BRING IT ON.

Before I jump into my story of how three words helped me make $50K in four weeks, I wanted to let you know that The Art School starts next Tuesday, September 11 and there are (SO EXCITING!!!) only two spots left!  You can read more by clicking on the link above and by visiting www.leahcb.com/the-art-school.  But if this is calling your name, don’t hesitate. Hit reply to this email and reserve your spot before it’s gone!

Okay, now on with my story…

I had a pretty challenging start to this summer. I had the best laid plans, but, as we all know, life happens.  I had the best self-coaching at my disposal, but I was still mired deep in my stuff.

I thought the tide would turn once June began and we’d all have a bit more breathing room.  And then my husband came home at the end of May to tell me that he had to have emergency eye surgery within 24 hours – or else he’d go blind in his left eye – AND he was going to have to spend the next 4-6 weeks facedown, 22 hours a day, and be very careful not to move or strain his eye.  No lifting, no watching, no working.  Nothing but audio books and podcasts and laying on his stomach – did I mention that this was to be for 22 hours a day for 4-6 weeks?!

So much for that breather!  I was worried about him, and I was also down a parent with three young children home for the summer. I had had such big plans for a wonderful family summer balanced with continuing to coach my clients, write my books, and make my art, not to mention work on our garden and on our 1848 farmhouse (read: no end to the projects!) And then, all the sudden, it felt like all these plans were out the window and we were just in survival mode.

To tell you the truth, the first 48 hours, I was pretty much a hot mess, sobbing in my room after the kids went to bed (alone because Brad had to sleep on the porch, facedown, on a massage table).  I knew I had obligations to clients, a full schedule of kids’ activities, not to mention my art and anything fun I’d had planned for us as a family, and I didn’t know how I was going to handle it all, much less have the awesome, enjoyable summer I’d been anticipating all winter!

At some point I got up off the bed to clean my closet (because organizing usually helps me feel better).  As I was putting away jewelry I saw a necklace my mom once gave me at another rough spot in my life.  At the time she gave it to me, I had a tough pregnancy and delivery (and an early but healthy baby, thank God!), had a two year old, had a coaching business and my art, also managed to blow out my ACL, and then had a surgery that did not go well at all.  Mom came out to visit and brought this beautiful pearl necklace with a vintage medallion on the bottom that was from a women’s decathlon. She said she thought it was pretty fitting for the year I’d had and how I came through. In that instant, my story shifted. Instead of pitying myself (which I hadn’t realized the extent to which I was), I saw myself the way my mother was seeing me – with compassion – and I saw what she was seeing in me – strength, grace, and perseverance.

Clearly, my mom gave me so much more than a necklace. She gave me a beautiful and powerful reminder of who I am and who I want to be.

An athlete.

And a badass one at that!

Someone with the heart of a champion, who runs her race, and LOVES to run, full out, giving it all she’s got.

Even when it looks like she’s losing, she knows that even better than winning is knowing:

I am an athlete. 

I am strong.

Every time it looks like I’m down, like the odds are against me, I enjoy being the dark horse, I get back up even stronger.

So…

BRING. IT. ON.

Just seeing that necklace jolted me back to that place and I made BRING IT ON my mantra for the rest of the summer.

Mountains of laundry?

Bring it on.

Clients who’d signed contracts and then ghosted?

Bring it on.

Kids fighting?

Bring it on.

A list of to-do’s that is longer than the day?

Bring it on.

And now, here’s a little departure because one place where I used BRING IT ON that was a beautiful, unexpected miracle was in the department of asking and allowing myself to receive help and kindness and generosity from others.

Because we had SO MANY unbelievably generous, kind, thoughtful and utterly sincere offers to help.  Sometimes even aggressive offers to help, lol!  (You know who you are, friend that told me she was going to bust into my house and take over if I didn’t start accepting help! Love you!).

And to that I found a new meaning of BRING IT ON.

That it wasn’t always me taking on the world and giving it everything I’ve got, but it was me allowing the world to come to me, and give me everything it wants to give.

This was all bone deep, soul altering learning for me.

I thought I knew what, BRING IT ON meant, but I am glad to report, I had so much more to learn. I said YES and received all those offers. The lawn cut, the dinners brought, my lovely cousin being a God-send and living with us for 10 days, as well as friends who came over just to keep us company and sane. What could have been so hard at times became a comfort and, even, enjoyable and fun.

I will fast forward through much of the rest of our summer, but, long story short, this was truly one of the best summers of my life.

Part way through the summer, I kept thinking about some ideas I’d been having for awhile.  Coaching work I have long wanted to do.  Part of me was saying, “save it for later, you’ve got your hands full,”  and yet, another part was saying, “hey, life is for the living! BRING IT ON! You’ve got this! It’s time!”

And so I announced what had, to that point, been an idea.  An art school like I’d always wished I could find, an art school I dreamed of, where you would go in with your potential, your longings to create something new and wild and gorgeous in the world, and you would leave not only having created it, but you’d leave a better person for the experience. Stronger, more compassionate, wiser, more loving, and with the confidence and a set of meta-skills to use this special creative process to create new life from pure imagination, again and again and again.

I wanted to make this transformational experience I’d always wished to find, and make it available to others.  I wanted to create a process and experience that would be powerful, transformational and would really, truly WORK!  I knew what it felt like to have tried everything and to be on the verge of giving up on yourself because you’re so sick and tired of feeling like you’ve been burned by your own disappointment and by pouring time, money and energy into things that don’t work.  I wanted to do better than offer hope that they could, I wanted to offer A WAY out of being stuck, confused, overwhelmed and a A WAY into the most creative, productive, effective and rewarding way of being that people can do better than just learn about – they can adopt and become!

So what I announced, in other words, was The Art School.

This was towards the end of July.  At that time I had no students, no logo, no marketing material, no website, no platform, nothing but the dream and my decision to make it happen and those three words:

BRING IT ON.

Any time doubt came up, any time there were crickets whenever I shared information or contacted people to let them know what I was doing and ask if they were interested… BRING IT ON.  I decided I would make this happen and that is the reality I choose.  Doubt and fear can just stand by and watch me work, watch me run my race and make this happen.

I had some huge technology crashes, I had just a trickle of interest for awhile. I got the flu, I had a full plate of kids activities and kids still home on summer break.  BRING IT ON.  I can enjoy being a mom and still make this happen.

And then, external reality started to catch up to my believing hard. As things have turned out, I have almost sold out the program.  Something, too, magical seem to shift and happen in this process as my private practice also went gangbusters and I closed a few big contracts and signed on for a few really exciting opportunities.  I went from having no new sales prospects and a brand new program with no one in it, to having just two spots left AND making $50K in four weeks AND while truly having a family summer that will go down in my heart as one of the best ever.

BRING IT ON.

I hope if you try it (and I recommend using it in HUGE doses along with the practice of BELIEVING HARD), you’ll write and let me know the magic you find yourself co-creating.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Love,

Leah

P.S.  If you want to eradicate, forever, any shred of any excuse in your mind that is telling you to hold back or that you can’t or shouldn’t follow your dreams or live life your way or that it doesn’t matter or that you should be ashamed or that you should wait….watch this video and take in Claire:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD_Fr3VAsYM

She teaches as much by energy and example as with words, although a sentence of hers that I have hung up in my heart and given a permanent home goes something like this:

“Dying is inevitable for all of us, but whether or not we get to live a life we love and are proud of, that is up to us.”

Claire brought it.  All.

I hope you do, too.

You deserve it.  All. <3