My Magical Guide to Working for Yourself

I share regular musings in my private email newsletter. Interested in signing up? Click here.

Greetings friends!
 
Happy start of the week. :) And… how’s it going for you?
 
This week, people from lots of different industries are jumping back to work after the Christmas holidays. (I know how it is; even though I work for myself, I had not one but two coffees today!) But aside from the to-be-expected tiredness that comes along with going back to work – and, usually, waking up earlier – what I’m really asking about is… how do you like what you do?
 
Do you have a 9-5 that drains you, and causes you to feel disconnected from your soul, your magic, and your purpose? Or maybe you’ve turned your side hustle into a full time thing, but you’re not making quite as much money as you’d like to?
 
Wherever you’re at on that spectrum, if you’ve considered diving deeper into the amazingness of who you are – yes, YOU, you wondrous unique being – and working for yourself, whether that’s making the leap in the first place or just showing up more authentically, I’ve got a little guide for you that may be of some help, or, at least, some inspiration!
 
Let’s get started. 
 

Dream big, dream passionate

 
First of all – sit down, lie down, whatever you need to do to be your most comfortable.
What would you do if money, life, obligation, all of that, wasn’t in your way?
 
What do you LOVE? What lights you up?
 
You may have heard both sides of the ‘follow your passion’ debate, from ‘don’t do that, just get a normal job and find some security, passion is overrated’ to ‘follow your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.’
 
Well, take it from me – following your passion still DOES involve a TON of work. It definitely ain’t a walk in the park. But part of what propels me through low points, moments of imposter syndrome, and comparing myself to other people on the internet and wondering what the hell I’m doing is… yes, passion. If I didn’t absolutely love what I do, I’d have given up by now, like twenty times over.
 
What’s your big dream?
 
What enlivens you?
 
What connects you to the vitality of your own body, your own mind, your own soul?
 
What connects you to the beautiful rhythms of life?
 
How do you want your life to look?
 
Do you love a slow morning walk on the beach at sunset, coffee in hand? Are you a night owl who loves coding websites for your dream clients past midnight? Is it a little of both?
 
Our big dreams are often intimately connected to our passions. If we know one but not the other, engaging in some soulful introspection, whether it’s through meditation, journaling, or ritual, we can move from passion to big dream, or reverse engineer from our big dream for our lives to find our passions. If your dream life involves daily spiritual devotion maybe you’d be well suited for the spiritual and wellness industry; if your big passion is food, maybe your big dream is to be a restaurateur, food photographer, recipe designer, or food critic.
 
It’s all connected.
 
Both big dreams and passions are foundational if we desire a magical life – especially one where we can work for ourselves.
 

Create space for magic

 
I know no one wants to hear this, but if you want to work for yourself, and live a passionate, magical life doing what you love… you do have to prioritize it. You can do that by making time – in other words, you have to create space for the magic of your blossoming. And, at first, you might feel like the seed is a dud, that it’s broken, that you’ll never be that green sprout crawling out of the lil seed. You may feel like a failure. You may feel like you’ll never become that happy big ass flower with massive petals, leaves swooshing around in the wind, trying to avoid getting eaten by cats.
 
You’re not a dud. You’re not a failure. You just gotta put in the time.
 
And often, in order to make time for something, we need to cut down on something else.
 
I’d recommend cutting down on Netflix binges, and on whatever old friends you find drain the hell out of you and with whom you have nothing in common anymore. Anything that you find yourself feeling bad about or complaining about, cut it out. Yes, this may even involve removing – for now, at least – some stuff you love, like a good TV marathon or playing video games for five hours every night. (If you wanna go into film or gaming it’s different, but you know what I mean!)
 
For me this has been significantly cutting down on my documentary binges, cutting down on socializing time, being really intentional about my relationships and friendships, and… taking slightly less long baths, lol. Even a half hour here or there does add up.
 
When everything feels stressful, clenching, tense, desperate, like you’re scrambling and there’s never enough time for anything… that’s pretty much the antithesis to magic. Magic doesn’t tend to thrive in a stressful environment where everything feels scarce. Creativity is allergic to tension, and unfurls in spaciousness. So, do yourself a favour and make space for magic, for passion, for creativity, for inspiration. Cut out what disconnects you from the magic of your life, and the magic of your spirit.
 

Find your voice

 
Ok, once you know what lights you up and you’ve made space for that creativity to bubble up and you’re overflowing with ideas, with inspiration… it’s time to connect with yourself, to find your unique voice.
 
If you’d like to be a professional tarot reader, why should anyone care? What’s unique about you and the way you read cards? Yeah, you’re “intuitive,” but isn’t everyone who reads tarot? What’s distinct and special about YOU?
 
If you can’t communicate your unique gift and unique offering into the world, no one will know or care what makes you better than or distinct from any other tarot reader.
 
You gotta find your voice – be unafraid to be unique, be you, and put yourself into how you show up to talk about what you do and why you do it.
 
 
Ok, now I want to hear from you. 
 
Firstly, was that helpful? Which step are you stuck on right now?
 
Secondly, when it comes to working for yourself – again, whether it’s a pie in the sky dream or a beginner side hustle – what are your biggest challenges?
 
Send me an email (sabrinadraws@gmail.com) or say hi on Instagram (@sabrinamscott) - I wanna know!!
 
 
Xoxoxo
 
Sabrina