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Money Map Life Planning series

A staying home experiment, 747 on the Playa, + enrolling high end clients (so much to say!!)

Consider today’s post a long overdue catch up with you.
Yes, you heard from me the last couple of week’s about Marisa’s Experience Product
Formula, but that’s not the same as a good ole’ Love Letter straight from my heart to yours.
This is that.
I’m now about ten days back from Burning Man, and finally think I’ve caught up on my
sleep.
A staying home experiment, 747
I was supposed to travel for the next two weeks, a week in Esalen and then another week
in LA for an Evolutionary Priestess Training, and I decided to cancel it all. I’m even considering
the possibility of a longer-term no travel commitment, to see what would happen if I relaxed
more into being here. You can read about more about my inquiry and talk with me about it
here, if you have thoughts.
This year, Burning Man was more of a family reunion/work trip than an exciting adventure
into the Desert. Sounds kind of strange to think of Burning Man as a work trip, but in some
ways that’s what it was — an opportunity to link up with community folk I don’t see all the time
and to converge and dream into what’s next.
I flew in and out, so minimal travel time, and was there only Sunday until Friday, early am.
I only slept about ten hours in all that time, so I got the full experience for sure, but it was
different this year.
Honestly, there wasn’t even a whole lot of dreaming into what’s next because what’s next
seems to be already happening. You can watch a video of me dreaming with Stephen Brooks
at Burning Man last year, here.
And, all that we dreamed into is in process now. Amazing.
Before leaving, I had a Human Design reading update with a new friend, Karen McMullen
and she reminded me that more than most people, my job is to sit back and wait to respond,
see what shows up and not push in, leading with my own ideas.
Oh, it’s such a challenge for me, but when I do it, I do get big rewards.
Most recently, I got called in to resolve a conflict between two business partners that felt so
good for me to work on, it seriously has me questioning whether it’s time to make even more
space for me to get back to the roots of my 1:1 work, as a lawyer, but far more than a lawyer,
really.
At Burning Man, one of those was that I got to meet the creator of the Big Imagination Project,
Ken Feldman.
Ken dreamed of bringing a 747 to the Playa. And while I have mixed feelings about why that’s
valuable, and the amount of resources it costs, including Ken’s energy (!), meeting Ken was a
great reminder of why dreaming big is so important, even when you have no idea what or how
you will get there.
You can read about the project (and even contribute to it) here.
It seems silly, right? I kind of thought so.
But, when you see it and experience it on this remote strip of Burning Man Desert, it helps to
remember that truly anything is possible when we use our creativity, our community and our
resourcefulness — the best investments we can possibly grow in these curious financial times.
Next week, I’ll share with you another project that has truly blown me away, the creation of the
Camp Mystic Art Car — the Mystic Flyer.
In the meantime, something important for you, if you are ready for a meaningful shift in your
income model …
My dear friend and past client, Elizabeth Purvis, teaches women (and men in touch with their
inner Goddess) how to turn their service offerings into high-end packages that clients love.
In fact, one of our Eyes Wide Open members has already shifted her offerings just as a result
of what Elizabeth is teaching in her free educational series that she has out right now, and will
likely never offer again, as she is shifting her focus for next year.
So, if you are ready to shift into packaging your services into high-end offers (instead of hourly,
or one-off transactions), download and watch Elizabeth’s teachings right here OR download them
and save them for later, when you will be ready.

Okay, I think that’s enough for now!

I’ve got a huge day ahead of me – we just let go of the sales and marketing director at NLBM AND
my marketing manager is out with salmonella poisoning. Plus, I coach lawyers back to back this afternoon.

So, I guess it’s a good thing I stayed home this week, eh!?!
To your eyes and heart wide open life and income,
Ali
PS — If you only get one things from this email, go download Elizabeth’s 7 Steps to a Sold-Out High End
Program if you are ready to package your services into high end offerings your clients love. It’s the fastest
path to increasing your income and one of our Eyes Wide Open members already implemented it and
put it into action with just what Elizabeth is teaching in this free series.

Conscious Money Challenge: How Are You Investing?

Conscious Money Challenge. Are you willing to open your eyes?

If you have investment money in the stock market, whether through a retirement account or a straight brokerage account, I challenge you today to find out what your money is invested in and make a conscious choice about what you are supporting in the world.

If you aren’t sure how to do this, grab your last account statement (or go online) and find the 5 letter code that indicates where your money is invested.

Then, type that into Google and review the breakdown of holdings.

For example, AGTHX, the Growth Fund of America. It sounds so nice.

I might have even picked it myself back in the day when I worked for the big law firm said, “Hey Alexis, you’ve got a 401k, how do you want it invested?”

I looked at the options on the paper they gave me, closed my eyes, put my finger down and filled in the little bubbles on my form. Totally blind.

Ridiculous, but I didn’t know any better. And my guess is you don’t either.

So, are you willing to stay blind? Or are you ready to wake up?

We vote with our dollars, but not just with what we buy, but with HOW WE INVEST.

Most of us, though, are investing blindly.

Using robo-funds, or financial advisors who only care about their own commissions or getting your money under management, or simply ignoring it because it’s too complex.

But, really, it’s not. For example …

Type AGTHX into google and you can see that if you are invested in what they call the Growth Fund of America, you are investing in Phillip Morris (the tobacco company that hid data on nicotine’s addictive properties), EOG Resources (fracking!), and Amgen (a company that may be suppressing a true cure for cancer to promote it’s own bottom line — unverified).

Come on, people.

Are you really desiring to support big tobacco, fracking and big pharma?

Or do you think we can do something better with your money?

Wake up, please. Let’s take back control and not invest blindly just because we want that “safe” 5% return for our retirement. It’s not safe, it’s a lie.

What will your retirement be anyway if we are living in a world without clean water (fracking), where we cannot get access to our own natural healing (big pharma), and where lying to addict people is considered acceptable (big tobacco)?

We can change this, but we have to wake up to do it.

Message me at support@eyeswideopenlife if you want help looking at how you are using your resources. It’s time we made a change. And it starts with you.

Perfection Not Required

Recently I was in Esalen for 4 days (check out the pictures here) and then leading my Money Map Masters Founder’s Group retreat here in Boulder (here are some pictures from the retreat).

I didn’t open my computer for the whole week.It felt great. And then on Sunday, I got anxious. Probably because I hadn’t yet written this Love Letter, or the emails announcing the end of the discount code for our annual membership offer, or the emails announcing our payment plan options.

Rather than succumbing to it and getting back onto the computer before I was ready, I let it be. I felt the anxiety, tried not to create any story about it, and spent time with my family.

Then, the work week started and I was deep into re-entry with focus on the expansion of the New Law Business Model business model. I’m bringing in a COO so we can go to the next level of growth while I step more into creating content and away from running the company.

I’ve tried to break through this level three times and I haven’t made it yet, but I’m betting the 4th time’s a charm.

So, here I am, sending this out half a week late and remembering (and reminding you) that it’s okay. Perfection is not required here.  Sure, consistency is best in business. If you can send out your newsletter the same day every week, awesome. And, if that’s not a match with your life, don’t beat yourself up for it.

Just get it out when you can and trust that the people who need to get it will.

I am making a conscious decision to not push myself the way I have in the past, to really live my Money Map and put myself first, family second and work third, knowing I have enough.

Pre-Money Map, I would push myself way harder than was really sustainable to make sales, to be “successful” by someone else’s definition and to keep up with the launch whizzes who are part of my peer group.

When I updated my own Money Map last year, I realized that it was not reasonable to have two businesses that were doing regular high pressure launches of products/programs to different audiences. Not without burning myself out.

So, even though I had invested $24,000 in a mastermind designed to support me to take my business to the next level and $15,000 in a launch manager, I decided to take a different path. I chalked those investments up to learning what I didn’t want, and sunk more deeply into what I do.

While I want the work of Money Map and Eyes Wide Open out into the world, it can’t be at the expense of my well-being and my relationships.  Those are priority.

So, I did end up getting out emails about the end of our payment plan, but I didn’t announce the end of the discount, which means I’ll extend it a couple of days. And that’s okay.

When you are in business for yourself, you get to choose what gets done and what doesn’t.

And I hope you choose wisely, putting yourself first, relationships second and earning money only last, with a clear plan to know you have enough so you can.

To do so will require you to get beyond your Money Dysmorphia (the distorted view of our finances that causes us to make poor choices around our non-renewable assets, time, energy and attention) and start making life and work choices from clarity.

My friend Myka did this and she was able to carve out 6 weeks to write her book, trust that she doesn’t need to take on revenue generating work for 3 months and is freeing up the space to live the life she’s always wanted.

Why wait to have the life you really want?

This is the time, your time is now. My work is to guide you to see the resources available to you to live that life today and stop putting it off until you have enough. You have enough now. It’s time to mine it and truly live.

I love you so much. Keep showing up through all of it.  Perfection is not necessary.

Love beyond,

Ali

 

PS — We have 10 spots left in our annual membership using code BOGO500OFF to take $500 off your investment (only with pay in full option) or you can pay over 12 months and get started for as little as $199. It’s our wisdom and experience on your life and income for a full year. Many of our members have been with us for years because they know you can’t find business model building, pricing and packaging, launch strategy, sticky situation management and legal, insurance, financial and tax knowledge anywhere else for this low of an investment. Would love you to be one of the remaining 10 to join us!

SAVE $500 with code BOGO500OFF: eyeswideopenlife.com/membership

START FOR ONLY $199 with payment plan.

 

Inspiration to Leap and Rites of Passage

If you’ve already introduced yourself, I’ve probably fallen in love with you. If you haven’t written in, please tell me about you; let me fall in love with you too ([email protected]).

I’m gearing up for a BIG week next week and I’ll be honest I’ve got a bit of pre-big things happening anxiety kicking in.

I leave for a secret retreat at Esalen on Sunday and get back on Thursday so I can immediately dive in to our first Money Map Masters in-person retreat here in Boulder. I’m super excited for all of it and a little anxious about being off the computer and away from my kids for pretty much the whole week before the in-person retreat.

Gratefully, I do believe both the businesses and the kids are ready for this kind of independence.

In some ways my kids and businesses are at the same stages, on the verge of adulthood and I’m being invited to let go more and more as they individuate from me, which has me on my edge, in the best way possible.

Learning to let go is one of the most valuable lessons we can receive in this lifetime, I think.

There’s a time to micro-manage and infuse yourself into your kids and businesses and a time to let it all go and trust you’ve baked enough of you into the system that they will continue to operate at a high level even without you there.

Let go of trying to control the kids, but only after you know you’ve given them a solid foundation of learning to trust themselves and be trustworthy. Let them make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, grow and evolve.

Let go of control of the businesses, but only after you’ve established the systems and got a team in place that you know trusts itself to carry out the vision you’ve established.

One of my teams had an intervention with me last week and said “go, Ali. we’ve got this. You can be all of yourself out there in the world and know we’re holding down the fort while you do. We love you, we accept you, now get the “F” out of here.”   Well, it wasn’t word for word like that, but that’s how it felt.

And, I believed them. I felt so loved. We are creating a plan for them to buy the business so we can be partners and truly share the wealth that’s being created here.

My kids’ dad is in Thailand until Thursday and this is the first time ever I’m leaving the kids’ for 4 nights without me or their dad here. We do have a house guest here to stay with them and they are 12 (almost 13) and 16, but this feels like a huge rite of passage. They’ve assured me they will work together to get Noah off to school each morning, go to bed at a decent time and eat healthfully throughout the week.

Trusting my children to become independent is the weirdest process in the world. It requires me to face all of my own insecurities and I look forward to sharing more of my process with you as I see the outcomes of a few experiments I’m running in the background while parenting radically differently than most.

I’ll let you know how this 4-days away experiment went in the next Love Letter.

In the meantime …

I’ve been looking back over the many leaps I’ve made in my life to see if I can identify what most supported me during these times of great progress, so I can offer it back to you.

The leaps have been many …

From the security of the 6-figure paycheck into my own law practice. From the law practice into online business. From the online business to the farm and unwilling to do anything for money I wouldn’t do for free. To the willingness to let it all go and file bankruptcy. To rebuilding everything from scratch using “share the wealth” business models in which everyone wins. To coming out publicly and living with two names and distinct personalities in the world.

And here’s what I realize … I never would have even made the first leap if I had not seen someone else do it first. Just about every leap I’ve made has happened after I’ve seen someone else do it and said to myself “if she can do it, I can do it.”

When I first launched my own law practice, I had the courage to do it because I saw my friend Diedre successfully doing it. Then, when I decided to move it online, I had the courage to do it because I saw other women successfully creating lives of freedom and flexibility while sharing their work in the world.

Today, I am going beyond what I’ve seen anyone else do and I’m charting my own course. But, there’s no way I would have even gotten to this point if I had not allowed myself to be inspired and guided by other women (and a couple of men) who had done what I wanted to do and supported those early leaps with their courageous jumps first.

I hope that watching me go first is inspiring you to more of what you truly desire in life. I hope that I’m giving you permission to live all of yourself and integrate your work with your life fully so that it’s hard to tell the difference between work and play. I hope I’m the guiding light you need to know you can do this — you can make the leap and trust that the safety net you seek will be there to support you in the form of all the resources you need to experience the outcome you desire.

It does help to have a guide. It does help to have the support of someone who has already been there and done that. I’ve had a coach every step of the way. Each one perfectly keyed to guide me because they had already done what I wanted to do.

If you’d love inspiration to make the leap into an online business from a current bricks and mortar, on location reality, you may enjoy this post about how I made $117,000 in 67 minutes and transformed my business reality overnight (after a lot of not succeeding because I didn’t have the right guidance and support). The links at the bottom of the post are no longer active, but the post itself will guide you to the 4 biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make when making this leap to the online world + the 4 best tips I have for smoothing the process out and doing it well.

If you’d love inspiration and support for something you know I’ve experienced, please write in and let me know so I can speak to it in a future video or one of these love letters here.

It’s my absolute joy to share my experiences so you can learn, grow and evolve too because that brings us closer than ever to being able to play together.

With so much love,

Ali

PS — this is the last week for the Money Map Life Planning Series and the New Year’s Clarity workshop. If you have not gotten into them yet, do it now because we’ll be shutting it all down this coming week.

Money Map Life Planning Series is here.

Recording of New Year’s Clarity Workshop is here.

Recording of Live Q&A Call With Me From Yesterday is here.

PPS — if you are ready to have my support on your vision and the build-out of your business over the next year, join us in the year-long Eyes Wide Open membership: use code BOGO500OFF athttp://www.eyeswideopenlife.com/membership and take $500 off your enrollment + fund a scholarship for someone else in serious need.

Here’s some of what our new members are saying:

 

 

 

 

With her heart and Eyes Wide Open: a love letter to Ali and the Money Map

This is no ordinary Love Letter; it is a Love Letter to Ali and the Money Map. A message to our community from a very dear, passionate and inspiring member of the Eyes Wide Open Collective: 

In 2015, one of my biggest intentions was to create a career in alignment with my values and Soul-Purpose, one that created financial sovereignty while also being of service in a way that felt inspiring and nourishing. I heard about the Money Map Life Planning System through several friends who were going through the program and their feedback and reflections encouraged me to explore the possibility.

The Money Map is a system designed by Alexis Neely (artist name: Ali Shanti), a paradigm-shifting visionary entrepreneur and thought-leader in the field of Sacred Economics for the New Earth. This system guides participants to come into right relationship with time, money and how they get paid through a series of modules that are worked through at the individual’s own pace.

I was touched by what felt like a “wholistic financial perspective” with which this work is held. I chose this program as the next step on my path to creating an empowered, congruent and financially sovereign life. I knew that an “accountability partner” would really support me through this process, and quickly found an inspiring and resonant partner in a Facebook community group that I’m a part of.  

The first two modules in the program helped me get clear on how much money I need to be earning on an hourly and monthly basis to create a lifestyle that is aligned with my values, needs and self-care, so that I can be in service “from the overflow”. It felt so clarifying to discover my “monthly number”, which is $3567, and to have a clear goal for my monthly income to aim towards. I even made a visionary collage art-piece with my monthly number on it, to help crystallize the intention.

The third module was very illuminating in helping me get clear on how I choose to invest my time. I realized how key it is for me to create space for self care (visits with a naturopath, acupuncture, massage, restful sleep), so that I can really begin sharing my gifts from a foundation of wholistic ‘thrival’. I began ‘time-blocking‘: creating my own schedule, making space for my business, clients, relationships, creativity and Spirit.

The next two modules led me into greater awareness of what real resources are currently available to me, and how I can best put them to use for my business, based on my ‘Entrepreneurial Archetype’. It was very enheartening to unearth the many ways in which my immediate environment is already aligned to support my life and my work in the world. The diverse, pioneering path that Ali has taken in her life and career has cultivated her ability to mentor other visionary entrepreneurs with creativity, innovation and resourcefulness. As I worked through these modules, I felt empowered to begin creating my website, promotional materials and branding. Of the eight entrepreneurial archetypes, I aligned with ‘Sage Guide’, and was better able to understand how to grow my business in a way that supports me in doing what I do best.

The final step was to get clear on my purpose and complete any ‘incompletions’ that are blocks on the path to creating the life that I really want. This included getting on track with loans and debt, clearing the air in challenging interpersonal dynamics and attending to health concerns that may have been swept under the rug. The intention of this module is to bring to light our blind spots and create an accountability system for us to begin bringing them to conscious completion.

Throughout this whole process, I regularly posted questions, reflections and intentions in the Facebook group, to have them witnessed and held by a supportive community. I attended the twice a month coaching calls, receiving guidance from Ali and her team, including the brilliant ‘Human Design’ consultant, Christopher Power, who works with the ‘Eyes Wide Open Life Collective’ to support people in understanding how their ‘Human Design Type’ influences their business.

As I deepen the establishment of my business and it’s processes I intend to work through Phase Two of the Money Map, which will support me in ensuring I have the proper legal, insurance, financial and tax structures in place.

With this program, I got really clear on the direction I am choosing to take my business. I created promotional materials, began seeing new clients and received really great and encouraging feedback about my work. Creating ‘right-livelihood’ through my skills and gifts has been a key component in creating a life that I love. It is definitely an ongoing journey, but having a resonant ‘tribe’ of supporters and co-creators has been an invaluable support and for that I am truly grateful.

I recently came across a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer that felt like a powerful reflection for this journey: “When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.”
Join us in the pursuit of your life and income awake, aware and on your terms. We want to work to construct an income model that works with you and for you, to include all of your amazing skills and talents into one thriving system. Take some time to go through the Life & Income Planning Series right now (for FREE) and then listen to the fourth session, recorded on New Year’s Eve. If you want to dive in with your Eyes Wide Open, join our Membership for a higher, deeper level of support from Ali and her team at the Eyes Wide Open Collective.

 

About Prema Gaia:

Prema Gaia brings over 13 years of intensive study and practice of the world’s wisdom traditions & healing arts to her transformational coaching practice, workshops and retreats. Feeling called to dedicate her life to service, Prema gave away all of her possessions and traveled the world on a several-year ‘vision quest’, writing about what she discovered, in magazines such as Spirituality & Health, Sage Woman & South Africa’s Odyssey Magazine. To connect, please visit: www.facebook.com/premagaiawriter

Can’t we all just get along?

I’m curious … are you feeling a massive shift since the start of the New Year? I am. All of the sudden the people and resources I have been dreaming of and envisioning for the past several years are showing up in my life with a full bodied yes to fully diving in together.

I’m experiencing this sense of “whaaaaattttt? this is all really happening. finally. dreams. coming. true.”

  • A new romantic partner who is blowing my mind and heart wide open.

  • An investor for the lawyer business.

  • An operations manager for the lawyer business with ten years of experience running Eben Pagan’s companies.

  • A partner for the Eyes Wide Open business who I’m not sure I could have even dreamed up, if I was making a list of my ideal partners

It’s all happening. And, I would really love to bring you with me, if it’s a match and you desire to create this kind of alignment in your life and income.

I sense a big part of the key is that I’ve finally accepted that we can’t all just get along because … we don’t. And that’s not only a-okay, but it’s valuable. I can stop fighting for what’s not a fit.

The people and situations that are not a 100% match are dropping away with ease, making space for those that are to fill in.

I didn’t always used to think this. I thought if I didn’t get along with everyone, there must be something wrong with me. And I would fight to get along.

Conflict was rampant in my life and my companies. It tore me apart. Trapped me in drama, self-judgment and tremendous doubt.

I often felt wrong. And bad. And sad. And frustrated beyond belief. I couldn’t understand where I was going wrong. I was trying so hard to do it all so right. And I was failing.

Over the past year, I’ve seen a massive shift in my experience.

Today, I see that my belief that we all need to “get along” was keeping me trapped. I see that I didn’t truly trust that if it didn’t feel good, I could walk away and make space for what does. I thought I was a bad person if I didn’t stick it out and make it work.

Today, there is harmony in my life and my companies. This harmony springs forth from within me and radiates out among those around me. Where harmony doesn’t exist, the relationships drop away with ease, making space for those with which I am in full resonance.

It’s so much easier than the way I did things before.

In the past, I struggled to fix things, sure I could make it better, I would hold on to situations, people and resources that I thought I needed or who I thought needed me. It was a scarcity mentality.

Not anymore.

My new mantra is show up as all of myself, and if it’s not a match, let it go. And fast.

Not to say that it’s always easy. I can still get hooked into patterns of wanting to save people (and thinking I can), believing if I just try a little harder, I can make it work, and wishing it could be different.  I can still sometimes be tempted into the idea that compromising myself to “fit in” is necessary.

But now I can see when it happens quickly, come back to myself and let go of what doesn’t resonate much more rapidly.

I wish the same for you.

Because what will happen is when you let go of everything that is not a match, you’ll either find yourself surrounded by the most amazing people and relationships you can imagine or you’ll find yourself alone and having to face where you were not being the person you want to be and become that person before you begin to rebuild your relationships.

Either way, you are on the path to creating your own version of heaven on earth.

I desire that for you, whether we get along or not.

With love beyond the beyond,

Ali

PS — My son started cotillion today. I love that I am teaching him that he can be a suit and tie kind of guy and I can be a freaky feather wearing kind of gal and we can love each other fully and accept each other completely. Here’s a couple of pictures of his first night: me and him(Facebook); sparkle Noah (Instagram).

PPS — If you have not yet watched our New Year’s Eve Webinar and you want to work with me to fully align your life and income in 2016, this is the time to watch. We are 2/3 full in our program and if we are meant to work together, the time for me to get to know you is now. E-mail me at [email protected]


And watch the recording of the webinar here to determine if my support to align your life and income in 2016 is in the cards for you.