Natalie Jennings 0:00:00

Okay, part two. We talked last time about what magic looks like in business and we were kind of beginning to unfold that a little bit. But I really want to I want to just take a tiny step back and speak to the person who's listening that's like nothing good happens in my life. Like my business is not working for me. How do I find this magic stuff you speak of? Particularly folks that are first of all, possibly completely unfamiliar with just the idea of living in alignment or experiencing a magic life. But just what do you do when this all hits you for the first time and you're like, I want that, but I don't know what to do next?

Yeah, great question. I think part of it is just really getting honest with yourself is learning how to listen to yourself and truly letting yourself explore your deepest desires in a completely non judgmental free way.

I really like that. I think one of the spaces I went through specific to my photo business is in the early days, there's value in looking at what other folks are doing and trying to adapt that to your own style. We do that in all art forms, music, writing, whatever. But I think getting caught in that web of the likes and the popularity and like, oh, if I bring a couple up to the mountaintop that'll make me popular or that'll get a lot of likes when folks that know me really well know this, that would end my soul to have to hike up a mountain. Just like, I don't want to do that. I have no interest in doing that. But for a period of time, that seemed like one of the only things that was quote unquote popular. And so coming to that space where I was like, well, that's just not what I do. And that's not how I'm not saying that likes and popularity is the goal, but I think when we're just trying to figure out what our magic is, it can be overshadowed by all of this other stuff, like with social media and creative expression that isn't aligned.

Totally. Yeah. And I think that also maybe is related to that need to control, right? Or that it's like this idea of boxes, right? That this sort of box hiking up to the mountaintop, getting that great shot. That's the box that gets attention and likes and engagement. Right? So I have to put myself in that box where I'm going to try to control everything so that I follow this path and then get the outcome I want. Whereas what I have seen really be most successful in the long term anyway. Not that that is always the goal that we're going for is really just dropping into that space of authentic expression of really just again, it's like unleashing that truth magic. It's really just living in that vibration and frequency where we are lit up where we are in our most authentic and aligned state and that becomes contagious. It really reminds me of that Marianne Williamson quote, it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. It's a beautiful quote, but in that quote she says and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give permission to others for them to shine their light as well. And I think that is what creates that spark of resonance. It's like someone so deeply living in their truth magic that you can't ignore it.

It's just so contagious, it's just so vibrant.

Oh yeah.

Doesn't that just feel good?

It feels great. It feels great. Go ahead. I love it. Just something that dropped into my head was this idea of it's related to surrendering and relinquishing control, but this idea of stepping away from outcomes and really tapping into creative force like trust, trusting that if I feel like carving a caterpillar out of a wooden stump today, that somehow that is what I should be doing. It doesn't have to be a business, it doesn't have to have an answer. I don't need to be thinking about if people will like it or not or even if I'm going to share it with anybody. But it's like I really feel like putting this energy into this thing. Would you say that that's a helpful way of thinking about stepping into truth magic versus if we can detach ourselves from outcomes?

Definitely. Okay. Yes and no. Yes in the sense where give yourself some space and freedom and flexibility. Give yourself space to be joyful, to be playful, to experiment. Give yourself space to be for the sake of being and to really just exist, just exist in your greatest joy. Let that be the outcome that you're going for is just living a life of alignment and joy. And at the same time, especially in business, when you're really trying to build something of sustainable value, there is room to also integrate these business concepts. Like there is also room and it can be helpful to have benchmarks, to have goals that you want to strive for, to have little milestones that you can reach along the way to help you understand what does success look like. And I think maybe what's more important is not letting them go completely, but not being overly attached to how they to hitting those benchmarks, right? Or like what it looks like. Allow yourself to set these things for yourself and then look at your progress in a non judgmental way and be honest with yourself around, you know what, oh, I didn't hit this goal, but I had a really, really good time. So maybe this isn't the right goal. Maybe I just didn't think about it in the right way. Or it's showing me that this goal over here is actually way more like on a path of way more joy and ease for me.

So I'm going to shift gears so I think it's the non attachment.

Yeah, no, that's good because I do think there is space as well for goals and things, measurable outcomes on some level. How would you break down the idea of like I was just thinking as you were saying, how do I want to say this? Things come into our path. Kind of like my flat tire analogy. That can be great teachers or fortuitous like things because we're like, oh, this flat tire introduced me to my future spouse or whatever. At what point when you're operating from intuition, from alignment, from a truth magicky space, just really building on that word truth magicky, at what point when stuff starts to feel kind of poopy do you step off that path? And at what point do you have a gauge for like, okay, this might be teaching me something or like I need to let this go and move on from this?

Do you get what I'm totally yeah, and thanks for bringing that up because especially when we get into concepts like self development and doing the work and growth, there is this tendency to it's kind of called like toxic positivity. Or there's this tendency to just bypass all the poopy stuff and say like, no, this really shitty thing was meant for you and you should be joyful for it. And it's like actually we are humans with a full spectrum of emotion and sometimes life and sometimes business and sometimes things are just shitty. Sometimes it's just poop. And you know what? It's also okay. It's also okay to take time to cry. It's great to take time to just lay in your bed under the covers and put on the sad movie or listen to the sad music with a box of Kleenex next to you and do all the things. It's okay. Whatever you are moving through at whatever pace you're doing it, it's all valid and it's all okay. And I think again, it's that like checking in with yourself, right? It's like you are the best person to hold yourself accountable like you really are. And so to ask yourself, okay, is it still serving me to lay in bed and cry for the fourth day in a row? Maybe it is. Maybe it is and maybe it's not.

And then maybe you say, but you know what? I'm not sure. It doesn't feel like this is a space for me to be in right now and maybe I need a little help. Maybe I need to phone a friend. Maybe I need to reach out. Maybe I need to whatever it is. Or in business, right? Like working with a coach, finding a mentor, working with someone that you can bounce ideas off of. Sometimes we do hit roadblocks. Sometimes things are not going to go our way. I think there's also a level of resilience that needs to come in being an entrepreneur because the reality is we are all going to face those moments and times, we are all going to feel burnt out. At certain times, we are all going to feel like, what am I doing this for? We are all going to feel like, oh, did I pick the wrong thing? I'm going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. And these are normal experiences to have.

And so, again, part of it is checking in and being honest with ourselves, like, okay, hey, what am I feeling here? Where is this feeling coming from? Is this a temporary thing that I can move through? Or is this truly, truly not in resonance where I really need a big overhaul and then how can I find support and what tools do I have at my disposal to work through this?

Yeah, that's perfect. I think the idea of just checking in and being like, is this still serving me? And if there's a little energetic kind of catch there where you're like, well, I'm not quite ready to let it go, but still don't know the next step, it's okay just as long as you continue to check in.

Totally check in.

And I mean working with you. So you and I have worked together on branding stuff for the greenhouse and other things I'm working on with Photo Business Help. But I was in a true spot of exactly what you just described with having done this podcast for like a couple and a half years and having taught various iterations of what I teach and just kind of being like, I don't want to let this go, but it's not feeling aligned. But I couldn't do it myself. So I really encourage just finding a friend and having coffee or hiring a coach or just getting your ideas out in front of someone else because a lot of times it's just the tiniest shift. In my case, it was a little bit bigger. But it feels great to have that co creative kind of energy going into something too. At least if you're stuck totally and.

Recognize that we are evolutionary beings, change is pretty constant and it's also a beautiful signal of growth, right, of evolution. And so that's honestly why I shifted from really calling myself a brand coach or a marketing coach into Truth Embodiment Guide, because what I was doing with my clients over and over was like, okay, back up. What is your truth? Where are you in life right now? What is most alive for you? What is lighting you up and getting you out of bed? And how are we going to start infusing more of that energy into your business?

Yeah. And we've had those moments, especially when truth magic came out of my mouth and you were like, that is sticking around. I might even use that because it was just like, totally, you have those moments. And I think for me, when I used to tell people about the Photo Business Help profit plan, I would throw up in my mouth every time because it just sounded gross and it was an example of just perfect as the enemy have done. Get it out there. I'm certainly glad I did. And the content wasn't horrible, but it was just like, that is not me. I am not a jargony. I don't know, just even the words were language is so powerful. And so I think just shifting the language, but not necessarily like who I am and my approach to coaching has has shifted. It's like opened up a whole new stream of energy toward this endeavor or whatever. So I think just that can be so big for folks. If you catch yourself trying to copy folks and like, are you really doing what you want to do? Are you doing it because you think other people might like it or whatever and to sort of backtrack? I have nothing against photos on tops of mountains.

I think they're beautiful. I just don't want to do them. I really admire the books that do that well, and there are a lot of people that do that very well, but it's not for me. Thanks. I'll be at the bottom of the mountain with my coffee and my tarot cards, just waiting.

And we need people at every stage of the mountain, right? It's all beautiful, it's all lovely. And we need people stationed where it feels best for them.

That's such a great way to wrap this up. I want to ask you before we sign off, what is a piece of advice or a quote or some kind of thing that really helps you? It could be a mantra, it could be anything that you would like to share with folks that might brighten their day.

Yeah. I think in terms of a practice journaling has just been super powerful for me for doing those things we talked about, like getting honest with ourselves, really exploring our beliefs and our desires and our needs and really just letting that journal be the space where you are radically honest and you can ask yourself questions or you can even just stream consciousness. I believe there's a book called The Artist Way that talks about this idea of the morning pages where every morning you just allow yourself to just free write whatever is coming up for you and just see what kind of ends up pouring out of the pages. So whether it's the morning pages or another practice, I'm a huge proponent of that. And then let me just see if I can find it because I don't want to butcher it. But let me just read that full Marion Williamson quote. Yeah. And it is like, at this point, I feel like it's like the poster child of self help quotes. And some people, I think, are over it at this point. But honestly, I keep going back to it over and over and even as I evolve my own beliefs and I question, I've allowed myself to really go down the self development path and then have even backtracked on some of that being like, wait, is this really the toxic positivity thing? Right? Like, making sure that I'm really looking at all angles. Anyway, I still love this quote. That's what I'm trying to say.

I love it, too. So go for it.

Cool. Okay. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be? Brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. And that is living the magic life. That's not part of the quote. I added that. But that's what I call living the magic life.

I think that is an absolutely perfect and beautiful way to end this conversation. And I love that quote. So I think everyone should just keep reading that one. Totally. Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you so much. And where can folks find you if they want to connect?

Yeah, the most consistent place I would say to find me is on Instagram, chelsea Chung. So connect with me there. Don't be a stranger. Send me a message. Let's converse and get to know each other. And I share most of my offerings or other spaces to find me from that space.

Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you.