Ep #135: Make Summer 2021 a Season of Change

“And so, with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer,” F. Scott Fitzgerald, from The Great Gatsby.

I do so love that energy, that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. And in particular, this summer, 2021. With any summer, it feels like there is the energy of change and growth and possibility. And I’ve been having so many conversations with people about how we are sensing that this summer, that’s true more than ever.

So, what I want to share with you today is an opportunity for this summer to be the best one yet, for this summer to be inspired and even transformational. And just like your favorite pair of sunglasses or a good sundress, this information is also timeless and classic. So, no matter what time of the year you find yourself in, you can use what I share with you today to create your best season yet.

You are listening to The Art School Podcast; a show for artists and creatives who want to become the next greatest version of themselves. Learn how to cultivate an extraordinary way of being and take the mystery out of making money, and the struggle out of making art. Here is your host, master certified life coach, artist, and former lawyer, Leah Badertscher.

Hello everyone and welcome, everyone to another episode of The Art School Podcast. My friends, I am so happy summer is here. It is early June 2021 when I am recording this and as I mentioned in the intro, summer always seems like this opportunity to begin again.

And also as I mentioned, I have been feeling – and I have been having conversations with other people who are sensing something similar – that there is a lot of change available. There’s a lot of change that’s going to happen regardless, and I think too a lot of energy of change, that if we align with how we desire for that to look intentionally.

As I was talking with Nikki the other day, my right-hand woman rockstar, head of team at the Art School, I said, “It feels to me like the gulf stream current. Like if you’re a fish swimming along, you can swim along at your own pace. And then if you just scoot yourself over and line up with that gulf stream, whoosh, you could be carried along, like really accelerate and slip into an energy of something greater that can happen.” That’s what I’m feeling, y’all.

So, I was excited to put together this workshop because I wanted to offer something fresh and inspired. Because as we know, if you are just doing the work and going through the motions, nothing really changes.

And I’m craving and creating some pretty big changes myself, and some pretty big experiences that I’m excited about, including next week I mentioned I’m going to Mexico. I can’t remember if I mentioned on this podcast why I’m going. But I’m going to a week-long Joe Dispenza immersion. Super excited. So excited.

And so, this podcast and the next, I’m recording for you before I head out because when I go there, I’m completely checking out for the week just so I can be immersed in that experience and then bring that all back for all of you, all the downloads, all the fresh energy, all the learnings, all the shifts. Have I mentioned that I’m excited? I’m so excited about that.

Also recently, I offered this workshop, Your Best Summer Yet. I’ve offered a similar workshop before on creating peak experiences and applying that to certain seasons in life. And this one is a little bit different.

So, I’ll share with you what I shared with my community. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having some irresistible cravings these past few months; cravings for change, adventure, new daring opportunities as well as hours on the porch with a juicy novel, super-hot sweaty runs, swims in the lake, particularly if they can be night swims, naps in the hammock, cut flower gardens that are a riot of color, dinner parties outside with friends, friends in real life again that last long after the stars come out, kids chasing fireflies and playing ghost in the graveyard.

I have a craving for enjoying and lingering over the simple pleasures of summer with family and friends. And also for adventuring and exploring new vistas, both in my work and in the world. Hello Mexico, I’m craving long quiet hours with new paintings and a new writing project. I’m craving the opportunity to tap into the kind of summer inspiration that makes the creative work part of the process feel so effortless, joyful, and satisfying.

I’m craving creating memories for a lifetime and also planting seeds that will take root in the energy of this summer magic and will continue to bear fruit for seasons to come.

Given all of this, I’m also craving the joy and rootedness that comes from carving out time to be intentional about the season that is approaching. And so, with this, I offered my community – and I now want to share with you – a free workshop I did on creating your best summer yet, or your best summer ever.

And not only did I want this to be fun and fresh. I also think the ability to do this is one of those fundamental skillsets that every capital C Creative can have. And I want you to know that you can have it, that you have this power within you to continually be creating the time of your life and that it is about enjoying your life and the full experience of it. And it also nourishes your creative soul. And that flows over into every area of your life, including your creative work, your creative projects, and including your finances.

So, I know for sure there’s a direct correlation between me living a life that is joyful and fun, where I feel like I’m really living and not just going through the motions and not just working, and that there’s a direct correlation between that and then my performance in business and also my bottom line. Not to mention the inspiration that I have to write, to create podcasts, to paint paintings.

So, what I’m offering with this free workshop and what I wanted to offer to my community is the opportunity to create the kind of season that not only satisfies your summer cravings, but also deeply restores and nourishes you so that you’re strong, vibrant, and at your overflowing best, effortless creativity just flowing from you for the rest of the year. So, setting yourself up for a wonderful summer and then also that sets you up for success and for restoration and vibrancy and vitality and health and creativity for the entire rest of the year.

I did this practice first the summer when my husband had to have emergency surgery to prevent blindness in one eye and then had to be face-down 22 hours a day for weeks as part of the recover process. And we didn’t even know if it would work.

So, that was a scary and challenging circumstance. And at that time – it was a few years ago so my three young children were even younger. And so, they were at home and I was down an adult, a parent. And I was also still running my business, still making art. And we did, that summer, have the most amazing, precious, cherished summer, not only in spite of that, but I found that the real power was saying, you know, because of this too. Because of this too, this is going to be a profound, a transformational summer, one of the best summers yet.

And from the bottom of my heart, it was. It was full of challenges and it was full of gifts and learning and also – and this is not a coincidence at all – this was also the summer when, in August, I had my first 50K month.

So, this approach really lent itself to cherished family time, enriched creative time, to us growing as a couple and as a family and to me growing as a businesswoman and an artist. And it also led to a financial breakthrough for me in my business.

So, what I want to share with you is a fun, joyful, powerful practice for setting powerful intentions, aligning with them, and also cultivating the kind of deep-rooted inner calm and strength that will help you weather any summer storms and also make the most of the best that this season has to offer.

So, what I’m going to do, because this is a longer workshop, I am going to make tis available through the show notes on my website, www.leahcb.com, go to the podcast, you’ll see the link in the show notes for this episode. It’s absolutely free. You can enter your email address. You’ll receive the replay and then, if you want to unsubscribe, that is 100% okay. This is my summer gift to you. And I do think, as I say in this particular workshop at the beginning, with anything I do, in my heart, in my mind, my intention is that a transformation is possible.

And sometimes, that seems like such a heavy loaded word and we can get really serious about it. And what I want to share is that some of my most profound work and transformations have come through embracing joy no matter what and joy because of and deepening my ability to appreciate all the moments, and joy with a heavy flavor of fun and a heavy flavor of humor.

And I mention that because here is what can happen when you undertake something that seems just inspirational, and we think then it’s fluffy. And it’s not because if you are audacious enough to claim the creative power to create something like the best summer yet and on your terms, whatever has stopped you subconsciously in the past from being so audacious, from being so powerful, it will come up. And that’s a good thing.

And here’s your mantra for that. This too must be part of my best summer then. A master, a master artist, a master creative uses all of life, knows that all of life is their curriculum and their material. And you as the artist, you as a capital C Creative are going to use all of the material that the universe brings your way and you are going to shape that and shape yourself into having a transformational summer, the best summer yet.

So, I even did this recently, again, experienced this, of saying, “We are going to have the best summer yet.” And sure enough, all of my stuff came to the surface. It looked like everybody else’s stuff came to the surface. But it was only my things coming to the surface in the mirror of other people, in the mirror of, “Oh, Leah, here are your lessons for where your work is, and who do you need to be, what do you need to believe, what do you need to think? What would you have to think, feel, believe, know to be true in order to know that whatever this is that’s coming up is absolutely available to you to use as part of creating your best summer ever?”

Including – and I kid you not, this is how quickly things move when you set a powerful intention. I did this workshop, was on top of the world because comments were amazing and I had so many messages afterwards about, “That was the best workshop ever. Thank you so much.” My heart was full. I was like, “Yeah, knocked it out of the park. That felt amazing.” And I was going to have this great family conversation tonight, continuing our summer bucket list conversation. And I’m going to tell them everything that I told my clients.

And then, what do you know but my children come home and they are n one of those after-school – it was a super-hot day and they were hungry and had epic bad days, as school children sometimes do. And they were just a mess, melting down, fighting, bickering nonstop when they came home. And it felt initially like a complete blow to my ego.

And I’m like, “Okay, no, this too, Leah, this is part of how you are going to lead the best summer ever.” So I took some time. I actually took a day because the whole mood thing, they were not having any part of my life coaching hoo-rah-rah. And that’s the beauty of life.

Long story short, I did use this. I did use this and I also share the abridged story so that you don’t think, if things come up for you, that you’re doing it wrong, so that you know, “Oh my gosh, things come up for me too.” I had to give myself a few timeouts; a timeout in the bathroom. And then, when I could, I went for a long walk to be like, “Okay, who do I want to be through this? What do I know? What do I teach? How can I see this differently?” bring my emotions back to a neutral place, ask myself, what must I be thinking and believing right now to feel like, “There’s no way I can have a great summer with everyone acting like this.”

So, that’s just one example. A few other things came up too and that same line of questioning that I’ve just shared with you here. It will serve you. So, just know that if you are going to be creative-badass enough to declare, “Oh man, it’s on. Game on. Did I come to play? Or did I come to play? I’m going to create the best summer ever, not only no matter what, but because of things that come my way. Bring it on.”

That was the attitude I took that summer of Brad’s near-blindness and all of the adversity and craziness that ensued from there. And that’s what’s available for you as well. And I really think that’s why, especially with fun and inspired conversations like this and workshops and exercises like this, it is part of creating the arc of a life, an entire life that is well-lived and where you’re awake to it and you’re not reactive but you’re participating and you’re alive, you’re not forcing, you’re not pretending. But moment-to-moment, you’re awake and you’re cocreating.

And that is available to all of you. The best summer, the best season yet is always available to all of you. So, I hope you go to my website, download the workshop. It’s like you get an extra podcast. This is like two for one podcasts this week, while I’m out hanging out with Dr. Joe and 1000 other people in Cancun, which is absolutely part of me living my best life this summer. And I’ll have another podcast episode queued up for you ready to go while I’m away, and then I’ll be back on the other side and hopefully have lots of amazing stories to share with you.

So, enjoy this episode, enjoy the workshop. The entire workshop is a coach with me. There’s the content I teach and I give some space between questions so that you can write down answers. And then also, I open it up for questions and a huge shoutout to everyone who participated in that call because the questions were amazing. And what I talked about and conveyed through the coaching was entirely of the moment, unscripted, and the questions were so great and I have to say, I felt like the coaching was so great too.

So, the first half is content and the second half is some really amazing questions and coaching. So, you’ll want to stay around for the whole party because the momentum builds clear to the end of the call.

So, here’s the part of the podcast, coach with me friends, this is your assignment. Go to my website and download that workshop. Maybe even make it a party. Do it with a friend. Tag me on Instagram @leahcb1 or #theartschoolpodcast and let me know how you are creating your best summer yet.

Thank you for listening to another episode of The Art School Podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, if this podcast has been useful, inspiring, and meaningful to you, that means the world to me. And if you would like to pay it forward, if you want to be an active creator in this paradigm of thriving artists and be a part of that rising tide that lifts all ships, the best thing to do is to share, is to subscribe, and is to go to iTunes and leave a review.

And when you’re ready to take this work deeper, the Art School is open for enrolment. We are running the summer workshop series, which is included at no extra cost for those who are enrolled in the fall Art School 2021 You can visit our website, www.leahcb.com and click on the Art School for more information or to register.

Also, if you have any questions, you can schedule an exploratory call with our team by emailing support@leahcb.com with exploratory call in the subject line. This is not a sales call. No pressure whatsoever. We know that it’s important for you to have your questions answered and to know that this program is a good fit for your goals and your dreams and your personality, how you approach things, your creative process.

And from having done this work in the Art School now since 2018 and really having been in the coaching industry since 2009, I know what magic can happen in community and I know the dynamic of that community and the chemistry is so important. The energy is so important.

You can rest assured that the coaching is going to be top-notch world-class. And I also want for you to feel like this is it, this is your home, this is your place to be for that next level for you, whether that’s in your creative work or all of life.

I was just talking with a client this morning and I’ve worked with her for over a year now, and she said, “You know what? You are my soulmate coach. There is just a kinship there and you are the mentor. You are the coach.”

I know that experience with mentors, with colleagues, with programs, with coaches myself. I value that immensely, both as a participant in those programs and then as a facilitator and a leader and a mentor and coach. And I know that that is important to you too, that you are looking for someone who can see you, know you, get you, and help get you from where you are to where you want to be.

And so, oftentimes a conversation with a real-life person is a great way to feel that out. And that is available to you, again, not at all a sales call, just something we offer by emailing support@leahcb.com with exploratory call in the subject line and then we will take care of you from there.

Also, I have a waitlist for private clients. I work with only two private clients currently at a time and so if you would like to be added to that waitlist, if you are interested in private coaching, you can also email us, support@leahcb.com and we can send that information to you.

To close today, just an add-on invitation to up the ante for this summer. You can email us at support@leahcb.com with a letter from your August 31^st 2021 self about what you’re celebrating at the end of the summer, what you’ve experienced, whether it’s camping under the stars, whether it’s holding backyard barbeques, whether it is going to national parks, whether it is completing a manuscript, going to art fairs, sharing your work in new venues, reaching a new income goal, having the best summer yet with loved ones.

Email us from your future self, from your three-months-ahead August 31^st self at support@leahsb.com as a way of signaling to the universe and staking our claim, “I came to play. This is what I’m up for this summer. Bring it on.”

I hope you have a beautiful week, everyone, and that this is a beautiful start to your summer if you are in this hemisphere. To my friends down under and around the world, the best of your seasons to you as well and I will talk to you soon.