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Next year can be different

Posted on 2018-11-15 at 9:58 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

“I want 2019 to be different.

Less stuff, more soul.

Less hustle, more ease.

Less chaos, more calm.

Less complexity, more clarity.

Less bravado, more truth.

Less resistance, more resilience.

Less control, more surrender.

Less head, more heart.

More time for me. More time for creativity.

More time for life.”

Sound familiar? We’ll show you the way.

For almost a decade we have been designing courses and workshops and writing books that transform lives. We have helped tens of thousands of people to follow their hearts, and live a fuller, more authentic and inspired life doing what they love. Every single one of those resources is based on extensive research and testing, personal experience and a deep understanding of the field.

We never promise it will be easy. We don’t sugarcoat the reality of making different choices. But we know the rewards and understand the challenges better than most. And we really, really want you to fulfil your potential, find a rhythm and lifestyle that works for you, and appreciate the beauty of your wild and precious life.

Once a year we have a huge sale on all our courses, to make them even more accessible and help you plan for the year ahead. This is that sale, and it is your chance to invite a different kind of future. You can get 40% off our powerful, life-changing courses or save a huge 50% off if you invest in one of our multi-course bundles: The Perfectly Imperfect Life Bundle / The Time For A Career Change Bundle / The Set Me Free Bundle.

Sale ends Monday November 26, 2018. This might be the most important investment you ever make. We are honoured to be your guides.

Beth + Paul

Founders, Do What You Love

On getting lost and finding purpose

Posted on 2018-08-15 at 4:46 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

What happens when you chase financial success, achieve it and then realise that things don’t feel quite as good as you thought they would? My guest on the Freedom Seeker Chronicles podcast this week, Brandon Evans, is the CEO and co-founder of 1Heart, a conscious start-up studio who found out the answer the hard way. Brandon previously built two $100 million companies, but after achieving financial success, he woke up one day lost and began a spiritual journey which he chronicled in his first Medium article entitled, ‘Lost on purpose’. That went instantly viral and he has since founded 1Heart with his best friend, with the goal of helping entrepreneurs to find their path and build conscious companies.

I talked to Brandon about finding real meaning, and keeping it real.

LISTEN HERE

Key Moments:

[3m 00s] What Brandon has learned about how to find yourself

[5m 30s] How one particular blog post changed everything for Brandon

[9m 25s] Brandon shares the major turning point in his

[14m 15s] How his experience changed his relationships

[15m 43s] Brandon’s message to his younger, overworked self

[20m 59s] How Brandon’s start up studio is supporting other entrepreneurs

[23m 55s] The mistakes Brandon sees start ups make over and over

[25m 45s] On working with your best friend

[29m 30s] What freedom means to Brandon these days

What do you want to be grateful for, years from now?

Posted on 2018-08-13 at 11:41 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Greetings from a cosy rainy England – such a difference from just a week ago. Right now my mum is building a theatre with our two little ones, and Mr K and I are in a café reviewing our numbers. We do this regularly, checking in on where we are, what’s going well, what has fallen behind, what we want to change, what we want to celebrate. And we each get to do this with one of our favourite people in the world. I am so grateful for the many varied opportunities entrepreneurship has brought to my door, but mostly I am grateful that we get to dream, plan and bring it to life together.

I’ll let you into a little secret. Back in the beginning, when I first started my business, every time Mr K came home from work (he was an civil engineer back then), we would do a high five for every course that had been sold that day. One day, soon after launching our first e-course there were a couple of high fives, a few more the next day, one the next, a couple the next and so on. It became a small but important reminder that it was working – this idea to do something different, and support others wanting to do something different, was working. I’ll never forget the first time we sold over 100 courses in a day, and our hands hurt from all the high fives, and our faces hurt from the grinning. It wasn’t about the money, it was about the freedom. I had created something from nothing, and it was helping people. That still blows my mind today, eight years on.

A couple of years after that day, the business was flourishing well enough for Mr K to quit his job completely and come on board. He started the first Monday after our honeymoon. It took a while for us to find our working rhythm, figuring out how best to use his skills, for me to let go of the need to do everything myself, and for him to get used to a very different way of working. But here we are, more than five years on, and he is absolutely crucial to the success of our business. He also gets paid a lot more than before, to work a lot fewer hours and spend large amounts of precious time with our daughters. We are building a life and future for our family, not just growing a business.

I am thinking about all this because tomorrow sees the start of our brand new online course, co-taught with my Make Art That Sells (MATS) co-founder Lilla Rogers. For the first time ever we are sharing all we have learned about money – in the context of business and life – in an intense and fun three week crash course, MATS MBA (Money BadAss). I love the title of the course because it is so Lilla – she has a brilliant attitude to business, while being both nurturing and fun, and a total badass. We combine strategy, practical guidance, advice on dealing with money stories and of course some woo, to bring you what I think will soon become one of our favourite courses. With daily video lessons, weekly live teaching and an amazing Playbook that provides a Game Plan for your business over the next twelve months. Class has just started but you can still squeeze in here.

Even if you don’t have a business, this week I want to challenge you to answer this question: What do you want to be grateful for having done NOW, in a few years’ time? I’d love to know your answer – come and share over on Instagram @bethkempton.

Have a great week

Beth Xx

Why Every Parent Needs More Headspace

Posted on 2018-07-18 at 9:03 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

by guest writer Alison Qualter-Berna

The mother of a 6-month-old baby rushes to the kitchen as soon as her daughter falls asleep so she can mash organic avocado into the BPA free glass bowl she just bought. You know the kind; the one promising to seal in nutrients. As her breastmilk seems to be dwindling with each passing day, making her feel insecure and insufficient, she feels she has to provide supplemental nutrition where she can. She stops briefly to read 4 lines of an article about what she’s “supposed” to do when, alas, naptime is over and it’s back to parenthood. As she picks up her bundle of magic, she realizes she’s yet to brush her teeth.

The father of a 6-year-old child rushes home from the office to do “homework” with his first grader wondering if all little boys swing from the headboard while they are reading. The human brain can absorb vocabulary while upside down, can’t it? Is he the only one who doesn’t read chapter books yet? Is the dad the only father trying to squeeze the love of an entire afternoon into a few precious, tired hours before bed?

The mother of a 16-year-old teenager watches her daughter walk out of the house to go to a birthday party wearing a half shirt. Is it okay or if she suggests something with more coverage or does it means she’s sexualizing what is simply a fashion trend? She swallows her inner disapproval with a smile that says ‘I love you no matter what,’ only to receive a comment about how much homework is on deck for the next day…that of course after the ride to soccer and then the drive to lacrosse in another state. Her overscheduled brain will still figure out how her daughter will fit piano and cello practice in before the big recital. “Oh, and I forgot…Mom, can you set your alarm for 6am? I need you to quiz me in science”

Every phase of parenthood is both blissfully fulfilling and (if you’re all in) utterly exhausting. You love and you love, and you give and you give, but some days you wonder where did I go? Is there a pause button I can press in the struggle to find myself?

Enter meditation.

Meditation carries the answers to so many issues facing parents and yet many of us are too busy to slow down, let alone sit in silence for 10 or 15 minutes. There are lots of ways to get started and workshops to explore but the simplest way is right in your back pocket on your smartphone. My absolutely favorite app is called Headspace. Headspace is ideal for new meditators or for busy parents because it’s an app that makes it all accessible. You don’t have to sit cross-legged. You don’t have to practice yoga. You don’t have to be versed in Buddhist philosophy. You just have to commit to taking 10 minutes for yourself, every single day.

Headspace’s incredibly varied theme packs range from managing anxiety or stress, to finding productivity or happiness. Whether you are looking to be more productive in your days or heal childhood wounds, meditation has a (different) answer for each one of us. I have many friends who seem to crave meditation but ask me how I can possibly fit it into my hour-to-hour, frenetic work days. I invite them to simply try Andy’s soothing and knowledgeable voice on Headspace for just 10 minutes a day for 10 days and then check back with me. Every single time I hear about the positive change it makes…and in such a short window of time.

Meditation offers a safe space for each of us to start a conversation with ourselves, however afraid we might be to have it. What parent doesn’t long for the time to explore the musings in the mind and simply observe them, without judgement? Meditation can be exactly that “pause button” we crave as busy parents.

In that pause, we can learn many lessons that support not only our parenting journey but all of our relationships.

Meditation teaches us about letting go. Meditation helps us internalize letting go which may be the most difficult task of a loving parent: letting your infant sleep on their own, letting your toddler explore their boundaries, letting your young child lose or fail, letting your teenager individuate, letting your young adult enter the great big world. Meditation is a practice that supports our efforts to relinquish control and simply celebrate the various roads our children will travel.
Meditation teaches us to be comfortable in uncertainty. After 12 years of working with families I have not met a parent who isn’t racked with uncertainty. How do I potty train my strong-willed child? How come my kid won’t eat anything that’s green? Can I get my child into the best preschool? What should I do if my child doesn’t make the soccer team? What should I say when my teenager admits she’s been drinking? What do I do if my child is moving in a direction I didn’t expect? We long for answers but the truth is that life simply unfolds. Meditation teaches us to sit with the uncertainty until we get to the moment when we need to act. And when we do, we respond in a calmer and more centered way.
Meditation teaches us to be fully present. In these incredible tech-heavy times, I see too many parents on their phones while their child is talking to them, and too many kids with their face in their devices when they should be having face to face conversations. Meditation encourages us to step out of what we are doing and get into the present moment. There is no guilt in being swallowed by your inbox (I am) or working all day only to miss your child’s dinner and bath. But in those 30 rushed minutes before bed, meditation teaches us how to make those fleeting minutes the most present time you can spend with your child. I always tell parents it’s the quality of time you spend with your child, not the quantity. Meditation supports that line of thinking and the benefits are endless.
Meditation teaches us to be more empathetic and really see through the lens of our child. My babies are now teenagers and I have a deep well of empathy for their experiences. But when I’m stretched thin or overly exhausted, I can easily forget that my way isn’t the only way. Meditation teaches us to be more sensitive to their needs, even if they aren’t meeting ours. The best part of this gift is its translation into every other relationship in life.
Meditation actually makes us less tired and more patient. If I could capture the number one thing parents have told me over the last decade at apple seeds, it very often comes back to, “I need more sleep.” Babies keep us up all night because they need us and teenagers keep us up all night because they don’t need us. It seems counterintuitive but taking just 10 or 20 minutes out of your day to meditate actually adds to how much you get done in that day. Your level of patience goes up and you complete more tasks in a less frenetic way. Meditation can improve your sleep which makes us less agitated. I used to pop a pill to fall back to sleep and now I just reach for Headspace. Headspace is the healthiest (and cheapest) cure for insomnia on the market.
Meditation is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children. We spend so much time and money on our kids and I often wonder if they greatest gift we could ever give to them is actually free. In this crazy world, as more and more screens dominate our children’s minds, teaching them to meditate and be present or mindful is a gift they will carry throughout their lives. Not many other things we give our kids can compare. Meditation can teach a child to step out of their mind and observe their thoughts, helping them manage natural anxieties, increase their level of empathy, and help them navigate the throes of life.

Someone once told me that I should take note of how I feel immediately after doing something. If it doesn’t feel positive, then I should stop. If it does, then I should seek more. I keep seeking meditation because it always shows up. It’s like a daily morning date with my mind, and a safe space to explore questions where I’m still longing for answers. It’s a way for me to find separation from issues that can overtake me and allow new ideas to flow in. It’s a way to for me to start my day more centered and grounded, ready to parent with calmer energy, and ready to walk into my office and face anything that comes.

Perhaps most importantly, meditation is way for me to let go of things I hold on to and internalize the deep appreciation for every single ounce of what I’ve got. What busy parent doesn’t need that reminder?

Editor’s note: We also love Insight Timer (especially Yoga Nidra for Sleep with Jennifer Piercy) and Buddhify, created by our friend Rohan Gunatillake.

About Alison Qualter-Berna: Alison lives in NYC with her husband and three children. She spent five years in production at NBC News and six years at UNICEF where she created and managed a global program in Sports for Development. After her twin girls were born, she created apple seeds, an all-in-one play space for children 0-5 years, with three NYC locations and 20 songs for seeds music franchises. Alison is obsessed with yoga and endurance challenges. With her friends, she formed the nonprofit Team See Possibilities, making history three times.

Feeling rushed and exhausted? Try our on-demand course ‘How to be Happy (and Calm, Organized + Focused)‘

Read more about finding headspace and heartspace in ‘Freedom Seeker: Live more. Worry less. Do what you love.” by DWYL Founder Beth Kempton:

What if you could get insight into what your soul really needs?

Posted on 2018-07-15 at 6:27 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Last year at a conference I met an unassuming but extraordinary woman named Mary-Anne Wagner. As soon as I met her I knew I wanted to be friends with her, and she later said the same to me. Funny how that happens sometimes. Mary-Anne has a unique gift which I had never even heard of, never mind experienced, but when I dug deeper to understand what she does for a living, I had my mind blown.

Mary-Anne does what is called ‘soul counselling’, communicating with the souls of loved ones and/or animals past and present to share messages you need to hear to find peace in your life. Something Mary-Anne told me about what the soul of one of my loved ones wanted me to know, that she had no way of normally knowing, actually changed the way I see a significant part of my life.

She can even invite your own soul to connect with her, to show her what it most wants you to know. And when she passes on what she has been shown, it feels like something you knew deep down, but perhaps ignored, or turned away from, or allowed to be shouted down by noisier things in your life. Many people have found what she tells them brings them great comfort after experiencing trauma or loss. I think she is magical.

Mary-Anne’s personal story is compelling and the wisdom she has gained from this unusual ‘career’ is incredibly important. I simply had to invite Mary-Anne onto my podcast to find out more about how she discovered this gift, how she has helped others heal, and what we can all learn from the recurring themes that she has been witness to. The result is a conversation like no podcast you have ever heard. Don’t miss this!

LISTEN HERE

I would love to hear what you make of this extraordinary story. Please do come and share over on Instagram @bethkempton.

Have a great week

Beth

Unleashing your creativity

Posted on 2018-07-11 at 11:40 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

There is beauty, creativity and purpose inside each and every one of us. Yes, we get days where our sparkle is dulled, but by breathing into it, understanding who you are and what’s important to you, will help you bounce back with the vivacity you’ve always had. My next guest on the Freedom Seeker Chronicles podcast, Pia Jane Bijkerk knows all about helping creative people to slow their minds and listen to their hearts.

Pia is a stylist, photographer, author and creative mentor and down she is also a wanderer, a philosopher and a seeker of beauty. I called Pia to the show because I knew the strength her story has brought to the many people who know her (including me) and I can’t wait for her to share with you the creative, guiding principles she lives by which allows her to unleash magic across the world every day.

Listen in for a real dose of creative energy.

New book ‘WABI SABI’ teaches life lessons inspired by ancient Japanese wisdom

Posted on 2018-07-06 at 1:08 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

‘Wabi Sabi: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life‘ will be published by Piatkus on August 30. This is the second book from Do What You Love founder Beth Kempton, and offers a whole new way of looking at the world – and your life – inspired by centuries-old Japanese wisdom.

Wabi sabi (“wah-bi sah-bi”) is a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics, which helps us to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things. With roots in Zen and the Way of Tea, the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi is more relevant than ever for modern life, as we search for new ways to approach life’s challenges and seek meaning beyond materialism.

Wabi sabi is a refreshing antidote to our fast-paced, consumption-driven world, which will encourage you to slow down, reconnect with nature, and be gentler on yourself. It will help you simplify everything, and concentrate on what really matters.

From honouring the rhythm of the seasons to creating a welcoming home, from reframing failure to ageing with grace, wabi sabi will teach you find more joy and inspiration throughout your perfectly imperfect life.

This book is the definitive guide to applying the principles of wabi sabi to transform every area of your life, and finding happiness right where you are.

BONUS WHEN YOU PRE-ORDER

Pre-order your copy today to get access to a series of group coaching calls with Beth, where you will dive deep into the main themes of the book. Find all the details and book your spot here.

American/Canadian friends – you can get a copy from TheBookDepository.com with 10% off and free shipping, or wait for the North American version to come out next year!

On revealing your secrets and living your truth {New podcast with Kathe Crawford)

Posted on 2018-07-03 at 11:10 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

And now for this week’s new Freedom Seeker Chronicles Podcast episode… a very special conversation with a woman with an extraordinary story. Kathe Crawford lived a secret life for three decades before finally discovering how different life can be when you open up to your truth. Kathe’s story is a deeply moving and a huge lesson to every one of us.

Kathe was barely 31-years-old and the mother of two young children when she and her husband received devastating news—information that they agreed to keep secret from everyone in their lives, including their families. As the years passed, this secret weighed heavily on her, even more so as she continued to respect her husband’s wishes for more than 20 years after his death.

Raising two sons as a single parent, Kathe was determined to build a successful career and a stable home. But this proved increasingly difficult as her secret became an exhausting facade. For so many years, survival had meant hiding the one thing that she thought would harm herself and her family the most. But when she could no longer maintain the protective wall around her heart, she discovered a deeper legacy of keeping secrets that she had inherited from her parents. The only way to heal would be to open herself to her heart and then to allow others to see her as she was, without secrets and without pretense. The shares all of this in her debut memoir, ‘Unlocking Secrets’, and in this podcast interview here. Kathe shares her spiritual journey from hiding in the shadows of her secrets to embracing the light of absolute authenticity, learning that self-love is perhaps the most important love story of all.

Listen in to hear the remarkable journey of a woman who set herself free by following her truth, and the difficult but necessary journey that followed as she revealed her secret. It will inspire you to release any secrets that have been weighing you down, and embrace the most authentic version of yourself. Listen here now or catch it on iTunes!

When you ‘don’t have time to create’

Posted on 2018-07-03 at 10:07 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This hot sticky July evening has me dreaming of cool lakes and gentle breezes. I wonder how the season is unfolding wherever you are?

I spent much of the past week in the company of flowers – sweet peas and scabiosa, blousy dahlias, astrantia and achilia, purple agapanthus and many elegant dusty roses. I was on a floristry course, not because I want to become a florist, but because I want to have more flowers in my life and learn how to care for them, and because I needed a break from my screen, doing something creative with my hands.

Isn’t it funny how so often, we tell ourselves we don’t have time to get creative, at the very moment we need to be creative. The reasons we give ourselves for not making time for creativity are often the very reasons we need that time. This was certainly the case for me last week.

Getting on a train to London last Monday felt like an outrageous indulgence, knowing that I would be offline, conditioning stems and arranging bouquets instead of working through my to-dos. But here’s the thing. I have come back from that week refreshed, rejuvenated, full of ideas and with a whole lot more energy, not to mention an archive of photos I can use for work.

As an aside, watching the flowers wilt in the heat, and then seeing them rally again with fresh cool water, reminded me how we also need to nourish ourselves properly to be at our best. I am now using the sight of flowers as an aide-memoire to drink more water!

This week I want to encourage you to find some time to be creative – whether that means taking a whole day out to make or do something, or finding a small pocket of time to create some beauty in your day – and see how different you feel.

In other news, I will shortly be announcing two brand new workshops I am going to be teaching in California in September, at one of the most amazing venues you can imagine. I would love to share the experience with you. More on that in my next newsletter – stay tuned!

Have a great week,

Beth Xx

Feeling stuck? This could help you figure out what to do next!

Posted on 2018-01-30 at 9:35 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I am writing this on a train, whizzing north through the English countryside to a beautiful hidden place, for a week-long writing retreat to work on my next book. The fields outside my window are veiled in frost and mist, and I just found myself doing a long and slow exhale. You know the kind that you do at that moment when you realise all your holiday preparations are finally done, your bags are packed, your out-of-office is on and your adventure has actually begun? That kind of breath.

To me the idea of having a whole week stretching ahead of me to write (which means to wander and ponder, walk in the hills and think deeply about one particular thing, chew my pencil, eat chocolate and drink copious amounts of tea) is dreamy. It’s one of the times that I really feel free, and my life is better for it.

I’m sharing this with you because I want that for you too, whatever your version of feeling free might look like. Which brings me to our newest tool to help you figure it out!

Since Freedom Seeker was published a year ago (Is that all? It feels like several lifetimes!) I have been humbled and delighted to hear how it has helped so many of you discover so much more about yourself, and inspired you to move in a new direction. One of the things I have heard over and over is what a difference it made to have practical exercises in every chapter of the book, so it goes beyond inspiration to real and immediate action.

In order to make it even easier for you to take that action, we have designed this elegantly beautiful new Freedom Seeker Workbook to accompany the book. It’s an action plan for living more, worrying less and doing what you love. And it’s in digital format so you can either type straight into it, or print it out and use it like a personal journal.

The Workbook contains versions of all the exercises from the original book, with space to scribble your thoughts and responses, and ready-made templates where they are helpful. 78 pages of goodness to help you make an action plan for moving towards your dreams!

Get your Workbook here, and dive in!

And if you haven’t read Freedom Seeker go and get your copy now to read alongside the workbook, or get it on Audible and let me read the book to you, while you sit somewhere cosy with a cup of tea and let the Workbook work its magic!

Right, it’s time for me to switch off and get writing. I’ll see you on the other side…

Beth Xx