The art of surrendering.

That is: giving up on your dreams, turning away and then noticing that they have, miraculously, started to come true.

Desperation makes us do silly things.

Perhaps we agree to work for much less than we deserve, launch a product or service that doesn’t feel quite aligned with where we’re at (but we’re hoping will bring in a big chunk of cash) or we abruptly end a project, or relationship.

I like starting things. And I like ending things. But I’m working on both (starting less; ending less abruptly.) When 0 people signed up for my course, I wanted to remove it from my online shop immediately, like it had never existed. But I didn’t.

I left it there. I wanted to practise ending something slowly. Having run courses for quite a few years, I know that if at least one person doesn’t sign up right away, it ain’t gonna fly. Call it spiritual, call it business sense: but there is a clear pattern.

However, I wanted to allow myself to sit in the failure a minute. Not just that: to also announce my failure, on Substack. I could easily have buried it and no one ever would have asked where it went. But for personal development reasons, I didn’t.

What I did do, though, is surrender.

I didn’t make it cheaper. I didn’t do more promotions. I didn’t run expensive ads. I didn’t write more emails. I didn’t beg. (Never beg.) Instead, I mentally let go of the course. I felt some relief, because now, I wouldn’t have to put it all together.

I turned my attention away and I discovered a potential opportunity for a rhyming kids’ book I wrote with my daughter. We got excited, thinking about how it would feel to have our book published and in bookshops. I loved this shift in energy.

From failure to potential.

It was the weekend, and we walked on hot London pavements imagining what it would be like to do signings together, in a children’s bookshop. And readings. We thought about press opportunities for our book. We got hyped.

We don’t have a book deal. We might never get one. But we dared to dream. We dared to feel hopeful. We dared to really imagine ourselves in a different reality, where we are joint published authors of a kids’ book - and it felt pretty sunny.

Something else happened.

I opened my emails and saw that someone had signed up to my journalism course. I’m so enjoying running this course, the pitches are coming in from my students and they are brilliant. I will have a belly-flip moment when they tell me they’ve been commissioned.

Someone else signed up to my Substack course.

I had a beautiful email about a course I ran last summer - The Creative Way (to build your confidence) - explaining how the course had built her confidence to the point that she’d done something she never thought she’d be able to do.

It was emotional to read.

By turning away from my failure, and the course that led to it, and by leaning into creative projects and opportunities, I’d let go of any negative attachment to it and the Universe swiftly delivered different versions of ‘success’ to me, instead.

Sometimes, instead of drilling into something that has begun to feel too heavy or hard, we need to stop. Let go. Any creative pursuit takes work and perseverance - so do that - but then, if it’s not happening, walk away.

And you might just find it comes chasing after you, calling your name. Or, perhaps, something else will slip seamlessly into its place. Something bigger, something better, something that’s meant for you - and this moment in time.

Now, for paid subscribers: another video coaching workshop (it’s just seven minutes long) from my course Revive. This workshop will get you thinking about what matters most to you right now, in work and in life…