Connie Chapman is a life coach, speaker and writer empowering big dreamer and soul seekers to discover a new way of living and creative lives they love.
We love the inspiring messages you share with the world on creating a heart-driven life. Where did you begin your journey on creating a life you love?
The turning point in my journey came when I was 27 working in a career where I felt unhappy and miserable. For most of my life I had been living what other people wanted and expected, rather than doing what made me really happy.
For years I had held the desire in my heart to empower others and spend every day spreading inspiring messages with the world, but I had a lot of self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness around whether I could do it. One day while scrolling the internet for inspiration, I stumbled across a Life Coach, and she immediately jumped out at me, so I decided to take a leap and start working with her.
Our work together helped me get back into connection with my heart to uncover what I really wanted. She supported me in clearing all of the fears, doubts and limiting beliefs which were holding me back. With her encouragement, I began writing a blog sharing my learnings, philosophies and experiences and then a year later began my Life Coach training.
As I continued following my heart, I took bigger and bigger leaps and less than a year after commencing my training, quit my job to run my dream business full time.
When starting your business did you face moments of self-doubt and fear? If so, what tools did you use to overcome them?
Yes! I had to work through so much fear and doubt. The first step was to practice calming my thoughts and getting out of my head, so I created a daily meditation and journaling practice which really helped me work through what was happening in my mind.
Secondly, I did my best to surround myself daily with positive and inspiring messages that supported me. I listened to lots of audio books, youtube videos and read stacks of books that were filled with empowering messages and the guidance I really needed to hear.
The other big practice was in learning how to connect with my heart. When I listened to my head it was full of thoughts of fear and worry, but when I dropped into my heart I could hear a loving and supportive inner voice. I made it my practise to listen to my heart rather than my head.
We often have a million things on our to-do list, which can sometimes become overwhelming. What are your tips for making time for yourself, while mastering your to-do list?
Well first of all, have a list and write it all down. I can have the tendency to carry things in my head and when I do that I feel so much more overwhelmed. But when I write each task down or break every task down it creates so much headspace.
At the start of the week, I like to create 2 lists – one for the work tasks that need to get done the most and one for the personal or self-care tasks I really want to have in my week eg: what yoga classes I will go to or when I want to go for a run.
I also block out set time for ‘me’ time in the morning when I have my morning practices of meditation, journaling and some yoga. My biggest practice is making this a ‘phone free’ zone, so not checking emails or scrolling social media until my morning time for myself is done, or until I am sitting at my computer ready to start the day.
Are there particular things you love to surround yourself with to create a relaxing home and office environment?
Yes absolutely, my environment is so important for feeling creatively inspired, relaxed and supported. I love either burning a candle, some essential oils, or even a stick of incence. I often have some chilled/house music lightly playing in the background. I always have a cup of herbal (or english breakfast) tea by my side and I am a big fan of mood lighting so love having natural light or a beautiful lamp on. I have a very minimal style, so I like things to feel clean, clear, ordered and spacious in order for me to feel focused in my work.
If there was one thing you could have told yourself when starting your business what would it be?
When I started I hit the ground running without much planning or preparation – I just went in head first and tried to do everything at once.
So my advice would be don’t rush! Instead slow down, do things well and enjoy the journey rather than always speeding onto the next goal. Spend time really mastering some of the foundations and doing a few things well, rather than trying to do too much and doing it poorly.
Take time to get clear on your brand, your message, your audience and most of all your key ‘why’. Create systems and structures in your business that support you and that will be solid and working well for when you are ready to expand.
Don’t let yourself get too serious! Remember this is about doing what you love and having fun, so don’t forget to keep smiling and do it all with a light, playful heart.
