Leonie Dawson's Blog, page 43

An Important Post About My Pronouns & Gender Identity

Gorgeous humans,

Increasingly, I am sharing publicly my pronouns of she/they. What that means: when you refer to me, you can say “she” or “they”. I am comfortable with either.

I want to make some things very clear:At some point I may decide to share about my journey of discovering my pronouns. I may not however, and that is absolutely my right. When someone shares their pronouns, you are not entitled to ask why. You aren’t entitled to know their innermost fears, vulnerabilities and sensitivities.
The correct response would be to say “cool, thanks for letting me know.” And then use their pronouns. And if you’re comfortable, you may also wish to say “my pronouns are: (he/she/they/ze etc.)”
Nobody owes you their story, or needs to justify their right to exist and self-identify.
Just as when someone shares their sexual orientation with you, the correct response is “cool beans”, not “but why?”If you would like to learn more about gender, read a book, take a course or pay a gender activist teacher. I have a bunch of books and resources to refer you to here. If someone is non-binary or gender non-conforming, that does NOT automatically mean they owe you an education.I am not here to debate gender identity. I do not debate important human rights issues like this. I don’t give a fuck what 1950’s bullshit you believe, and I don’t need to hear about it. Go read a fucking book.I will not allow my spaces to be a place to debate human rights issues that injure at risk communities. Again: Go read a fucking book.Remember: if you are unsure about how this whole gender identity things work, you don’t need to voice those opinions publicly. Your opinions profoundly hurt and impact people who are already vulnerable and at-risk. The suicide rates of the LGBTQIA+ community are significantly higher than cis straight people because of the prejudice and oppression they face daily. Your uninformed opinion is not more important than another person’s life.If you are gender non-conforming, non-binary or trans, I want you to know: I love you. I’m glad you are exactly who you are. We need you on this planet because this way freedom lies. I’ve got your back. And I will fight to protect you like a mama tiger.Thank you for your love and support as always.

I’m sending you love and freedom in a glorious rainbow of ways.

Love,
Leonie
(She/they)

The post An Important Post About My Pronouns & Gender Identity appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.

Scrapbook: What’s Inspired Me In January

Treasures,

As part of my Blogs > Social Media experiment, I’ve noticed my inspiration levels are way up.

Here’s a scrapbook of inspiration I’ve been collecting as I go, from both blogs & books.

Austin Kleon’s “Spend Time On Something That Will Outlast Them” post.
I’ve been thinking about how I want to spend my time, and I want to spend less time outraged by the world, and more time focussed on what I can create.

I like to watch Samuel Suresh videos – a calming blend of drawing, learning and philosophy. He is completely charming.10 Ways To Feel Disconnected by the magical Penelope Dullaghan.Above: my highlights from Austin’s post about David Epstein’s Range.A choir gathers to sing in their cars. So touching & ethereal.Patti Digh’s newsletter last week. (You can find all her newsletters here)

Dear Friends,

Be gentle with yourself.

The U.S. Inauguration this week exhausted me. It was the kind of exhaustion you feel when the marathon you’ve been running is finally over or when the weight you have been carrying is finally set down. There is that shaky feeling first, and then pure relief, tears, and laughter.

I felt the same way. All her words felt just right.

Via Austin, again. His daily blogs are an excellent scrapbook.

I’m reading “Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman in a Neurotypical World” by Laura James at the moment. It is splendid. Some of my favourite parts:

“Even today I enjoy reading a book much more second time around. A first read can be filled with apprehension. What if I don’t like the way the story goes? What if something awful happens to a favourite character? What if I get bored halfway through after I’ve invested something of myself in the story? A second read is a joy. I know exactly what is going to happen, so can immerse myself in the words and the subtleties in a way that would have been too stressful the first time.”

And an autist’s dream school:

“At school, you could choose what to do. If you didn’t like art or PE, you could read instead. Every day the library was stocked with new books. No one shouted or raised their voices. If you ever broke a rule a proper grown-up explained why it was a rule and why it mattered and then you were simply told – kindly – not to do it again.”

I just finished “More Than A Woman” by Caitlin Moran and it is hands down one of my favourite reads of the last five years. It’s compulsory reading for womxn aged 35+ or indeed, anyone who has seen some shit.

I had to re-read just to find this sumptuous piece on Hag Years to share with fellow hags. I think of her words every day at the moment.

“These are your Hag Years, and they are glorious. We think of ‘hag’ as a bad word – like so many words associated with women, like ‘fat’, or ‘slut’, or ‘bossy’ – but hags are cool, man. Consider the Hag archetype, through history: when life expectancy barely reached fifty, and once a woman was no longer a bride nor a mother, she entered her Hag Years until she died.

Hags lived slightly apart from the villages and towns – in a cave, or some witchy cottage in the woods. They tended their herb gardens, and mixed up their medicines, and were surrounded by their animals – dogs, cats; particularly clever and charismatic crows. They wore a cape, and had a stick, to poke things with, and they’d roam around, engaged in mysterious hag-activities like talking to trees, or doing weird rituals by streams and lakes. They’d be the only women callow young youths would be scared of – fostering a useful irascibleness that prevented all but the boldest from getting up in their grill, and wasting their time.

When trouble struck the wider community, in the end, the villagers would always end up having to bravely go and consult the hag, who would then provide them with a medicine, or provide wise counsel, or tell a story from days of yore that provided a solution to the current problem. And, every so often, they’d meet up with their coven of fellow hags and spend all night cackling in a way that terrified everyone else.

This, I note, in the twenty-first century, is exactly the life I am living now. I have Gone Hag. Observe my day, now, in my Hag Years. I’m living a Hag Life.”

P.S. Want my daily writings via email? Join the Secret Squirrel Club here.

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2021: A Year of 21 Day Challenges

Beautiful humans,

I’m excited to share with you a little project I’m going to be working on this year – a series of 21 Day Challenges.

I was inspired by Leo Babauta beginning his “40 Day Uncomfortable Experiments” – a series of projects designed to push him out of his comfort zone. And with that, my brain was off dreaming.

These challenges are a way for me to try out different habits and experiences that I think will enrich my life.

For me though, I’m making it shorter. I’m far better at sprints than marathons. So I’m going to make my challenges only 21 days. And I’m not necessarily interested in making them uncomfortable – more just a gentle exploration.

Here’s my current list of challenge ideas:21 Days of No Shopping21 Days of Franzen checklist method21 Days of Walking21 Days of No Social Media21 Days of The Artist’s Way methodology (daily morning pages and weekly artist dates)21 Days of Orgasms21 Days of Painting21 Days of Meditation21 Days of Yoga21 Days of Holidays21 Days of No Phone21 Days of Journaling21 Days of Whole Foods21 Days of Blogging or Book Writing21 Day Media Cleanse (No news websites, celebrity gossip, Reddit, Buzzfeed, Youtube, TikTok or social media)

These are NOT in order, and none are compulsory. They are merely a menu of options!

I might always log my challenges as I go, I might not. I might always announce what challenge I’m undertaking, I might not.

I may even do more than one challenge at a time!

I won’t do the challenges back to back. I will likely need breathing and integration space between them.

I also give myself complete freedom & permission to abandon any challenge (or the whole lot of them!) if they don’t end up being helpful to my mental health.

One thing I realised last year is this:

The Leonie of Today Is Not The Expert of the Leonie of Tomorrow.

Last year I had a bunch of goals in mind for the year, but by 3/4 of the way through the year, I realised they weren’t the right fit anymore. But I still felt hemmed in by my original goals. I don’t want to do that this time. I am making this optional on every level.

I can change my damn mind anytime I want!

I start on my first challenge tomorrow.

As you’ve probably guessed by my last sharing on Blogging > Social Media, I’m going to start with 21 days free of social media.

Facebook and Instagram are my biggest time wasters, so that’s what I’m eliminating.I will still however use Messenger – I use it like a texting service with my closest mates, and it brings me nothing but joy. I can access messages using the Messenger desktop & phone apps without opening Facebook.I’m not sure yet if my business profiles will post anything.This is more about my consumption of social media – it takes up an awful lot of time & brainspace.

I’m going to start by logging the experiment here, for as long as that is helpful to me.

I’m looking forward to what comes from these challenges… what new insights they unfold, what I’ll learn along the way and what I’ll be able to share with you!

Big love,

P.S. Want my daily-ish writings delivered to your inbox? Head here, my treasure.

 

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Blogging > Social Media

Beautiful humans,

It’s Saturday morning. All is sweet and quiet. My kids are beside me at the kitchen table, drawing and colouring. I like the sounds of them. I was excited to write today, even on a weekend, so here I am.

I wanted to share a realisation I had over my holiday.

This year, I’ve decided to consume more blog posts than social media.

Here’s the thing: after reading blog posts, I feel inspired, motivated, itching to create. I always learn something new. Like yesterday: I read this gloriously weird blog post by a guy who has tracked every single piece of clothing he has worn in the last 3 years, complete with incredible graphs. My kids were fascinated by the graphs on my iPad, and sat with me for a good 10 minutes as we dissected them. I’m still thinking about it, and considering what kinds of experiments I’d like to consider in my own life. It feels deep and alive.

In comparison, after reading social media, I feel overstimulated and overwhelmed. I don’t feel like creating. I feel like all of creativity is meaningless, and I don’t learn anything. It makes me develop comparisonitis, which is something I usually don’t experience. I don’t learn shit, and I can’t remember anything I’ve read after a scrolling session. It feels shallow and without benefit (beyond a way to kill time).

My simple algorithm to remind me: Blogging > Social Media.

Here’s how I’m supporting this shift:

Deleted all social media apps off my phone & iPadUse News Feed Eradicator plugin on my browser (I’ve used it for years already, it definitely helps)Have Bloglovin app on my phone & iPad – it’s where you can subscribe to all your favourite blogs & read their latest blog posts in the one placePurposefully sought out new blogs to read on a variety of topicsAsked friends for their recommendations on blogs to add to my favourites collectionI’ve mostly stopped looking at my phone, and instead use my iPad because it’s easier to read blog posts on – and it feels like a good subliminal reminder to me to read deeply instead of do a shallow scrollIn times when I usually read social media, I read blogs instead. For example: I like to read when I eat breakfast, and just after dinner. Instead of opening a social media app (I don’t have them anymore anyway), I open Bloglovin. It’s blog reading timmmmme, bitchezzzz!Blogs I follow

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and have followed so many for so long. I’m bummed that a lot don’t blog at all or as often as usual. Still, there’s plenty that do!

Here’s ones I’ve been following for the longest time:

Design MomA Beautiful MessAustin KleonYoung House LoveZen Habits

There’s more, but those are ones I’ve been reading for over a decade and am always excited to see a new post from.

And I defo want to keep expanding that list. Pop me an email (support@leoniedawson.com) with your favourite blog recommendations! I would LOVE to hear them!

What this means for my business

At this point, I’ll be:

Re-prioritising blogging over social media (I always have anyway – but want to emphasise it even more)Batch creating content for social media & getting my assistant to schedule itHaving my assistant manage all social mediaContinuing to tell people that my mailing list is the very best way to hear from me because #fucksocialmedia.

I’m not sure if I’ll one day just fuck off social media marketing entirely from my marketing activities. I know I’ve been thinking about it for years already and wrote that blog post about businesses that have already done it. I saw artist Kelly Rae Roberts announced a few months ago she was letting go of Facebook and Instagram as a marketing tool. Writer Alexandra Franzen hasn’t used social media for years, writes about it often, and even teaches a program about marketing without social media. Clearly, I have a boner for fucking it off. I currently have FOMO about it though. I’ll (of course) let you know if and when I have the courage to do so.

In the meantime, I’ll keep its interference in my life + business at a bare minimum.

My experiment so far

It’s only early weeks so far into my new Blogging > Social Media algorithm. It’s feeling better on my brain, heart, soul and creativity.

I want to make more, and live more, and that’s the most important thing of all.

I loves ya,

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Want to get my daily-ish writings via email? Sign up here! HOORAY! We can be pen pals!

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Press Publish #13: Back To Schoooool

Dearests,

I had a totally different expectation of how this week would go:

My kids would be back to school for the first time in two months, and I would be free to be a creative whirlwind, magicking up a storm in my studio. I’d have time! Energy! Brainspace!

In reality, I have felt completely zonked by the transition. One of my kids has needed a lot of emotional support to help her ease back into school routine. I also am already regretting my life choices to live 25 minutes drive from the school instead of just around the corner. 25 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot… but do it four times a day, and it becomes a lot. Plus just the very idea of a routine harshes my mellow. I just like being squirrelled away at home, living my best hermit life, only occasionally emerging to cause a glorious riot. The house was quiet and still and odd without the children there, and it feels jarring not to be interrupted constantly. Funny, isn’t it? Anyways, this week has just felt like an assault on my senses, and I’ve been acutely aware of how quickly my sweet ASD self gets depleted by the outside world.

So I’ve gone back to leaning heavily on ASD coping mechanisms and tools, especially my weighted blanket. Medication is a necessary constant for me. I also restocked for Lotus Wei and Naughty Naturopath Mum remedies. I am also going to look at noise cancelling headphones purely just to experience silence when I need it. My ears feel like they’ve been pounding with all the stimulation, and I can feel myself getting flappy around them.

Other coping strategies: listening to the same comfort music over and over (James Taylor and Olivia Newton John’s “Grace and Gratitude” album). Getting 10 hours of sleep each night just to help my brain digest all the input. Solo time. Journaling. My husband reminding me to lower my expectations on myself, and go gently.

I have two ideas for things I wanted completed by the end of this month – a longer marketing e-course and a shorter masterclass. And neither of them is going to be finished, and that feels hard and annoying. I want to finish the things! I want to make so many things!

I need to remember that I did take most of this month as a holiday, and it was glorious. I can’t take a month long holiday AND expect to have magically created something in a single sneeze.

And I so wanted this first week back at school to be a home run of productivity and creative accomplishment. For that first shiny new week to be perfect and start me on the path to success this year. I’ve been wanting to make so many changes this year, and now I haven’t started it off perfectly, there’s a part of me that feels petulant and despondent. Like: UGH WELL I MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP NOW AND GO BACK TO MY OLD WAYS LE SIIIIGH.

I didn’t realise I’d been holding such high expectations for this week. I might need to instead just take a breather, and be much kinder to myself and open to the reality instead. And note that the transition of going back into school routine is sometimes going to be tough on my kids and my ASD self. That it’s enough just to get through it, and even better if I can do it with some grace and tenderness.

I’ve got so much to write about. Maybe I can just start with that. A little bit by little bit.

Thank you for being here. I’m so glad you are in this world.

Love,
Leonie

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Video: Streamlining Social Media

 

 

Possum blossoms!

Social media can be a useful tool within your business, but it can also be a major source of headaches and procrastination!

It’s not your job to be on social media all day.

So let’s talk batch creating, scheduling posts and time management.

Woohoooo!

Big love,

 

 

 

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Money Mindful Podcast

 

Treasures! 




 


New interview for you! I sat down with Meaghan Smith from the Money Mindful Podcast to talk: How The Fuck Do You Build A $10 Million Dollar Business In Only 10 Hours A Week?


 


We cover:


 


How to do more in less time


What Pareto’s principle is and how you can use it in your business


How being your unapologetic self is actual the secret to the universe


Leonie’s top money tip


That you can do whatever the F you want in your own business


 


Listen HERE!

Big love, 

 

 

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Press Publish #12: I’m Back!

Dearest Penpal,

Exactly one month + 1 day ago, I wrote:

I’ve realised that this is probably my last proper work session for a week or so. Wild Bushman Dad arrives tomorrow, and I’ll be deep in food prep for Christmas. Then, the days when I have no idea what day of the week it is, when napping and board games and talking shit are my highest priority.

I said on the podcast that I wasn’t sure how long I would take off, that I would just see how long I lasted before the siren call of work called me back. Not because work needs me – but I really am rather fond of it, and quite love the routine of it. This is how a usual holiday routine of mine goes: I usually hang out with the family in the morning, have mini adventures or just slop about the house, and then I go piss off into my office for a couple of hours of creativity/admin/reading shit on the internet. Come back, read a book to the kids (this new illustrated version of Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree stories are our current obsession), make dinner, put kids to bed.

Anyways, I thought, for something different this year, I’d NOT do that holiday routine. And instead just see how long I lasted just staying in holiday mode. And guess what? I lasted a shockingly amount of time. And it was glorious, and it was good, and I feel a lot clearer than I have in an age. Even though I don’t work that much anyway (about 10 hours a week or so), I find my brain usually has a certain cognitive load of thinking about business and work and priorities just humming along in the background. Detaching and getting out of the trees to see the forest was damn useful. The longer I took off the more insights I had. I need to do that more often.

Here’s what I did in the last 1 month + 1 day:Made a rad Christmas feast. Honestly, my culinary goddess skills have REALLY progressed in the past few years. I went from not cooking + hating cooking to actually ENJOYING IT! And being more than ADEQUATE AT IT! Blow me down with a feather, I never thought that would happen this life. And yet it did. What a miracle!Developed a roaring addiction to jigsaw puzzlesHad my Wild Bushman Dad visit + stay for a week. We talked shit, had mini adventures, ate an enormous quantity of fudge, and he played with the kids. It was most excellent.Read a lot of books (mostly romance novels, but some majestically good non-fiction too. More Than A Woman is one of my most favourite reads of the last 5 years.)Mapped out the next year in my planner and calendar. The levels of organisational jollies this gave me was UNREAL.Had to have an emergency optometrist appointment because I was convinced I had a detached retina. Turns out, I’ve been sleeping with my eyes open like a CREEP and my eyes were as dry as a dead dingo’s dick. An eye mask and lubricating (snort) eye drops have done wonders. Life hack for anyone out there who needs it: you should, like, defo close your eyes when sleeping. YA WELCOME.Took my kids to a week-long swimming intensive.Binge-watched Bridgerton in two days and could barely cope with how much I adored it. The SEX! The SCENERY! MY FAVOURITE ROMANCE GENRE COME TO LIIIIIFE!Munched through a lot of morning buns at River Read.Last time I wrote, I said one of my kids had developed a Raina Taigmeier book addiction. Since then, she’s powered through a ginormous quantity of graphic novels. I feel like it’s a part time job for me now to trawl through online shops hunting to replenish her to-read pile. If you have any graphic novel recommendations for an almost 11 year old girl, hit me uppppp pretty please!Did FOUR social things. WOW! LOOK AT ME! We went to visit my husband’s parents, the kids & I hung out with some old homeschooling friends, I had an impromptu tea date with a sweet friend, and I also took her out for tragic Italian & magical churros. I always have huge plans to see all the people over holidays, and I never manage to make it happen. We are just so content being at home all the time, I have to remind myself to actually… you know… LEAVE sometimes.Went to a natural horsemanship workshop with my kids (PONIES! EEEEE! MY FAVE!). They loved it so much we’ve arranged to do it fortnightly during school term as well. In fact, we get to play with the ponies again tomorrow. EEEEE! My inner child is thrilled. I can already smell the ponies from here. I grew up on a cattle property & spent much of my childhood on a horse’s back. So it’s one of my fondest parental heart wishes to get my kids some of that equine connection too.

I’ve also got a new idea for a project. I’ll tell you about it v soon.

I’m not back to daily writing just yet – I still have a couple more days of school holidays left and I need to bake lemon cupcakes and read Enid Blyton to my children. #priorities

It’s good to be back though.

It’s going to be a good year for creativity for me, I reckon.

Thank you for being here.

Big love,
Leonie

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Video: The Software I Use in My Biz!

Baberinos, 

This is a question I get a lot!

In this video, I go through the main software I use in my biz!

If you’d like to try Kajabi, you can HERE!*

Other software I use include Google Suite, Asana, Shopify and Lulu xPress, Xero and more!

Enjoy!

Love always,  

 

 

 

 

P.S. *This link is an affiliate link.

 

 

 

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Video: Work Life Balance

Possum blossoms, 

Ohh the work life balance!

It can feel like such a tricky thing to achieve, and even trickier to maintain.

But it’s totally doable!

Love always,  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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