The entrepreneurial orgasm and creating from JOY
Morning Carousellers,
When I was 9 I remember writing in my school report that my favourite thing was coming up with my own ideas.
Today I’m celebrating the ideas that I have birthed into the world.
😂A one-off gig where I shared my comedy songs in public…
…turned into Rye Laughs - a monthly new material night running for 7 years with headliners such as Tom Allen, James Acaster and Phil Wang.
🎵A ukulele jam in my office in Vienna…
…turned into my business Power of Uke - running Leadership + Creativity workshops with 1000s of people, creating a methodology and training up a team of FaSILLYtators to work on Google Design Sprints and PwC Leadership retreats.
🌳A Sunday chat with a friend about how we could get people doing more creative writing…
…turned into Creative Retreats UK - four sold out retreats in a farmhouse in East Sussex and a buzzing community of people reconnecting with their creativity at London meet ups over two years.
🎤Harmonising with friends in a bar one night…
… led to Day of Musical Joy - regular singing meet-ups indoors and in the woods, many new medleys written, and a whole team of us getting paid to run singing workshops at Camp Wildfire this summer.
🌕A Whatsapp group created after 4 of us did a moon ceremony around the kitchen table…
…turned into the CoMOONity - a 80+ strong group of moon-lovers all over the world who gather in ceremony most new and full moon.
🤳🏿A text message to my friend saying I wasn’t sure whether my desire to quit a course was from disinterest or discomfort…
… turned into the Quitting Quadrant ®model, which has been part of a keynote for Google Execs and featured in Stylish and Refinery29.
What I’m noticing about all these ventures is that they started with the same thing:
They all started with EXCITEMENT, FLOW, JOY and EASE.
They didn’t start with the end goal.
I wasn’t trying to set up a venture or be strategic.
I never planned to run a Retreats business, or write a Ukulele Leadership Methodology, or run a comedy night….
But these are what materialised because I followed the fun.
People often comment on how many things I do, or how many projects I’ve started. But I wasn’t starting projects, I was following the fun and allowing that energy to keep going.
In all of the situations above…
There was genuine excitement - which brought a lot of energy
I was honouring my values of Joy, Connection and Creativity - so there was an alignment and aliveness
I was unattached to the outcome beyond the initial gathering or invitation, which allowed me to just be in the moment
It involved people I knew and my existing networks - so there was familiarity and trust
I didn’t overthink it, or let perfectionism get in the way - I just started
I’m not saying that there hasn’t been planning or intention along the way. There have been countless hours that have gone into organising events, projecting budgets, reaching out to possible collaborators, pitching to businesses, visioning, marketing, accounting. Of course that side of things needs to come in to sustain any good idea.
But the INITIAL genesis was one of pure JOY.
It was its life force.
If you speak to any fulfilled business owner, I bet you their idea came from something unexpected and unplanned:
The musical festival Leefest started with a small garden party when his parents said he couldn’t have a house party.
AirBnB started from people putting air beds in apartments when there was a massive conference and all the hotels were booked up.
Wordle started from the designer wanting to make a game for his girlfriend.
Project Awesome started with Danny Bent going for a run with a couple of friends.
So often we’re looking for ideas to be conceived from our thinking brain, but we need to allow the entrepreneurial orgasm to take place!
And, of course not everything we create from joy has to turn into something bigger. There are many things I’ve done over the years that didn’t turn into more…
But if we do want something to continue, it helps that the initial buzz feels exciting and energising.
It helps that we feel topped up by running it, or creating it.
It helps that we have a lot of fun doing it, regardless of what happens next.
How would it be to put things into the world unattached to the longer term impact, the financial gain, the numbers and stats and focus on ‘what impact does this have on me and the people around me RIGHT NOW?’
And crucially as the person creating it, is it bringing you joy to plant the initial seed? Or is it already feeling like a slog?
What would it be like to start from there? To really allow yourself to create from joy...?
I'd love to hear examples of YOUR unexpected projects that have come from pure joy.
WORK WITH ME
📞If you would like to start creating more from joy and would like to work with me as your coach, you can book in a discovery call here.
🎸To book a workshop for your company on well-being, creativity, growth Mindset or quitting check out my business page here.
💃🏻WHAT I'VE BEEN CREATING FROM JOY
🌊At the start of January I went to the sea and downloaded an entire medicine song. I had so much fun recording! Such flow.
📰IN THE PRESS
My Quitting Quadrant ® model was featured in Refinery 29 this month thanks to an article by Coach and Entrepreneur Janice Johnson.
Check out my model here to reflect on which of your projects are feeling in flow, and which ones are more in resentment...
📰FROM THE ARCHIVES
It's almost Tax Return deadline. Here's my comedy song about avoiding that dreadful admin task...
🎠WHAT'S ON MY CAROUSEL...
Finishing my training as a Co-Active coach - Planning a singing retreat in Devon this Spring with a friend (more on that v.soon!) and finalising my Quitting podcast💪🏾 - I've had a short-lived return to teaching in the classroom, which has been hard, but has been reminding me so much about what I need to thrive in my work. (More on that another time...)
Big hug to you all, and wishing you a gorgeous Monday
Sarah x