When my children were small, something shocking happened at the seaside playground we used to frequent. The place had a little cafe which got carefully locked up every night, with staff diligently bolting the metal shutters to the counter and double-locking the door. But one morning the manager came in to discover that thieves had taken a drill to the side of the building during the night and extracted the entire safe through the gaping hole. That’s kind of how it felt to find out about Meta’s great book heist, which I am sure you have heard about by now. According to this investigation by The Atlantic, Meta has reportedly downloaded millions of books (including ten editions of mine) from pirate database LibSyn and used them to train AI. Suddenly I could see that we have all been faffing around worrying about whether AI-generated e-books are going to affect the traditional publishing world and all the while Meta was out with its giant drill stealing all the existing books through a hole in the back of the library.
As someone who has spent countless hours (actually, years) and sacrificed many things to bring my books into the world, part of me is of course as upset about this as anyone, and wants appropriate action to be taken. To that end I have followed the advice of the trade unions, signed the petition and stand in solidarity with fellow my authors and academics. (See below for advice from the Society of Authors and Authors Guild)
However, another part of me is fascinated by the speed at which things are being disrupted and deeply curious about what the AI age might mean in terms of new possibilities for all of us, and how it might take some of the mundane stuff off our plates so we can focus on the issues that really matter.
That curious, hopeful part of me is the part which is writing to you today.
To be honest, as an author I feel pressure to be anti-AI. Of course I am as outraged as anyone else about the blatant piracy and use of our published books, and I have no intention of using AI to generate any of my creative works (other than where AI is automatically integrated into research tools). I also understand that many, many jobs are threatened by the rapidly developing technologies of our time which include AI, and I am aware of the real impact that will have on many lives. In the weeks I have been working on this essay, The Guardian-Observer newspaper has closed, H&M has announced the use of digital clones of models in its ads, and I overheard a cameraman at my local coffee shop talking about how the television industry is on its knees. This is heartbreaking. There are also huge environmental concerns relating to the proliferation of AI, and I for one won’t be wasting water and energy generating a doll image of myself anytime soon.
But I am also founder of an organisation called Do What You Love and I have spent the past fifteen years encouraging people to make the most of emerging opportunities in the face of disruptive change, to not wait for authority to tell them what to do next, and to be brave enough to choose the unconventional path, if that is right for them. This has never felt so essential.
To be hopeful in the face of rapid change is a radical act, which takes courage but opens your eyes to opportunities that only exist right now.
Click here to continue reading the rest of this essay (including journal notes to prompt your own thinking on this topic)…
True belonging. Year-round inspiration. Extraordinary value.This is what awaits you in SoulCircle.
This is your invitation to join one of the most beautiful writing communities on the planet. Hosted by me, bestselling author Beth Kempton, SoulCircle is an intimate gathering of writers (of all levels) from across the world. We share weekly writing inspiration (Journal Notes penned by me in your inbox every Monday), and gather regularly for magical Live Writing Circles, Q&A and more.
The SoulCircle offering
I wanted to share some exciting news about what you can look forward to in SoulCircle in the coming year (all included in your paid subscription):
Complimentary access to SALT + SKY (A brand new virtual day retreat to help you go deep on a particular writing project – This will take place in July and everything will be available on replay. Details to follow soon)
Complimentary access to MY SUMMER OF SUBSTACK, a leisurely stroll through seven weeks of Substack essay writing, together (To take place in SoulCircle in July-August. Details to follow soon)
Complimentary access to THE SOUL CIRCLE SESSIONS – these are guest workshops from extraordinary teachers – including some of the writers who have most deeply influenced my own work (starting in the autumn)
Bi-weekly Live Writing Circles, every 6-7 weeks throughout the year
My Weekly Journal Notes – Gentle writing invitations in your inbox every Monday all year round
Quarterly Live Q&A
Year-round access to our private chat space for friendly encouragement and a chance to share your work
Plus a host of other bonuses I am developing as a result of our recent member survey
Why SoulCircle is special
SoulCircle is different from other writing communities for a number of reasons:
It’s personal. Everything in SoulCircle is carefully curated by me, for you.
It’s quiet and cosy, yet deeply inspiring. SoulCircle is not a vast, noisy space with lots of distracting things going on. Rather, it is a gentle, welcoming space for people who love words. It feels a bit like writing by candlelight. Once you join, it becomes part of your ritual and rhythm.
It’s always encouraging. There is no critique in SoulCircle (just as there is no critique in any of my classes). I believe it is more important that you learn how to evaluate and beautify your own writing, than it is to thicken your skin to handle the opinions of others. This might be counterintuitive in a world where writing communities tend to be all about critique, but believe me, it changes everything.
There is nothing you have to do or achieve. There are no wordcounts. There are no deadlines. There is no ‘tough love’, only love. There are invitations and offerings, but everything is optional.
It’s always there for you. SoulCircle offers year-round, gentle support. May it become the heartbeat of your writing life.
It’s extraordinary value. All SoulCircle subscriptions are used to create resources to support writers, so I am able to offer incredible value at a very accessible price. (A year’s worth of SoulCircle content would be worth over £600 if sold individually)
Every penny of your subscription goes towards developing resources to support writers all over the world.
Who we are
SoulCircle is a beautiful, diverse mix of writers of all levels and backgrounds from across the world. A recent members’ survey showed that 10% of us are published authors, 25% are currently writing books (and more than half of us have a book dream), 60% of us write on Substack, 60% write poetry, and almost all of us mostly write because of how it makes us feel.
Members say they love SoulCircle because of the way the weekly inspiration keeps them connected to their writing, the like belonging to the community and connect with other writers, they adore the Live Writing Circles and are grateful for the chance to practice bravery in sharing their work (something which is always optional)
SoulCircle is led by me, Beth Kempton, author of six non-fiction books, writing teacher and encouraging mentor.
We have been waiting for you. You belong here. I hope you will join us and make a real commitment to your writing life. CLICK HERE to join, and get a lovely generous discount on an annual subscription.
A good while back I received a curious note from a stranger named James, inviting me to be part of a project he had begun a few years before, when he was living in a caravan feeling down on his luck. James had started wondering what the point of everything was, and on a whim (and inspired by a similar project by Will Durant from the 1930s) started writing letters to all kinds of people – astronauts, prime ministers, artists, neuroscientists and so on – asking them one question: What is the meaning of life?
He was writing to me to ask if I’d like to offer my own response. To be honest, James had me at ‘letters’. I went for a very long walk, thought of my answer, sent it off, and forgot all about it.
The other day there was a knock at my door, and the postman handed me a yellow padded envelope, heavy with the weight of a hardback filled with substantial ideas. The Meaning of Life: Letters from Extraordinary People and their Answer to Life’s Biggest Question had been published, and James had sent me a copy. It was a solid, important-looking tome, covered in the names of famous people who had also responded to James’s invitation. Ahh, he sent me a copy as a consolation prize for not having made the cut, that doubting voice in my head was quick to say, but I gladly received it anyway, always happy for book mail. I turned to the Contents page to see who else James had managed to intrigue with his question. It listed all the contributors, starting with Scientists & Environmentalists (like Dr Jane Goodall, astronaut Helen Sharman, and founder of The Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit), and including people from all backgrounds including Survivors & Campaigners (like Simon Weston, Sir Terry Waite and Chris Moon), Athletes & Adventurers (such as Dame Ellen MacArthur and Sir Ranulph Fiennes), Artists & Entertainers (like Joan Armatrading and Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis), Political, Religious & Business Leaders (including a prime minister, a former Archbishop and an American President) and so on.
I was curious about the Writers section of course, having been asked to submit something but not actually expecting my name to be there. And just as I had expected, it wasn’t. But the names of some of my favourites were, including the likes of Pico Iyer, Jodi Picoult, Rupi Kaur, Dame Hilary Mantel and co-founder of Lonely Planet Tony Wheeler, so I poured myself a cup of tea and sat down to read.
Hours went by as I witnessed all these minds reflecting on their lives, and trying to extract words to articulate what it all means. I made notes, stuck Post-It Notes on the pages, and then, when I got to page 352, I spat out my tea.
There was my name, and the piece I had written all that time ago, and sent off to James, grateful for the opportunity to ponder this magnificent question. But my piece wasn’t in the Writers section, which was why I had missed it. It was in the Thinkers, Philosophers and Futurists section. I was floored. Since my late teens I have been fascinated by philosophy, drawn to the work of deep thinkers, and I spend much of my time pondering what will become of this world, but in all that time I have never given such a label to myself. I kind of like it.
But if writing and philosophising and thinking – about the past, present and future – has led me to realise one thing, it’s that the labels we cling to, or covet, or parade around, really are of no consequence in the grand scheme of things.
Sometimes the wearing and owning of a label helps us step forward in the direction of our dreams, giving us an identity to hold on to (to steady ourselves as we step into the unknown, perhaps).
Sometimes it helps others to get a sense of what we have done with our lives, what we enjoy, or have experience at, and that can be a doorway.
Sometimes the label gives a sense of meaning to our individual lives, but it is wholly unconnected to the meaning of life itself.
Any identity is a construct of the ego, just as fear is. I always think that if claiming a specific identity helps you make time for it, and draws others towards you in a meaningful way, then sure, wear your badge with pride. I happily say that I am a writer – and now I might even describe myself as a thinker, a philosopher or a futurist (thank you James!) – But we don’t really need any label at all.
We just need to do the thing – to write, to create, to sing, to connect, to philosophise, to love, to live fully, pondering questions like this, while we can. […continued]
—
Click here to read the rest of this essay, see some peeks into the book and find out what I wrote in response to the question What is the meaning of life?
Friends, what a year, How are you doing, friend? The world has been rumbling these past days. I hope you are doing OK. Today’s note is a reminder that whatever life throws at us, we still get to choose how we respond to the happenings of the world, what information we take on board, where we focus our energy and attention, what kind of support systems we build, how we make a living, and ultimately what we do with each day of our precious lives. And to celebrate, because celebrating is important.
Over the years I have come to understand that doing what you love is often an act of quiet rebellion. There are opinions to ignore, norms to step around, conformity to resist, expectations to let go of, and freedom to be had. If ever there was a time for doing what you love – making art, writing books, following your heart – as an act of rebellion, surely it is now? And if not for that reason, why not do it simply because life is too short and precious not to?
Today I invite you to take a moment to step away from it all and think back to what you were doing fourteen years ago. November 2010. How was your life different? What were your dreams back then? What has come into being since then? What do you still dream of? I’d love to know.
Why November 2010? Because fourteen years ago today I registered my company, Do What You Love, and a few days later carried that certificate into a local bank branch and opened a business bank account. At the time I was still working in the corporate world as a consultant, but I had a sense that something was changing, and I wanted to get out ahead of it, and do my own thing. I had no idea what I was doing, or how I would do what I wanted to do, but I knew that I had to do something, and setting up the company was the first step towards that. Since then I have lost count of the number of people who have told me that ‘do what you love’ is terrible advice, because people have mortgages to pay and obligations to fulfil. And yet here I am, fourteen years later, grateful that I ignored them all, and that so many of you joined me along the way. Thank you, friends.
Making an important point about something or other (or trying to think straight with a toddler and a new baby in tow, back in 2016!)
When I look through the names like yours on my mailing list, or the names of people commenting on my Instagram or more recently my Substack, I recognise people who have been with me for years, some even since the beginning – people I have known longer than I have known my own children. That is wild, and a huge blessing. However you found me, whenever you became part of this community, thank you. I appreciate you more than you will ever know.
I have witnessed so many of you making brave changes as you have navigated your own paths – changing careers, moving countries, going from shy creative to flourishing business owners, or from writing your first poem since school to publishing a book. It has been an astonishing journey of growth and expansion, both my own and yours, and as I take this opportunity to reflect on these past fourteen years, I invite you to do the same.
Back in 2010, when I handed over a few pounds to open that bank account, with nothing more than a laptop and an idea and Mr K’s support, things were very different. It was the year that the iPad was born, and Instagram was first released. A billion fewer people had mobile phones. I wasn’t yet married, I didn’t have any children, hardly anyone worked from home, almost no-one taught online, and blogs were only just starting to become a thing. Fourteen years and one pandemic later and although things have been tough in many ways these past few years, it has never been easier to work flexibly, or make the most of technology and online tools to connect with other people and thrive online.
If you know that you want to make a change in the coming months, to do more of what you love, be more creative, write more – write a book even – check out my courses here, or read my essay Doing What You Love in the Age of AIhere. What might you be grateful for fourteen years from now, if you make a big decision today??
Wow I look young in this one. A lot has happened in the past eight years since this photo was taken, never mind the past fourteen since I set up the company! I wonder what has happened in your life in that time?
If you aren’t quite sure what would be the best fit for you, feel free to drop me a note at learning [at] dowhatyouloveforlife.com with some info about yourself and where you are in your life right now, and what you are looking for, and I will personally get back to you with some suggestions.
Whatever you decide, I want to take this opportunity to thank you so much for being part of this gorgeous community, and for allowing me to do what I love, as I support you to do the same. May we walk this path for many more years together.
Tip your ear to the sky and you’ll hear echoes of ancestral birdsong telling the story of a slain emperor, a fleeing prince and a mystical three-legged crow, a yatagarasu, guiding him to safety. Follow the whispers of the wind and you’ll discover that the tomb atop this mountain venerates that prince, who remained in this forest and gave his life to mountain worship, as the crow gave its name to the land.
Put your ear to the earth and you’ll hear this mountain speak of gods and ghosts. Press your skin to the bark of this old tree and you’ll learn of the strange shadow that once passed over this place and the cloaked man who ran behind it.
Come as a pilgrim, offer silence as you climb, and you might just hear a welcome.
‘Yōkoso. I am Black Wing Mountain.’
As one of the three sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan, Hagurosan (lit. ‘Black Wing Mountain’) is said to represent the present and earthly desires. People have journeyed to Hagurosan for centuries, often travelling hundreds of miles on foot, to pray for health and good fortune in this life. This is where our story begins.
As I read these words aloud on day one of recording the audiobook version of my new book KOKORO, I had an out-of-body experience in the small black booth. As I spoke I was back on the first of the three sacred mountains I climbed during the toughest year of my life, feet in jika tabi (split-toed white boots), scrambling, grieving, unravelling, and at the same time I was in the kitchen of our small cottage, making cheese on toast. Wild woman and domesticated mama, everything overlapping, forming and reforming in strange rhythm like a pumping heart.
People don’t really talk about audiobook recordings, but in some ways, they are even more personal than paper books. It’s me, in your ears, sharing encounters, confessing secrets, whispering words of hope.
Recording for three days straight in a small soundproof booth is full-on. It reminds you of the preciousness of every single word. And there is nowhere to hide.
In KOKORO you are invited to join me on a pilgrimage deep into the Japanese countryside and into our inner lives. It has mountains, moons, and even a sprinkling of actual magic. For the three days I was in the studio I was back there in Japan listening, watching, chanting, questioning, seeking, surrendering. Back there at my mother’s side as she faded. Back there asking the questions that other people do not ask, being open to whatever answers might come.
During the recording there were tears, laughter and even some dancing. There was Xavier Rudd. There is always Xavier Rudd.
KOKORO: Japanese wisdom for a life well lived is the follow up to my earlier book WABI SABI: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life. Five years in the making, tracing wisdom that goes back more than a thousand years, it’s hard to believe that after so much shapeshifting she is finally, at last, almost here.
On Friday I hung up my headphones and closed the door on the booth one final time. My producer made us a cup of tea, and we joined a colleague who was busy searching for the perfect bell sound to use in the recording.
‘So now this one is done, what are you writing next?’ he asked me, casually, in between gongs and temple bell samples.
‘You know what, I have nothing else to say right now,’ I repled. ‘I poured all of it into that book.’
Before we began recording I had asked a favour of the producer who would be spending the next three days in the adjacent booth listening to my every word, and would be the first person in the world to hear KOKORO spoken out loud. I had asked him to tell me, at the end, what lingered.
True to his word, when we had finished, he looked me in the eye and said, ‘The depth of wisdom, the reverence for Japanese culture, and the immense feeling of calm that came over me, that’s what has lingered.’
The cover of Kokoro shows Gassan (lit. ‘moon mountain’), known as the mountain of death and the past – the second of the three sacred mountains of Dewa in a remote part of northern Japan – beneath a full moon. I lived and worked in the shadow of Gassan half a lifetime ago, and returned following the death of my mother last year. It is the perfect image for Kokoro in so many ways, and I am so grateful to my publisher for this beautiful design (which has navy blur foil to catch the light which I hope shines out of the book).
In KOKORO you will find sorrow, but also much joy. There is a reckoning, but also a renewal. There is darkness, but with it, much light. I hope you absolutely love it.
Having done the audiobooks for each of my written books, I know that it is both as nourishing and as exhausting as three days spent in deep conversation. You come up for air at the end and everything is slightly blurry. It takes a while to get used to the world again, and knowing this, I decided to take the weekend off by the sea in Brighton, to sleep in, poke around vintage shops, drink coffee and meet up with old friends.
Well that was my plan, except on Saturday I started walking after breakfast and didn’t stop for eight hours. In a city which probably has more coffee shops than the entire county I live in, and one I know well from living there for several years, I could not decide where to stop and sit, so I just kept on walking. No lunch. No tea break. Just pavement pounding all day long, unable to make a decision. It was the strangest day.
As I walked along the seafront, listening to the familiar call of seagulls and watching waves batter the old pier, I sensed something behind me. I turned to glimpse a faint memory of my eldest daughter on her first birthday, laughing in a tiny Santa suit as Mr K pushed her along. I walked past a park where an echo of my mum was reading her stories as they sprawled out together on a picnic blanket. I saw my reflection in a shop window, younger, pregnant, in a bright yellow coat, smiling but tired on the inside.
I walked past our old house, more house than we could afford, and I remembered the meltdown on a beautiful wooden floor, which arrived when juggling work and children and paying for all the things all became too much. I remembered how, in that moment, I dreamt of my old life, back when I travelled the world and felt free, and I know now that it was the beginning of my midlife unravelling, which coincided perfectly with my parenting journey, and my entry into the author fray.
Fast forward seven years and I only recently realized that I have written my way through midlife, starting with FREEDOM SEEKER at 39, then WABI SABI at 40, and three more books in the following three years until this one, KOKORO, where the rumbling beneath the surface of my days became too loud to ignore, and just as I turned to face it, my mother died and everything turned to dust.
This book is mostly about what happened next. It’s about what happens when we navigate a major life transition, whatever that may be, whatever life stage we may be in.
Writing it changed my life. Reading it might change yours.
This week Stylist magazine named KOKORO on its list of best new health and wellness books. I am honoured, but I also want you to know that this is not a book of life hacks and quick solutions. It’s a book to change the way you navigate the world, to truly wake you up to the brevity and preciousness of this thing called life, and help you shed all that does not serve so you feel better within your life each and every day.
This book is my heart. I hope you absolutely love it, and that it lingers long after the final page.
Beth Xx
PS Thank you to everyone who helped shape the back cover blurb for Kokoro a couple of months ago, and thank you also for the incredible response to my previous essay about notebooks + dreaming. That is the kind of support makes things happen! I will keep you posted…
INVITE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOLIDAY SEASON THIS YEAR
Is your book club looking for a new non-fiction pick in the run up to the holidays? Look no further!
Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year offers rich grounds for discussion, prompting nostalgia and the sharing of personal memories, inviting lively discussions about the true meaning of Christmas, and offering a host of ideas for a calmer, more mindful holiday season. It is also packed with self-care tips to help you have a wonderful Christmas without sacrificing your wellbeing, all good things to discuss in a book club setting.
Beth Xx
PS Be sure to take a photo of you all with your books and share it with me on Instagram @bethkempton!
CLICK HERE to download the Calm Christmas Book Club Discussion Guide (FREE)
Now set a date to gather and chat, pour a cuppa and get reading!
Join author and Japanologist Beth Kempton on a sacred journey to uncover the secrets of fearless writing which have lain buried in Eastern philosophy for two thousand years.
In a radical departure from standard advice and widely-held assumptions about the effort and suffering required for creative success, The Way of the Fearless Writer will show you there is another way to thrive – a path of trust, ease, freedom and joy.
Learn how to free your mind so your body can create, transform your relationship with fear, dissolve self-doubt, shift writer’s block, access your true voice and bravely share your words with the world.
This profound book reveals the deep connections between mind, body, spirit, breath and words. Offering a rare insight into the writing life and a host of fresh and original exercises, it will open your eyes to writing as a direct connection to life itself.
I hope you will read it and love it, and that it inspires many words to flow from deep within. You are a writer and the world needs your medicine.
By popular demand, here are the lyrics for our brand new song THE RIVER, out now! (Spotify / iTunes / Youtube). All credits below. Hope you love it and add it to your Instagram reels! (To find out more about how this came about read this post)
Just when I think I’m doing okay It starts raining Just when I think I’m finally on my way The way starts changing. I’m on a quest to find The reason and rhyme Life’s a mystery How d’ya do it right?
There’s a river running through you And it’ll flow ‘til the end of time You’ve gotta trust in The way it’s going Let the river lead you home.
I spend my time worrying that Time’s running out My greatest fear is having regrets So I’m frozen in doubt I’m on a quest to find A way out of my mind. Life’s a mystery How d’ya do it right?
There’s a river running through you And it’ll flow ‘til the end of time You’ve gotta trust in The way it’s going Let the river lead you home.
Every moment’s a chance to change your world
Every moment’s a chance to change… Change your world
There’s a river running through you And it’ll flow ‘til the end of time You’ve gotta trust in The way it’s going Let the river lead you home.
You’ve gotta trust in… Let the river lead you home.
I can’t quite believe this day is here. I did the thing I thought I couldn’t do, and ‘The River’ – the song that I co-wrote with awardwinning singer-songwriter Danni Nicholls – is out in the world today! (Listen now on iTunes / Spotify / Youtube etc). Read on if you want to find out what this extraordinary experience felt like.
‘So what do you want to write a song about?’ Danni’s face beamed out of my laptop. ‘I’m not sure really. Life. Time. The detail and the vastness. The not knowing. The wanting to know. The not needing to know.’ Danni Nicholls is a professional singer–songwriter who generously agreed to co-write a song with me, as a fearless writing test. When I began to think about this book, I pondered what would be the most challenging writing experience I could imagine, and that was it. I love music, but I am not musical, so songwriting seemed out of reach, and co- writing sounded even harder, because it would involve spilling unpolished liquid words onto the ground in front of another human being.
‘And how do you feel about doing this?’ Danni asked.
‘I’m terrified,’ I answered, before I had the time to check in with myself and see how I was really feeling. When I did that I realised that actually, I wasn’t terrified at all. I was unsure of how it would work out, so I was a little nervous. I felt vulnerable knowing that I would have no room to edit the words that came out of my mouth before Danni caught them and wove them in with her own. But the overriding feeling was actually one of excitement.
During those three hours of co- writing The River with Danni, I had a strange sense that the song was materialising in the space between us, as if our separateness had dissolved at the edges to make room for it. We often talk of writing as a solitary pursuit, but actually, whether our co- creator is a singer–songwriter with Americana vibes or the creative energy of the universe itself, we are never alone in our work.
This reminds me of a commentary on the collaborative Japanese poetry genre, renga, in which alternating verses are linked by successive poets. Writing about this poetry form, Kyoto University professor Tadashi Ogawa said:
The essential basics of renga lie in both self-abandonment and the participation in za, which is ‘the opening place’ belonging neither to one’s self nor to that of the others. In short, what matters most is to abandon the ‘funk hole’ or ‘dugout’ of the self and enter into the ocean of a shared life with others.3
This was exactly what we had to do in order to co- write the song, and what we have to do as individual writers in order to co- create with the energy of the universe.
The River is OUT TODAY! You can listen on iTunes / Spotify / YouTube etc. If you like it, please share it with your friends!
And if you want to write the things you thought you could not write, I really encourage you to get a copy of my brand new book The Way of the Fearless Writer which is OUT ON THURSDAY! Remember, if you pre-order your copy, you can get FREE access to my brand new writing class Autumn Light which starts on October 17. Just order from any retailer, then fill in this short form. (If you have already done this, thank you! I will be in touch on publication day with details of how to access the class.
Be fearless! The world needs your medicine, my friend.
Beth Xx
PS This was sent out as my personal newsletter. If you’d like to get inspiration into your inbox from time to time, just hop on the list!
And just like that autumn arrived. Rain, wind, pumpkin spice lattes, poetry in the afternoon… What a gorgeous cosy time of year this is, all the better when you have leftover apple crumble to eat… I hope this finds you well and easing yourself back into your routine if you had a long break over the summer, or no break at all but children off school. Over here there has been so much on and I am making some big decisions about what to drop or postpone so I can get some proper rest. Summer was lovely, but not exactly relaxing this year! Which leads me to the thing I wanted to talk about today. The fact that just because we could, it doesn’t mean we should…
Of all the things I get asked, one of the most common questions is about how I manage to juggle family, writing, business and ‘all the things’. Here are a couple of thoughts:
(1) I don’t do all the things. I prioritise, and check in, and reprioritise, over and over again, making sure I keep choosing the things that really matter to me. And sometimes I get knackered, and realise I had stopped prioritising the right things, or not allocated them enough time, and I move things around again.
(2) I have become really good at saying yes… and really good at saying no. See (1) above.
(3) I go with the ebb and flow of my energy, particularly in line with the seasons of the year. In my case I am very inward focused in winter which is when I tend to write my books. Spring is about new ideas, summer is outward facing and autumn is a time for releasing new things and preparing for hibernation as winter returns.
(4) I ask for help. We have almost no childcare where we live, but Mr K and I work as a team to make space for the things we each want to do and the things we want to do together.
(5) I don’t buy into the myth that creativity only happens in chaos. Creativity IS chaos, but in my experience it flourishes within the constraints of a container – an organised working space, a structured schedule (with lots of space in it), a calm and clear mind.
Some food for thought! may your September be organised and calm, so your chaotic creativity can flourish!
Beth Xx
PS On Monday we begin the 2022 edition of Make It Happen, a brilliant online course I co-teach with Rachael Taylor and Make It In Design. It guides you through a structured 12-week methodology for bringing any project to life. Last year I created an entire new e-course during the class.
This year I am toying with focusing on the creation of another new e-course or a stationery pitch.
I’ll be doing this alongside the class and you’ll get to witness the behind-the-scenes while working on your own project, which you will have launched before the end of class!
