Join me this week as I share with you the five steps I use to take projects from a glimmer of an idea into a completed, finished thing that lives in the world. I’ve made (and launched) so many projects over the years and I’ve deduced the process down into five steps. Here’s the best part – you only need to know what you know right now!
How to Make Things in Five Steps:
- Set the vision
- Question what’s in the way
- Do what you know
- Keep showing up
- Be curious how it will arrive/unfold/materialize in your life
Tune in to learn how to do each of these five steps.
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Let’s become a generation of creative women who are examples for the people in our lives of what it looks like to prioritize our work (AND recognize our impact).
x, Jen
Full episode transcript below:
Welcome to today's episode, how to Make Things in Five Steps. I'm gonna give you some practical steps right now. I wanna share my five step process to creating your idea or project that you're currently thinking about. This is the five steps that I go through and I really like that these are tangible and intangible. So it gives you concrete work to do and also leave some things open to see where you're guided and led and what information comes in. So let's get into it. Step number one is to set the vision. And I see that as defining or declaring your desire with what you know right now. I wanna be really clear about that. You don't need to know more than you currently know. I hear a lot of pressure to know all the things and know how and see it, and wanting to have clarity and not start until you feel completely ready. I just put ready in quotes. I want you to set the vision and define and declare your desire with what you know right now. What you know right now is perfect. You don't need to know more than you currently know. Step number two is to question what's in the way, and I see this as lovingly poking holes in your logic and your limiting beliefs. The reasons why you can't do it, the reasons why it's not accessible to you. One of my favorite questions to think about here is why are you the exception? Other people can do it, but not you? That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense, but it does make sense for you for some reason, and I want you to find the reason why you think you are the exception. It's really good thought exercise. And I do wanna say here that I feel like this step especially is really good for coaching because it can get you there so much faster. It can take you years to work through your limiting beliefs and your limiting thoughts about yourself and your capabilities and what's possible in the world. And coaching is really good at finding those root thoughts that are blocking you, and eliminating them way faster than doing it on your own. So just a little plug for coaching right there. It can make a huge difference in a lot of areas, but I think especially in this step. So that was step two. Step three, do what you know right now. Again, you don't need to know more than you currently know, and I like to think of this as tending to the proverbial garden you're planting. So in this step, you're planting a lot of seeds and you don't know which ones are gonna bloom, which ones will take root, and that's okay. You can just plant your seeds, right, with what you know right now, and you're gonna cultivate this garden. You're gonna nurture it and that's all you have to do. You just have to plant the seeds and nurture them and see what sprouts, what takes root and what sprouts and takes root is information for you about what you could pursue that's giving you more information, more feedback. Step number four is to keep showing up and trusting and tuning in for guidance. Sourcing that within yourself. It's very natural for us to look outside ourselves for guidance or for information. Again, we're taught to do this from the earliest age in Western cultures, so of course that's what you're gonna do. But I wanna tell you something here. No one has your answers for you. I can't tell you how many years I spent looking outside of myself for my answers because I thought someone else had them. And it was a very frustrating experience for me. And it was also extremely disappointing. Because no one had my answers for me, and that was the point that I kept coming to. And I hope that by sharing this, I save you time and energy from looking outside of yourself and instead starting to tune into yourself, and trust yourself and ask yourself for guidance one step at a time. We're not, again, we're not looking at the big picture, the whole path, just what is next? What is next for me to focus on? What do I need to do here? What do I wanna do today to contribute to my idea? Step number five is to be curious how it will arrive, unfold, or materialize in your life, and to love the journey as much as the destination. So there's like an element of non-attachment here where you're very clear on what you want, right? So you're setting that vision in step number one, and you're questioning what's in the way. Why isn't this possible for you? Why are you the exception? You're doing what you know how to do right now with what you have. Keep showing up, using the inner guidance and inner wisdom that you have, and getting those clues from inside of yourself. And then step five, being curious about how it's gonna show up in your life. And enjoying who you're becoming and the process that you're going through as much as when you get to the destination, when you get the thing that you're wanting to create. I have shared this. I believe that we take on creative projects because they're an opportunity for us to respond to something outside of ourselves, and that gives us a wealth of reflection to do about what we believe about ourselves, what we believe about what's possible for us, what we're comfortable with receiving and having. There's so much inner work we can do, and I really believe that that is why we choose the projects that we choose because it's kind of like a soul calling. Like, here are elements and refinements that I wanna make within myself, either consciously or subconsciously. And a really great way to do that is to have something outside of yourself that you're working towards and it's bringing up all of your stuff. And you may choose to get support as you're working through it so that you can keep moving, so that you can keep your side of the street clear and keep showing up for what's important to you, and becoming the version of yourself that you look towards becoming. I believe that's why we choose the projects that we choose. That consciously or subconsciously, we see them as an avenue towards our growth. And yes, it's very cool to create the thing and hold it and see it in your hands and use it or gift it to people. Like if you're a creative person and you love making things, there is nothing more rewarding than that for sure. But I also think, there's an internal process that we're all craving to go through and creating or making work gives us a really amazing opportunity to do that internal reflection and internal cataloging and to clear the way a little bit more so that we can keep becoming who we really are and being more fully expressed. I am so glad that you are here and that we get to walk our paths together. See you next time. Same time, same place. Bye for now.
