Create a NEW STORY

Since returning to the Cornwall Region in 2000, I have had the good fortune to coach and work with many of Cornwall’s local artists. It is work I truly love as it gives me the opportunity to play with those extraordinary creative souls who bring beauty to places and spaces. What and who would we be without the influence of art in our lives?

One of the reasons that I choose to coach in this arena is that artists, while creative, often do not see the value they bring to society. As a result they tend to underplay their gifts. While there is no doubt that being an artist, and more importantly making a living at being an artist, can be trying, it is essential that the artist believes in him or herself first.

Too often I have heard the following flowing from and artist’s lips – “I am just a poor starving artist”. I recoil at the words and wonder why one would even put that out into the world. Step back for a moment and listen again to the words – I am a poor starving artist. While the phrase may simply be meant as a statement of affairs, or perhaps to garner sympathy for one’s plight as an artist, I am compelled to ask, “Really?”

Yes, really. Now artists are not the only group guilty of this ‘sin’, that of undermining their worth. I have heard the same words uttered from the many folks I know who work with energy and healing therapies. For whatever reason, there seems to be a belief within both communities that the gifts they have to offer are either not valued or not worth being paid for. And this is a LIMITING BELIEF!

Limiting beliefs are those things you tell yourself that have no basis in fact. They do come from the collective, that is ‘they’, whomever they are, have been saying this over and over to everyone they know until it simply becomes an accepted fact that you can’t make money being an artist or a healer. It moves into your psyche and whenever you approach financial success the little voice in your head rears its head and repeats the mantra, “I am a poor starving artist”.

It’s a vicious cycle!

As I stated above however, we all have our story, that is, our own set of limiting beliefs which usually go something like, “you can’t do that—– because….. You can fill in the blank. If you listen in, you will hear the story and even though you may not believe it anymore, it still pops up. You recognize that when it does it steals your breath. You see your mother’s finger pointing at you or an old teacher scolding you. The old stories you see come from your choir, the team of critics who have lined up over the years to keep YOU in your place. Guess what? They are out of date and it is time to write a new story.

What will your story be? Last week, I spent 2 hours with one of my coaches, a remarkable man named John Heney. He uses a very interesting technique for getting us out of our old story and into a new one. This is how it goes –

Ladies and Gentlemen,
on behalf of all starving artists and healers in the world,
watch me ROCK!
Watch me walk the path of success and financial abundance!

This action is done full throttle, arms flung wide open, face turned skyward, as you embrace what it is YOU really want. The truth is YOU don’t want to be a starving artist or whatever you old story is, you want something different, larger, beneficial to you and your future. You are tired of living small and the way your choir instructed you. You want to live large, and to live the life where you really are a true expression of who you are. Don’t YOU?

Here is the reality – YOU get to choose your story. You can live the one you were given or you can write a new script. Of course to write that new script, you must know what YOU want and what YOU want to attract to your life. Then you must step into it, as if it is already happening and be in the belief that your new story has arrived. When the Old Story creeps back into your space, and it will, smile and simply say, ‘you are out of date’.

Begin today – write your New Story! No more hesitating – time’s a wastin’!

Abundantly Yours,

Betty