I am super excited about the Soulful Shout Out series here on Soul Speak! 

One of my favorite parts of blogging is being able to introduce you to amazing souls who are putting goodness into the world. I love connecting people and sharing products that I love, and so I’m just thrilled to be able to do that with you here.

If you would like your product/website/service promoted here, please click here to read the details and then email me to apply. (I take what I share very seriously and will only share products and services that I am in alignment with.) The spaces are going quickly, so please keep that in mind when you’re signing up! A huge thank you to everyone who has already done so. You’re all absolutely wonderful, and I am so grateful for each of you.

And now, let’s get to this week’s beautiful soul and her wonderful offer just for you! 

This week, I am featuring Kris Oster from Mythic Rhythm! Kris and I met in the Amazing Biz and Life Academy (which is perfect place to meet interesting, like-minded souls)!

She is a fascinating person who leads such an interesting, impassioned life. She has combined two of her great loves: mythology and helping solopreneurs succeed! She is super creative, amazingly talented, and extremely passionate about helping others step into their dream life.

Kris has created a wonderful program called Prosperous Creativity, which starts on May 5th. Keep reading to learn all about it and also about her special offer just for you!

I asked Kris a few questions to help you get to know her and also get a better feel for her upcoming program.

So let’s get started!

Your path has been filled with originality, creativity, passion, and beating to your own drum (sometimes literally!). What gives you the inner strength and confidence to continue trusting yourself and moving where your soul leads you? 

I think that, like other solopreneurs, there are many times when I wonder if I’m totally whack for trying something or paving a new trail! Like you mentioned above, I belong to Leonie Dawson’s Amazing Biz and Life Academy and to Michelle Ward’s Clubhouse where I can get feedback, advice and encouragement from other creative and spiritual entrepreneurs. I also have many dear friends who are amazing entrepreneurs and we mastermind with each other at least once a quarter. Having a diverse posse to share the journey with is uber important. The entrepreneurial path can be lonely and scary.

As far as trusting my inner strength and guidance, my intuition has never steered me wrong. Every experience on my winding path to where I am today led me to this wonderful place. Even my biggest flops! Experience is the best teacher, so I remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect, I just need to be present.

I decided a couple of years ago that I’ll never again wait for an authority to give me permission to be myself. But, even still, when I’m launching something new I get anxious and fearful. It’s like stepping onto stage for a dance or drumming performance: I’m excited and prayerful.  I’m nervous and optimistic. Every time feels like the first time. But that’s also what makes being an entrepreneur so darn exciting!

Could you share a bit about how you use your degree in Mythology to help others reach their dreams? It sounds fascinating! 

Yes! I’ve been using myth and story as a way to help entrepreneurs re-wire their brains for more effective marketing and self-promotion.  Marketing can be a golden opportunity for healing self and the world. There’s something deeply restorative about reading someone’s blog, website, or social media post where they’ve told their unique story. I know that’s why I get so addicted to some entrepreneurs’ blogs, such as Danielle LaPorte and Alexandra Franzen. (I know, I should be spending more time working on my book…) Their words heal me. They galvanize my self-confidence that I too have healing and soul-restoring words to share.

A good example of how I specifically work with myth in marketing is through having entrepreneurs come up with a list of their favorite characters from film, books, TV, or theatre; we move through all of the character’s qualities, what they were wishing for, what they were struggling with and why they were such powerful influencers. It’s always a revelatory experience for the entrepreneur and me to see how closely aligned their lives are with the characters that they’ve loved since childhood! And then we take these themes and mythological superpowers and create taglines, bios and personal intros. We can also see clearly from this “character study” the language that the entrepreneur’s ideal client needs to hear. It builds trust and an emotional bond between the entrepreneur and their audience.

You are someone who took the leap and is living proof that when we move towards our dream, the universe supports us and meets us more than halfway. Can you offer any advice for anyone who is wanting to leap but is feeling afraid to? 

Take action. Even one tiny step towards your dream will invite your allies, visible and invisible, to take up residence in your house of miracles. Joseph Campbell once said that when you courageously begin to walk your own path, “follow your bliss,” that a thousand invisible helping hands will show up to guide you.

When you take a leap of faith, you have no choice but to believe in the invisible.  Most of the time, the path of bliss leads you through the dark forest, an unknown territory. Make sure you surround yourself with amazing supporters: a coach, mastermind group, community of like-minded and like-hearted people. I say the more the better, but even just one will do.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout my own spiritual awakening is the importance of balancing and embracing both heaven and earth. Knowing that we can be spiritual beings living in the physical world – and enjoy both sides – has opened up so many possibilities for me. You also focus on embracing both sides – could you share how this has helped you in your own life? 

One of the blessings of learning to live a more embodied existence is that I’ve integrated business with pleasure … sounds sexy, eh? Working with the mermaid archetype opened up a world of sensual awareness that has seeped into all aspects of my life, including business.

I now prefer to work outdoors on the beach or near any body of water. The fresh air and relaxed pace make me more productive and brings out my natural genius. Ideas and words just flow.

I used to be so in my head, mentally and spiritually. It’s easy to go back there! I know stress triggers me in so many detrimental ways. Shallow breathing, brow furrowing, hunched shoulders. When my body feels shitty I get up and bellydance or practice Odissi (an ancient devotional dance from India). I get my butt down to the beach, which is 5 minutes away by car! Hello! I walk for 30-60 minutes and it’s like I’ve gone on vacation for a week.

What does your soul want you to know? 

Slowww down. Focus on one project. Finish your book!

That voice reminds me to be like Mr. Tortoise in the Aesop fable “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Slow and steady wins the race. It’s been interesting still reinventing myself at age 45, but I love it. I love learning and I adore teaching. I have a constant desire to learn more, to give more and to do more for others.

I had a tendency to juggle a lot of projects in 2011 and 2012.  I think this slowed my process down in the past. This year I’m focused on 2 major projects, which is a lot less than before.

Still, I often hear people say to me, “Wow! You work so quickly and do so much despite the fact that you have a 4-year old.”

What do you have coming up on the horizon? 

Lots more in-person retreats and workshops! For 2014, I have designs to go to Europe and Hawaii holding my business-building workshops/retreats in sacred landscapes, particularly in areas where the veil is thin.  Sacred stone circles and Hawaiian heiaus are really calling me. Can you imagine creating a business plan on a sacred site? Just as you described bringing heaven and earth together in question #4 above, I think being in a field of sacred magic as you’re strategizing your business would help you channel the cleanest information, rapidly. The vibration of that information would energize and uplift everyone who came to work with you or read those words on your blog. I think it’s a powerful idea and my dream is for it to come to life next year.

I’m also writing a book called The PLUNGE, based on my coaching work and years of research. I’m 50% done and wish to get an agent and traditional publishing deal before the end of this year.  I’m working with a dear friend and colleague Karey Pohn, who’s specialty is play and game design. She is going to help me “gamify” my coaching work! How cool is that? We’ll include a game at the end of each chapter and perhaps come up with a divination system. The ideas are endless. (Can you say “business coaching” iPhone App?) We want to come up with ways to make it engaging, entertaining and practical for everyone to play the entrepreneurial game!

So, keep an eye out! I’ll probably offer a pre-release of the first 2 chapters free in October or sooner.

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Keep listening to your Muses, Mermaids and Angels. Honor them by making more space for their gifts. Do fewer things. Go deeper within and excavate your own riches.

And, know that you are ENOUGH just as you are right now.

 

Your new Prosperous Creativity program looks wonderful! Could you please share more about it with all of us? 

I’m really excited! Prosperous Creativity: 6 Secrets to Building a Profitable and Blissful  Business was first hatched in October 2012. I opened it up as a beta program in January of this year and it’s ready for it’s first “official” launch on May 5th!

I’ve spent the last 12 years researching and writing about mythology and depth psychology while also working in marketing for entertainment and software corporations. I knew there was a way to join my two worlds, business and mythology, but wasn’t sure of my particular flavor of putting them together. Now, it’s all coming together in such satisfying ways.

The program is immersive in that you will do deep soul work at the same time that you work on your business. You’ll do guided meditation along with branding exercises. You’ll embody the soul of your business through movement and ritual. You’ll begin to creatively integrate your life so you don’t feel spread so thin. That’s totally exhausting right? And no fun. Fun is an essential part of the journey.

In the business planning part of the journey, you will also schedule your celebration time and rewards for completed tasks and milestones. You define all of it. I provide the frameworks, guidance, accountability, help with copywriting, planning content around your core message … and more.

It’s a great program for solopreneurs who feel overwhelmed, like they’re overdoing and not seeing results. They’ll finally know what to prioritize and what to stop doing. And, the bonus is that at the end of 90 days you will know yourself and your ideal clients in deeper ways than you can imagine. And, you will know what desires and motivations move them to engage and buy from you.

It sounds absolutely amazing! When you envision your ideal client, what words come to mind?

Brilliant, dedicated, creative, spiritual, magical and empowered. Over the past two years since I left my corporate job, the majority of my clients and workshop/retreat participants have been writers, dancers, musicians, acupuncturists, healers and graphic/visual artists. Most of them are multi-talented and multi-passionate. And, as it turns out, most are introverts. I’m an ENFP (Idealist Champion on the Kiersey Temperament scale), so I think my clients come to me because I can help them overcome their fear of “coming out” as their authentic selves. We entrepreneurs have to shout our messages from the rooftops, otherwise no one will notice us in this noisy market.

On the surface, I help people get unstuck in their marketing and biz dev planning; help them to put language to their divine medicine, their core message; assist with integrated marketing, content strategy and pricing. But really, it’s deeper than that. I’m helping them dive into their own soul, into their own depths, where they can plant new seeds in the richest, most fertile soil.

 

Kris is offering all Soul Speak readers a 1-week tour of her Prosperous Creativity Program for just $37 + $200 off the entire program if you decide to register!

Be sure to click here to learn all about what’s included in the tour – it’s amazing how much she packs in for you to really get a feel of what the program is like.

The tour begins May 5^th and the deadline to register is May 1^st. 

Click here to learn more!

(If you can’t make it for the tour and still would like to talk to her personally about the program, she’s happy to set up a 15-minute Siren Session. Just email her by clicking here, and she’ll get back to you right away!)

Thank you so much, Kris, for sharing about your beautiful program here on Soul Speak and for your special offer!