Dreamcatchers District Podcast

Today on the Podcast, Time to Clean House. With Summer just around the bend, and before all those mid-year reflections start rolling in, this week is an ideal time to talk about how to 'Spring Clean' your business and your relationships. Declutter any victim mindset, rethink your approach, and engage with your projects (and your people) more intentionally. So that you can look at what's working, what's not, and give yourself the space you need to go about doing things differently. Doing things, better, Dreamcatcher. Whether that's stopping procrastination, 10x-ing your productivity, getting back to the goals you'd set at the beginning of the year, giving up emotional eating, or learning to become a better boss — the invitation is to work "on" your business rather than "in" and to be "with" folks rather than "at" folks. And to trust that there's more than enough time to get it all done, EVEN IF you take a break. And that, sometimes, the best thing we can do is getaway for an in-person, immersive, planning retr

Today on the Podcast, Lessons Learned + Our Future Selves. Hard to believe but it was exactly 19 years ago (this month) that I moved from small town NH (grew up in a tiny town of just 10,000 people) to big city La La Land. Wilder still? Those 19 years ago? I was exactly 19 years old. And, I gotta tell you, there’s something kind of full circle about that. Given so many of our recent episodes have been about how to get mentors, how to pitch influencers, how to find your tribe, and how to know when the whole transformation / personal growth process will happen (cuz DANG is change hard!) — I thought this week a perfect time to walk down memory lane. In thinking about what I'd tell my 19-year-old self (having since worked as an actress, a photographer, a filmmaker, speaker and coach; weathering my fare share of failures and embarrassments, heartbreaks and betrayals; trauma and injustices) I can't help but think what my future self might ALSO want to tell me, now, sharing with you. So if anything feels full circle

Today on the Podcast, The Knocking on Your Heart. You know when you're at one of those huge conferences and you're meeting all kinds of creative entrepreneurial folks from all kinds of places? You're chatting quickly here and there between speakers. Passing by briefly between bathroom breaks. Wishing you could chat with influencers but find yourself seated with the friends you came with cuz there's barely time to eat and pee — let alone introduce yourself in a non crazy-person way. You feel a weird mix of excitement and dread. There are specific names you want to "connect" with and certain folks you want to avoid. So you're racking and stacking who to prioritize. Maybe you practice your elevator speech on the plane, in the taxi, at your hotel. No doubt you dress to impress and ya come camera ready, costs be damned! If this is you, know this is also about 99.9% of every conference goer on the planet. Even the ones you most look up to have that same twinge of "conference crazy" as I call it. One part nerves, on

Today on the Podcast, Face off with Yourself and Fly. There's that saying, "wherever you go, there you are." And if you've ever thrown your hands up in the air and spontaneously moved across country, quit a job, ended a relationship or swan dived into a last minute Bali Yoga Retreat (ha! I get it!) — you may have learned just how true that statement really is. Turns out? Almost as soon as we get "there" we realize we're still "here." Like trying to shake your own shadow, you may soon realize you're the same person with the same thoughts, feelings, and actions ... only now you're in a new surrounding, or novel experience, which will (of course) soon become normalized again. Maybe even boring. And then what? Do you leave, again? Variety is a Human Need. So is Certainty. Don't get me wrong. Getting away is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. In fact, unique environments with opportunities to make fresh relationships is one of the absolute best catalysts for change!!! Think about why camp was so great as a ch

Today on the Podcast, Discover Which Phase of Transformation You're In. One of the things I hear so often from coaching clients, workshop attendees, even colleagues and friends is how much they "love" surprises. That, in fact, they actually crave MORE of them. Turns out? The day-to-day banal operations, the 24-7 hustle, and the pressure of working behind a screen has got them bored to pieces. They'll say, "it's so redundant" or "it's so lonely" and that they're absolutely desperate for ... New projects, New adventures, New relationships, New opportunities, New memories + new environments to shake them out of their stupor! Funny, enough? Those are the very reasons they chose to launch their own business (versus work for someone else) in the first place. To feel that sense of wonder, excitement, and variety. And, yet, those experiences of newness and surprise are (often) the very things that elude them. It all just seems so dang predictable. And there's nothing fun about that. Where they thought they'd get to

Today on the Podcast, Finding Your Path. If you find yourself feeling disconnected, replaying past events, dress rehearsing worst case scenarios or routinely questioning, "What is my purpose?" — this is the episode for you. If you have a love / hate relationship with marketing, with sales, with pitching yourself or launching your offerings — this is the episode for you. If you want to find a mentor but you've got absolutely no idea how it works or where to start or if it's paid — this is the episode for you. And why? Because we've all been there. At those crossroads in life (and in business) where we just don't know which way to go; what to share along our journey; or who to travel with. For some? That's our cue to ask for directions. For others? It's when we seek out new experiences. Getting lost, exploring and seeing where things lead. For risk takers? We might put the cart before the horse; riding off on a wing and prayer. But for many? These fork- in-the-road decisions can create paralyzing standstills i

Today on the Podcast, Why Women Need Women to Check In. Radical honesty hour: When's the last time you asked a woman how she was doing ... AND really asked? You know, as if you truly cared. As if you weren't trying merely to be polite. But as if you truly wanted to know? Not so that you could fix her but so that you could witness: The hurt. The overwhelm. The exhaustion. The pressure. Feelings that, frankly, TOO MANY WOMEN are secretly shouldering day in and day out. And, more importantly, so that you could celebrate: Her business. Her ideas. Her strengths. Her wins every time she's overcome! Was it last week? Last month? Last ________???? And how many of those asks have been solely in the online world? A quickie text you forget to go back and check? A passive DM while you multi-tasked 10 other screens? A lightening-fast comment as you promoted your post? On a scale of 1 -10, how genuinely present were you? How sincerely interested? Better yet, when's the last time YOU (yourself) really answered honestl

Today on the Podcast, How Badly Do You Want It? You know what I'm talking about. That big dream you've been fantasizing about for weeks, months, (dare I say) years? That lifelong vision, which now keeps you up at night but at one time (not so long ago) had you bursting outta-your-body excited and ready to do whatever it took? Yeah, that SCARY goal. The one with more soul, more heart, more truth than anything else — that one! How committed are you?  ... REALLY? When you hit an upper limit? When your desire isn't enough? When you don't feel motivated? When the daily grind has you trudging through the mud? How gritty are you then? How self-aware? How compassionate? How focused? Cuz, while there's huge value in imagining our desires, in designing our ideal business, in identifying our innate strengths, and in staying in our lane (80% of the time) so that we can experience more ease; more fun; more freedom — we will feel brutally mislead if we don't ALSO love, honor, and accept the harder demands of creative entre

Today on the Podcast, Does your life no longer fit? One of the things I see over and over again? When smart, talented, high performing, creative women in their 30's suddenly realize: "Oh, no. I built the wrong castle." Despite having done everything "right," they're left feeling like everything's wrong. And while no one would ever know it — because, heck, they've made the 6 figures and they've built a beautiful brand and they look great online — they're secretly feeling embarrassed and exhausted; wondering ... Where did my energy go? Where did my enthusiasm go? Where did my self-esteem go? Shouldn't I be happy? On the outside everything looks impressive. On the inside? Everything feels off. And even though they've overcome odds before, they've faced failure many times, and they've been no stranger to achievement — this time feels more tender. They're scared. They're worried. And they're afraid to share. After all ... What would people think? Wouldn't that hurt my reputation? Who could I turn to, confidentiall

Today on the Podcast, Are You Blocking Miracles? If you've been catching yourself feeling judgmental, frustrated, resentful, dissatisfied — like nothing is going right, nothing feels easy, and no one is helping  — than this is the episode for you. WARNING: it may be the exact  opposite  of what you want to hear. It may sound so simple-stupid that you'll want to dismiss it. (I know I've definitely had those moments before; robbing myself of the power of the practice). Here's the invitation: challenge yourself to reallllllly, actually, practice the challenge exercise at the end of the recording. Cuz truth? Every last one of us can use this reminder, now and again. And ESPECIALLY when the ego mind would have us agitated, impatient, and thinking, "That won't help." Fact is: It won't help if you don't do it. Nothing will. Turns out, sometimes, the answers in life aren't complex. They're not heady; not even new. And as much as we'd love to think they are (rationalizing that we need to research something better or l

Today on the Podcast, Memo to Your Future Self! We've all heard that saying, "The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is today." But you know who reallllly feels the weight of that quote? Our future selves. The version of you (and me) who will wake up one year from now; wishing that the YOU of today had ... Just gotten started Just asked for help Just pushed through the fear of "looking dumb" or "doing it wrong" or "missing the boat" because "it's all been done already" and "what would people think?" Your future self who wishes the you of today would have traded all those excuses for resources; all those fears for laughs. And focused more on what you wanted versus what you didn't. Because looking back, we see how capable and deserving we always were. We see how much more time, money, & energy was lost trying to avoid fear than had we simply learned to face it. Fact is? Your future self, just like mine, will have no choice but to look back and realize ... The time passed, anyway. The fear

Today on the Podcast, When Doubt is Helping or Hurting You. This week we’re talking how to dance with doubt SO THAT you can feel the feelings, love honor and accept where you are, and still turn all that distraction around before self-sabatage sets in and derails your best laid plans. Better yet? We're helping you discern which category of doubt (I believe there are 3) you may be facing off with at any given time. This way you can practice specific responses for each varying type as well as recognize if the hesitation you're feeling is warranting your slowing down OR the monkey brain trying to take you out. Turns out there's a significant difference between when our intuition is nudging, guiding, or leading us in one direction and when our doubt is holding on with iron hands to another direction, fighting for the status quo; desperate to keep us small, sidelined and "safe." And if you’re a fellow women in your 20s, 30s, or 40s ... Struggling to Wonder Woman your way through life as a multi-passionate creative

Today on the Podcast, Embracing the Process. If you're anything like most highly ambitious and multi-passionate Creative Entrepreneurial women then you, too, likely want to be "the best" on day one (or at least the top 10)! And if everything could happen, yesterday, you'd be OK with that as well. Don't lie. (I know you AND I got you! Heck, I AM you. So, HELLO, sister-friend.) Cuz all you're life you've known you were meant for something more. Chomping at the bit, you're hungry with drive and determination. Always have been; always will be. But doors, too often, have been closed. And because of that, maybe a lot of things (in a lot of different areas) have been hard won. Maybe it's taken a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get where you are; to overcome what you've had to overcome. Maybe life's dealt some pretty brutal blows. But despite it all, you're still here. Passionate. Purposeful. And PERSEVERING! Because history has taught you, "I AM more than this." And so, whether out of self-preservation and n

Today on the Podcast, When Your Inner Critic is Loudest This week, we’re talking about a fairly unpopular topic; one I would say is the dirty little secret of online business.   And that is … loneliness … the single emotional state killing your beliefs, body, and business.   Especially for those of you who are Creative Entrepreneurs (like me) working predominantly from home, leading small virtual teams, maybe only in the field with clients on occasion and working mostly over Skype — feeling lonely is no small thing. And it can wreck havoc on your hormones, your focus, your relationships, your time and your money.   So if you’re feeling like a Lone Wolf … Even more, now, the bigger a “success” you become — it makes sense. Know that you’re not alone no matter how alienated or overwhelmed you might feel. But let’s not sugar coat this universal experience nor accept it as the status quo. There’s always a better way. And that better way starts when we’re smart enough to …   Get honest, ask tough questions, and do

Today on the Podcast, Building Trust in Life & Biz You know those women who just tell it like it is? The ones who command attention and respect simply by walking in the room; without ever having to say a word? That's today's guest. As funny as she is fierce, Elizabeth is my favorite kinda woman. Like so many of our Dreamcatchers, this gal is the full expression of what it is to be an integrated right and left brain; masculine and feminine energy; Creative and Entrepreneur; student and teacher. Better yet? She's wildly, unapologetically, so. But that confidence doesn't happen over night ... Not for you. Not for me. Not even for those women whom we so admire and adore. Yes, each of us — in our own time and in our own way — must learn to tell the truth of who we are, what we want, why we started. And to do that? We've got to start by unlearning and un-shaming all that we are not.  This is our moral imperative: to remember to remember. And ... to defy doubt. To get out of our own way. To breakthrough blocks.

Today on the Podcast, The Messy Middle We've all been there. At that intersection of Not Yet and No Longer — where everything feels a bit off, a bit clunky, and you're fighting to make things "fit." When you know your strengths, you've got a bazillion BIG ideas, no shortage of passion or causes — but you just don't know how to make it all come together — what then? Know You're in the Creative Cocoon  ... For some? It can be one of the most stressful, disorienting, and lonely places to be. Not knowing who they are, what they want, why they started, where they're going or how they'll get there — they just want the experience OVER. For others? These chrysalis moments (as we talk about in coaching) can actually feel nurturing, honoring, restorative and life-giving. But, for most? It's both. The KEY is to Remember ... What's on the other side: TRANSFORMATION. • Experiences that feel more liberating, more surprising, and more exciting than anything you've done in a lonnnnng, long time. • Finding enough grace with y

Today on the Podcast, Rebranding: Inside & Out! If you're an ambitious, creative, woman (or feminist bloke) in your 30's — whose done everything "right" only to discover you've built the wrong castle — than this is the episode for you. Maybe this is you ... You're an overachiever whose climbed the corporate ladder in Advertising, Entertainment, or Tech. (Maybe you still are ... and you're questioning why). And you HAD IT with ... Working too many hours, with too many on-call days, too many pressures, and too many jerk-o's. Why? Cuz YOU'RE DONE never actually being able to ENJOY any of those swanky salaries, or sweet company perks, because you're forever chasing inbox zero (let alone meet someone, take maternity/paternity leave, or kick that coffee/sugar/carb addiction that's got you fighting headaches, brain fog, weight gain, anxiety and exhaustion on the daily). And maybe, because of all  that, a few years ago you made the tough call to leave that "golden cage" and you started your own creative business.

Today on the Podcast, Giving Your Goals Mental Whitespace + Vision: Today I’m so grateful to be back, coming off our our extended holiday break where we took a hiatus from the poddy-pod and all its corresponding social media rabbit holes. And I cannot TELL YOU  how sweet it feels to feel rested! Refocused and ready to roll! Not gonna lie ... I feel like a million bucks. (More on how I spent my hiatus and my own personal goal, which I'm proudly 4 weeks into achieving, in an upcoming episode). But if hearing me share about feeling rested or proud is leaving anyone uncomfortable, sad, or feeling frustrated — because it's the end of January and you’ve not stuck with your goal or you didn’t even set a goal — I'm here to tell you: we've ALL been there. In fact,  you’re in very good company as some 95% of folks don’t follow through on their resolutions. Even more? Never even set one. While there’s a whole slew of reasons (inner blocks, outer influences, emotional drivers, and the 10 Follow Through predictors), today

Today on the Podcast, Rest and Reflection: As we close out 2017, before taking several weeks off for holidays, I thought I'd share one of my favorite morning rituals. It's a mantra meditation for you to use, on demand, whenever you find yourself feeling a little behind, a little alone, a little lost, a little scarce or a whole-lotta "not good enough." Cuz we've all been there! In fact, given where we were about this time last year (and ALL that's transpired since), I can't imagine anyone not needing a little extra dose of inner encouragement these days. It's been a sobering, horrifying, unfathomable series of events (and tweets). And, yet, these are not new issues. Only out in the open like never before. Which brings new opportunity and greater responsibility. For you, for me, for WE. The good news? Love isn't a fragile, polite, thing. She stands up to hate and says, "Not today." Fierce, she is as firm as she is kind. So, let's put our energy toward the solution. Slow down to speed up. And be agents of change

Today on the Podcast, Getting to the Root: My mama likes to joke that of all her three children, I was the one who couldn't stop asking questions. She'd answer one and I'd roll right in with another ... and another ... and another. "But, why? What then? How come? Who, mama? Where? When?" On and on it would go. Gotta love kids! Turns out that curiosity would serve me well later on in life, although my husband would tell you our first date (thanks to Match.com, believe it or not) was like an inquisition. So, there's that. Every strength has its weakness, but, I digress ... Keep Asking Questions: If you're anything like me and you're also hungry to understand why, to see the big picture, to discover how it's all interconnected than you, too, may hit up against some real edges sitting in an overworked hospital where (too often, not always) the focus is on numbing the symptoms versus treating the cause and you're out the door in 15minutes flat. Which is why I've relished the times I've gotten to connect with welln