PODCAST
The Uncorked Conversation
EPISODE #26
We have big dreams. We want to get that book published, give that Ted talk, and sell out whatever it is we’re selling. And it can feel dispiriting when our dreams feel far away from our current reality.
But here’s the most important question to ask on your journey: Have I made the space in my life for my biggest dreams to arrive? Have I made room for them to land?
We live in the Information Age – a time when it’s easy to overly pack our schedule with endless distractions, leaving no room for anything new (not even the stuff we want the most). The trick to allowing in success is to make the space for it to arrive.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why we must make space before we can welcome in bigger growth or success,
- How to create that space, and
- The magical world of white space
Listen + Subscribe on iTunes or PodBean.
References & Resources:
- Click HERE to join my private FB Group, The Uncorked Cabal
The Uncorked Conversation Podcast with Allyson Scammell
Ep #26: Creating the Space for Big Success
Allyson Scammell: You are listening to the uncorked conversation podcast with Allyson Scammell.
Episode number 26.
You are listening to the Uncorked Conversation podcast with Allyson Scammell episode number 26.
Hello and welcome to the Uncorked Conversation, a podcast for soul guided, passion filled women entrepreneurs who want to uncork big magic in life and business without burning out. We’ll get to the truth of how to uncork our core gifts, the ones we keep hidden inside and how to infuse those gifts into our personal and professional life in a way that feels like magic. We’ll also uncover how to truly experience the joy of the journey through smart time management and planning. I’m your host Allyson Scammell. Let’s uncork.
Hey ho Shantipax nation. If you have plans for big growth, big goals, big dreams, there’s something you have to do first in order for those dreams, goals, growth, to come into your life. You have to make space. If you were buying a new couch for your living room it is highly likely that you have to get rid of your old couch to make space for a new one in order for the room to look and feel good. It is probably possible that you could shove a new couch in on top of or around or next to your current couch but I imagine that wouldn’t look very good, feel very good or be very comfortable. And that is the same with any new thing or different thing, it need not be new, that we want to attract in to our lives. And it is on every level it’s in physical space, energetic space, emotional space, intellectual space.
So I have learned as I’ve gone through in my entrepreneurial journey that if I want to attract anything into my life, and certainly the big things, I have to first make space. So I believe this episode is one of the most important episodes I have done so far. So in today’s episode we explore why we must make space before we can welcome in new success, how to create that space and the mythical magical world of white space.
We live in an action oriented world. The system rewards people who work the hardest therefore many of us derive our value from how hard we work. And I know that that was me for many many years in my old career and I still have to keep myself in check today about working too hard, spending too many hours at work, because that’s where I feel the most valuable.
But what if it’s not meant to be that way? It is said that many ancient cultures spent about 85 percent of their time in play. And if you think about any of those cultures who lived in very very cold climates how hard they must have worked during the warm months to prepare for the cold months but yet they still spent about 85 percent of their time in play. And one of the reasons why they were able to do that is because that play, that free time, is very spacious. There’s nothing planned. There’s no expectation. There’s no pressure. It’s play. You feel like a child. You lose track of time. You’re laughing. You’re moving. And then when you do shift to work you’re focused, you’re refreshed, you’re rejuvenated, you’re ready to tackle a big challenge. Your cup isn’t too full. It’s not too empty. It’s just right. It’s in harmony.
The reason why we need to make space to welcome anything new or different into our lives is because we are all born with a finite amount of bandwidth. That bandwidth is able to fluctuate and expand and contract but it’s not meant to be overloaded. When it is there’s no room left energetically for anything new to arrive. Also when we get overloaded we send messages to the universe consciously or subconsciously not to send us anything more, not to put anything more on our plate. And the universe receives this to mean no more anything. No more sales, no more clients, no more growth, no more nothing.
So how do we create the space to attract new success? First, you got to take stock of where things are for you currently. How are you currently spending your days. Then, and this is something that gets clearer to you over time the more you commit to doing this kind of analysis, but you want to determine where is it you get most of your results. And the simple 80/20 rule is in effect. And the 80/20 principle states that roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes.
And what that means is for example in your business, 80 percent of your results are coming from 20 percent of your effort. So what you want to do is decide where the 20 percent is, what is the 20 percent in your life, in your business, that’s creating 80 percent of your results. And that’s where you want to spend all of your time. Anything that’s not in that 20 percent and I guarantee you that 20 percent will include all the things in your zone of genius, your core gifts will be inside of that 20 percent. And you want to delegate, get rid of, barter, bag, delay, any of the things that are in the 80 percent. And if you’ve never really given this thought before it might seem difficult and daunting but I promise you if you set the intention to find your 20 percent and start noticing where your results are coming from and slowly shifting into spending more of your time doing the things that’s creating the results you will eventually get very clear about where your 20 percent is.
So in addition to identifying your 20 percent you want to actually create the space, physical space in your surroundings, space on your agenda. For example if you are someone who wants to attract clients, if you run a service based business and you want to attract more clients then you want to make sure if each client say gets its own folder you want to have a space for those folders like ready to go, ready to be filled with people’s paperwork. You want to have space on your agenda reserved for those future clients to come in. If your agenda is already jam packed with creating blog posts or podcasts or sales copy or Facebook or running your children to soccer practice, there will be no space for new clients to arrive on your agenda. So you want to create that space. And if you have the space created and no client is there yet then that’s bonus time for you. View it as bonus time because I guarantee you if you stick to this and are committed to this the clients will come.
And if I can offer you a little secret trick that has at absolutely worked wonders for my ability to attract new clients is I actually put client names in. I think of various ideal client avatars. Sometimes they’re people I know, sometimes they’re not, and I will write in with pencil so I can erase it of course, names of people in that space. And you would not believe how many times a person, a real live person, eventually goes in to schedule time with me in those slots, in those fictitious slots that I created. I created space for them to come and so they did. It’s so simple. Hard to do sometimes but once you train your brain and give yourself permission for the space it gets easy and then you realize what this space can do for you in your life and your business and then it’s like you’d never consider planning a week without this space.
So let’s spend a little bit of time on white space. What is white space? I like a definition I got from Patty Lennon where she calls it “Unscheduled, unplanned time.” So it’s white space that you block out on your agenda in advance. Nothing is scheduled there and you have nothing planned. That way you can be in creative response to whatever it is your soul wants or needs rather in that moment. And certainly you can book a massage or you can book something that requires advanced planning and the real special sauce to white space is to truly be in creative response and that even means paying for a massage session you don’t go to so you can go for a walk in nature if that’s really what your soul is calling for you to do in that moment.
And I do something that I got from another brilliant coach Natalie Miller called pulsing. And I have to say that this is again something that your brain is going to tell you not to do because your brain is going to tell you that you need to have a packed schedule, you need to be working every minute of every day to be valuable. But I’m here to tell you that that is not true. And I am human so I struggle with this but I am continually training myself, giving myself permission to not have such a packed calendar.
So pulsing. This is the idea that you pulse for a period of concentrated time where you are focused on one thing and one thing only and you don’t have Facebook up, you don’t have your phone pinging, ringing, you have nothing but that one creative project in front of you and you pulse anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes depending on your attention span and then you take a time for break. Because the brain can’t function optimally for longer normally than 90 minute periods or 90 minute bursts. So how I plan my day is in 90 minute bursts, creative bursts on a project or pulses and then I take a 30 minute break of white space. And in that white space I have nothing. The things that I tend to do is go for a walk in nature, take a sauna, take a bath, have lunch with my partner, do yoga stretches, listen to music, meditate, journal. Things that I would like to add in time to my white space is actually going to a yoga class which is something I want to add back into my life, going to a dance aerobics class. My goal is to take the white space in longer periods of time. But right now because of how my schedule is organized it works well for me to do the 30 minutes throughout the day and that way I’m assured to get that white space in.
And I have to tell you that I took some white space right before recording this episode and I went for a walk in nature. It’s a gorgeous day. And after that 30 minute walk I sat down, I was clear, I knew exactly the points I wanted to share and I was energized and ready to go and I think because I took that white space, in fact I know because I took that white space, that rest time, play time, unscheduled time, non-work time, before I sat down to focus solely on one creative project and nothing else, I was able to finish that creative project in so much less time. So much more focused, clear and productive. And that’s really another trick on how you can produce so much more on so much more less effort is that space, white space, rest space, unscheduled space.
And in that space is when new ideas come in. I notice when my schedule gets so full I don’t even have space for new ideas to arrive. It is a beautiful thing. And I find it interesting now that there’s Marie Kondo’s show on Netflix has everyone talking about minimalism in the home, creating more space in the home. This is something that I’ve been striving for some time and I’m really happy more people are thinking about it and talking about it. It’s all the same concept. Create more space in your home, get rid of the things that don’t thrill you, get rid of the things on your agenda, get rid of the things in your life, get rid of the things in your home that don’t thrill you to make room, make space for the things that do thrill you.
So my dear dear listener who I adore so much, my challenge for you is to make space. Agendaless, pressureless, sweatless space in your home, on your agenda, in your energy, in your head, so all the bigger things that are waiting, that are out there waiting to come in for you can arrive. You’re clearing the runway so it can land. Give yourself permission for space, schedule in the white space. I always say do your weekly planning session on a Sunday or some time before Monday morning. Schedule in the white space after periods of intensive concentration. Start to consider where it is you’re producing most of your results. What is your 20 percent. Spend your time in that 20 percent and start to get rid of all the other stuff that’s no longer serving you and no longer thrilling you. And when you do, things will show up into your life that are better than you could have ever imagined.
So my dear dear friends, dear citizens of Shantipax nation which is what I call this community, if you are digging on this episode and I truly hope you are then let a few friends know about it, give it a rating and review. And this is how we grow organically and I’m so so so grateful for you for anything you do to support this podcast. And as always, until next time, stay uncorked.
Do you want to create, earn and delight in your business without feeling drained or disappointed? Then download my four step formula to help you uplevel your skills, sales and satisfaction. Get your freebie at my Web site Shantipax.com. That’s S-H-A-N-T-I-P-A-X.com.
