Kate Courageous & I took on some big questions in our interview a few weeks ago, and I’m so excited to share them with you today. I love having these deep talks with you, too. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
This final part of our interview focuses on implementation. It’s one thing to talk about authenticity, shifting insecurity, and practicing courage, but fully another to show up and do it. So I asked Kate:
What are some real-life, everyday tools or practices that creative entrepreneurs can use to practice courage? I’m talking smallest possible action–manageable, quick, and easy to implement.
Here’s what she said:
Kate, on Tools for Practicing Courage
- Create stillness, daily. Make space for yourself to just be. How you do this is completely yours to own. If you’re into learning meditation in a way that actually works and is amazingly transformational, check out Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project. Seriously. I started it a few weeks ago–who knew that 10 minutes of my morning could so radically alter the whole rest of the day? And, really…my life?
- Find a guiding question. I really thought about this at length after our talk. While the deep, introspective self work is really important, the simplicity of the guiding question really makes it a tool. You can constantly check in with yourself and gauge your actions/thoughts against it. It can provide a quick perspective shift when you can feel the day going to hell. You are fully in control of your own life–proactive, instead of reactive. Kate’s guiding question is: “Is this really living?” I think mine might be: “Do I want more of this?” Way too often lately I find myself going through the motions instead of really doing exactly what I want to do. And I don’t always check in with the negative feelings there, OR the positive ones I experience when I’m riding the crest of an awesome creative flow, or eating a lovingly prepared meal, or running on a trail on one of the crisp, sunny fall days we’re having here on the East Coast. It’s almost a little Pavlovian, but if I really soaked in those good feelings I bet I’d create more of them.
So, over to you:
Do you use a stillness practice as a daily discipline? What is it?
What is your guiding question?
What tips & tools do you use as a courageous indiepreneur?
This was such a lovely conversation, and I’m so grateful to Kate (and to you) for making these such enlightening, food-for-thought conversations. Kate’s newsletter is jam-packed with great information and practices–it’s one of the few I not only subscribe to & read, but continually forward along to friends. Make sure you sign up, and get in touch with her on Twitter & FB.
Kate Swoboda is a Life Coach, speaker and writer who helps clients to lead unconventional and revolutionary lives through practicing courage. She’s the author of The Courageous Living Guide, and creator of the Courageous Play and Create Stillness retreats–as well as The Coaching Blueprint, a resource just for Life Coaches. When she’s not writing, coaching, or leading retreats in Italy and San Francisco, she can be found sipping chai in libraries, buffing up on her Italian, training for her next road race, or getting all bendy-stretchy on the yoga mat. Learn more at http://www.yourcourageouslife.com , sign up for her free newsletter, or follow her on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/katecourageous or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/YourCourageousLife.
Related posts:
An awesome interview with Kate Courageous: Part One
