Loving the Mundane

By Rachel Jensen

How do you know when you love what you are doing? 
When you can't wait to do even the small tasks related to making your dream a reality.

I've yet to meet someone on the planet who enjoys resizing logos, updating auto-responders or searching for corporate tax ID numbers. But when the idea of directing energy, of any kind, toward your dream fills you with joy - then you know you are on the right track.

Yesterday I sat through my video editing software crashing about half a dozen times while I worked on a tiny, two minute video (I realized later that I needed to install a software update, and Andye reminded me that Mercury is in retrograde).  Was I frustrated? Hell yes! Did I ever once think of revisiting it another day? Nope. There was nothing in the world I would rather be doing than focusing my time to make my dream grow.

You've experienced this before. With lovers, children or friends; formerly wretched tasks are do-able because you are performing them for or with someone you love.

I can't stand going to Costco by myself. The idea fills me with dread. All those over-sized shopping carts bumping into me pique my anti consumer-culture sentiments, and suburb-loathing rumblings.

But a Costco trip with the man I love? Suddenly it's a fun afternoon stroll filled with free samples, people watching and packing our cart with all the veggie sausage patties and Tillamok cheese my heart desires.

My perspective automatically shifts because the mundane chore has shifted into an act of love. For me, working on my business feels just like this.  I don't mind my laundry list of to-dos. They all serve their purpose and I feel just as passionately about them as I feel about the big, exciting projects.

I once heard that the job of an astronaut is 90%pushing paper.  Not every moment of the business you've created will be the fun, exciting, giddy-inducing activities you've dreamed of - but if you can remember that every little effort you put toward your business is an act of love that will nurture your enterprise, it's easy to become passionate about the mundane.

Spurts & Fits

By: Andye Murphy

I'm no marathon runner-- not physically, not creatively.  I allow the Muse to seize me and drop everything to give into her call.  We affectionately call this spurting.

When an idea strikes, when the flow is gushing, I shift my day to allow this process to come in.  This creative burst of energy is blood pumping bliss and I need to step into the moment to receive it fully.  It's perfectly muse-like yes that I can stop whatever I was doing to be in the sweet craze of the moment.  But no other way quite works for me.  

I've been writing all my life.  When I was paid to do it, I had to make space daily to write ... and structure time and disciplne around it.  While a wee bit satisfying that I was being paid to do what I loved, I found myself much less productive.

Discipline and I aren't friends.  When I try, I fail and feel worse afterwards for not fulfilling what I set out to do.   I've found my bliss in following the siren call of the muse and trust she will appear exactly when I need her.   I demand passion and inspiration, baby!   And rather than beating myself up for doing what every "success" program suggest I do, I've found my sweet joy in spurting.

Luckily, my family respects this creative possession, knowing that I will soon re-emerge full of zest and zeal to rejoin them in the real world.  They have learned that while I will stay up writing until 4 in the morning, I will happily join at 10am to share my over joyous enthusiasm for what was brought in.  This may sound a wee bit crazy making, but its what makes mama happy and keeps our house interesting.

This is the way I've found my balance and am grateful to have recognized it.  When I'm not spurting, I fold the laundry, make dinner and play with my daughter and her friends.  I'm gentle on myself and recognize I'm not like everyone else... and why would I want to be?

I know who I am.  I know my strengths and limitations and have found a way of being that supports my family, my creativity, and my life calling.  And while every book and guru may prescibe a structure of goal setting and meeting achievements, I can happily tell them to step off, for my Muse knows perfectly where and when to find me.