Growing a Lifework Focus

Photo by KatrinaDreamer – Copyright protected. All rights reserved.

A lot of creative and multi-talented people share similar challenges when it comes to growing a lifework focus and self-employment:

• It’s easy to get bored doing the same thing over and over again
• It’s easy to second guess decisions
• It’s easy to change lifework direction every other week because nothing ever feels quite right
• It’s difficult to stay passionate about your decision, especially if you exclude too much from your focus

And all of these challenges add up to one big problem: it’s difficult to grow somewhere great!

But here’s the thing, it’s much easier to develop self-employment, including a website when the focus is clear.

Considering this, it’s tempting to wait until you have 100% clarity before venturing off on a web development expedition (or anything else). In other words, it’s desirable to wait until you have all the details figured out before you take the next step.

Unfortunately, you can only get so far by thinking and conducting research. The only way to really figure anything out is to jump in and do it.

Thus the paradoxical dilemma: how to have a website when your focus is still fuzzy?

When I started working with Katrina I took all of this into consideration. I was well aware of the fact that she is a creative and multi-talented woman likely faced with the challenge of focusing her interests into a compelling service.

So in order to help Katrina grow her website in the best direction possible, I started by asking her what she wanted to accomplish immediately and what she hoped to grow in the future. We discussed many things, including how she planned to focus her lifework.

Katrina’s immediate goals were much clearer than her long-term goals. Her response was not a given. For some people it’s the opposite.

Anyway, Katrina knew with certainty that she wanted to merge her outdated website with her blog so she could easily maintain both from one place (a huge time saver). She also knew she wanted to display her photographs and let people know she is available for hire as a dreamworker and intuitive.

The long-term goals were less clear; the main issue centered on how to focus her work in a way that included many of her interests and was simultaneously interesting to potential clients. We discussed the possibilities and came to the conclusion that it would most certainly include:

• dreamwork
• nature
• photography

As for how she’ll work with them? We tossed around some great ideas, however we’re not ready to divulge them fully…not yet…but I’ll give you a clue anyway:

Katrina will most likely combine her three interests into fun, unique services to help women and girls connect more deeply with nature – their inner nature and the kind of nature that grows things like big Oak trees.

With this much clarity and a hint of uncertainty to spice things up, we had the perfect recipe for cooking up a bigger, bolder and more beautiful website.

I can hardly wait for Katrina to return from her overseas adventures so we can share more of her work with you. (In the meantime, I believe she is available for one-on-one dreamwork and intuitive sessions via skype, if you are interested in some remarkable dream processing.)

Anyway, the moral of this story is this:

It’s hard to develop anything without clarity, but sometimes the only way to find it is to jump in. It’s a frustrating, but universal paradox, and one that’s unlikely to resolve itself anytime soon.

In the meantime, what can you do if you’re struggling to find a unique and compelling focus for your work?

Try reflecting on the following, if you need help you can set up a Lifework Orientation session with me or call a friend who knows you well:

• What problems, challenges or needs have you noticed in your community (either local or virtual)?

• What really bugs you? This might be a clue about how you can use your interests. (For instance, I absolutely hate to see people wasting or even worse, purposefully ignoring, their talents. I don’t even like to throw unused food away because I feel like the veggie or fruit didn’t live up to its full potential!)

• How can you combine your interests into a creative and unique solution to these challenges?

• How might you package your one-on-one or group services so your clients feel like they’re getting a lot for their money (of course, you have to deliver, too!)

• How can you add purpose to your offer (ie, offering a “dreamwork session” versus a “dreamwork to help you connect more deeply with your lifework path.”)