GRATITUDE + CONSCIOUS LIVING Page 2 of 17

*New book for you!* Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year

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Friends, I wrote a new book for you. It is a book about Christmas. But it’s also a book about belonging, connection, self-care, joy and ordinary magic. Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year offers inspiration for a new kind of holiday season – one where you radiate calm and cultivate delight. Spanning late November to early January, Calm Christmas embraces the festive build-up, the celebrations and the turn of the year in a holistic, nurturing way.

Let me whisk you away from the frenetic energy of the high street and invite you to come sit awhile by the fire, pausing to explore what a more mindful festive season could mean for you.

Full of personal stories, tips and advice for slowing down, staying calm and connecting with others, it offers a welcome retreat from the pressure to create ‘the perfect Christmas’.

At its heart Calm Christmas is about a book about wellbeing in winter, which will encourage you to use this time of natural hibernation to germinate new dreams and nurture a beautiful life in the year ahead. Instead of entering January exhausted, further in debt, and already regretting broken resolutions, you will begin the New Year with precious memories, feeling rested, rejuvenated and inspired.

This atmospheric book will lead you through the darkness of winter, back to the enchantment of an authentic and meaningful Christmas and New Year.

I hope you will pick up a copy for yourself, or gift it to a friend. You can get your copy here or from any good bookshop. If you are in the US/Canada you can get it from bookdepository.com with free shipping!

Beth Xx

On love, art-making, friendship and all the things

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For many people, making their living as a creative professional is a dream. For today’s podcast guests Kelly Rae Roberts and Mati Rose McDonough, it’s the life path they have chosen. It hasn’t always been easy, but their friendship has played a huge part in keeping them inspired and motivated through the good times and the tough times.

I am especially delighted to have them on the show, together, because of the pivotal role they have played in my life. Get yourself a cuppa and pull up a chair. You’ll feel like you are round the kitchen table with these inspiring ladies…

LISTEN HERE

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What do you want to be grateful for, years from now?

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Greetings from a cosy rainy England – such a difference from just a week ago. Right now my mum is building a theatre with our two little ones, and Mr K and I are in a café reviewing our numbers. We do this regularly, checking in on where we are, what’s going well, what has fallen behind, what we want to change, what we want to celebrate. And we each get to do this with one of our favourite people in the world. I am so grateful for the many varied opportunities entrepreneurship has brought to my door, but mostly I am grateful that we get to dream, plan and bring it to life together.

I’ll let you into a little secret. Back in the beginning, when I first started my business, every time Mr K came home from work (he was an civil engineer back then), we would do a high five for every course that had been sold that day. One day, soon after launching our first e-course there were a couple of high fives, a few more the next day, one the next, a couple the next and so on. It became a small but important reminder that it was working – this idea to do something different, and support others wanting to do something different, was working. I’ll never forget the first time we sold over 100 courses in a day, and our hands hurt from all the high fives, and our faces hurt from the grinning. It wasn’t about the money, it was about the freedom. I had created something from nothing, and it was helping people. That still blows my mind today, eight years on.

A couple of years after that day, the business was flourishing well enough for Mr K to quit his job completely and come on board. He started the first Monday after our honeymoon. It took a while for us to find our working rhythm, figuring out how best to use his skills, for me to let go of the need to do everything myself, and for him to get used to a very different way of working. But here we are, more than five years on, and he is absolutely crucial to the success of our business. He also gets paid a lot more than before, to work a lot fewer hours and spend large amounts of precious time with our daughters. We are building a life and future for our family, not just growing a business.

I am thinking about all this because tomorrow sees the start of our brand new online course, co-taught with my Make Art That Sells (MATS) co-founder Lilla Rogers. For the first time ever we are sharing all we have learned about money – in the context of business and life – in an intense and fun three week crash course, MATS MBA (Money BadAss). I love the title of the course because it is so Lilla – she has a brilliant attitude to business, while being both nurturing and fun, and a total badass. We combine strategy, practical guidance, advice on dealing with money stories and of course some woo, to bring you what I think will soon become one of our favourite courses. With daily video lessons, weekly live teaching and an amazing Playbook that provides a Game Plan for your business over the next twelve months. Class has just started but you can still squeeze in here.

Even if you don’t have a business, this week I want to challenge you to answer this question: What do you want to be grateful for having done NOW, in a few years’ time? I’d love to know your answer – come and share over on Instagram @bethkempton.

Have a great week

Beth Xx

New book ‘WABI SABI’ teaches life lessons inspired by ancient Japanese wisdom

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New book 'WABI SABI' teaches life lessons inspired by ancient Japanese wisdom WABI SABI WIDE

‘Wabi Sabi: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life‘ will be published by Piatkus on August 30. This is the second book from Do What You Love founder Beth Kempton, and offers a whole new way of looking at the world – and your life – inspired by centuries-old Japanese wisdom.

Wabi sabi (“wah-bi sah-bi”) is a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics, which helps us to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things. With roots in Zen and the Way of Tea, the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi is more relevant than ever for modern life, as we search for new ways to approach life’s challenges and seek meaning beyond materialism.

Wabi sabi is a refreshing antidote to our fast-paced, consumption-driven world, which will encourage you to slow down, reconnect with nature, and be gentler on yourself. It will help you simplify everything, and concentrate on what really matters.

From honouring the rhythm of the seasons to creating a welcoming home, from reframing failure to ageing with grace, wabi sabi will teach you find more joy and inspiration throughout your perfectly imperfect life.

This book is the definitive guide to applying the principles of wabi sabi to transform every area of your life, and finding happiness right where you are.

BONUS WHEN YOU PRE-ORDER

Pre-order your copy today to get access to a series of group coaching calls with Beth, where you will dive deep into the main themes of the book. Find all the details and book your spot here.

American/Canadian friends – you can get a copy from TheBookDepository.com with 10% off and free shipping, or wait for the North American version to come out next year!

 

Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light.

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Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light. IMG 3519 e1499517524821Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light. IMG 3518 e1499517542772

How are you doing? I woke up at 5am this morning, feeling compelled to write to you even though my body clock is all over the place, having recently travelled 26 hours to Boise, Idaho, for an event, and sleeping at very strange times each day.

As soon as I awoke I wanted to go outside and sit with my laptop in the dark listening to the birds, watching the world wake up, and write to you, so that is what I am doing. The reason for this is that yesterday I spent a truly wonderful day here at Melody Ross’s beautiful Brave Girl Symposium, first telling a story of freedom to 500+ women, then having a Q&A with my soul sister Kelly Rae Roberts answering questions about life, love and business, and then signing copies of Freedom Seeker for over three hours. It was a love fest.

I felt bad for the people queueing up for so long, but treasured the opportunity to speak to each and every woman who so generously shared their story with me – where they are in their life right now, what they are looking for, and what resonated in my talk about finding freedom in our lives, whatever is going on.

Even though I’m still fairly new to the world of book signings, I’ve realised that it is one of my favourite things to do. There’s something about sharing your story in words, that seems to give other people permission to do the same back. I watch the women from the corner of my eye as they are waiting. Some chat among themselves, some are laughing, some are deep in thought. Some seem to be preparing what they want to say, others clearly have no idea what they want to say, but are trusting something will come when they get to the front of the queue.

I never know what someone is going to say when they get to me. I often ask them a question, and see what tumbles out. The truth is, often I go to events and people have no idea who I am until I tell my story and it resonates with them on a soul level, and they feel compelled to come and chat. Those are some of my very favourite conversations.

Anyway, what I woke up wanting to say to you is this. In every conversation I had yesterday, in every question I answered, in every pair of eyes I looked into while I was talking from that stage, I saw you. I saw you in the stories and hearts of those women, because in so many ways we are all the same. We are just doing our best. We are showing up for life in the best way we can, and sometimes we need support in doing that, and sometimes we can be the one to offer support. Sometimes we need a shining light, sometimes we are that light. And we are stronger and happier together.

If you were sat with me in a room right now, I’d ask if I could read you this paragraph from Chapter 17 of Freedom Seeker, as a gift to you today:

“Life is wild and glorious and hard and beautiful. We Freedom Seekers must keep choosing freedom with every decision, every detail, every dollar, every day. Because it’s the experience of it all that adds 
up to a beautiful life. Go now and live it with all you’ve got. Fly free, my friend, fly free.”

Much love

Beth

PS A quick round up of news from over here:

It’s never too late to follow your dreams

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It's never too late to follow your dreams DWYL BLOG WEDNESDAYWELLBEING 650X250PX LR

“When we start to live our own story, that’s when we really come alive, that’s when we really start living.” ~ Kathy Sparrow

Maybe in the course of bringing up your children or earning a living, you’ve put your own hopes and dreams on the back burner. It’s easy to get sucked into “life-as-usual” as you spend your days busily running from one thing to the next.

If you’ve been distracted from doing what you love, diverted from taking the path that leads you towards your dreams or have no idea what you really want to do, now could be the ideal time to think about how you’d like the next chapter of your life to look.

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Follow your dreams and create more magic in your own life, and in the world!

Need help, support and inspiration? Start by making more time for yourself today…

Today we invite you to be present for everyone, including yourself. Making time to do the things you love is one of the kindest gifts you can give yourself.

So join us for 31 days of making time: 31 days to learn how to look up and rediscover the small wonders out there that make you happy, 1 day at a time, 1 minute at a time.

Our Making time daily prompt series is completely FREE and it couldn’t be easier to get started. Click here for  information.

It's never too late to follow your dreams Header MakingTime

Motivate yourself unafraid

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Did you know that we are only born with two fears? The fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Both are engrained in our DNA and are there to protect us and ensure our survival. Every other fear we have has been learned. Which means we can also un-learn it. How? By facing it, by daring to believe, by taking risks, by overcome failures, and by doing it all over again.

You might not always feel it, but there’s a huge amount of courage deep down inside you. You just need to unlock it.

COURAGE

“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here.” – Marianne Williamson

 

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Treasuring the chaos

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Treasuring the chaos TTC WILDLING1I am writing this at my kitchen counter, glass of wine in hand, dinner dishes stacked high in the sink waiting for some attention. A voice in my head keeps reminding me that my large travel bag is still lying on my bedroom floor, in the exact spot I left it there on Sunday after arriving back from 19 days’ travel in the USA. The floor by my feet is strewn with children’s toys – an open jewellery box with a sleepy ballerina, done with pirouetting for the day; a plastic teapot ready to serve a tiny tea party, a slowly wrinkling balloon. Mr K is catching up with one of his superhero programmes in the next room, and the girls are sleeping upstairs. As I cast around my home, I could not be happier to be here.

Travel is amazing. Adventure is life-enhancing. And yet today, after so many days away, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here, in the middle of the chaos of home. As I count down to my 40th birthday on Saturday, and look at the ‘state’ of my life, I’m feeling grateful for all of it. Even the wrinkly balloon bobbing around my feet. (You can read my personal essay on ‘Treasuring the chaos’ in the utterly beautiful Wildling Magazine here, for free)

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It’s funny how sometimes the chaos can be a source of stress, and yet today it is a source of comfort. It all depends on how you look at it, and what else is layered beneath.

Whether or not you have children, I would like to encourage you to take a moment this week to find a way to treasure whatever chaos is going on in your life. Because mess births beauty. Chaos is progress.

BethXx

Please vote! We’ve been nominated MBS Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Awards!

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Please vote! We've been nominated MBS Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Awards! DWYL BK KSAWARD 4 800X400PX LR

We’ve been nominated for Mind Body Spirit Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Magazine Awards! We LOVE this magazine, so this is a huge honour, and I am so grateful to the whole Do What You Love team, who works so hard to bring you fresh and inspiring content every week.

If you appreciate our blog please take a moment to vote for us here (under award number 3). Thank you so much!

PS Kindred Spirit are entering everyone who votes into a prize draw so you might even win a prize!

What we can learn from birds to navigate life

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[Health warning: There’s an AMAZING story in this video which might just blow your mind…]

Throughout the ages birds have been seen as a supernatural connection between humans and the gods. We have stitched their feathers into our folklore, and attached spiritual significance to their behaviour and movements.

Birds were on the earth long before us, so primitive humans looked upon them as powerful. Many early tribes and clans took a bird, whose characteristics they admired, as their totem.

And personally, I had the experience of birds appearing as signs in all sorts of guises (actual flocks, feathers on my path, feather jewellery, avian tattoos etc) while I was writing Freedom Seeker. When Hay House sent me a mock up of the book jacket to photograph, I discovered it was wrapped around a book by Teal Swan. Birds everywhere…

And it makes sense, for a book about freedom. But it wasn’t until I actually started researching and writing that I discovered some fascinating parallels between the mechanics of bird flight, and the human psyche. I even consulted an Oxford University Professor on the subject, who said he’d never seen those parallels recognised before, so it was all pretty exciting. You can read about those discoveries in Freedom Seeker, but for now I wanted to share a few thoughts on what we can learn from birds to help us navigate life. In this video I share a mindblowing story of someone I met on my travels whilst writing. I think you will love hearing it…

PS Monday is the LAST DAY to get the bonuses worth over $300 when you pre-order Freedom Seeker. Get yours here: www.bethkempton.com/book