Leonie Dawson's Blog, page 3
April 2, 2025
Creative Magic: A Meditation
My treasures,
Do I have a juicy, magic-filled episode for you today! Recently, I ran a free hour-long masterclass called Creative Magic (now available in the Academy)—and as part of it, I guided gorgeous souls through a 15-minute meditation to connect with their creative spirit. And let me tell you… it was POTENT.
So potent, in fact, that I just had to share it with you here on the poddy! Yayyyyy!
Plus, I’ve been in a total creation frenzy lately, making ALL THE THINGS, and I can’t wait to tell you more. But first, let’s meditate!
Listen to the meditation here:
You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCast.
May your creative spirit SOAR, my loves!
cheering you on always,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseCreative MagicCreative Goddess EmbodiedThe post Creative Magic: A Meditation appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
March 31, 2025
Talking Twaddle with Leonie Dawson: Behind the Mic & Out of My Own Way
Friends,
OMG, IT’S HAPPENINGGGG!!!My chat with the darling Joanne Hatchard on Talking Twaddle!
Sometimes the universe delivers a moment that is pure magic… but divine timing has other plans. And THIS is one of those moments.
Joanne Hatchard and I had a big ol’ chat on her podcast Talking Twaddle: a Better Being Me Podcast a year ago and it was DELICIOUSLY fun!
I love how absolutely honest & authentic Joanne is about her creative process and why we’re just now sharing this episode. Talk about being brilliantly vulnerable!
I’m SO glad to share our chat with you today–the timing couldn’t be more PERFECT! It was made for NOW!
We discuss:
❌ The myth of the “unique” ND journey🧠 ADHD + Autism and the creative entrepreneur brain✅ Productivity tips that actually work for neurodivergent folks💗Friendship hierarchies & emotional regulation💍Self-marriage and becoming your own best friend (YES PLEASE)🐥 Postpartum, shutdowns & the ADHD crash🎭 Imposter syndrome vs. DOING THE DAMN THING💞 Parenting while ND (and trying not to cry in public)
It’s funny. It’s raw. It’s twaddly AF. And it is finally HERE.
Go have a listen, and let me know what twaddly truths hit home for you!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW!
Big love,
Leonie
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity Success2025 Dream QuestCreative Goddess EmbodiedThe post Talking Twaddle with Leonie Dawson: Behind the Mic & Out of My Own Way appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
March 26, 2025
2025 Dream Quest: A Meditation
My brilliant dreamers,
I have something extra potent for you today! Back in January, I ran a free 3-day masterclass called 2025 Dream Quest—and let me tell you, it was an absolute powerhouse of clarity, intention, and creative fire 🔥.
If you’re ready to make the rest of 2025 your most aligned, soul-nourishing, and abundant year yet, this episode is for YOU!
In 2025 Dream Quest, we dove deep into:
✨ Clarifying your dreams & goals – Because you can’t create magic if you don’t know what you want! We got crystal clear on what our hearts truly desire for 2025.✨ Releasing blocks & old energy – We cleared out the gunk, the doubts, and the stuckness that holds us back so we can move forward with power and ease.✨ Vision mapping for the year ahead – We brought those dreams into reality with a roadmap designed for joy, success, and alignment.The full masterclass is now exclusively inside the Academy, BUT I had to share one of the most potent parts with you: the Dream Quest Meditation. It was so powerful, so deeply moving, that I couldn’t keep it all to myself.
So today, I’m sharing it with you! (How I spoil you!)
Listen to the meditation here:
You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCast.
I don’t want you to miss anymore juicy free masterclasses, behind-the-scenes magic, and all the goodness I shower upon my peeps!
Hop on my mailing list here for more freebies, sweary updates, and more galore!
Enjoyyyyyyyy!!!
may all your dreams come true,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseCreative MagicCreative Goddess EmbodiedThe post 2025 Dream Quest: A Meditation appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
March 14, 2025
Brave New Girl Podcast – Dreaming big for ourselves, our communities, & our planet
Hi pooky bears,
Have you ever wondered how to release the big, juicy dreams inside of you—the ones that whisper of more freedom, more abundance, and more wild creativity? Well, buckle up, buttercup, because I’m sharing ALL the things on the latest episode of Brave New Girls, hosted by the gorgeous Lou Hamilton!
I had an incredible chat with the brilliant host about my journey from cattle farm kid to self-made millionaire, bestselling author, artist, and founder of the Brilliant Biz & Life Academy. I spill the tea on how I built a life and business that lets me be my full, magical self while making a real impact.
Here’s what we get into:🌟 How to unleash your true potential – Why being unapologetically YOU is the key to creating a business and life that feels like magic.🎨 Creativity as a superpower – How keeping my creative practices alive while running a global biz has helped me stay joyful and aligned.🏡 From farm girl to entrepreneur – My journey from growing up on a cattle farm to building a multi-million dollar business doing what I love.📖 The first book at five – Yep, my creative streak started early! I wrote and illustrated my first book about a cyclone that hit our farm.💡 Ditching the “Safe” path – I started out in government work, but my soul screamed for something more. Spoiler: following my creativity changed EVERYTHING.👩🎨 Making a living from art – How I went from sharing my art online in the early 2000s to launching one of the first online courses and selling my work worldwide.📚 Half a million dreamers served – My goal-setting workbooks have helped over 500,000 people bring their big, wild dreams to life!💰 Making money & making a difference – I’ve donated over $170,000 to charity and gifted a quarter-million book licenses to nonprofits supporting Syrian refugees, wildlife conservation, and more.🌎 Helping women RISE – My mission? Helping you embody your inner creative goddess so you can live fully, joyfully, and impact the world in the most magical way possible.
This episode is a BIG one, my loves. If you’ve ever felt the pull to create a life and biz on YOUR terms, this is your sign.
✨ Listen here now! ✨
I can’t wait to hear how this podcast episode inspires you!
big love and dreams,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity Success2025 Dream QuestCreative Goddess EmbodiedThe post Brave New Girl Podcast – Dreaming big for ourselves, our communities, & our planet appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
March 5, 2025
Creative Magic Podcast – Everything is Colour
Beautiful blossoms,
I recently had the most glorious, deep-dive, colour-soaked, magic-infused chat with the one and only Lucy H. Pearce on her Creative Magic podcast! We talked about EVERYTHING IS COLOUR – because let’s be real, colour isn’t just what we see, it’s how we FEEL, how we LIVE, how we CREATE.
You can listen to our chat wherever you get your podcasts:
And if you wanna get the juicy extended episode (plus video!) pop over to Patreon for just $3/month:
What did we chitter chat about?
🌈 Interwoven paths – how Lucy and I have crisscrossed each other’s worlds over the years.🎨 Creating & inspiring others to create – because art and self-expression are the lifeblood of my existence.🔥 My creating/sharing compulsion – I just CAN’T STOP MAKING THINGS, BABES!💙 Postnatal depression – the raw and real parts of the journey.👽 My relationship with the word ‘weird’ – spoiler alert: I bloody love it.💖 Being your full, colorful self in business – no beige allowed!🧠 Neurodivergence magic – autism, ADHD, synesthesia – oh my!💻 Blogging then & now – the digital playground of authenticity.🕵️♀️ Our invisibility cloaks – ever wanted to disappear from the internet? Same.🎭 Being real on the internet – the good, the bad, the cringey.🎆 What colour means to me – and why it’s less about making magic and more about noticing it.👩💼 Being a female entrepreneur – the wild ride that is running a business as a woman.And in the extended Patreon-only chat, we get EVEN SPICIER 🔥🚨 Dealing with haters – because they always pop up, don’t they?🙊 Sharing, over-sharing & protecting our loved ones – where’s the line?🤨 When others question our integrity – oof, let’s unpack that.🤗 300 hugs a day – It happened and it was glorious!
Lucy is a creative powerhouse, the founder of Womancraft Publishing, and a prolific author of deeply transformative books like Burning Woman, Creatrix, and Medicine Woman. She’s dedicated to publishing paradigm-shifting books by women, for women. You can find her brilliance at www.lucyhpearce.com and her publishing house at www.womancraftpublishing.com.
If you’re a creative human (which you ARE), you’re going to love this conversation.
So grab a cuppa, get cozy, and let’s dive into the magic of colour and creativity!
Big love,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity SuccessThe post Creative Magic Podcast – Everything is Colour appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
February 27, 2025
Dear Diary: Leonie’s 1500km+ Aussie roadtrip!
Beloved penpal,
It happened! We moved across the country again!
It’s been a few months of settling in, and I wanted to share the journey with you.
Buckle up with a cup of tea, this is going to be one of those long and languorous sharings. Almost 3,000 words, brimming with photos from along the way. Just the way we like it!
I shared with you in July that we were moving back to Canberra, and the synchronous way we found our next home. Since then our days and weeks have been full.
In September, we put our old house on the market and put half our furniture into storage so we could stage it better. I also had the blessing of speaking at the Heart Centred Business Conference and seeing so many of my beautiful business friends. Our youngest had her first sleepaway camp – I was so proud of her for taking the big step and loving it so much.
While the girls were at school, my love and I busied ourselves with continuing to pack and clean so we were ready for house inspections. We also knew we needed to stay healthy and connected during a stressful time, so we went for walks most mornings at the local duck pond and along the beach. We had so many miracle experiences on those walks, it truly felt like such a blessing.
I also decided to take the leap and sign up for a new mentor and mastermind even in the midst of moving. It felt like a huge step – it had been many years since I invested in something like that, but I had this deep instinctual knowing that it was something I needed to do. I felt like I had so much trepidation and worry going into it, but it’s ended up being one of the best things I’ve ever invested in. Since then I’ve been diving into my mentor’s big library of teachings, and connecting with the mastermind, and it’s been so powerful. I feel like I’m healing and growing in so many ways and coming back into myself more fully. I wish I’d done something like this sooner than I did, but I’ve got to trust in the timing of it. I’ll probably talk more about the process in time, but it’s been such a potent part of the last few months I knew I needed to say it here.
I also did a bunch of teaching and creating to prep for moving. I taught new programs for the Academy – Graphic Design for your Business, How to Grow Your Biz with Affiliates, How to Create Business Systems and an Annual Biz Review. Plus we released new Academy templates including Sample Business Standard Operating Procedures, Affiliate Onboarding Email templates, 100 Social Media Content Ideas and a Daily Essential Business Tasks template. On top of 3 Q&A webinars and our usual monthly group coaching calls for the Academy as well. Plus we had 8 guest expert workshops in the Academy since September as well. Phwoar… blooming chuffed with that effort!
In the midst, all of life happening. Our girls spending time with their best friends before the move, and wrapping up all their school assessments for the years. Playdates and sleepovers and taking all four of them Halloween-ing together.
One gorgeous Saturday afternoon I rent a pontoon boat and I spend the most delicious time on the river with my girls and some of the beautiful friends I’ve made here on the Sunshine Coast. The sky is brilliant blue and the water is deliciously warm and all of it is such a miracle. As we sail back to the jetty, we dance wildly and recklessly and I laugh so hard I can barely breathe. All I can think is: I am so lucky to have been here, to have lived this and loved these people. All of this, a glorious adventure.
In early November, we move into a gorgeous Airbnb for a week while we finish cleaning the house and for our girls to finish school. It’s a grand old house on acres of land, filled with kangaroos and a lake teeming with fish and dragonflies. My husband and I sink into the soft couches and look out at the view, softening together at last. We sift through the library of books clearly collected for aesthetics and not content, reading out the weirdest passages of what we can find to each other. Our darling Madi comes for gourmet pizza and a twilight swim in the pool, my eldest’s best friend there too. The thrumming heartbeat of: We are so lucky. For all this. For what’s next too.
The US election results come through. I stare, dumbfounded and aghast. Sit under the gum trees to grieve, journal, get clear and decide how I wish to lead myself. I’m still in that process, but it begins there by that billabong with those dragonflies.
Finally, the last day of school. Our girls say their goodbyes to their teachers and friends. We stand together in the dirt car park as our eldest hugs her best friend goodbye. Her mother cries, knowing how much this means to them both. Both of them are moving to new schools, and they both know a new beginning is what they each need, but endings and goodbyes are hard, especially when there’s so much love.
In the morning, we set off as the sun rises. Wind our way into the hinterland. It’s not long until we are out of the bubble of the wealthy coastal enclave we’ve been sequestered in for six years. Stop in a small town that sells metal signs that declare “WE DON’T CALL 000 AROUND HERE” with a gun emblazoned over top. The local bakery certainly makes delicious sandwiches though. I cannot help but laugh at the duality of all of this.
We follow the mountains up into the Granite Belt. It’s a way we haven’t been before. Usually we head straight west to a border town on the river, but we made a last minute travel plan change after there was multiple violent invasions of motels there. I’d called the local police station for reassurance on safety, but they couldn’t give it to us. And even though it felt like a stick in our spokes to change our well worn travel path, it feels like an unexpected blessing.
I always feel like there’s something precious about the gift of seeing land for the first time. Getting to meet new country, and be astonished at how it’s a view my eyes have never seen before. For years I wondered what my homeland was, and I know now that it just happens to be a really large one. I belong to Australia in all her beauty. And maybe I belong to the whole world too, maybe the whole earth is my home, but Australia and her eucalypts and her mountains and her magic have my heart.
We end up on a back road somewhere in Granite country, aptly named for its bold outcrops of rocks. The hills are precarious and the road becomes gravel and we stop to let a horse float cross a one lane bridge. You cannot remove the smile from my face.
Eventually we cross the border into New South Wales and it is wild how the wilderness changes from state to state. The palm trees become poplars, wooden houses become brick, cattle become sheep. We drive through the historic town of Tenterfield, listening to Peter Allen’s song for the town. I read the Wikipedia entry for every small town we go through, each page and town a rabbit hole of fascination. Did you know of Sir Henry Parkes’ famous Tenterfield Oration? Or Captain Thunderbolt?
Listening to that song, driving through old Australian towns brought me to tears with nostalgia, brimming with sentiment that not’s quite my own, belonging to all the ones who came before me, of times and places lost and found.
By mid-afternoon we drive into the stunning old town of Glen Innes. It is the ancient homeland of the Ngarabal people. Their name for Glen Innes is Gindaaydjin meaning “plenty of big round stones on clear plains.” I can report it is a stunningly accurate name for the place. The whole region is now known as New England, and is one of the highest and coldest parts of Australia. In an odd turn of events, the region’s first settlers were Scottish, and many of the surrounding towns are named after Scottish ones (Glencoe, Ben Lomond, Armidale). There’s something about this cold highland place that’s oddly mystical.
We found our way up to the Australian Standing Stones. It’s an odd and a wonderful thing – to be in the midst of this distinctly Celtic rock formation, but surrounded by gum trees and the heat of an Australian summer. What touched me most though? The wall of stones brought from all over England to place there. I’ve never been, but it is the homeland of most of my ancestors, and as I touch midlife there’s a homing instinct in me wanting to return my genes into the mist and fog.
We find our motel for the night, and the lovely receptionist says: “Are you… the online Leonie Dawson?” I laugh. I am indeed. I am the online Leonie Dawson. She’d taken one of my e-courses, and I am giddy with the joy and serendipity of it. Across from the motel, stunning historic buildings loom. We order room service and it is the most delicious room service of our lives. I still think fondly of the deconstructed cheesecake we share between us (it’s enormous!) If you’re ever driving through, it’s this place. Not sponsored, just a soft place to land with scrumptious food.
At first light, we head off again. We follow the spine of the mountain range down to Tamworth. We’ve never been before, and always wanted to. Australia’s icon of country music. We of course have to get the customary photo in front of the towering Golden Guitar statue. Then we spend the most merry hour in the visitor centre and museum behind it. We take photos in front of statues of our favourite musicians. I want to cry with gladness to see my beloved Jimmy Little and I hum “Under the Milky Way” under my breath.
My love is thrilled to wander through a maze of guitars played by musicians far and wild. I am giddy to stand so close to a guitar played by Willie Nelson. It’s an intoxicating kind of inspiration to be surrounded by so many tools of creativity.
Then we’re back in the car, winding our way through wide farmlands and small country towns. In one, we see a sign pop up for a monument to Dorothea MacKellar. We get lost trying to find it until my husband decides to double back. I’m glad he does because it is worth it. Enormous silos painted with a stanza of Dorothea’s most famous poem:
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!
It’s the ultimate fan girl poem of Australia, and as a fellow adorer of this land, I feel it deep in my bones. And I love that we’re still a day’s drive from Canberra, and yet there too is a magnificent monument to Dorothea:
Onwards we head, and after a while, our bladders are fit to burst. We panic stop at the first Toilet sign we see in a tiny town – and it ends up being the most delicious serendipitous side-adventure! We find ourselves at Crystal Kingdom in Coonabarabran – a quaint crystal store with a brilliant little museum attached with a dinosaur statue and fossils and crystals from all over the region. We discover we are in the Warrumbungle region – the site of ancient volcanic eruptions that have transformed the area into fertile farming soils, and leaving behind a wild range of mineral formations along the way. I buy myself a crystal ring as an early birthday gift to myself. The greatest toilet break ever!
Finally by late afternoon we find ourselves pulling into Dubbo. We’ve stopped so many times here on our road trips between Queensland and Canberra through the decades. A glorious overgrown country town full of trucks and travellers, an enormous zoo and old brick cottages in lovely gardens. When we arrive in November, the streets are festooned with purple, Jacarandas in full bloom lining the roads. There’s something about those incandescent flowers that make happiness float up unbidden inside me with each tree we pass. A kind of visual euphoria.
We take the next day off from travelling, blessedly. After all: what are we going to do? Go to Dubbo and NOT go to the open plains zoo? There is no other option, especially for our animal-besotted 10 year old. We hire a golf cart to drive around the zoo in and spend a very merry morning there. We gaze besotted at a tower of giraffes with half a dozen tiny, gangly baby giraffes by their sides. Our 10 year old discovers a new found obsession of animal photography. There are lions and elephants and ducks and fairy wrens and tortoises and echidnas. We teach our 14 year old how to drive the golf cart and she is ecstatic with the power of it. We eat lunch beside the meerkats. It’s the greatest way ever to spend my last day as a 41 year old.
When dawn breaks, we head off again. Stop at the deliciously kooky Wellington Gateway Sculpture. I remember when I first saw it as a 20 year old, driving to Canberra the first time with my love. I was the most naive farm kid from North Queensland, and I was stunned that you could have a Statue! In the middle of a paddock! For no real reason! It felt like a decadent level of creativity that I hadn’t seen before!
And now that 20 year old and her lover are there with their children, and their children are closer to 20 years old than they are. And it’s a glorious kind of thing to show my children the things that have brought me magic over the years. To wonder at what will inspire them too, make memories that glow inside them.
We stop at Wellington Caves visitor gallery too, to marvel at megafauna statues. We promise ourselves we’ll be back to see the caves. I hope we do.
Onwards the car stretches over the roads, eating up the miles, drawing us closer to our new old home. We pass platypus country and sheep country. There are so few cars around us on these back roads of Australia, just as there hasn’t been the whole way down through the inland. Finally, that quiet country road merges with a motorway, and we slide our way down wide open paddocks into Canberra. The kids are delighted when we cross the border at last. My eldest says firmly: “I like the way the trees look here.” It feels surreal after all this planning and all this time and all this driving, we are here at last.
It is my 42nd birthday. Douglas Adam once wrote that 42 is answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. I wonder what I will learn in this year ahead, in this well-loved land of mine, with new and old adventures that await.
We drive to one of my oldest and dearest of friend’s houses. She has our new house keys for us, having done all the inspections for us. Our youngest beelines for the verandah calling “I heard you have guinea pigs out here!” It is a real blessing to be back with these people who love us so well.
We drive exhausted to a nearby holiday house that we’re staying at for a few nights while furniture arrives. We order bubble tea and Door Dash, and I sit on the front lawn as we wait for it to arrive. I look up at the gums in a wave of exhaustion, and I speak to the spirits of the land again. “Hello, beloved Canberra, we are back… I am so grateful to be with you again.”
There is no answer apart from the rustle of leaves and the bend of branches. The children come out to join me, and we lay back to look at the distinct cornflour blue of Canberra skies. This land is the land that I was not born into, but belong to nonetheless. The one I have chosen to move to three times now. The land and her people that have nurtured, supported and inspired me in ways I can barely articulate. I am more myself because of Canberra, and now I am back again. I am grateful for every single adventure we’ve had along the way. And I am grateful to be here right now.
Wedged between my giggling children and an immaculate sky, I think to myself:
Canberra is a love story.
There is more to tell you. Of our new house and all the adventures we’ve had in Canberra since then. All the wonder and miracles of it. All the hard parts too. But that will be for next time, I think.
I can barely wait to tell you all about it.
All my love,
P.S. Just a loving reminder that my brand new program Creative Goddess Embodied begins soon… so very excited to take this profound journey with so many of you!
Creative Goddess Embodied begins in…
The post Dear Diary: Leonie’s 1500km+ Aussie roadtrip! appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
December 19, 2024
Leonie’s Best Books 2024
Precious humans,
It’s my favourite time of year. Not because of that whole Christmas thing, though that’s fine too. This is something better than that. I GET TO TALK ABOUT MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR. *AND* IT IS WORKBOOK SEASON!
If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, you’ll know this is an annual tradition I’ve been doing since 2012. You can find all the yearly book lists here.
As always, this is not a list of the best books published for the year – just the books I read in that year. As they say in High Fidelity, the records are organised autobiographically.
How many books I read in 2024First up: the big question! How many books did I read this year?
This year I read just 64 books. This is the smallest amount I’ve read in a long, long time. In recent years I’ve read between 100-500 books a year.
I think this year I was mostly distracted by some big life things including our across-country move and I fell out of my normal reading habits. I’m excited to get back on the reading track soon. Plus – I need to remind myself that 64 books is still 6x the amount of books the average Australian reads annually.
And on the plus side, I read some truly wonderful books this year… so much so that there’s a THREE WAY TIE for my favourite book of the year (for the first time ever!)
Let’s dig in!
Best Book of the Year
What About Men? by Caitlin Moran
I freaking ADORE ADORE ADORE Caitlin. I could just squish her up and put her in my pocket (but in a healthy non-stalkerish way) you know what I mean? I just think she’d be adorable to bring out of my pocket from time to time for her to say something pithy and insightful and jolly and delightful. Her books How To Be A Woman and More Than A Woman appeared on previous years’ of my best books list. I fervently believe that More Than A Woman is a middle-aged women’s bible – so much so that I bought a bulk pile to fling at every woman of a certain age within reach.
ANYWAYS… her previous books have been deeply centred in womanhood and feminism. What About Men? is her thoughtful, compassionate, brilliant response to every wife, mother and daughter who asked her for advice and insight on the men in their lives. I found it incredibly powerful, and continue to think through some of the ideas she raised in it. Highly, highly recommend.
Here’s what I posted on Instagram when I read it earlier this year. I feel like it says it all:
And my other absolute favourite of the year was this utterly delicious romance novel. All Olivia Dade’s books are wonderful, but I feel like she outdid herself with this one. One of the most perfectly written romance novels I’ve ever read. It seamlessly integrated some really challenging normal life issues like depression, and met it with such love and empathy from the characters. Completely charming and beautiful.
Non-Fiction
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder In An Anxious Age by Katherine May
This book was close to forming an unheard of FOUR WAY TIE in the best book of the year, largely due to my rabid and abiding obsession with all things Katherine May. Her books Wintering and The Electricity of Every Living Thing were a revelation to me. There’s a certain way Katherine writes that feels intensely connected to my insides. Honestly, she could write about the different textures of cat shit and I would froth madly over it. That’s how good she is.
Intentional Profit: Master Your Mindset & Money for a Wildly Wealthy Business by Clare Wood
I read this book early in the year and found it a really helpful, useful primer on creating and keeping revenue and profit in your business. Clare is an Australian-based profit coach with a background in Accounting. I loved it so much so that I ended up writing and illustrating up my notes to share with you here!
Later in the year I got to actually meet Clare IRL at the Heart Centred Business Conference in Noosa and we became mates and it was just glorious. Here’s us with our crew of biz besties:
Clare and I also discovered in a wild serendipity that we were born mere metres away from each other just a few months apart in the same tiny town. Or as I said to her with my usual grace and decorum: “Your ancestors definitely drunkenly dry humped my ancestors at the back of the pub.”
Also: isn’t it incredible how skillfully I can weave a sordid tale into a book report? It’s a real gift from the Goddess, I tell you!
I’ve followed Peter for 15+ years since he ran the game-changing PR website Help A Reporter Out. He’s a consummate entrepreneur which is why it’s not surprising he also has ADHD. A ridiculously high proportion of entrepreneurs do! One study found that the majority of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies either had an ADHD diagnosis or displayed strong ADHD characteristics.
Anyhewsles, this was a great book on recognising the power of the ADHD brain, along with Peter’s hacks and tools for harnessing it for great momentum. Freaking loved it!
Never Alone: A Solo Arctic Survival Journey by Woniya Dawn Thibeault
I’ve adored the reality TV show Alone for years now. It took me by surprise that a show that involved hunting and wilderness skills would be such a wonderful fit for me. I really do think the show is a beautiful meditation on human ingenuity, psychology and what it has taken for the human species to survive. Plus each season there’s often a standout participant who touches me with their spirit and connection to nature. Woniya was my favourite of the American series, so I was thrilled to read her memoir of her experience. Absolutely stunning, and I’m so excited to read her next one.
(Sidebar chat: Gina Chick has been my favourite participant in the Australian series, and I’ve got her book “We Are The Stars” on my To Be Read pile for 2025. Judging by long voicemails from friends who’ve already read it and were profoundly touched by it, I fully expect it to be on my favourite book list for 2025 as well.)
The House That Joy Built by Holly Ringland
If you like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic or Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, I reckon you’ll love Holly Ringland’s beautiful book on creativity as well.
Here’s how I read it:
I got so obsessed with it in fact that I took all my notes and musings from the book and made a 50 page illustrated fangirl zine about the book.
You can download and read it completely free here (no opt-in required). It’s one of those wild glorious creative ideas that I let overcome me and I just ran with it. An excellent use of my time I think!
Graphic Novels & Memoirs
Sunshine: A Graphic Novel by Jarrett J Krosoczka
I stole this one out of my eldest daughter’s graphic novel stash and I am SO GLAD I did. It really was a beam of sunshine and joy.
It’s a memoir recounting the author’s time as a teen counsellor at a summer camp for seriously ill children and their families. Heart warming and heart wrenching in equal measure… I have goosebumps just thinking of it!
A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
Another sweet graphic memoir that I stole from my teen daughter’s collection. This one follows the author as a teenager on a European travel adventure. It was lovely and thoughtful and completely enjoyable.
Another stunning graphic memoir – this time of the author losing his home and neighbourhood to Californian wildfires. I find graphic memoirs incredibly helpful in helping me develop more understanding, empathy and compassion for other people’s lived experiences that I haven’t been through. This one is no exception.
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916: The Graphic Novel by Lauren Tarshis
I love reading this graphic novel series to my kids… they make history so real and vivid for us all! I also recommend I Survived Hurricane Katrina, I Survived September 11, I Survived The Attack of the Grizzlies and I Survived The Nazi Invasion. The only reason I haven’t recommended the rest of the series is I haven’t read them yet!
RomanceAnd YAYYYY! Now onto my favourite kind of reading… ROMANCE!
Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny by K. Sterling
This was the cutest gay romance… thoughtful and sweet!
Romancing Mister Bridgerton and When He Was Wicked
Bridgerton, again, obv. To prep myself emotionally for the release of Bridgerton Season 3, I re-read Penelope & Colin’s novel. Then I read it again afterwards to emotionally process, along with vast quantities of fan fiction. And OBVIOUSLY, after seeing the finale, I needed to re-read Francesca’s story and imagine what it will look like for Season 4. Anyways, I’m a pretty chill gurly like that. 🥰
Funny Story and Happy Place by Emily Henry
Every single book Emily Henry has ever written has appeared on my best books lists over the years. Now I’d adding her two latest on here for obvious reasons. She continues to be smart, wonderful, delightful and touching.
Another romance queen whose every book makes my best of list each year. Ali’s books always feature hot nerds, usually in the academic science fields. This time for something different: hot nerds in chess! YES!
Made me say two kinds of awws throughout: awwww 😢😢😢 and awwww 🥰🥰🥰.
Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
This was an ultra sweet romance between two gorgeous humans with disabilities. Freaking LOVED.
This was a standout for me from YA Queen Rainbow Rowell. Utterly lovely.
Star-Crossed Letters by Sarah Deeham
I need to be real with you: I read this so early in the year I can’t remember what it was about, only that I loved it enough to be 5 stars. So that’s all I’ve got for you. I really should be a professional book critic.
The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée, Just Not That Into Billionaires & Return Billionaire to Sender by Annika Martin
Billionaire romance isn’t usually my kind of thing, but I got one of Annika Martin’s books for free and read it and found it very cutesy, very demure (I’m trying to speak in a language my teenager will understand me in). Muchos rizz, 10/10 gyatt, +1000 aura points.
Speaking of, Chris and I bought him this shirt to wear on Christmas Day:
If there is an earthquake in Canberra come December 25th, please worry not. It is merely caused by the combined groans of our blessed children.
It’s at this stage in the proceedings I remember how often things start going a little sideways in my annual book review posts. NONETHELESS WE PERSIST!
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
I’ve yet to read a Christina Lauren book that makes a misstep. This one is delightful. I always enjoy a fake marriage that ends in them falling in love trope!
Oh look! Another Ali Hazelwood book! And look! I told you she loves hot science nerds in academia! Perfect form!
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary
Heyooo! It’s another Beth O’Leary romance, because they all end up on here on my best book list inevitably. Ha! It’s enemies-to-lovers which is not my favourite trope, but she made it work, and it was hot, and for that, I give her the begruding Jennifer Lopez applause:
And lastly, but not leastly:
2025 My Brilliant Year Life & Biz goals workbooks!
I spent some glorious months this year doing a major redesign of the workbooks this year, and I’m so thrilled with how they are looking. I first created these goal workbooks for myself in 2009, and am ASTONISHED that they ended up becoming an enormous cult hit – used by over half a MILLION people worldwide to plan out incredible lives and businesses for themselves. It fills my heart with so much joy and gladness.
Even if nobody ever else used them, they’d still be my favourite… they are still such an important ritual for me to do each year!
Happy reading, my darlinghearts!I hope this brings so much booky inspiration to you… I’m excited for another beautiful year of reading ahead… all the wonderful things I’ll discover along the way, and all the joy I’ll receive from it.
Aren’t books one of the most miraculous inventions?
Big big love to you all, my friends,
The post Leonie’s Best Books 2024 appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
December 12, 2024
The Goals Workbook Competition is BACK!!!
Friends,
Guess what’s BACK?! The Goals Workbook Competition!!! Yep, I couldn’t resist bringing it back because it was SO MUCH FUN in past years, and I’m just DYING to see your gorgeous faces and creativity shining bright with the 2025 My Brilliant Year Goals Workbooks! 🌈
THOUSANDS of you joined in from ALL over the world in previous years (Barbados, Utah, New Zealand…to name a few). From heartwarming to downright snortgiggle-inducing, I enjoyed every single one!!!! I can’t wait to see what creative, dreamy, breathtaking photos you send this year!
Here’s how to enter:
1️⃣ 📸 Snap a pic of your workbook! Get creative or scenic – show me your favorite cozy corner, the stunning view you’re dreaming by, or you fiercely filling in those pages!
2️⃣ 📱Post it to socials with the hashtag #2025planner so I can find it.
3️⃣ 🦄Make sure it’s the 2025 edition – hardcover, softcover, or digital – doesn’t matter, as long as it’s THIS year’s brilliance. (You don’t need both Life & Biz editions, but DOUBLE YAY if you do!)
🏆 PRIZES, BABES, PRIZES! 🏆
✨ 1st place: A 1-hour coaching call with yours truly (worth $1000).
✨ 2nd place: A whole year of My Brilliant Biz & Life Academy membership (worth $500).
✨ 3rd place: A Leonie-designed t-shirt (worth $40 – and totally cute AF).
I’ll be sharing my fave entries on my page, so let’s make it FUN and FABULOUS! 💃
📅 Deadline: Jan 30th
GRAB YOUR 2025 WOKRBOOKS HEREUse the hashtag #2025planner, and I’ll see you in the sparkly feeds! 🌟
Big hugs and smiles,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity Success
The post The Goals Workbook Competition is BACK!!! appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
November 19, 2024
Period Besties Podcast – Magically Neurodiverse
My loves,I’ve got a juicy treat for you! I was recently a guest on the fabulous Period Besties Podcast with the divine Stasha Washburn and Katie Bressack. And let me tell you… it was a BLOODY (pun intended!) brilliant time.
We dove deep into all the things: navigating life as a neurodivergent unicorn, running a wildly successful business, and what it’s like to not spend every waking second on social media. Spoiler alert: it’s glorious.
Here’s the skinny; I share:
🩸all about my first-ever period experience (prepare yourself for hilarity and awkwardness).🩸the magical dance of neurodivergence and hormones—and how tuning into my cycle changed EVERYTHING.🩸how I run a business that feels good, rather than grinding myself into the ground.🩸and how I’ve written books and built a biz empire without being glued to my phone 24/7.There are also gorgeous nuggets of wisdom about living authentically, embracing self-care, and finding ways to actually enjoy life—yes, even during PMS week.Whether you’re curious about period coaching, want to connect with your body, or just love a good yarn about the ups and downs of being a woman, this episode is packed with inspiration, belly laughs, and probably a rogue swear word or two (ok, definitely a rogue swear word or two!).
So, grab a cuppa (or some chocolate-y goodness), and go listen.
LISTEN HERELet me know what you think, my darling period besties! I’d love to hear your favorite takeaways. 💖
big love,
Leonie
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity SuccessThe post Period Besties Podcast – Magically Neurodiverse appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
November 7, 2024
In case you are feeling this too
Dearests,
Like so many of you right now, I have been cycling through so many feelings:
Shock. Anger. Confusion. Deep pain. Fury. Anxiety. Uncertainty.
I may be Australian, but globally we are all affected by US politics. I was so hopeful that we were going to move into an era of societal healing and inclusivity, and right now, that doesn’t feel like it’s the case.
As the news began to filter through, I could feel myself beginning to spiral. And then, for me, I realised I’m out of time to spiral right now. We’re in the midst of a major life change moving across the country, living out of suitcases, and I need to be a strong source of love for myself, my family and my company. Plus I feel like I’ve already spiralled enough in my lifetime, you know? I needed to do something different.
So I deleted all the social media apps off my phone. Blocked myself from reading the news. Stopped doomscrolling and working myself up into an even worse state. Stared at trees instead of screens. Opened my journal, and began asking myself what was in my personal power to do.
Here’s what emerged from those ponderings:
Nobody is here to save us. It’s time to save ourselves. Time to step into our most powerful, potent versions of ourselves. Birth miracles into the world.
We are all in profound need of healing. I commit to doing my part to learning and sharing how to heal the parts that keep us trapped, siloed, disillusioned, captive to negative forces.
I commit to opening my heart and deepening my understanding of history and humanity, why we make the choices we do, and how we can shift into love from fear.
I commit to dissolving where I hold contempt or judgment, where my own habits cause me to stay disempowered.
I commit to leading myself, my family and my company to do massive good in the world.
I commit to creating vast quantities of excess abundance so I can redirect it to the people and places who need it the most.
I commit to being an ally to those who are disadvantaged.
I commit to love, love, love in all directions and timelines.
I commit to doing my work in the world without laziness, apathy or shrugging my shoulders as though just one person’s actions don’t matter.
All of us matter. And I am committed to the uplifting, healing and evolution of us all.
No matter how you are feeling today, may you know you are not alone. We are in the swirling soup together. We are all thinking of you, wrapping you in a warm blanket of empathy, support, love. We will bring you tea and soft biscuits to comfort your heart.
And together we will rise. Good things will come, because we will make them.
Of this, I am sure.
In your service, with love,
🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄
Weekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasuresCash Crunch – FREE workshop on how to make more & save more when times are tough!
📚 BOOKS 📚
🌟 COURSES 🌟
Brilliant Biz & Life Academy (get everything I offer at a wildly generous price!)Midas TouchGet Organised!Work Less, Earn MoreBehind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-CourseADHD & Autism Biz and Productivity Success
The post In case you are feeling this too appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.
