Jobs and work and money… Oh my!

Hello, curious soul ~

Are you putting pressure on yourself to make money or to work in a particular way?

This year marks a big year for changing my money beliefs.

I started in on money work intentionally once a girlfriend in 2020 told me I likely qualify for PUA — pandemic unemployment assistance.

That was my first time receiving unemployment, and it held powerful lessons for me.

Not only was there a sense of being supported (rather than fiercely having to do whatever it takes to solve this myself) but there were also deep shifts in filling out the same form week after week. Answering the same questions and truly asking myself those questions — had I done everything to look for work?

Inquiry has power if we lean into it and truly look in the mirror as we answer and ask – is that true? a lá Byron Katie

And so my personal journey started evolving of looking at what I was willing to do for work and money.

In the last two years I've cleaned hotel rooms, gotten certified as a life coach and coached private clients, captured dynamic people in photo shoots, read Tarot privately, at zoom parties and at psychic fairs, sold Moon Calendars and supported other coaches in their businesses.

I can reflect on all this because I keep a running list of money coming in and where it comes from. Any money that comes to me goes on that sexy spreadsheet. This helps shift my emphasis from focusing on expenses by putting focus on tracking what I want more of.

Yep, I must confess it's taken a pandemic and unemployment support to rewrite my money story and change my income for the better.

Being in a challenging situation has helped me get over all the dregs from 2008.

Part of it is humbleness like I had in my 20s… back then I would do anything to make money to pay off my student loans. I trusted that everything added to my experience and work/life portfolio one way or another.

As I got older, I unconsciously started having some rules about how and where I made money or what kind of work was valid.

This pandemic has helped shift that. I feel scrappy again — willing to do what it takes to rise up and reach those experiences in life I want to have.

What if it's “just a job”?

In conversations with several girlfriends, one thing keeps coming up around having a job, like there's shame in it. Like a job equals defeat for an artist or entrepreneur.

But what if it's not “a job,” but work? A path to what you're wanting? A strategy, opportunity or way to achieve a larger vision?

All of my entrepreneurial and artistic pursuits have roots in jobs. That's where they were born. The jobs gave me freedom and structure to explore creatively. They removed the pressure that a passion project had to make money.

There's no shame in work, jobs or making money (and just to throw it out there, there's also no shame in being given money).

I look inside myself and validate my own values, priorities and choices. This keeps my head held high. I trust myself in these decisions I'm making – which loosens the soil so other things can grow if they so desire.

When my coach recently asked me about my money goals and money beliefs, she further asked: do you have any limitations about how you need to make money?

Yes – there it was, staring me in the face. I required myself to make money from specific channels and products.

She asked: what would be different if you just worked on the money and let go of the How?

I tell you what happened — the money goal I've been working on for two years clicked into place in three weeks.

Just like that.

I change my mindset. Opened up to possibilities by putting out my antenna to receive opportunities. I talked to people. Thought. Wrote. Hired a career coach to help make sense of my entrepreneurial skillset.

In the willingness to look at all the ways I'd narrowed my possibilities by burdening my desires with unnecessary specifics, I got brave enough to open up to possibilities.

Instead of trying to control exactly what the making money looked like, I worked on how I want to feel. Energized, engaged, useful, challenged, a conduit to transformation.

Turns out I've felt that way in all my work lives from retail to jewelry and graphic designer. The specific work itself doesn't matter as much as the values.

Focusing on values blows open possibilities and manifestation.

Don't be afraid to see yourself anew. To redefine what you do and why and how you do it.

If you're interested in this type of process, let me know. It's so fun to see all the golden threads of possibility around without the burdensome judgmental thoughts.

Here's to removing blocks and opening to opportunities in new ways in 2022!

Stay curious,

Kat