Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in today. This is the photo business help podcast episode number 11! I’m appreciative every day that new people and subscribed listeners are spending time and getting value from this thing. It’s getting to be more fun the more I settle in, so thank you. If you’d like me to explore a photo or biz related topic on an upcoming episode, feel free to send me a note at natalie@photobizhelp.com And use Podcast Topic in the subject. That’s natalie@photobizhelp.com and use Podcast Topic if you have something you’d like me to explore on an upcoming episode of the podcast.
Okay, before we dive into today’s content, I’d like to read another review! This one is from Lisa Quinlan…thanks Lisa! Lisa is a long-time friend of mine and fellow photog herself over at Gray Duck Studios. She says:
“LOVE this lady and all the help and knowledge she has to offer. Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for years, this is one podcast I recommend.”
Thanks you, as always, as always, for your support Lisa. And for taking the time to leave a review. They help this show rank high in searches related to the topic and reach more people like YOU. So if you’re listening and loving, consider taking a minute and leaving a review at jennings.photo/review, that’s jennings.photo/review to leave a quick review of the show!
We’re all on a wild journey in these bodies. It doesn’t matter to me what you believe in and what makes you tick as long as it isn’t causing harm to yourself or others. On my journey, I’ve adventured a lot, been hurt, learned to play more as I get older not less, created many things and discovered tiny pieces of wisdom on the path that make ME tick.
As the podcast intro mentions, I believe strongly in the importance of nurturing our entire mind, body, and spirit connection, in order to run a healthy business & live a balanced life.
So I’ve decided to dive into my favorite bits of wisdom I’ve leaned on and learned from and share them with you here.
When I started all this podcasting stuff, I did some contemplation about this podcast and how I wanted to reach people. On the surface: pretty basic, right? Photo Business Help. If you look closely at the logo you’ll see a little plus…Yup. And that’s cool but I asked myself what I would enjoy in a podcast like this in the hopes of 3enjoying this creative process more, and thus, bringing you the best I can at the moment.
I’m definitely excited about the short, 10-minute-ish episode length. My friend, Steph Taylor hosts a super helpful show called The Socialette podcast and has a similar format of bite-sized episodes. I LOVE being able to take something away that’s helpful, but not overwhelming.
The process of integrating lessons and new knowledge can easily be overlooked, and I’ve found that the best way to really digest new things is to take a piece at a time, sit with it, contemplate it, and integrate it into my life a little each day to see how I like it.
Along with the short, digestable shows, I wanted to create something a little more consciousness expanding and heart opening. The more I bring the holistic mind-body-spirit triad into my daily business practices, the more I’m enjoying business, and meeting like-minded clients and coaching students on a similar journey.
I really believe that more business podcasts need a dose of ALL the pieces that make up the entrepreneurial journey, not just the how-to business stuff. After all, we’re human beings. And human beings are fascinating, complex beings.
And this, dear listeners, brings me to this new segment of the podcast: the book that I spent over two years reading. It’s called the 7 Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, and though it is so tiny you could fly through it in an hour, it’s mighty. In fact, it seemed so small and basic I shrugged it off at first as “another book like that” thinking the title just added cheesiness to the whole thing.
Like a of things I’ve caught myself unfairly judging in my life, I was wrong.
Why do I like this book? Because it speaks volumes of truth, no matter your spiritual or religious background. The concepts in this book truly need an integration period, so I would commonly spend a few months practicing the suggestions from a single chapter. But the concepts are also beautifully simple, and have brought many gifts into my life. I certainly haven’t mastered it yet, and may never, but some concepts are becoming more habitual as time goes on.
Consistency is key, remember?
So, here’s the plan: I’ll give you a little synopsis every 6 weeks on each chapter. I might read a juicy excerpt I like & talk a little about what’s worked for me in business and life, and review some of the suggested ways to integrate the knowledge into your own life.
Today I’m going to share the intro of the book with you so you can decide if it’s for you.
It’s a choose your own adventure!
If it’s not your thing, no worries! Cruise on by the 7 Laws episodes when they pop up and continue enjoying the other photo & business stuff the podcast offers.
If yes, go out and get a copy! Get your first skim or read through under your belt so you can be a part of the conversation when these episodes come up. I’ll be publishing new 7 Laws episodes about every 6 weeks so you can listen, re-read, digest, and begin integrating.
Okay, let’s check out the intro to this thing! This intro was written by the author Deepak Chopra and will probably be the only time I straight up read to you for two whole pages. But I think it’s important to lay a clear foundation if these episodes are going to bring something useful into your lives!
One important suggestion you might want to try, too. If something in this feels woowoo or untenable or strange to you, just step back and allow the question, why? Is it because it’s unfamiliar? Do you have prejudgements? Stereotypes or old archetypes in the way? Or maybe it’s just straight up not your thing, and that’s totally cool. But I invite you to ask yourself first, is all.
It’s those moments of: what the hell is this that’s making me feel this thing….where growth starts.
Okay, here goes: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, by Deepak Chopra
Introduction by the author
“Although this book is titled The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, it could also be called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Life, because these are the same principles that nature uses to create everything in material existence—everything we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch.
“In my book, Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities, I have outlined the steps to wealth consciousness based on a true understanding of the workings of nature. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success form the essence of this teaching. When this knowledge is incorporated in your consciousness, it will give you the ability to create unlimited wealth with effortless ease, and to experience success in every endeavor.
“Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals. Success is the ability to fulfill your desires with effortless ease. And yet success, including the creation of wealth, has always been considered to be a process that requires hard work, and it is often considered to be at the expense of others. We need a more spiritual approach to success and to affluence, which is the abundant flow of all good things to you. With the knowledge and practice of spiritual law, we put ourselves in harmony with nature and create with carefreeness, joy, and love.
“There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component. Moreover, success is a journey, not a destination. Material abundance, in all its expressions, happens to be one of those things that makes the journey more enjoyable. But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.
“Even with the experience of all these things, we will remain unfulfilled unless we nurture the seeds of divinity inside us. In reality, we are divinity in disguise, and the gods and goddesses in embryo that are contained within us seek to be fully materialized. True success is therefore the experience of the miraculous. It is the unfolding of the divinity within us. It is the perception of divinity wherever we go, in whatever we perceive—in the eyes of a child, in the beauty of a flower, in the flight of a bird. When we begin to experience our life as the miraculous expression of divinity—not occasionally, but all the time—then we will know the true meaning of success.
“Before defining The Seven Spiritual Laws, let us understand the concept of law. Law is the process by which the unmanifest becomes the manifest; it’s the process by which the observer becomes the observed; it’s the process by which the seer becomes the scenery; it’s the process through which the dreamer manifests the dream.
“All of creation, everything that exists in the physical world, is the result of the unmanifest transforming itself into the manifest. Everything that we behold comes from the unknown. Our physical body, the physical universe—anything and everything that we can perceive through our senses—is the transformation of the unmanifest, unknown, and invisible into the manifest, known, and visible.
“The physical universe is nothing other than the Self curving back within Itself to experience Itself as spirit, mind, and physical matter. In other words, all processes of creation are processes through which the Self or divinity expresses Itself. Consciousness in motion expresses itself as the objects of the universe in the eternal dance of life.
“The source of all creation is divinity (or the spirit); the process of creation is divinity in motion (or the mind); and the object of creation is the physical universe (which includes the physical body). These three components of reality—spirit, mind, and body, or observer, the process of observing, and the observed—are essentially the same thing. They all come from the same place: the field of pure potentiality which is purely unmanifest.
“The physical laws of the universe are actually this whole process of divinity in motion, or consciousness in motion. When we understand these laws and apply them in our lives, anything we want can be created, because the same laws that nature uses to create a forest, or a galaxy, or a star, or a human body can also bring about the fulfillment of our deepest desires.
“Now let’s go over The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and see how we can apply them in our lives.
And this is where I’ll leave you listeners until next time. Remember that in all you do and want to achieve, consistency is key.
Ciao.
