going anywhere for me and she also wasn’t the right one (but I didn’t know what the right one would be, knowing so little about myself back then!)
My first real personal development book:
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
I think I found it in my mum’s book collection at home (thanks mom!)
It properly woke up me from my lifelong trance in 2012.
Biggest epiphany thanks to this book:
I am not my thoughts (before I took every thought as truth). I am the observer of my consciousness.
Get your own copy on Amazon and German Amazon.
Buddhist Teachings
Discovering Buddhism fully woke me up. I got so many answers through its teachings while going through some intense suffering, I am forever grateful.
discovered the Lotos Vihara Centre in Berlin and Dr. Wilfried Reuter through friends
dove into books and teachings by e.g. Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, Ramana Maharshi, Sir J. Krishnamurty.
listened to a lot of Audio Dharma talks
Meditation Practice
After diving into Buddhism, Meditation was the obvious next step.
first through apps and podcasts (can recommend Insight and Headspace for beginners)
went to a meditation introduction class at the the Buddhist centre in Berlin in 2012
read a few books on meditation, one that stood out is “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
over the years I have practiced a lot of different techniques of meditations
experimented with all sorts of traditional meditation techniques (eg. breath, mantra, Zen)
also enjoy those by Tony Robbins (priming) and Kyle Cease
right now, I am really into the meditations by Dr. Joe Dispenza
here is a video I did on meditation: How to Meditate – my little personal no-BS guide
my intention is to meditate every morning upon rising (I don’t always succeed)
Yoga
I took my first yoga class in 2008 in Guatemala.
started doing DVD and online Yoga at home after that for my stomach and back pain
tried out many different styles, studios and teachers starting in 2011
have practiced mostly Jivamukti, Vinyasa and Hatha regularly and all over the world in many countries since about 2013
also enjoy Yin and Restorative Yoga, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Tantra
big fan of Pranayama techniques
One-Month Yoga & Meditation Course
at Hidraya Center in Mazunte/Mexico
I did Module 1 of a series of modules, which takes you very deep into yoga, meditation and the life of a Yogi
we had Kirtan sessions, collective Heart Meditation sessions and one day of complete silence
was a wonderful experience and very transformational
Yoga Teacher Training
one month at Desa Seni in Bali in 2015
mostly trained in Hatha, Yin, Tantra and Kundalini Yoga and lots of meditation and pranayama
the intention with this training was to learn more and deepen my yoga practice
one of the best “personal growth courses” you can sign up for – it is very powerful, very intense and you will transform immensely as a soul
highly recommended if you want to dive deep
Family Mystic and Healer
he is originally from Pakistan and has been one of my mum’s gurus since I was a little child
distant healing sessions
regular group satsang
5-day meditation workshop retreat in Austria
Life Coaching + Therapy
discovered life coaching and my first coach in 2014
have worked with seven very different coaches
usually for 3-6 months each
right now I have been working with my current life coach, who is also a therapist, for several years (since February 2016) – we do a lot of somatic work and feeling through emotions
Inner Child Work
in coaching and therapy sessions
first I had a big resistance and had a hard time, but eventually was able to open myself up and connect to my little Conni and it has been wonderful
super important to develop self-love, self-compassion and reparenting myself
helps to silence the inner critic and the mean voice
can recommend this book: Reconciliation – Healing the Inner Child
Coaching Session based on Byron Katie’s work
read her book: Loving What Is: Four Questions Can Change Your Life
a simple method of self-inquiry
helps change the stories we keep telling ourselves
Family Constellation
did this method mostly in therapy sessions and several times in a group setting in Ubud/Bali
you explore current and old family dynamics structures, karma and stories
Energy, Reiki, Shamanic and Theta Healing
many sessions with different healers all over the world
Theta Healing is meant to change neural pathways & change limiting beliefs
mostly effective for me in the short-term, but can’t really say how effective the results were long-term
Astrological Chart Readings
I usually get my chart read once or twice a year
really helped me to get to know myself so much more and dive deeper into my purpose on this planet
my two personal recommendations: Larry Martin and Luisa Hartmann
Tarot Card, Intuitive and Soul Readers
I have had some really awesome sessions and some not so great ones, but overall, in times of a lot of chaos, they helped me to calm down and trust in life and the universe – knowing that I am on the right path
I definitely believe that some human beings are more connected to a greater consciousness than others
Heal the Woman Within 5-Day Seminar in Bali
was kind of like my kick off healing workshop into deeper spheres of inner work in the beginning of my time here in Bali in 2015
worked with modalities of Metaphysical Anatomy to heal old stories and trauma
definitely had some big breakthroughs, but didn’t realise that so much work would still have to follow!! (layer work ;))
Yoga Retreats
Orion Healing Center on Koh Phangan, Thailand
Andalusia, Spain
Tuscany, Italy
Yoga Healing Bali with Christina Maria Gabriel
great for a reset, grounding and deepening your practice
Silent Retreat in Bali
this is not a Vipassana – you can read, write, leave the premises – so it’s more like a silent vacation maybe
amazing food, magical setting
great way reset your systems
I did it over Christmas in 2015 and enjoyed it for the most part, but was also happy to leave after those five days
Cleansing Fasting Retreat
two times with Hillary at Dharma Healing International on Koh Samui, Thailand
only water, two fresh coconut waters a day, minerals, tea, veggie broth
every morning you do an enema yourself, you get one colonic session during the course and I booked a massage every day
it’s great for a body reset and to detoxify your body once in a while
I did the normal fasting course once and then also the fasting course plus “Dharma of Fasting for Professionals” course another time
it’s more than just a fasting week – Hillary teaches you a lot about nutrition, digestion, fasting, Astrology, Iridology.
Going Vegan / Plant-based in January 2015
been vegetarian my whole life
going vegan changed my life immensely in terms of awareness for my body and its health, the connection between food and energy
food is fuel = life
I feel more fit and have more energy in my mid-thirties than I ever did in my teens or twenties
I basically don’t get sick anymore and my skin is awesome
Non-Violent Communication
completely changed my life and the way I communicate with people, especially in conflict situations
one of the most important tools I have learned on my path
I read the book and watched a few videos by Marshal Rosenberg on YouTube (I recommend this one to get started)
there are also workshops all over the world. I personally have not attended one yet, but I might in the future
Grinberg Method
I like to describe it as a mix of talk therapy, massage and somatic experiencing to heal and release stress, trauma, tension, anxiety and stuck energies in the body
tought me to properly feel emotions and not be scared of them
we worked through energetic blockages in my body (specifically throat, stomach and back)
I had probably around six sessions with two different practicioners and this method changed my life so much
check out their official website (which sucks) to find practitioners and workshops in your area
The Gene Keys
helps you find paths of self enquiry that challenge, question and enlighten you about your true role in life
one of the most fascinating teachings I have ever discovered
helps you to understand your shadows and true potentials in life
a further dimension and evolution of Human Design
“Its purpose is to unlock the great reservoir of genius that lies inside you and bring you into a deep state of harmony with every aspect of your life.”
I got my first Gene Keys Reading at the end of 2017, lasted for about 6 hours and it blew my mind
get started by checking out The Gene Keys website and purchasing the book
if you are then interested to get a reading of your profile, you can e-mail me and I will share my contact/resource with you (she is amazing)
Tony Robbins Live Events
I first attended the 6-day Date With Destiny (DWD) event in Florida in December 2016 and then the 3-day Unleash the Power Within (UPW) in LA in March 2017. Read about the experiences.
personal development on steroids – huge life-changer, Tony is the man
everyone should attend UPW and if you can afford it, also go to DWD
I made a video reflecting on both events
Dr. Joe Dispenza Workshops and Retreats
2-day Progressive Workshop in Berlin in May 2017
4-day Advanced Course in Palm Desert/California in October 2017
6-day Advanced Course in Tarragona/Spain in January 2018
6-day Advanced Course in Cancun/Mexico in June 2018
bridging spirituality and meditation with science
wanna heal your body, raise your consciousness and manifest the most amazing life ever? Dr. Joe is the real deal – he is a scientist, not some woo-woo dude. He has tested all of his hypothesis and explains in amazing detail the interconnectedness between body and mind and why what he teaches works.
I love his meditations and the Mind Movies technique – I practice both daily, up to 1.5 hours
to get started with his work, check out his website and books, purchase some of his meditations (eg. Blessings of the Energy Centers), do his online course and attend one of his events
I talk about my experiences in these Facebook live videos: Live from the Retreatand Retreat Highlights
Plant Medicine Retreat with a Shaman in Ecuador
10 days in February 2018
3 ceremonies with the plant medicine San Pedro
1 sweat lodge ceremony
I was living with the shaman and his family
check out my video about the experience here
if you are truly committed, you can find more information about my shaman and his offerings on his website
I went back in April 2019 for two weeks and did two Ayahuasca sessions with him (one private and one in a small group setting). Here is my video about the experience.
Transformational / Holotropic Breathwork
Breathwork is an active meditation practice that produces altered states of consciousness to help with emotional healing and personal growth. It gives access to parts of the psyche that aren’t as accessible in our daily lives, as well as to the collective unconscious and the unity of everything and everyone, similarly to a psychedelic or plant-medicine ceremony experience.
Basically, you inhale and exhale for equal lengths of time, at increasing speed while being blind-folded. Intense music is played loudly to intensify the experience, which is even heightened by the group energy that is being produced through the practice.
I have done breathwork circles with Michael Stone in LA and online, as well as Sara Silverstein and Edward Dangerfield in Bali. Read my comprehensive article on breathwork here.
My experiences have been so healing, so liberating. I have released endless stuck energy, connected to my inner child and just had an out of this world experience.
I have also done private breathwork sessions, which are even more powerful and healing.
Other awesome stuff I have tried out and experienced
Ecstatic Dance Sessions (eg. Yoga Barn in Bali)
Sister Circles Sessions at The Practice in Bali
Goddess Gathering in LA
EFT Tapping
Cacao and Cannabis ceremonies in LA
Sound Bath Healing in Bali
Floating Tank in LA (sensory deprivation in a salt bath)
Two intimate workshops with Kyle Cease in LA – one in May 2018 with 50 people and one in October 2018 with 25 people
Some other great events I attended
Bali Spirit Festival
Wanderlust Festival in New Zealand
Marianne Williamson lectures in LA
Matt Kahn Lecture in Encinitas/CA
Longevity Now Conference in LA
Health-based healing modalities and practices:
My main health-related challenges have been digestion, PMS and period pain, eczema and psoriasis, back pain, and chronic wrist and knee pain from injuries.
I believe in the interconnectedness of mind, body and soul and that any chronic pain and dis-ease is stuck, lower-frequency energy in the body.
Suppressed emotions caused a lot of chronic conditions for me, especially skin and digestion.
For example, once I had my coming out at 26, many of my health issues disappeared and improved massively, as I started to live my true self and to express my emotions.
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Myofascial Release
Juice fasting for 7 days and 3 days
Hydro-Colonic Therapy Sessions
Liver flush
Ayurvedic diet based on my dosha
Water fasting
Several Balinese healers
Rolfing
Intermittent Fasting (daily for 16hours and for 24 hours every couple weeks)
Chiropractic treatments
Detoxed from coffee, sugar and alcohol for several months at a time
Healing SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) with a modified Fodmap diet and natural supplements – I worked with the awesome naturopath and health coach Kirsten Swales
24 hour water fasts
Osteopathy treatments to heal digestion issues at Praxis für Ostheopathie (highly recommended)
Kambo ceremony with Esther the Kambo Nomad
LIFE-CHANGING RESOURCES ON MY PATH
Books:
It is hard to pick just a few, so I created a living resource of the books that have had the most impact on my personal growth journey and my thinking. I update it frequently.
Check it out:
Here is my list of books that changed my life.
Blogs, YouTube Channels and Podcasts:
Kyle Cease on YouTube and also check out this program of his
Jeff Foster on Facebook and his books
Matt Kahn on YouTube
Mark Groves on Instagram and his website
Jeff Brown on Facebook and his books
Vienna Pharaon on Instagram
Tony Robbins videos on YouTube and also these online programs
Terri Cole and her Hello Freedom Podcast
Adam Roa on Facebook and his podcast The Deep Dive
Aubrey Marcus and his podcast
Tara Brach’s Podcast
And obviously so many more amazing people, just giving you a little best-of here.
Now I am guessing you are probably going to ask:
“WHAT HAS HELPED YOU THE MOST, CONNI?“
My answer:
All of it, in one way or another.
Whatever I did was helpful at the time in my healing and consciousness process.
In the beginning, I found a lot of answers through Buddhism.
Yoga and Meditation have been crucial the entire time and continue to do so.
Then Life Coaching was a game-changer.
And the one-month yoga and meditation retreat at Hidraya in Mexico and my Yoga Teacher Training in Bali definitely boosted my evolution to new levels.
Books on personal growth and development and Buddhist teachings have always been great supporters in so many ways. I love learning from more evolved beings and getting inspired by people who share insightful messages.
Every retreat, every course, every experience has been important on my path.
Every piece of the puzzle has been indispensable to arrive where I am today.
And of course, some more than others.
BUT if I had to decide, I would say:
San Pedro Plant Medicine Retreat with a Shaman in Ecuador (in Feb 2018)
Dr. Joe Dispenza Workshops (especially the one-week Advanced workshop I did in Spain in Jan 2018)
Therapy and life coaching with my current wonder woman
Grinberg Therapy Sessions
Mindfulness and learning to be with my emotions.
Being part of Kyle Cease’s membership community with weekly live calls
Continuously reading books (see my list), finding answers and inspiration through YouTube and Podcasts
Also, I got immense boosts of personal growth from being a creator and entrepreneur, from blogging, making videos and sharing myself on social media. Like crazy.
In the end, I have been passionately committed to doing THE WORK, no matter what.
I never want to leave a stone unturned.
I opened my mind and heart so wide, which enabled me to receive teachings and ideas and practices that my old self would have normally rejected.
MY CURRENT PRACTICES
You have to understand that change and transformation don’t just happen because you do things once or twice.
My whole journey led me to a whole new way of living and being and thinking.
I currently regularly do:
daily meditations
regular Yoga and other ways to move my body 5-6 days a week (gym, swimming, surfing…)
coaching/therapy
breathwork sessions
reading books on personal growth daily
practicing awareness/mindfulness in every day life
intentionally growing my consciousness
writing (eg. journaling, morning pages…)
going to transformational events/workshops every couple months
living on a clean vegan diet
sauna and ice baths
deep tissue massages
intermittent fasting (usually no food for 16-18 hours a day)
healing my gut through natural herbs and anti-inflammatory diet
practicing non-violent communication
I might do some of the following in the near future:
Core Energetic Healing
Cranio Sacral Therapy
Hoffmann Process
Somatic Movement Therapy
Burning Man
Hypnotherapy
10-Day Vipassana Silent Meditation Retreat
EMDR
Past Life Regression
Workshops and retreats at Kripalu and Esalen
Envision Festival in Costa Rica
Mind Body Spirit Festival
Shakti Fest
It’s been an amazing ride and it continues to be magical.
Not easy. Not always comfortable. Sometimes crazy intense. But worth it.
I’m just so grateful I woke up eight years ago and that I was able to shift my perception from “life happens to me” to “life happens for me”. I’m glad I can see the gift in the struggle and the pain.
I hope the same for you.
Stay on the path.
With love,
Conni.
Why Writing Matters
Here is the golden nugget of this whole article:
Writing is the foundation for everything.
I take it for granted most of the time, but writing has changed my life in more ways than I ever imagined.
Even though I have been writing and blogging for different audiences since 2011, I never officially shared much about this amazing practice on a deeper level or what writing truly means to me.
I never thought I was a very good writer.
I still don’t think I’m amazing and there a ton of writers out there who are way more amazing than me.
But I have shown up consistently for my writing for many years.
This consistent practice has been my only secret.
So I’m going to make a big claim:
Writing is THE core skill for any creator and creative entrepreneur, as I wrote about in this article recently.
The most valuable thing you can do for your creativity and career is to build a writing habit.
Why?
Because everything you want to do starts with writing.
Writing is the fuel for all other mediums:
It is the basis for my videos, newsletter, long-form Instagram posts and podcasts – and also any course and public speech.
Do you want to author a book? Write.
Do you want to make a film or record a video? Write.
Do you want to give a talk? Write.
Do you want to run a workshop? Write.
Do you want to create a podcast? Write.
Do you want to teach an online course? Write.
Do you want to change people’s lives? Write.
Don’t underestimate the power of the written word. Ever.
So let’s go in the details of why writing matters.
It enables clarity of thinking
Writing is the process of thinking.
Wait, actually: Writing IS thinking.
The physical manifestation of writing is essential to the thinking process. As I am typing these words and let my ideas flow onto the page, I am thinking out loud in a structured manner. It’s awesome.
With so many thoughts running wild in our minds (roughly around 50k-70k per day), it is impossible to organize them properly in our brains.
Writing is a tool for thought and idea organization. In this process, we gain clarity of thinking and make space for new ideas to come through as we enter a state of reception and flow.
And since ideas change the world, your ability to make a real impact increases.
It heightens your awareness and makes you more curious
Writing forces you to be present and pay attention.
As a writer and creative, everything I see and experience is interesting and potential material. Every conversation, every book, every insight can hold inspiration for a piece of writing.
You become an explorer and an observer of the world around you – you soak it up with passionate intensity.
Your curiosity is amplified and being a curious human is one of the best ways to live life.
It accelerates learning
On the one hand, the more you write, the quicker you learn to write better, the better you become at writing. Quantity leads to quality.
On the other hand, the more you write about topics that interest you and about your creative work, the more you learn about these areas. As we teach, so we learn.
Apart from that, sharing your writing online will probably prompt you to learn about publishing platforms (eg. WordPress, Squarespace, Medium..) and consequently about getting more people to read your writing (ie. content marketing).
There is so much to learn out there and writing is an amazing and very practical tool to embrace the learner in you.
It raises your vibration
When we express ourselves creatively, we use our second energy center and the mere act of activating it through writing is a highly fulfilling process.
When I get my creative writing juices flowing, I always feel more connected to myself and the present moment. Creating and writing every day makes me an overall happier human being.
Your expression becomes more clear
Putting your thoughts and ideas down helps develop a well-organized, efficient mind.
The more you write, the more you learn how to articulate yourself. This is something I keep noticing about myself as well. When I have a regular writing practice, I find it easier to express my thoughts, ideas, and feelings to other people.
When you write, you are forced to distill your millions of thoughts down into something that is precise and digestible. In the process and as you write more, your writing – but especially also your speaking – will become more clear and succinct.
The ability to communicate more clearly is huge because others will listen more and understand us better.
It fosters critical thinking
Especially when writing an essay or a more profound piece of writing around a certain topic, you as a writer are called in to make an argument for your reader.
As part of this creative process, you will need to reflect on and evaluate existing information and opinions out there.
The end result is that you will strengthen your critical thinking muscle as you are invited to challenge and question conventional ways of looking at things.
It is a tool for self-discovery and healing
A consistent writing practice can be used in many different ways, but these are the two main ones:
You write for yourself (eg. journaling or morning pages)
You write for others (eg. blogging, on social media..)
Both ways hold massive potential for self-discovery. I have gotten to know myself intensively through both.
On the one hand, journaling or doing morning pages is a direct highway to your inner self and your shadows. There is no hiding on the page (and why would you?).
On the other hand, writing in public and sharing it with the world, is a very vulnerable act especially in the beginning, because we have to overcome our inner resistance and fears.
Also, sharing my more personal writing with others and making myself vulnerable in my public writing is an incredibly healing process, as it helps me to connect with others and de-shame certain parts of myself.
It can almost be a form of therapy in itself and many writers will attest to that.
In general, writing is a way to explore ourselves in ways that we normally don’t do.
It helps us illuminate our thinking, our opinions, our fears, our inner conflicts, our doubts, shadows and ultimately: our truth.
It helps you expand your consciousness
To be more conscious is to be more aware. Through writing and the exploration of yourself and the world, you increase your awareness on all levels.
In combination with meditation, it is the perfect practice for self-inquiry and to get to know yourself, which are precursors on the journey to higher consciousness as a creator.
Also: When you write for others, you are essentially teaching – teaching is learning and learning is helping you become more conscious.
You can make a name for yourself and build a community
Writing makes you visible.
Through writing online, you can share what you know, your experiences, your learnings, your ideas. This builds authority and creates trust with people.
Having a platform on which you share your writing is the best way to let people know that you exist, attract an audience and get clients – the right clients!
Blogging and writing on social media have allowed me to grow wonderful audiences and communities of people who are interested in the same things as me.
Beyond that, I have created some of the most amazing friendships and connections with other creators, writers, and entrepreneurs through sharing myself online. This in itself has been so rewarding and fulfilling and I wouldn’t ever want to give this up.
It opens up unexpected career and business opportunities
Writing has been my serendipity vehicle for many years now. By this, I mean that by sharing myself online and having a platform, I have attracted many unexpected and surprising offerings from other companies or people.
They came to me, I didn’t have to seek them out or pitch anyone.
I have been invited to speak at big events and conferences.
Several publishers have approached me for book projects.
Other creators and entrepreneurs have reached out to propose collaborations and work together.
Businesses contact me for cooperations and sponsorships.
I often open my email inbox and find something awesome in there – all because I share my writing (and videos and podcasts) with the world.
It trains your creative muscle
This is a big one and one that I believe many creative people, whose primary craft is not writing (eg. YouTubers, photographers..) underestimate:
Writing regularly is good for your creative brain.
It makes you more creative by forcing you to come up with new ideas all the time.
Beyond that, as you are testing the limits of your creative ideas, you improve their quality.
As you share your writing with others and open up the feedback loop, you are rewarded with instant feedback to learn from and improve your creative craft.
The more you exercise your creativity muscle, the more creative you will become.
Also, the more you exercise your creative muscle in one area, the more creative you will be in another. For example, writing has made me a more creative YouTuber and photographer.
It enables the feeling of flow
Sitting down to write is one of the best ways to experience the flow state.
Once I get into it and dedicate myself to it, I am fully in the present moment, fully connected to the craft, to my fingers moving across the keyboard or the pen across the page.
Ideas are flowing as I lock up my inner critic and let my mind uncover insights and connections I hadn’t seen before.
It’s a wonderful feeling and one that keeps me coming back to the page every single day.
It helps you find your voice and become more confident
You really only find your voice by using it and writing is a wonderful way to to that.
As you explore yourself, your mind, your curiosities, your ideas and as you find more clarity in your thinking, your unique voice forms – and through this, your creative self-confidence flourishes.
It will then be much easier to take your voice from writing to video or podcasting because you already feel more confident with how you express yourself and sharing your ideas.
Resumé:
Writing will change your life
Let’s be real – writing totally changed my life. This is probably still an understatement.
It helped me explore my curiosities, build a business and connect to hundreds of thousands of people. My thinking is sharper, so is my speaking and serendipity knocks on my door regularly.
If you take away one thing from reading this article, take this:
Start writing daily.
It doesn’t have to be much, even 200 words or 20 minutes a day will have a huge impact on you, your thinking, your work, your creativity, your business and your life.
If you want to take writing more seriously, write publicly.
Expand your comfort zone, put yourself out there and experience massive growth as a result.
Being a writer is being a creator – and being a creator is the most rewarding way to use and share your energies.
If you need support on your writing journey, send me an email or a DM on Instagram. I am opening up my new one-month program “The Mindful Creator” for a small group of people soon.
Write your heart out.
With love
Conni.
How to Always Make the Right Decision
Let me share some decision stories from my recent past with you:
1. Earlier this year, I made the spontaneous decision to shut down some of my active profitable business projects to pursue more creative ventures. I was giving up an ongoing monthly income.
2. Just a few days ago, on the plane from Bali to Munich, I decided to follow through on two specific business ideas among a list of many.
3. I recently made a decision that consequently led to the fatal ending of my relationship. Or so I thought because I will never know the outcome if I hadn‘t made that decision.
4. Several months ago, I had to decide between two publishers, who approached me for a book project on the same topic.
5. A few weeks back I had to suddenly decide where to go and live for at least the next few months.
6. And for this article assignment on challenging conventional wisdom as part of a program I am doing, I came up with 10 topics and had to pick one. That was hard. (You are currently reading the choice I made)
The above are just a few decisions from an infinite pile of big and small ones we all have to make every waking hour.
A few more examples:
„Where should I go and have lunch today?“
„Should I hire someone for this task or do it myself?“
„Should I quit my job and start my own business?“
„I really want a dog – but is it really a good idea to get one?“
„Should I sign up for the gym or the Yoga studio?“
„Should I travel to Peru or New Zealand?“
„Should I make a salad or a curry?“
Do you notice that many decision questions that matter to us start with a variation of „should“?
Some questions are harder to make and some easier – depending on what‘s at stake and how big we perceive the opportunity cost. That‘s the thinking we are taught anyway. We are conditioned to look at decisions as good or bad / right or wrong and that if we choose one, we lose the possibility of the other.
A while back, I found a way to make every decision the right decision, a way that also enables me to completely get rid of opportunity cost and regret.
It started with a simple shift in my mindset. Let me explain:
The power of reframing
When we think of how to make the right decision, we automatically assume that there is a right and wrong decision to make.
But there came a point in my life, where I started to question this belief (like so many others).
Instead, I started asking myself:
What if there are no right or wrong decisions in the first place?
Because right/wrong is an artificial binary concept, just like good/bad.
Inherently, nothing is really ever any of it, only our interpretation based on our belief system makes it so.
So what if every decision – even the one that turns out „wrong“ after all – is the right one?
What if wrong only means uncomfortable, painful, ashamed, weak?
What if none of that is bad?
Here is what I know today – after making a ton of great and awful decisions:
There are no wrong decisions, there is only growth and lessons we need to learn. It all depends on how you frame it.
Just like Steve Jobs said:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
You might look at a decision as wrong or bad at first, when things don‘t work out the way you wanted them to (and who are you to decide anyway?) – but often times, we realize that we actually gained something from it and that it wasn‘t that bad after all.
Think of a decision that first turned out bad but then the bad actually ended up being a good thing.
For example:
A couple of years ago, I was looking to hire a team assistant. I had the choice between a friend and a couple other applicants I didn‘t know personally. I chose the friend. Which did not turn out well at all. It got very frustrating very quickly and I ended up letting her go after only a few weeks. Even though the experience was negative, I got to learn a lot of great lessons around communication, boundaries, and needs. I definitely regretted the decision to work with her at first, but then I was glad it happened because the lessons were necessary for me as a „leader“.
The worst thing you can do is stay stuck in the victim mentality and think that life happens to you. Because reality check: Life always happens for you. It‘s just a matter of you shifting your perspective.
There is so much in value in trusting that life will give you what you need at any given moment and that you are always exactly where you need to be.
So when you think you made the wrong decision, ride it: learn the lessons and gain all the possible insights.
A seemingly bad decision might turn out amazing, but only when you are able to connect the dots looking back. Life demands of us that we take risks, make mistakes and choose the „wrong“ decision.
Reframing and shifting our perspective is just one way to approach decision-making. But how can we improve our general ability to decide between two or more choices? How can we find clarity when in doubt?
Let‘s talk about the available options and which one I recommend.
The old-school way to make decisions
I recently came across two YouTube videos on the subject of decision-making:
How to Make Better Decisions in Life by Nathaniel Drew
How to Make Decisions by Sam Ovens
I actually never finished watching the videos, because they bored me to death. Don‘t get me wrong – I love both Nathaniel and Sam and am inspired by a lot of their content. But when it comes to the topic of decision-making, I feel like they are stuck in outdated programming and conditioning.
In their videos, they talk about the very rational and logical way to come to the „right“ decision. They believe that by going through all these logical exercises and making spreadsheets we can arrive at a point where we have clarity around a decision.
I call this the left-brain masculine approach to decision-making. And there is a lot of that out there. Endless books, articles, and videos discuss all the possible logical ways to make decisions.
On the Farnam Street blog (a resource I generally enjoy a lot), they have an article outlining 109 mental models and an elaborate decision making journal to help make intelligent decisions.
Even though I find mental models fascinating and relevant in some areas in life, I just don‘t find them very useful when making real-life decisions. They might help with understanding human biases, but they only work with one side of the brain: the left one. It’s the one that perceives the world analytically and it focuses on the familiar, on categorizing and on controlling.
We think by rationally learning how to make decisions we can rule out risk, disappointment, failure and making mistakes.
When we are rationalizing our decision-making processes, what we are really doing is chasing the feeling of security and certainty. But both are an illusion.
There is almost never any security in any decision until you make it and see what happens.
The reality is: You might never be fully certain. True freedom lies in the acceptance of that.
You will also never know what the alternative would have been.
If you feel like you have to make spreadsheets and endless pros and cons columns – the answer to your question is no. I will explain in a second.
Is your mind your friend or enemy?
We trust our minds to be capable and competent when in reality and from empirical experience, that is just not always the case.
We trust our seemingly rational thought machines that tell us we are not good enough, that keep us from doing things because they seem risky, that make us procrastinate, that judges others and ourselves often harshly.
There are many amazing things the mind does and I‘m sure it means well by protecting us from possible dangers, but more often than not, it’s our lizard brain taking over
But let‘s be real:
Our minds are full of old unconscious programming, conditioning, biases and limiting beliefs.
Some examples:
“I am not appreciated”
“I don’t have enough skills or knowledge to start a business”
“Building a business is really hard and I don’t have it in me.”
“Things just don’t work out for me.”
I don’t know about you but that doesn’t seem very trustworthy to me.
Our bodies and our intuition, on the other hand, are way smarter than most of us want to believe.
How many times did you make a decision from your mind and against your intuition and it turned out bad?
How many times did your intuition say to you „I told you so!“
Upgrade your decision-making puperpower
If our minds are not to be trusted, what now?
Well, there is a lot that we are never really taught growing up. But that doesn‘t make it any less relevant and valuable. On the contrary. Sometimes, the things we don‘t know that we don‘t know are the key to liberation.
Society and school put most of their focus on the rational mind. We learn to trust our minds more than our bodies and their signals. The problem is that our minds like to cause confusion, while our bodies and our intuition are experts at knowing what is good for us. But we tend to ignore them in favor of the mind and rational logic.
Many of us don‘t even receive their signals, because their lives and minds are so noisy, they can’t hear the messages – and even when they do, they don‘t trust them. Nice work, society.
So how can we improve the way we make decisions?
Step 1: Get to know yourself properly
The better you know yourself, the more connected you are to yourself and the easier it is for you to make decisions.
What are your values?
What is truly important to you?
How do you want to feel on a daily basis? (Every goal we want to reach is really just a feeling that we are chasing)
What does a fulfilling life look and feel like for you?
The more you are rooted and aligned with your values and needs, the more you signal to your body: This is me, this is my truth, this feels good.
On this basis, you can always check in with yourself and see if a decision is in line with who you are and your individual truth.
Step 2: Start making hell-yeah decisions from „down there“
Stop trying to make decisions purely from your mind. Our bodies never lie.
Some call it intuition. Others call it “sixth sense” or “gut feeling” or “inner voice”. Call it whatever you want.
The baseline for any decision I make is:
It has to feel good. And by good, I mean „Hell Yeah“-good. This is how I measure everything and every decision in my life:
Is it a Hell Yeah? If not, it‘s a no.
I learned this years and years ago from Derek Sivers.
A different variation is the “10 out of 10 approach” by Kyle Cease.
Or Naval‘s compass of „If you can‘t make a decision, it‘s a no.“
These approaches bypass the mind and go straight to the truth within you.
Here is what this approach asks of you:
Your full honesty. You can‘t bullshit yourself into thinking something is a Hell Yeah. You feel a Hell Yeah or a 10/10 intuitively in your body. Anything but a Hell Yeah is a no – and that might be a tough realization to accept at times.
Let me ask you these questions:
Is your job/business a Hell Yeah?
Is your romantic relationship a Hell Yeah?
Is your apartment / house / living situation a Hell Yeah?
Is your haircut a Hell Yeah?
You get the idea.
I don‘t need to rationalize or explain my decisions anymore because I trust my Hell Yeahs fully. It‘s so simple and the only way I navigate life these days.
Sometimes I have to make a decision that doesn‘t feel like a Hell Yeah, but at least I am aware of it and conscious of it and I am not trying to trick myself in believing otherwise. Then it‘s about taking responsibility for making a non-Hell-Yeah decision. That‘s totally cool, at times we have our reasons for doing so, but I invite you to be conscious of self-sabotage.
There are occasional instances where the Hell Yeah isn‘t clear. That‘s usually because it‘s not.
I recently was in between buying a van and going to Bali (had an unused return flight) to finish writing my book. I went back and forth and back and forth – clearly, neither was a full Hell Yeah. I eventually ended up talking about both choices at length with a friend and as I was talking, I FELT that even though going to Bali wasn‘t a full Hell Yeah, it was still the better choice in my body. And that‘s ok – it‘s totally fine to make non-Hell-Yeah choices – just make the one that‘s more like it.
So if you find yourself in between two or three decisions, just know that none of them are IT, because you feel a Hell Yeah from five miles away. When something feels like a Hell Yeah, you know. You don‘t have to explain or rationalize or make a choice. You feel it and you go for it, no decision necessary.
Think about a time when a decision was a Hell Yeah. When you knew without a doubt in your body that something was a clear Yes or No. Even if your mind came up with doubts, your body knew and you didn‘t think twice about pursuing the Hell Yeah option.
To make intuitive decision-making a little less black or white, here are two more ways you can use your body to make decisions – when you think about a decision you need to make:
Does it feel expanding or contracting in your body?
Does it feel light or heavy?
Again, these are sensations in our body that are easier to get in touch with the more you are connected with your body.
Great ways to practice that are:
Meditation and body scan
Learning to feel and name feelings/emotions in your body
Yoga
Breathwork
Dancing
Massage
Being in nature
And lastly, here is the simplest decision-making method ever:
Flip a coin.
When the coin is in mid-air – you know which side of the coin you want to see when it lands. That’s your decision right there, you don’t even have to check the coin.
The mind + body decision smoothie
„But Conni…“ I can hear you say.
What about business decisions? What if there is a lot at stake?
Well, same thing. How many bad and fatal decisions have been made by important people in this world? A lot. I still deeply believe that our bodies and our intuition show us the way always, they never lie. Our minds on the other hand are often attached to extrinsic motivations and driven by fear.
What about irrational decisions? Are you telling me I should quit my job tomorrow because my body tells me so?
No, I am not saying you should take unnecessary risks. I want you to be conscious of what your truth is and start acting on it, even if it means tiny little steps toward making the big Hell Yeah decision.
Some decisions require you to find a good balance between your mind and body compass. But that still doesn’t mean you have to start making spreadsheets.
Bring the two worlds together. That’s the magic in the end.
Yes, mental models and understanding yourself and the world help to make decisions that are more sound. But in the end, you want to make decisions that feel good. That’s what decisions are all about. Your mind doesn’t quite understand “feel good” though. Our minds don’t feel, they think. So you can’t purely trust your computer. Consult your “down there”. It knows.
Just remember when checking in with your mind to make the decision about you instead of doing what you think you should do based on other people‘s voices and expectations. Check in with your conditioning and programming. Check in with self-sabotage. Check in with limiting beliefs and old stories. Check in with fear of failure and making mistakes.
Easy vs hard decisions
Our brains like to avoid short-term pain, but I highly encourage your to lean towards the fear.
Take the path thats more difficult and challenging in the short term.
Consider my learning:
Hard choices, easy life.
Easy choices, hard life.
If you make hard choices in short-term, in the long-term you will an easy life.
Pick and run
The truth is:
There are instances when you can not practically make a good decision. It’s impossible.
The solution is:
Stop overthinking it.
Tune into your body and feel into the Hell Yeah.
Pick one decision and never ever consider looking back.
Regret is scary.
It’s destructive to do the “shoulda woulda coulda”. This way of thinking will make you unhappy and you cannot live your life that way.
Take risks.
Walk into the unknown.
Risk failure. Risk making mistakes instead of trying to avoid them.
Make a decision, own it and move on with your life.
Stop wasting time NOT doing and NOT taking action.
No decision. No progress.
No regrets, ever.
There are no right or wrong decisions.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.”
J.K. Rowling
There’s no such thing as the wrong decision.
There’s simply the decision you make.
Just make the damn decision, will ya?
What decisions are you sitting on that are difficult for you to make?
What is keeping you from making them?
Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome
I used to chase numbers and goals.
Because my self-worth was attached to them.
That’s what we are taught, right?
‘We will be happy and successful and worthy, when we achieve and have certain things.’
The funny thing is, none of those achievement ever had a lasting impact on my happiness, nor inner worthiness.
This equation never works out. No external thing or person or goal will ever bring you lasting happiness. It doesn’t work like that.
Neither crushing a five-figure launch nor finishing writing a book last week made me feel more whole as Conni.
But here is what does make me feel whole:
Being in love with the process.
Enjoying creating and helping others so much that the goal becomes irrelevant.
Goals and achievements are hollow.
It’s about who we become on the path and truly loving the present moment of creation.
The love for the process detaches us from the outcome:
When I work on a video for two weeks – I release it and there is a little high for an hour. But right after, it is back to work. More creating.
The key is to not get attached to the views and comments and the feedback, but to focus on getting back to creating. Because that is where my true fulfilment comes from, not the reactions to the stuff I put out.
Of course it’s nice to read wonderful comments and see the views go up – but my ego is not attached to it anymore. My self-worth does not need the affirmation from outside.
I create for the sake of creating.
I create with the intention to provide value and to serve and contribute. Not because I need people to love my stuff.
But I would also create for free and if nobody was watching.
Focus on the process and not the outcome.
Find excitement in creating and not in reaching the goal.
We cannot control the goal and we cannot control success – however, we can control our efforts and the process.
I can set an INTENTION of reaching a certain number of followers or income per month, but in the end, it is not in my control.
What I can control is showing up every day and putting my heart and soul into my writing, my videos, my photography and podcast. I can control giving a ton of value. No one can take that away from me.
The more you focus on that, the more you open yourself up to true and authentic “success”.
Then, thousands of followers, a published book, making a good income or having a video pop on YouTube can be the result – but if the‘s the goal, we’re lost before we’ve even begun.
The only reason to be a writer, a filmmaker, a photographer or any creator is because you have to be that. You cannot not do it.
Fall in love with the craft and with every moment that your creative center moves you to express yourself.
This is where the magic to a truly fulfilling and meaningful life is hidden.
You will stop chasing and start being.
How to Create High-Quality + Meaningful Content
I used to be a full-time blogger.
But then I discovered YouTube and my passion for filmmaking.
And podcasts.
And photography.
And 2200 character-long Instagram captions.
But before that – from 2011 until about 2017- I was writing all the time. Every day.
Posting shorter articles several times week eventually turned into long-form pieces published once a week.
Writing these deep articles was exhilarating because I discovered so many things during the writing process.
All these new thoughts and ideas helped me to:
come up with more truly original ideas
evolved my thinking around the subject
enabled me to create content that was truly meaningful.
As I started to dive more and more into visual and audio content, I wrote less and less – apart for the occasional newsletter and longer Instagram posts, and of course the outlines for the videos and podcasts. But almost no true long-form articles.
I recently realized that this was when I lost my edge.
Until a few weeks ago.
I just finished writing my book and observed that, as I was writing my 1000 to 2000 words a day, my ideas got better and more original. My thinking became sharper and more creative again.
In addition, few months ago, I started writing full-fledged essays as a script basis for my videos.
Through that, my videos became better, more creative, more meaningful. The feedback in the comments and emails supported that.
I put two and two together and understood this truth:
Writing is the most important skill as a creator – no matter what medium you serve.
The Shallow Problem
I love the Internet. I also really don’t like it.
I love social media. I also don’t like it at all.
I’m sure you can resonate.
Here is what I DO like:
I like the deep waters of the Internet and Social Media.
But the issue is:
We are mostly surrounded by the shallows.
It’s so easy these days to share our words and videos with the world at the touch of a button. Too easy maybe for many content creators, who literally just fart out noise – or also known as:
Undeveloped ideas and content with no real substance or little deeper meaning.
Here is an older interview with Moby, in which he talks about deep versus shallow creativity.
The problem is that people are happy to consume and always ready to distract themselves from their lives and inner world. They like shallow content because it makes consuming and distracting really easily accessible. Easier than books. Easier than a documentary. Easier than a 2000 word article.
Don’t get me wrong – I sometimes like the shallows too. But I have been having less and less tolerance for it in my information diet, because shallow content is like fast food.
What you put in, is what you put out:
If all I consume is Instagram, I’d hard to expect myself to produce a New York Times bestseller book. Or any real deep meaningful content for that matter.
But loads of creators on Instagram and YouTube (and podcasters) thrive in the shallows and are growing their followers and increasing their likes like crazy – shallow content is clearly popular.
I can’t deny that it works. Just look at the biggest YouTube channels or Instagram accounts out there. PewDiePie. David Dobrik. The Kardashians. These might be extremes, but also proof that shallow equals huge numbers.
I recently watched the movie Idiocracy. It got me a little worried, especially when looking at developments like TikTok and the increase in use of Instagram stories.
We are being dumbed down by bite-sized content. Actually, I’m not sure if much of it qualifies as content anymore. Just noise.
We are down to 15 seconds worth of attention. Nice.
I’m not saying we can’t share meaningful messages in 15 seconds. But how deep do they go within the receiver? Do you remember the stories you watched this morning? Or yesterday? Or last week?
These are negative doomsday thoughts and I usually don’t get caught up in them too much, but for the sake of my argument in this article, roll with it, will ya?
The New Hopeful Generation of Creators?
Many YouTubers and podcasters sit down, press record and just ramble on because they didn’t fully develop their ideas. They jam out on a five-point outline of maybe 50 words (or five). Others freestyle their video content without much preparation.
Or they don’t think about it much at all, vlog their days and – tada – a new video is born.
The average Instagrammer takes a few minutes to craft a caption. But even if you go all-in with the 2.200 allowed characters – that’s no more than 400 words. I consider that shallow waters.
So many content creators just shit out content – because well, they can. Technology makes it incredibly easy.
It takes time and effort to fully explore a topic or a question, to do some quality research and actually come up with original ideas and make them presentable. Many creators don’t want to make that investment.
And for many, it seems to work, because their platforms keep growing. But just because something is growing doesn’t mean that’s a good sign on the whole or for humanity at large.
But there is also a great development happening:
The rise of YouTube creators who create deep and meaningful content.
They inspire others with smart original ideas, amazing storytelling and deep food for thought:
How do they do it? What makes their content different?
Here is what they don’t do:
They think deeply about their content, they plan it out. They don’t just smash out an outline and riff on it.
Here is what I know most of them do – let’s call it their “creative secret”:
They sit down and write (some consider it scripting or storyboarding).
Let’s talk about it.
Writing.
Real writing.
1. Writing is the most fundamental and yet underrated skill for all creators
“Writing is mostly thinking, which means becoming a better writer makes you a better thinker. You learn to communicate more clearly and persuasively.”
No matter if you call yourself a YouTuber or podcaster or influencer or online entrepreneur –
Writing is golden.
It is at the core of everything I put out into the world.
My videos are based on my writing.
My podcasts are based on my writing.
My courses, programs, and workshops are based on my writing.
I share my writing in my newsletter, my blog and on Instagram.
I have written two books.
I believe that the art and the skill of writing are highly underrated in a world that is increasingly dominated by visual and audio content.
Most people only write rough outlines for their podcasts and videos. But think about it:
How deep can you go mentally when jotting down ideas in an outline? Not very. You will stay in shallow waters.
The best creators on YouTube write out their videos.
The best podcasters write out their podcast episodes.
The reason why some the creators mentioned above are so inspiring and their channels so fast-growing is because they sit down and write out the content. At least, they plan it out in a lot of detail and they put a lot of effort into planning their content.
On top of that, most written social media content is shallow. Even when creators share (pseudo) long-form writing on Instagram – how deep can you really go in 2200 characters? I always struggled really hard with that, because that limit is often the beginning when thinking and ideas get real good.
2. Writing leads to organized thinking, which leads to better content
What if you wrote an entire essay about a topic before you pressed record – instead of just an outline with bullet points?
What if you went 1000-3000 words deep with an idea instead of just a couple paragraphs?
Because you know what will happen in that process?
You will think deeper, like way deep. In doing so, your mind will open you up to new ideas to come through. Better ideas. More ideas. More original ideas. It raises the quality of your thinking by infinity.
The more you dig into the writing well, the more you will discover treasures that you wouldn’t get to find if you only stayed on the surface of an outline or the length of an Instagram post.
Writing forces you to pay attention. It helps you understand your mind more and become more curious about your own thoughts and the world.
So it is not that you NEED the essay for your videos or podcasts – you don’t need to read it off word by word. You can cut it back down and turn it back into a rough outline to riff off. You need the writing to explore and come up with new ideas and original thought.
As Paul Graham writes, “expect 80% of the ideas in an essay to happen after you start writing it, and 50% of those you start with to be wrong”. And for me too, the best ideas and thoughts come to me when I am deep into writing.
The same is true for the video editing process. I don’t have the best ideas before I start editing but during. The muse visits those that show up and sit and sit and create and are brave enough to go to deeper levels than most others.
In essence: Writing will make your videos better. It will make your podcasts better. By better, I mean more high quality.
It helps you articulate ideas that an outline or just “winging” it never could.
I usually write about 1000-2000 words on a topic. Then I decide what to use it for – a video, a podcast, a newsletter or article. Depending on the decision (usually very intuitive), I adjust the length or structure.
3. Writing will help you make a more meaningful impact
Thinking deeper through writing will help you become smarter and more articulate. Which in turn will have a higher and more meaningful impact on the people who consume your ideas. This is crucial.
The better your ideas, the more of an impact you will have on the people that take in your content.
It will enable us to create more meaningful and sophisticated content rather than more noise in a never-ending world of endless content.
Deeper equals more meaningful.
I’m sure there will be people disagreeing with me by pointing to content that would disprove my argument. Sure.
The exceptions prove the rule.
But most of us are not born storytellers or public speakers. Most of us are not Seth Godin, who can express original and deep ideas in very few words (also, he has written like 18 books – so that man knows how to think).
My mission is to encourage creators to help raise the bar of the quality of content out there.
I believe one way we can do this is by improving our skill of writing and by dedicating more time to it as we create our content.
We need less fast food and more higher-quality nutrition for our minds.
A true dedication to writing will not only change your life but those of all the people you reach with your content.
Writing is the most important skill you can cultivate.
Writing is golden.
The Power of Rituals and Routines for Creators
Creative work is a demanding lover.
You could even say she is “high-maintenance”.
She likes to be intentionally cared and prepared for, especially if we hope to access her full potential.
As creators, routines and rituals are not about just being more productive for productivity’s sake. It’s definitely not just about getting more done – it’s about way more.
Habitual preparation and daily routines enable us to:
experience more flow states
be more focused
more creative
more motivated
more mental clarity
be able to do more meaningful work on daily basis
Beyond that, especially as creative people, we need to take care of our mental, emotional and physical health.
In this article, I curated a list of great resources for you to dive deeper into the topic.
The Why
In this short video, Tim Ferriss points out, why having a daily routine is so important:
Takeaways:
No one just simply masters their day.
Habits and routines are safety nets.
Build habits around your strengths.
There is freedom in constraints.
Discipline = freedom.
I see my routines and rituals as part of my creator’s existence and as part of my work. They belong together like Yin and Yang. They make me a better creator and above all, a better human.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
What is the Difference Between Rituals and Routines?
They are three different words that are often used interchangeably, but they are definitely not the same.
Habits, Routines, Rituals by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Article)
Takeaways:
The main difference is in the intention we bring to an action
Habits happen with little to no conscious thought (eg. taking a nap in the afternoon)
You can turn a routine into a habit, but it will take a while (eg. meditation)
When you apply mindfulness to a routine, it can become a ritual (eg. journaling or lighting a candle before you start writing)
Rituals are meaningful practices
“The difference between a routine and a ritual is the attitude behind the action. While routines can be actions that just need to be done—such as making your bed or taking a shower—rituals are viewed as more meaningful practices which have a real sense of purpose.”
The Art of Rituals and Routines
Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey (Book)
This book explores the daily obstacles and rituals of women who are artists – painters, composers, sculptors, scientists, filmmakers, and performers. In his first book on daily rituals, he mainly focused on male creators, which is why he decided to dedicate this one purely to women such as Frida Kahlo, Virginia Woolf, Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker, Carole King, Emily Dickinson and many more.
I love reading about other creator’s lives and routines, it helps me feel connected to the creative energy that is all around us.
Takeaways:
Routines and rituals are very individual. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Relentless dedication and commitment to their art is prevalent.
To be an artist means to be deeply in love with your art.
Many talented creators have terrible daily routines, sleeping patterns and diets (!)
Quote:
“When the ego is in charge, that’s when the work is coming from you,” she wrote. “You may still be doing good work but the ego allows doubt to creep in.” By contrast, “when the thing you’re creating comes through you, you know it, and it’s much better than good enough.” (Carole King)
Deep Work by Cal Newport (Book)
Our brains are pretty fried considering how we are challenged by distractions in the 21st century. We are more and more getting used to shallow work and our attention spans are decreasing.
What can we do to counteract that? How can we cultivate more deep work and access the flow state?
Takeaways:
Four rules: Work deeply, embrace boredom, quit social media and drain the shallows
Four main approaches to integrating deep work into our lives (monastic, bimodal, rhythmic and journalistic)
The goal is to make deep work a staple in our lives.
We need regular and substantial downtime, as systematic idleness is required to do deep work.
Quotes:
“…getting the most out of your deep work habit requires training, and as clarified previously, this training must address two goals: improving your ability to concentrate intensely and overcoming your desire for distraction.”
“The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration.”
“To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction.”
For more practical applications, read this epic post: The Complete Guide to Deep Work
Further Reading: Routines and Ritual of Well-Known Writers and Creatives:
The Daily Routines of Great Writers by Brainpickings
The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers by James Clear
These are the Daily Routines of History’s Most Famous Creative People
6 Writing and Productivity Rituals From the Copyblogger Creative Team
A Minimalist Approach to Healthy Habits + Self Care (this is a video about my own most important daily routines)
The Power of Morning Routines
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Book)
The Miracle Morning is a 6-step routine, which uses the concept of habit stacking. Having a morning routine has literally changed my whole life as a creator (and as a human).
Takeaways:
Habit stacking = you pick a few habits that you want to practice, make a sequence out of them and then make the sequence itself a new habit.
The 6 steps: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (writing/journaling).
While Hal suggests practicing all habits for about 10 minutes each, thus creating an hour-long morning routine, this habit stack can be adjusted for any schedule.
“Every time you hit the snooze button, you’re in a state of resistance to your day, to your life, and to waking up and creating the life you say you want”.
“How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your levels of success in every single area of your life”.
“Every day you and I wake up, we face the same universal challenge: to overcome mediocrity and live to our full potential”.
A simplified morning routine by Leo Babauta (Article)
In true minimalist fashion, Leo keeps it very simple for his morning routine: Sit, read, write.
Takeaway:
Morning routines don’t have to be crazy elaborate and take several hours.
The simpler the routine, the higher the chances you will stick to it.
Here are more of Leo’s ideas for a calming all-day routine.
Quote:
“Because of this routine, I now start my days slowly, in peace, doing the things I love, mindfully.
It’s hard to start a day better than that.”
Inspiring Morning Routines for a More Productive and Enjoyable Day by My Morning Routine (Website)
Here you will find 343 morning routine interviews with bestselling authors, successful entrepreneurs and inspiring creatives.
My favorites are the ones that include a dedicated mindfulness practice – you can explore them here.
This is a video about my own morning routine:
On Consistency
Writing 100 Articles in 100 Days by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Article)
This ex-Googler dedicated two hours every day for 100 days to write and publish 900-word articles around mindful productivity and neuroscience, which led to a massive growth of her platforms and lots of other success down the line.
Takeaways:
She blocked the same time every day from Monday to Friday, but took the weekends off to decompress and keep it sustainable
Without overthinking it, she wrote her heart out providing massive value on subjects she was interested in rather than focusing on keyword research
Consistency beats strategy.
“Writing has (also) had a positive impact on my mental health as an entrepreneur. Having these two hours blocked every morning to create, reflect, explore, learn—to cultivate my curiosity—feels akin to going for a long run. It may be hard to start sometimes, but when you’re done you feel a kind of exhilaration which is difficult to reproduce through other means.”
How Consistency Can Drive Creative Output by Khe Hy at RadReads (Article)
Khe was a writing late-bloomer but due to his commitment to consistent creation, he was able to build a successful blog and community and attract a lot of opportunities into his life.
Takeaways:
The compounding effect: small actions taken consistently can lead to big results over time.
Good enough over and over again makes you great (Brad Stulberg)
When you publish a lot consistently, your feedback loops are quicker and you know faster what works and what doesn’t
Daily writing leads to clarity in thinking
The desire for consistency can lead to overwhelm and burnout
“I’m often asked to distill my post-Wall Street career transformation into some simple advice. And when I think about my business today – the speaking engagements, consulting, coaching, and press there’s one thing that sticks out: a consistent writing practice.”
“One of my personal philosophies is to “compound small wins over the long-term.”I’ve used it in investing, fitness, career development, and now as a solopreneur. It’s a patient approach that is about putting one foot in front of the other versus hitting home runs.”
Further reading – Books:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Own the Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
What are your most important routines and rituals as a creator? Do you have any other great resources to share?
Pop them in the comments!
Keep creating,
Conni.
What I Learned Writing a Book in 60 Days
I wasn’t planning on writing a book.
It wasn’t on my radar at all.
That is, until I was approached by two German publishers roughly around the same time, who were proposing the same idea for a book:
How to find your calling and create a meaningful life.
They had both been following my work online around this topic and wanted me to share my experience and learnings from my never-ending quest to find purpose and fulfillment.
I mean, what are the odds of two two publishers at the same time?
I took this as a nudge from the universe – “Conni, you need to write this book, so I will send you not just one, but two publishers to make that clear”.
The message was clear and I surrendered to the universe, even though my desire wasn’t big. But who am I to decide what wants to be birthed through me?
I did have one request if I was to go for it – it needed to be an easy process, one that was in the flow. I wasn’t going to suffer through the process of negotiating with the publishers and writing the actual book.
You hear so many authors talk about how gruelling the process it. I didn’t want that. I called in ease and joy.
My request was delivered upon.
I chose the more established publisher with the wider reach and I got a deal that felt good.
As a first step, they requested a book proposal with a rough outline. At first the thought of a “proposal” made me tense. But I grabbed my laptop, walked to one of my favourite coffeeshops, sat down with an oat milk cappuccino and started typing. The entire proposal came flowing through me and within two hours I had written several thousand words outlining my ideas and arguments, why this book needs to written and how I envision the contents. It was the most effortless experience ever. Flow. I didn’t really edit it much and just sent it off – fully trusting.
They loved it. Of course – because the book needed to be written and I never had the executive decision on that. I just opened my transmission channels and let higher forces use me as the messenger.
This is my second book actually.
The first one was more of a digital product, a whole e-book course that I released in 2014. It comprised more than 70.000 words plus videos and worksheets on how to quit your job and become a location-independent entrepreneur.
It took me months – probably nine months alltogether to finish the damn book. I could have done it in three, but the resistance was stronger.
I wanted it to be different this time. I had to be different, because the publisher gave me a deadline: beginning of November.
Sorting out the details and the contract took longer than expected, plus I also had some planned travels to do – so in the end I was left with two months to finish the manuscript. That’s just 60 days.
Holy shit.
I did get a little nervous, but then I sat down and calculated how much I needed to write every day. I came up with about 1500 words.
I knew that was totally doable. it would also give me around two weeks to go over the draft and do a first edit run. So technically I wrote the book in 45 days.
Which you might even consider my first lesson:
Set Clear Daily Goals
It is clearly overwhelming to even think about writing a book.
Where do you even start?
But it’s actually really simple:
You take the big thing and divide it into lots of little things.
In my case, the big things was around 65.000 words.
65.000 words divided by 45 days equals 1444 words.
That’s really just 45 essays.
45 days is about six weeks. So I focused on one chapter a week.
This made it all more manageable in my head. Easy.
It would normally take me about 2-4 hours of focused writing to produce 1500 words. But there were also days when I wrote 2500 and some others I barely made it to 1000.
My Preferred writing Environment
I wrote the first big chunk of the book in a small surf town just South of Los Angeles. I didn’t know anyone there. There wasn’t much going on. At all.
The apartment was in a gated community, which was very quiet. All I could hear were birds and the occasional golfer hitting a ball.
It was paradise for four weeks and I totally get why authors write their books in cabins in the woods.
When I came back to LA, I struggled to focus. Urban energies and loud construction next door made it more difficult to get into the flow.
I realised just how important a peaceful environment is for my writing. It allows me to go this much deeper.
I then ended up going to Bali to finish the book and surf.
Whatever next bigger project I tackle, I will get a place somewhere quiet with the intention to create. It’s powerful when you have an intention like that.
the golden combination: Writing + Surfing
Since there wasn’t much to do and I didn’t know anyone in the area, the only two things I did every single were writing in the morning and surfing.
This combination was magic.
Surfing allows me to get out of my head and be fully present. It helped me to stay grounded and connected.
Being immersed in my favourite element – water – just does something to my brain and body. It’s like a reset, it clears out everything that is in the way of mental and emotional clarity.
Surfing is da bomb. (Just don’t think I’m that great at it)
The Power of Discipline
There were days, were it was almost impossible to get into the flow at all. I think a female’s moon cycle has to do with that. We just don’t operate the same every day. We go through phases.
Sometimes, it took me ages to find the right Spotify playlist. Or sitting position. Or clothes.
It sometimes felt like my inner resistance was really snobby and needed everything just right and perfect to let me do the work.
But in the end, it’s about showing up and sitting your ass down every single day. No matter what.
That muse with the awesome ideas doesn’t just give them to you. She makes you work for it.
Every day, The first 200 words are the hardest
I thought it would get easier to get into the flow and mood of writing in the mornings, but it didn’t. I think it almost got a little harder actually.
It always took me at least 200 words to find my way into an idea or topic. But once the door was open, it got easier. I understood that I needed to just get through the first 30 minutes or so until I would feel better, more confident, and for the good ideas to come.
Drop what doesn’t Excite you
I didn’t want to suffer through the process of writing the book, because I didn’t want that energy IN the book. Which is why, I really made sure to write from a place of joy and excitement when I sat down every day.
If a chapter was on the outline, but didn’t bring me joy to write or worse, bored me – I kicked it off the outline, no matter how important it seemed.
What’s the point to stick to a plan if you don’t enjoy it? How can I expect readers to enjoy reading what I was writing if I was bored writing it? What’s the point of writing a book just to write a book?
Write from your soul
At times, I wasn’t connected fully to what I was writing. It felt off. And I knew pretty quickly what that meant – I wasn’t writing from my soul, which meant I was censoring myself and my truth.
It’s easy to fall victim to our need for approval, so we end up censoring ourselves. But that’s inauthentic. It’s bullshitting yourself and ultimately, the reader.
I can’t just write things because I think my publisher and the readers will like it. I have to write my truth, there is no other way.
Eat the frog first thing in the morning
In the beginning, I tried to fit my writing sessions around all the other things I was working on.
Not a chance.
Writing would always fall off the table (or my to-do list).
The only way to succeed is to eat the frog (tofu frog).
I had a serious deadline and the writing every day was therefore the frog.
The thing was, I usually don’t sit down at my laptop until after my elaborate morning routine and especially after I exercise or surf.
But I realised I had to change things around.
I got up, meditated and made lemon water and coffee. Then I sat down with cup in hand and did a little reading. I didn’t check my email or social media. After about 20 minutes, I started writing immediately.
The mornings always held a clear mind and clear heart for me.
The worst time of writing: After lunch, when all energy moves from brain to the digestive system.
More than one day off —> immediate setback
There were several days where I didn’t write at all, because I was travelling from LA to Bali and also, my jet lag wasn’t fun.
Even after just those few days, it was difficult to get back into a rhythm and that same state of mind and heart.
This just shows the power of doing something daily.
The 30 day Passion + Focus Burnout
I did eventually lose my passionate writing drive after about a month. I don’t know if this just coincided with me coming back to LA or general writer’s burnout, but I just didn’t feel as enthusiastic about it anymore.
And during the last couple weeks of editing, I could feel that I was getting ready to release the whole thing. I was done, the ship had sailed and with it my steam.
All in all, two months of working on this book were just perfect. If I had had more time, I think I would have enjoyed the process less and less. In my case, I could sustain my energies and focus on one big thing for just those 60 days, and then I was happy to finally move onto something else.
I’m a creator, not an editor
As much as I enjoyed the writing process, I really did not like my two weeks of editing. It was quite a struggle.
When I’m writing, I am in full on in creative mode. My inner critic shuts up, because she doesn’t get to join the party.
But editing is like this big opportunity for the inner critic to come out and finally speak up.
Suddenly many of the awesome things I had written didn’t seem so awesome anymore. They felt dull and silly and useless.
It reminded me that I never enjoyed editing one bit. I don’t like editing my own stuff, but I also don’t like editing other people’s stuff. That’s just not my zone of genius. Mine is the creating part.
Two extra tips:
1. Don’t write a book just based on an idea you have.
Write a book from a body of work you have already created.
I had already published a lot of blogposts, videos, podcasts and Instagram posts around the topic before starting this book. I even ran a 6 week online program. Besides that, I had been reading endless books about it and going to workshops.
I had a strong foundation.
The only reason I could write that book so fast in two months, was because I had been IN the topic for more than two years. Essentially my book was already written somewhere in my brain. I just had to put the pieces together.
With that being said, here is what I advise you to do:
2. Start with sharing your ideas
So many people say they want to write a book. But they don’t actually write regularly and if they do, they don’t share it with the world.
It’s like they are hoarding their ideas and information for the book.
But the value is in sharing it – getting feedback on it and teaching it. THEN, maybe, as an advanced step can a book make sense.
If you want to write a book – start by sharing your ideas.
If your ideas are original, publishers might come and approach you. Like in my case.
Don’t make a book your goal. The medium doesn’t really matter in the end. Share your writing, because you want to make an impact and because you love writing.
Writing a book doesn’t have to be torture at all. For the most part, I had a good time and would do it again.
If you have already done a lot of pre-work, it’s totally doable in two months. Possibly even faster.
If I had been a little more focused, I probably could have done the writing in a month plus one week editing. But hey, it’s not a competition or meant to be a road to burnout.
Also, giving yourself more time creates space in our creative mind to let ideas brew when we you are not actively writing. Some of the best ideas came to me in the moments in between, when I was not at my laptop.
The cool thing is, I was happy to finish the book, but I am still not bored of writing.
I recently got my astro chart read. The astrologer said that this book won’t be my last and that the next one is already on the horizon.
Let’s see what wants to come through me next.
As a sidenote, the book will be published in German first. The plan is then to get a publisher in the US (or self-publish) and have it translated.
Keep creating.
Conni.
How to Find + Validate the Perfect Idea for a Meaningful Business
So you want to start your own online business, one that is meaningful and makes an impact.
But you struggle to come up with a profitable business idea?
Or maybe you have an idea or even a few, but you’re unsure if they will make you money and so you keep searching for THE perfect business idea?
Here is the problem that so many aspiring entrepreneurs face:
In today’s world – with so much of everything out there – how can you still find a meaningful business idea that has the potential to be profitable and successful?
How can you create an epic business that truly matters, makes a valuable difference in the world AND one that enables you to make a good living?
Because let’s be honest – the statistics don’t lie:
Most businesses fail.
90% of online startups don’t make it (source).
The goal of this blogpost is to help you decrease the risk of starting something that nobody wants.
I want to help you start a meaningful business that will bring you success in all departments:
Finances, joy, fulfillment and freedom.
I personally don’t think anyone’s new business needs to fail – not when you live in the 21st century with all the important resources at the touch of a mouse click (or swipe).
Also:
I don’t believe in FAILURE. I only believe in experiments, feedback and results.
Every business we start is an experiment. And whatever happens on the way is a result.
There is no such thing as failure. It’s an artificial human concept that isn’t really real.
Ok, let’s move on.
“Need a business idea? The best way to find one is to stop looking” – Gary Vee
Finding Profitable Business Ideas: My Journey
I remember when I first had the inspiration to start an online business.
But I had no idea what to make money with. I read the 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris but I just couldn’t come up with anything smart.
Also: This was the first time I had ever toyed with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur and thus, my business brain was non-existent.
I was driven by wanting to be free, travel the world, become a digital nomad and make passive income – AND only then by passion.
Which I realised years later is not the right order when you want to start a business.
At least not one I would recommend today.
Money and freedom are still important to me today. For sure. No doubt there.
BUT endless money and freedom are useless when you don’t feel fulfilled in the long term.
Here is the thing:
In the beginning, with every business that I started, I never knew where it would take me – I had ideas but I stayed open to the path, which usually led me in very different directions. Directions I couldn’t even have fathomed when I first acted on the idea.
A business idea is only the raw shell. Once you start taking action, magic happens and ideas change and go crazy and boom! – you’re in a place you never even imagined.
One reason for this to happen is this:
You are not in your target group’s heads.
More important than your own idea is giving people what they want.
And the more you connect to them and understand them (and to yourself on this path), you figure out what works – and what doesn’t.
Here is a good video explaining this further:
Profitable Businesses I Started
Here is an (almost) comprehensive list of businesses and projects I have started since 2011:
A Life of Blue (2011)
A blog about lifestyle design, minimalism and my journey to become a digital nomad.
I started it after digging into this resource, realising I was a multi-potentialise and combining several of my passions.
The blog was growing fast and I was just about to monetise it, when the next idea came along that took all of my attention quickly.
Planet Backpack (2012)
I had been traveling for many years and then became a digital nomad. A friend of mine, who was an expert in SEO and online marketing, suggested I start a travel blog. He knew about the lack of valuable travel information online in Germany and saw a huge opportunity for me, especially considering the massive travel experience I had.
I started it and I quickly created Germany’s most popular travel blog for world travellers and digital nomads. I made most of my income through affiliate sales (eg. Amazon and a travel credit card), sponsored posts and collaborations with brands.
In 2014, I created and launched an epic e-book course teaching people how to go from 9-5 to being a digital nomad. It was my first digital product launch and I made 35.000 Euro in the first week. It is still selling well to this day. If you are interested and speak German, you can get it here.
I slowly transitioned away from being a travel blogger in 2016 when I realized that I had outgrown this calling. The website is still online and still generates me a monthly income.
Blog Camp (2013)
A fellow travel blogger and I both realized at one point that we were making a lot of money with our travel blogs, but not many other bloggers seemed to know much about marketing and how to monetize their content.
So we started giving workshops – for free at first and then paid all over Germany. We also ran a blogger retreat in Bali.
Eventually, we turned all the content into an online course that sold extremely well for several years.
We shut it down in 2017, when we ended our business partnership.
Live Your Heart Out (March 2017)
After I lost passion for my travel and digital nomad blog business, I ventured into personal development and finding your calling.
This move was prompted by my own journey of healing, personal growth, figuring out what my higher purpose in life was and finding meaning with my work.
I tried out so many things for so many years, I realized that I had a lot to share and teach.
During this process, I saw how many of my followers were struggling to figure out what to do with their lives. So I launched the Find Your Magic program in early 2018. I had an awesome five-figure launch for the first run and then relaunched a few months later.
I also created a course called The Art of Vulnerability (first an online workshop) and then the workshop The Soulful Art of Personal Branding and Growing Your Tribe.
In February of 2018, I released my first gender-neutral t-shirt collection.
I also ran a retreat for location-independent soulpreneurs in Sri Lanka in November of 2017.
conni.me and CO.CREATE (2018)
After more than 1.5 years of helping people deal with their shadows and finding their purpose in life, I realized that it was time to step up again and follow the next calling:
I now help conscious creators and entrepreneurs build a meaningful life and business that bring them joy, fulfillment and freedom.
My focus is now fully on my own personal brand here on this website, YouTube and The Conni Biesalski Podcast.
In November 2018, I launched my first paid community.
One of my biggest learnings:
Only create products and offerings that I know my audience wants.
A few days ago, I found this tweet on Twitter by a guy who has created more than 50 businesses since 2003. He made a GoogleDoc spreadsheet listing all of them, including what happened to them. I thought it’s worth sharing:
Access the full spreadsheet here.
What Is a Profitable and Perfect Business Idea?
And does it exist?
I say yes, it exists. Perfect doesn’t have to mean complex and impossible.
The perfect business idea is one that…
solves a problem that people want to pay money for.
is based on your higher purpose.
fits your lifestyle and your needs.
financially supports your great work in a way that feels great.
makes a meaningful and lasting impact in the world.
Whats a bad business idea?
In a nutshell:
One that doesn’t make money, one that people don’t want and one that has no impact.
A business that doesn’t make money and one that people don’t want is a hobby.
That’s not what I’m aiming for.
Now, if perfect equals successful…
What does successful really mean?
The extent of success is directly related to the extent of positive meaningful impact a business has on the world and other people’s lives.
Yes, the perfect business idea will bring in an abundance of money.
But it will also make a real difference and leave you fulfilled, knowing that you are creating true meaning.
So today I am all about:
First: Figuring out what sets your soul on fire
Second: Coming up with ideas on how to turn your calling into a business
The Perfect Business Idea: The Most Important Questions
No one will hand you a profitable business idea. You won’t find it through Google.
You have to go within first.
So pull out a notepad and start writing a long list.
Here are some questions to get you started:
What drives you?
What excites you?
How can you serve best?
What are you curious and/or passionate about?
What wants to come through you?
What’s your message?
What world do you want to live in?
What challenges have you overcome that others struggle with?
When was the last time you forgot about time?
What can you give?
What topic do you know a lot about that most people don’t understand?
What’s something you’re already good at?
What did you enjoy doing as a child?
What’s the number one habit that people need to implement to have a better life?
Do you have “interesting” hobbies? (eg. collecting atlases, gay cinema…) – also, check out this list of hobbies on Wikipedia.
What’s your IKIGAI?
Success is about waaaaaay more than just money.
Your perfect and profitable business idea (your calling) lies at the intersection of what:
You are good at
You’re passionate about
You can get paid for
The world needs
It is called your Ikigai – your entrepreneurial reason for being:
If you struggle to find any answers so far, I invite you to check out Find Your Magic.
Because here is your problem:
If you don’t know what excites you and what your calling in life is, it means that you are not connected to yourself and your purpose.
If all you are doing is just looking for a business idea, then:
You are in scarcity mode and you just want to make money (which is fine, but not sustainable)
Your idea and creativity muscle is really rusty and dormant (I have business ideas all day long and I am nothing special)
You are disconnected from yourself (totally fixable!)
Here is my recommendation for you:
Get to know yourself – figure out what excites you like crazy:
Journal.
Meditate.
Do Yoga.
Go on a 10-day silent meditation retreat.
Do plant medicine (eg. San Pedro or Ayahuasca)
Do whatever it takes to connect to yourself. The business idea will come to you sooner than you know it!
Business and Lifestyle:
It is also important to reflect on the kind of business you want to start and what sort of lifestyle you want to live:
What does your perfect day look like and what part does your business and work play in it?
Do you want to travel the world as a digital nomad like me or do you like having an office?
How much do you want to work every day?
The more clarity you have around what you want and need, the easier it will be to manifest.
The Second Most Important Question to Find the Perfect Business Idea
How can I make a living with my purpose, my passion, my calling?
How can I turn what excites me into something that people want and are willing to pay money for?
This is what most people get stuck on.
You are excited about writing, but you have no idea how to make a living doing that.
You are excited about hiking, but how could you ever turn that into a business?
So here is the second most important step for you:
Exercise your idea and creativity muscle.
Hence: Write down 10 ideas every day.
Yes, every single day.
This habit works wonders and will turn you into an idea machine in no time.
A Blog is Not a Business
Now let’s make something real clear:
Just starting a blog or a YouTube channel or a Podcast is not a business.
Having a big Instagram account with 100k followers in itself is not a business.
There are endless broke social media “influencers” out there.
It becomes a business once you approach it as business.
It becomes a real business with the potential to make you a real living when you answer this question:
“What problem am I solving?”
Take this question, write it down and pin it somewhere, where you can see it every day.
Don’t Start a Business – Start a Movement
I want you to think big. Bigger than the conventional aspiring entrepreneur out there.
If you really want your business idea to be successful, you have got to start a movement.
Something that is bigger than yourself. Something that people can’t help but support and share.
I started the movement of digital nomads in Germany through my travel blog Planet Backpack.
Currently, I am creating a movement around #createeverydamnday and #createmorethanyouconsume to get people to create more.
I am also spreading the word around minimalist in all areas of life, but also especially when it comes to business and productivity.
“How can I make money?” is the wrong question to ask.
Here is the right question to ask if you truly want to find a profitable business idea and create a business that matters:
“How can I create a movement?”
The Different Types of Online Businesses
Let’s look at the different ways to make an income by creating a movement through sharing a message on a blog or YouTube channel:
Products: Software, tools, e-commerce, physical products, digital products (online courses, e-books..)
Blog / YouTube Business: Affiliate marketing, sponsorships, membership programs, Patreon and products
Services/Freelance: Anything from life coaching and virtual assistance to web design and SEO consultant
A startup is a business with a concrete idea for something new.
And then there is the rest of us who make stuff, write things, offer services.
Here are 10 business ideas I literally just came up with:
A blog business on plant-based milks (eg. monetize with affiliate marketing, recipe books, live workshops, merchandise..)
Videography and photography services for life and wellness coaches
Gender-neutral cosmetics, toiletries and hair products
Organic home brewing beer
Healthy vegan eating on a budget
Minimalist interior design consulting
Meditation for entrepreneurs
Electric skateboarding for women
Drone flying
Holotropic Breathwork
Idea versus Execution
Any idea is only as good as its execution.
By this, I mean:
Just because you have a great business idea doesn’t mean that the business itself will be successful.
An idea in and of itself is worth nothing.
You have to execute properly in a way that sets the idea up for success.
The 5 Steps to Find a Profitable and Meaningful Business Idea
Let’s get into the core of this article.
Here is the process to arrive at your perfect business idea:
Inspiration
Brainstorm
Research
Validate
Experiment
1. Inspiration Phase
Before you do anything:
Get inspired!
Find out how other people came up with their business ideas and then got started.
Before I even took the first step back in 2011, when first had the idea to start my own online business, I researched a lot.
I listened to podcasts and stories of how people started their business.
I read books and blogs on entrepreneurship.
And I did this for about one to two months. I soaked everything in and let it all do its thing in my head.
It didn’t take very long for my own idea brain to turn on.
Examples of great podcast shows:
And my own podcast of course: The Conni Biesalski Podcast
Read a few books to get your brain going:
“The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future” by Chris Guillebeau
US Amazon / German Amazon“Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money” by Pat Flynn
US Amazon / German Amazon“Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek
US Amazon / German Amazon“Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” by Seth Godin
US Amazon / German Amazon“The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield
US Amazon / German Amazon“Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World” by Gary Vaynerchuck
US Amazon / German Amazon
Warning:
The danger is to get all sucked into consuming content, but not actually getting into the next phase or taking any action.
Be aware and intentional about consuming content.
My motto is always:
Create more than you consume.
2. Brainstorm Phase
Here is what you do in this second phase:
Braindump.
You literally get it all out. All the ideas and thoughts.
The number one rule for this phase:
Don’t let the “I don’t know how” or “this is unrealistic” or “this is too complex” hold you back.
Often times, an idea is not as complex and unrealistic as you might think (sometimes it is more than you think though).
For example, I used to think it’s difficult to set up a website, create an online course or sell merchandise.
But, as it turned out, it’s not rocket science at all.
Many people get stuck on not knowing HOW to do something or they think they don’t have the necessary skills.
The good news here is:
You can learn most skills these days through YouTube, Google and online courses.
I taught myself almost everything I do today.
From building websites to making videos to running a podcast to marketing strategies and coaching people.
I also use Skillshare, Udemy and other courses I come across to learn new skills.
Still today, I am always learning new stuff. Literally, every day.
The 2 different types of business ideas:
you share your experience/skills to help others
you scratch your own itch: look at your own day to day struggles and create a solution for them. Many amazing business ideas are right in front of your face.
The Braindump: An Effective Brainstorming Exercise
There are many ways to go about finding good business ideas.
Here is one that I did back when I first started out in 2011.
It goes like this:
Get an excel spreadsheet (or draw columns on a blank sheet of paper)
Make columns for each: ideas, your level of passion for the idea, your skill level for the idea, potential profitability and total
Plug in your ideas (Take all ideas you got from tuning into your own Ikigai)
You then go through and score each idea from 1-10
You sum up the scores in the total column
Choose the top 3 ideas to use during the research phase
Still need some inspiration?
Check out this list of businesses that were started and launched within 30 days in October this year: “Just f*ing ship it in 30 days”.
This is a list of 81 topic ideas for starting a blog.
Find people first or business idea first?
If you know me, you also know that I am a huge fan of Seth Godin.
If you have never heard of him – go read his blog, books and listen to his podcast.
His approach to finding the perfect business idea is to start with the people in mind first:
Who do you want to help?
And then ask yourself:
What problems do they have?
How do those problems affect their lives?
What result do they want?
Based on those answers, you go out and solve their problems.
Because, remember – you don’t have a business idea until it solves a problem for people.
For example:
Let’s say you want to help life coaches.
What problems do they have? (it helps to actually talk to them)
Here are some possible answers:
no tech skills to build a website (—> website design for life coaches)
no marketing knowledge (—> blog and workshops on marketing for life coaches)
struggling with time management (—> YouTube channel and e-books on productivity for life coaches)
The true magic is definitely in the niches. And the sub-niches.
You literally can’t be everything for anyone.
Everything from marketing and branding will be so much easier if you niche down.
I will create an extra resource about choosing the right niche soon.
For now, dig into this awesome resource.
3. Research Phase
In this phase, you will study the three ideas you chose in the brainstorm phase and find out which one is worth pursuing.
One important point:
If you have found your calling, that’s all you want to do and you fully believe in it – go for it.
However, it is still a good idea to research it and see what works and what doesn’t.
We too often get lost in our own passions and don’t actually think about the people we want to serve.
Too often, people fall in love with their own business ideas without actually researching and validating whether the idea will truly make them a living.
The purpose of the research phase is to find out how much demand exists for your ideas, how to monetize your idea and who else is already pursuing your idea (community, competitor and product research).
If you think that competition is a bad idea, then think again.
It is actually a very good sign when you see other people doing something similar to what you want to start – and are making money with it! It will be much easier to get your offering in front of an audience and potential customers.
If your idea is so novel and unique that it doesn’t exist yet, you might have to prepare for an uphill battle and harder to get momentum going.
“But what if so many people are already doing what I want to do?”
Yup, I get this questions all the time.
Here is my response:
There is always space for awesomeness.
Your story and your take on something will be very different because you are unique as a human being.
If it is not just an idea, but your calling, then it’s actually your duty is to pursue it.
So how do you go about researching?
Create another Excel spreadsheet and collect all the important information you find in it.
Make a list of terms and phrases that people would look for when it comes to your idea.
Research on Google and YouTube – any websites or bloggers that stand out? What other content do they have on their platforms? How are they monetizing the idea?
Use a keyword research tool like Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest (free) or KWFinder (paid – highly recommended) – you can find out how many people search for certain terms on Google every month. This is important to know, because it is a good idea to create blog or video content that people are actually searching for to get traffic to your website and ultimately to your paid offering. If you have no idea what keyword research is and how it works, go here.
Are there any active niche forums?
Can you find an active subreddit on Reddit? (use Redditlist and List of Subreddits)
Are there lots of active topics on Quora?
Search for Facebook groups – are there groups with 10+ posts a day?
Tools like Buzzsumo
Check for paid ads on Google search and Facebook
Can you find affiliate programs? (eg. through a google search or on Clickbank)
Get rid of ideas for which you don’t find enough activity and results.
As you are doing this research, start making a list for possible topics to create content around. Content creation and marketing is the foundation of any online business. So switch on your content idea brain as you do your research.
Write down good headlines and ad copy you find.
4. Validation Phase
Validation is simply finding out if your audience wants and will pay for your offering.
It comes in two parts:
Validating that your topic is an actual need/ problem (and not one you think people have).
Validating that your audience will pay for an offering on your topic.
This is where the rubber meets the road.
Most people skip this phase, because:
they are too in love with their idea
they’re afraid to actually learn the truth about their business idea
they aren’t sure or aware of why they should do it
they don’t know how do validate their business idea
Most startups fail because they create something that not enough people want and they didn’t figure that out before they pumped a lot of money into their startup idea. I learned this from working in a startup PR agency back in 2011 for eight months.
Of course, even if you validate your business idea and all signs say GO – there is still a chance it might not work out. Because, as I said in the beginning: Execution the key. And consistency is as well.
In essence:
Don’t romanticize your seemingly perfect business idea.
Never put all your time and money and energy into something that you are passionate about, but people don’t want.
Validation helps you avoid that. And it helps you reduce the risk.
I always research validate every product idea I have and never just build a course or an offering because I think it “might” work.
You have already done a lot of pre-work in the research phase.
But I invite you to go one step further.
So how do you validate your business idea?
1. The light version:
Talk to people about it and get lots of feedback.
The important thing is to talk to people who are in your potential target group, otherwise it doesn’t make sense.
Don’t just ask any friend. Be wise about who you talk to.
Ask people you know on Facebook or even post in Facebook groups.
A really good idea is to start a blog (you should do that anyway) or start a YouTube channel.
Creating content around your idea will get you clarity and also build a following of people who you can survey and get feedback from.
2. The pro version:
Get people to pay for it – because actions speak way louder than words!
The real truth is:
Getting people’s opinions, or email subscribers and social media followers – they don’t mean a thing if they don’t actually want to pay for what you have to offer.
People telling you that your idea is great and is good for your ego, but in the end, it doesn’t mean a thing and won’t help you pay your bills.
It really only matters if people pay for your idea (not if you or others think it’s good enough).
You might ask now: “But how can I get people to pay for it if it doesn’t exist yet?”
You pre-sell your offer.
Here is a great article that goes deeper into validating your business idea.
If you already have an audience, send them to the pre-sell page.
If you don’t, you might want to consider spending a few dollars on Facebook, Instagram or Google Ads.
5. Experiment Phase
Basically, everything is an experiment in life and business.
There is no guarantee for anything.
Your perfect business idea might indeed turn out to be perfect, change the world and bring in a lot of money for you.
Or it might not.
You will only find out how to make this thing called “business” work if you experiment a lot.
I do it all the time.
That’s why I love blogging, creating content and having an audience – you have a way to get feedback on your ideas at your fingertips.
I am constantly in a feedback loop with my audience and followers to figure out what content and offerings would help them solve their problems best. Then I go out, create it for them and give it to them.
I try things out all the time and never fall in love with an idea too much before I haven’t validated it.
Also, you will NEVER figure it all out in your head. Taking action and experimenting is the way to find answers.
You won’t know what works and what you enjoy if you stay in your head. But you will find out if you try stuff out.
Lastly:
Whatever profitable business idea you end up pursuing – make sure your WHY is big enough.
Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint.
You will go through ups and downs. We all do.
Having a big WHY will help you through the downs and always guide you towards fulfillment and meaning in your work and life.
And this is it! Almost 4.500 words on how to find a profitable and perfect business idea.
There is so much more I could say on this topic, and I will do so in future posts and videos!
Let me know in the comments what business ideas are on your mind or any questions you might have! I will try my best to hop in and get you answers!
Share this post if you found it helpful!
Thanks for your time!
The Art of Letting Go
A few days ago, I submitted my finished book manuscript to my publisher.
I did it. I wrote my second book.
Well, “finished” is an overstatement, because I don’t think a book is ever finished. And it will still have to undergo the editing process.
It was hard to press send on the email, even though I’m very used to pressing publish.
I was worried that what I had produced wasn’t good enough and I was already anticipating negative reviews on Amazon. Duh.
I knew it was imperfect. I knew I could have made it even better.
But I also knew that my work was done here.
I knew in my heart that this product of my writing was the best I could offer to the world right now at this point in time.
I knew that I gave it my highest excitement during the writing process.
Perfectionism is an illusion anyway. Shipping is more important than obsessing over details and perfecting a creation.
Now it is time to release it, to surrender and trust.
The letting go process without strings attached is an important part in the creative process.
And yet, I struggled to press send, because I am the worst judge of my own creations. And so are we all.
But it’s not our job to do that. Our job is to create and put our creations out into the world. We don’t get to decide if it is good or bad.
It is also not our job to worry about the critics in the world who receive our creations.
We are here to create. That is all.
The problem is that social media f*cked us up. And now our self worth depends on how others receive our work.
The other problem is that our standards of consumption are usually higher than what we can produce.
It’s like we read a book by an established writer like Zadie Smith or Isabelle Allende or Haruki Murakami. And then we compare ours to theirs. That just sets us up for judgement.
I wrote the book as if the words were flowing through me. So I don’t get to judge whether they are good enough or not, they came from a higher source.
I am just the messenger, the transmitter of the message.
—
Now, here is the deal though. The not-so-good news.
While having finished the manuscript is opening up all this new time and space to work on my other creative outlets again and create content for you – the universe decided to step in.
It has other plans for me.
It wants me to face some more darkness
It wants me to grow more. It wants me to take responsibility in areas of my life where I haven’t been.
So it threw a major unexpected surprise at me.
One that broke my heart.
One that requires me to surrender and trust and let go even more.
And so I will be spending a lot of time facing my shadows and healing my heart for a while.
And whenever I find the creative space in my heart and mind, I will create and I will press publish.
Because creating is my well of inner peace and fulfilment.
In the meantime, I am grateful to have a great support system and all the healing tools at my disposal here in Bali.
Where in life have you been asked to let go lately?
If you feel it, you can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram, tune into my podcast and check out my videos.
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Minimalism
You want to find out how to become a minimalist?
Congratulations.
Your life is about to receive an amazing upgrade.
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hofmann
Stuff will not fulfil you.
Things will never make you whole.
A realization that many of us have to make.
I came out of the closet as an official minimalist in 2011.
But at heart, I have always been a minimalist – I just didn’t know the term until I discovered it seven years ago.
When I came across blogs like ZenHabits or Exile Lifestyle, it was as though I was finally given permission to get rid of all the things I didn’t need in order to pursue a minimalist lifestyle.
As I was reading through all these blogs, I just felt so much relief: There were people who felt like me and who had the same desires, namely:
Freedom, simplicity and less overwhelm.
They put it into words and they verbalized it.
Back then I downsized everything I owned to only 100 things.
For many years after that, I was travelling around the world with carry-on only.
Today, I am still a nomad, but I don’t count my belongings anymore.
I still don’t own much, but keeping tack of numbers is not relevant anymore.
The essence remains:
I don’t like things
I don’t like clutter.
I am happier with less.
A minimalist way of living has changed my life in so many amazing ways.
For this reason, I am writing this article.
My goal is to show you:
how wonderful and fulfilling a minimalist life is.
that it has little to do with sacrifice – and way more with freedom and true fulfilment.
that it is about way more than just physical things.
What is the Minimalist Lifestyle?
The basic idea of minimalism is:
Less is more, less is better.
But why better?
It enables you to be less distracted from what’s really important to you in life. It creates space.
So when you get rid of all the clutter and all the things that are not essential – what remains is that what really matters.
The guiding question as a minimalist:
Does this add value to my life?
If the answer is no – you let it go.
In essence, minimalism helps you to live a life and do things with more intention.
For me, it was also an approach that inspired me to start questioning everything in my life – and reflect on what is really my own truth and what is just conditioning and programming from society, the media, our family and school.
In this way, I was able to design a life that truly resembles me, my truth and who I really am.
It’s important to understand that this lifestyle is definitely not just about owning less.
You can apply this concept to all areas of life:
productivity
social media consumption
relationships
workspace and digital life
finances
goals
decisions
eating
time
(and yes, even sex)
That’s why this approach is so powerful. Living your life through the lens of a minimalist will benefit you in infinite ways.
Why Be a Minimalist?
It frees up endless space for things, activities and experiences that actually matter.
It enables you to take back control of your life so you can focus on what is REALLY really meaningful.
It gives you more clarity of mind and more time, because you have less things to worry about.
I personally don’t want things in my life that weigh me down – let it be physically, mentally or emotionally.
Minimalism helps me to focus on what is really important to me:
Relationships
Creating
Business
Health
Passions
Learning
Giving/serving
As a minimalist, everything I own and everything I do serves a purpose and/or brings joy.
As a result, it helps me to fully use my energies, my time, and ultimately my potentials to really create something meaningful with my time and my work – and thus create true value in this world.
When I apply minimalism to my time and my business, I can optimize my productivity in amazing ways. I work less, but create more.
Beyond that, minimalism is true freedom:
freedom from overwhelm
freedom from distractions
freedom from location
freedom from stress
freedom from clutter
I can pack up all my things within thirty minutes and move anywhere around the world.
To me, that is true freedom.
Imagine all the money and time people spend on moving their stuff from one house to another. It’s insane.
We are conditioned to think that things provide a sense of security for us humans.
Materialism tells us the more you own the better your life will be. And that the more you do, the worthier you are as a human.
But all that is an outdated story and a big illusion.
Things don’t make us happier. Being busier doesn’t fulfil us (on the contrary, it burns us out).
Lastly, if you apply minimalism to your home – everything will be much easier to clean and keep organized.
Here is my story on why and how I became a minimalist:
The Best Tips on Becoming a Minimalist
1. The most important advice
Just start.
Make the decision and commit to simplify your life.
The second most important advice:
Start small.
This can mean that you start by journaling out this question:
“What does Minimalism mean to me?”
The second small step can be to schedule a time in your calendar (eg. one hour on Saturday afternoon) to declutter your wardrobe.
The smaller the steps, the more sustainable the process will be. It helps to limit overwhelm and keep you on track.
2. Be guided by one question when you declutter any area of my life:
Does this add value to my life?
In addition, you can ask this question:
Does this help me to live to my fullest potential?
3. Declutter your physical life
We need so much less than we think we do.
In reality, we actually need very little.
I personally live out of a bag and I feel very fulfilled every morning when I wake up.
Recently, my luggage got lost for a few days and after the initial annoyance, I didn’t really miss anything and was just as happy then when I had all my things before I checked the bag at the airport.
So in the end, it’s all an illusion.
Make a list of what you want to declutter. Here is one to get you started:
Wardrobe/Clothing
Kitchen
Bathroom and toiletries
Desk
Furniture
Books
Car
Social Media
ToDo Lists
Computer/Laptop
Walls
Surfaces
Basement
Subscriptions
Take each one, set a decluttering date in your calendar and go for it.
Another strategy could be to take 30 days and declutter something or one area every day for a whole month. This way, decluttering turns into a habit and it will get easier and easier to let go.
When you find yourself wanting to hold on to Just-In-Case items – realize that it’s not worth it.
Don’t live a just-in-case life. Don’t hold on to things in case something happens. Don’t use things as an insurance policy.
Just let them go.
When it comes to sentimental items with memory value, take a photo of them and then let them go.
We are programmed to think we have to hold on to those kinds of things, but the reality is: We don’t have to at all. You can let them go with love.
Here is a way better way to declutter your life even more efficiently:
Here is how it works:
Pack up everything as if you were moving.
Label your boxes, so it’s easy to find what you are looking for.
Then, over the next three weeks, unpack only the things that you need.
Here is my prediction:
You will only need and unpack about 20% of you stuff.
And by the end of the three weeks, you won’t even remember all the things that are in those boxes. Because they never mattered in the first place.
4. Donate and sell your stuff
If you go the active decluttering route, make several piles of:
Donate
Sell
Recycle
Discard
Keep
Give your stuff away to friends, homeless people or to Goodwill.
Sell more expensive things via Ebay, Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
5. Buy less, shop less, consume less
It’s not just enough to get rid of things. You also need to reprogram yourself when it comes to your consumption behaviour.
Before you give in to the urge of buying something, ask yourself:
Do I really need this? Or is it a want?
Stop buying things that you think will make you happy. Stop giving into materialism.
When you see something in a store you want to buy, hold it in your hand – become present. Put it back and move on.
If after a week you still think it would be valuable to have, then go and purchase it.
By inserting a time gap in between trigger and response, you become more mindful in the way you shop and consume.
Also: It might be a good idea to get rid of Amazon Prime for a while to limit your temptations. It’s just too easy to make a few clicks and press buy.
Here is my video about all the things I don’t buy anymore as a minimalist:
6. Get rid of time-wasting activities
As mentioned before, minimalism is by far not just about things.
One major way to simplify your life and embrace minimalism in a meaningful way is by getting rid of distractions and anything that is wasting your time, such as:
meetings
phone calls
watching TV and the news
playing video games
And here goes the big one:
Limit your social media time. Stop scrolling, stop consuming more than you create.
This way you create more time and space to live a life with more purpose and you get to use your potential in a way more meaningful way.
I use an app called RescueTime that tracks how I spend my time online and it sends you weekly reports. Highly recommended.
7. Slow down
Take time to really drink your coffee or tea in the morning.
Read a book instead of scrolling on Instagram.
Meditate.
Sit and watch the sunset.
Slow down your life. Become more present.
Be here now and just focus on the moment.
8. Evaluate who you spend your time with
Sometimes we need to let go of friendships when they don’t serve us anymore. And many of us have people in our lives that feel toxic.
As minimalists, we become mindful and intentional with whom we let into our lives.
They say we are the average of the five people we spent the most of our time with.
So make sure those five people inspire you.
I am very intentional with who I spend my time with. I don’t need a huge amount of friends – a few are enough, because I can go way deeper with those few than trying to stay in touch with many.
9. Embrace mono-tasking
Most of us tend to multi-task, because we think we get more done that way.
But that’s a myth. We actually get less done and less well.
When our attention is scattered, our output is scattered and we struggle to create real deep and meaningful work.
Focusing on one task without distractions is harder, but the result will be of higher quality.
The longer you focus on one activity – writing or editing – you will be able to access a place of flow. And as we know, that’s where the real magic happens.
10. Simplify your goals and to-dos
Too many goals and to-dos can be overwhelming and cause a lot of stress.
I personally can really only focus on three todos on any given day. Anything more than that and I feel stressed and I can’t focus properly.
Keep things simple – focus on three things you want to accomplish per day. If you end up finishing them earlier, you can always add on another on and another one.
11. Learn to say no
This might be a really difficult thing for you to do or it might be real easy.
Learning to say no to things, events, offerings and people that are not in alignment with you and your needs might be one of the most beneficial skills ever.
I can definitely say that it changed my life.
Yes, it means becoming comfortable with disappointing people, with setting boundaries and not pleasing everybody.
No, it’s not selfish.
If you really want to live a life that fulfils you and one that allows you to use your full potential, then saying no is crucial.
No to social engagements that don’t add value to your life.
No to event invitations you don’t feel like attending.
No to jobs you don’t want to do.
No to clients you don’t want to work with.
12. Declutter your email and social media accounts
Aim for inbox zero and get rid of all the clutter floating around in your emails.
Unfollow friends on Facebook and boring accounts on Instagram or Twitter.
Unsubscribe from YouTube channels.
Follow less podcast shows in your podcast app.
Less is more. Always.
Minimalist Living Examples
You want to see more people applying the minimalist concept in practice?
Here you go:
Andrew Hyde lived with 15 things for one year
Colin Wright used to own 51 things
Many people live in tiny houses smaller than your bedroom (like these 7)
Heidemarie lives without money
How to Become a Minimalist in 30 Days
I am a huge fan of 30 day challenges. Like, huge.
I have done many over the years.
Their effects are life-changing AND they last.
So why not do a 30 day minimalism challenge?
Click on the image or here to check out all the details:
In the end, minimalism helps me to live on purpose and create more meaning every day. And I believe, this is the purpose of it all.
Wouldn’t you agree?
It’s not difficult to become a minimalist and anyone can do it.
Consume less, live more, create more.
Welcome to your new life.
This is only the beginning.
All the best,
Conni