That feeling of being washed up
A season of reimagining
Dear Reader,
A friend recently had a dance workshop which used to sell out effortlessly only have four spots sell, two of them sliding scale. She described the experience as : feeling like a washed up artist.
My open rates are down on my newsletter, my cash flow is a little stale, my social media is deleted, and I’ve still never learned a TikTok dance. As 40 sneaks around the corner, it has me feeling a little washed up too.
What really is so bad about being washed up? To be washed away? To be smoothed over like a rock from the river? To be less seen? To be more hidden?
I find myself in this strange portal between book writing and book promoting. The book has been written, but the book is not being shouted from the roof tops yet. We slowly whisper its becoming but we do not tell you to order it. I begin to make my spreadsheet of all my marketing ideas, revise sentences in my head while I impatiently wait for copywriting to hand it back to me for another round of minor tweaks.
I made a little website for my new book. I am planning my next classes and slowly inviting people to the next round of Fieldwork. Working on my email funnels. Tidying up my Notion dashboard (it is very pretty). Building a whole new website from scratch out of sight. Everything behind the curtain is changing. What is under water is churning, rip tide and all.
Still dreaming of my roadside stand and how to work around the zoning ordinances. The Pilates shed was delivered - three shades brighter than I imagined with the wrong windows. The outbuildings multiply while I try to keep up with what they will be. Nate confirms he can put bigger windows in and Katy confirms she will put the dry wall in at a later date so Nate can do the windows first. Everything later than I thought, the lessons in patience continue.
The spreadsheets, these are what have saved me this year. My Pilates tracking spreadsheet, my marketing calendar and visions, my book promotion ideas, my finances. My color coded, courier new, very pretty spreadsheets. Give a Virgo rising a spreadsheet and perhaps a habit will change.
The feeling of being washed up is the same as the shoreline pulling me back in. Crashing against my toes greeting me at the break point. The breaking point of here and now. Where my cultural relevance went to live in a square grid I now look for in the corners of a google search and still I find very little. A new name, a short trace back only a year.
There is a relief in being less sure, less booked, less full. And yet my schedule remains stacked, I wonder how to make the spaciousness match my desires. My debut has ended and I enter mid life, the sweet middle ground, the rocky terrain of hopelessness. The work here feels steady, deeply unseen, restless as the current changes.
There is no standing ovation for my five am alarm going off. No fan fare for the color coded spreadsheet. This middle season lasts longer than the dopamine high of my scrolls and my scoops and my sighs. I am building real systems that let the washing up wash over me in a way that I can withstand with some steadiness.
As washed up as the driftwood, I hope to be as rooted and smooth. Both the seat and the seated. Both the log and the branch. What a moment to be in, the good in between.
May it last as long as it needs to, may I remain weathered.
TAKE TWO SECONDS : Last week I asked subscribers what they are into to get a better feel and send more segmented emails outside of Monday Monday - if you want to stay in the loop about future classes, sales, offerings, and special events click here
Things Of Note :
Registration for Mapping Your Creative Business (Aug 9 + 10) opens THIS FRIDAY August 1 with Early Bird Pricing - Jump on the waitlist here
I was lucky enough to have a truly amazing Human Design reading with em tebbetts last week that I can’t reccommend enough. As a 2/4 Emotional Manifestor it can be hard to live in a Generator dominated world! I can feel so misunderstood! Like I always have something to prove! em lead me through so many amazing excercises and showed me my chart in a whole new way.
The genocide in Gaza continues to terrify and crush my heart. Every small action counts, every action makes a difference. With so many deaths related to starvation just in the last month, we must remember this is a death spiral and we cannot turn away. Consider redistributing to an aid organization, supporting your local Palestinian restaurant, or amplifiying a project that supports Palestinian artists, writers, and activists in this time digitally or in your real life.
My dear friends Ellen and Elle are fundraising to build a home of their own and you can help them and read more here - it is a Straw Panel Cabin!
I have really been enjoying the new podcast Personal Business with Amanda Laird
CLASSIFIEDS : Movement maven HanaKyle offers body positive personal training: mobility and strength sans diet culture! Use code MONDAY for 20% off any package. Ready to shape your career like a work of art? Join The Artful Career waitlist to unlock early access and exclusive perks. 🎨 Your small biz should look and sound as brilliant as you are. FIMAZO crafts your brand, logo, site, emails, socials, & all your creative needs. 💡 Peace is not beyond your being, it’s your inherent nature 🪷 Reveal, reclaim, & embody the magnificence you are through 1:1 remote Reflection Sessions You are looking to sort your thoughts, get new perspectives, find agency and initiate change? I offer creative counseling to help you find your way.
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Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes
Want to read July’s installment of Behind the Scenes of Business for paid subscribers : Check out Marketing without Instagram : Does it even work?
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