Hi lovelies,
I wanted to write and let you know I’m trying something new where I write to you each and every week on a day we set together about self seeding your business… 1
I’d love to know which day of the week you’d like to receive these emails?
Do you have a preference… perhaps you have a reading day or a day where other newsletter like this come in?
This newsletter is a blend of Whole Hearted Living posts and Self Seed your Business posts. 💌 Sent from the Northumberland Coast in the midst a creative life of motherhood and magic. ✨ This one is a little delicate and heart led, one I wanted to find the words for because it’s a real 360 of how life and business are interconnected.
Rest - the little known creativity and productivity boost…
“Everything works better if you unplug it for a while, even you…”
While we were on hols in the Canary Islands this month, I did a digital detox and there was so much insight there… 🌞 Have you done one recently?
and I are writing about that together next week from each of our perspectives - can’t wait to share. ✨ Here’s a note and a little trailer I did on the topic which got a tonne of replies if you’re interested in hearing from other writers/ creatives.Right here and now, I wanted to write and remind those of you who are creatives/ business owners…
I have a FREE accountability space if you’d like to bring attention to ONE of your online spaces for the next 6 weeks with me…
there’s a FREE video workshop too where I share some of my practises and we tease out what might feel good for you for focus online for your business…
These sessions are usually for members but this one is free…
An update on my ‘grow one thing’ task - I’m doing so well with my YouTube challenge - I ticked off 3 of my ‘to do's’ already and grew with over 20 new subscribers… 🤓 See post above for more on HOW I’ve brought attention there…
So onto change and how life blends with business…
There are experiences in life that fundamentally change the way you see the world and the people in it.
I’ve never had a consistent ‘job’, everything has been ‘temporary’ or ‘funded’ for over 20 years so I’m very used to change in my work and in my career.
I’m not climbing a ladder I’m a consultant, an expert, a business owner and none of the above… I’m “just” a creative person in the world making it work…
A world literally built on shifting sands but here’s the thing I’ve learnt and only very recently.
We need more than one anchor in our world. We might even need more than 10, strike that at the moment I probably need 15!
We are dealing with a very difficult thing as a family. Making sense of the senseless.
My husband’s phone has never stopped ringing. Mine has stayed silent.
The space in between is deafening.
The children know something of the change, it’s made them nutty, relentless, louder, more emotional, more demanding and quite frankly exhausting to be around.
If we were employed, we’d both be signed off work - probably for a couple of weeks. Strike that, as a man, Dave might get a day. I’d definitely ask for two weeks and probably cry so they’d definitely say yes.
If we were part of another culture we wouldn’t be ‘cracking’ on the way we are… but in British Culture, you crack on and without the embodied knowledge of something different, I stick to the routine making space for at least one beautiful thing every day.
The seismic shifts are unsurmountable. Tears have flowed every day for 11 days. When mine and my husband’s eyes meet in the mornings, we see the reality and weight of the sadness all over again. It will pass, time heals I repeat on silent.
I feel supported by text messages, by my faith, by music, sunrises, by work and by putting my hands in the soil.
But in search of an anchor, a guiding light, some consistency, I have realised so much about how we’ve built out life and work.
🤙🏻 📲 There are real people at the other end of messages, people with complex lives and emotions who sometimes need an anchor in a sea of everyone being too busy, too much, too confusing. I often write “shall I ring?” in a message. As a space holder for my friends, I have always offered that. I always have time to listen or to pick someone up when things feel unsteady. I have also been the person who let multiple friendships and family relationships die because our values clashed. I feel ok about both things being true.
🏡 I feel like we could leave where we live now and start over. We’ve been building this life for 8 years… but when the chips are down so are we… I don’t think that’s the only way to live. The winter has been eight months long. The separation from ‘the good life’ we moved here for is palpable.
👩🏽💻 My business is built online so we could go anywhere… I haven’t had a work Christmas Party in over 10 years… colleagues wouldn’t even notice I’d moved… 🤓 well a couple might!
There are very few anchors where there ‘could be’ way more and in that, life feels strange and technicolour. I feel alone and alive. I feel possible and lost.
So a tiny anchor I am creating for myself, is a space where this newsletter has a ‘day’ - a day of the week to connect with my readers. It’s one less decision to make and one more anchor in my week.
Do you have anchors in your work and life? A journalling practise, a routine? I’d love to know…
I am about to go meet two friends for coffee, listen to their stories and hope I’m not interviewed about mine. Although if I am, maybe it’s ok.
See you next week, you pick the day!?
Claire
✨⚓️ 🤍
PS - thank you so much to my WONDERFUL colleagues and friends who have lifted me up this week by connecting in and making time to see -
, , , , , ,📘 I’m SO grateful for the words of
who created a beautiful universal anchor in her new book Kokoro which found me at exactly the right time.This is essay 3 of 24 for my
24 essays club. You are welcome to join in - more here. We are independently working on up to 24 essays for the rest of this year and I’m sharing a selection over at each season!If you’re keen to GROW your Substack/ newsletter (like I have from 0-7k subscribers), come and join us and discover all the joyful and sustainable growth tools.
Paid members here at
get 3 free months to as part of their membership this year! You pick when you’d like to use it.
Self seeding your business is the name of a group programme I developed last year to support creative business owners plant seeds that support them and their business for the future. It brings experimentation, stability and focus to a business owner’s life. I will run the programme again in 2025 but for now we are doing a series of ‘Self Seeding your Business’ workshops every month here for members. Looking forward to it all…
I'm in awe how you show up and give you generously when you have so much going on in your world. I hope we can be there for you as you have been there for us.
Wishing you a lot of strength, clarity and comfort at this time. xx
Wishing you all the best, Claire. This too, shall pass. Your newsletter is inspirational and I'm so glad you're dropping another anchor here!