I have a story to tell you.

This is a story about misalignment and mistakes, about fears and insecurities, about divine timing and expansive visions.

Once upon a time, there was a bright-eyed 25-year-old woman who had recently embarked on her personal and spiritual growth journey. She decided, on the advice of her life coach, to quit her corporate job and become an entrepreneur. She had no plan, no money, no business (yet), but she was smart and intuitive so she thought she would figure it all out fairly quickly.

She started offering branding & marketing services (as she was naturally gifted and experienced in that realm, and lo and behold, people were willing to pay for those gifts!), but her eyes were set on a different vision: to build an “empire” of deep connection, learning, healing, and growth for soulpreneurs.

Her light shone bright and her heart yearned for creative expression, soul-deep conversations, global impact, and to experience beauty in all of her senses. But it didn’t take long for the fear and not-enough-ness to override that spark. There were people and forces who, intentionally or unintentionally, tried to dim her light… and she let them.

So on the advice of a dear mentor and friend, she decided to focus solely on her branding & marketing services. They were paying the bills (kind of) by now, and there was a clear path to success for this business.

It made sense.

In 2017, Studio Co.Creative was born. She grew the business, grew her team, launched a course (BEGIN: style + strategy for soulpreneurs), built out systems and processes, and sharpened her strategic skills. Sometimes she marketed her business, but she was usually too busy or burnt out to do so consistently.

Inevitably, her light grew dimmer. Each moment of doubt, each moment of not feeling 110% aligned, and each moment of letting her (or someone else’s) brain override her heart caused her to shrink smaller and smaller.

So she did what any logical person would do: she split her one business into two! She witnessed the beautiful relationships that formed in the BEGIN course community, and realized her focus had shifted too much towards the corporate clients. For someone who teaches brand strategy, she wasn’t living one. And for someone whose heart desires to serve soulpreneurs, she wasn’t truly doing that.

The Soulcademy emerged in June 2020, and she dove in head first – doing a live round of BEGIN, hosting regular masterminds and happy hours and circles, and once again, witnessing beautiful relationships forming.

By creating a separate space and brand for her soulpreneurs, she shifted her agency into a more professional, strategy-focused brand. The “new-and-improved” Co.Creative relaunched earlier this year, polished up and ready to go.

Excellent, problem solved.

But little did she know, 2021 would rock her to her core. When that happens (as you may know from your own core-rocking), it’s hard to stick to your plans. The ground is not solid. Her spiritual identity went through a massive shift, her lack of boundaries caught up to her, her money stories took out a megaphone, and her body/intuition and mind/logic were fighting a constant battle.

So The Soulcademy fell to the wayside, and so too did Co.Creative. She said goodbye to a number of people, stories, patterns, and places, so that all that was left at the end of the year was…

Her.
Her soul.
Her heart.
Her voice.

Now after a year of emptying out, healing, repairing, and strengthening, she is ready to come back out of hiding; prepared to steward the vision that was given to her.

The moral of this story is: alignment is everything, but it can only come from radical self-discovery and self-honesty. Our body and soul are constantly trying to guide us there, but we must listen and act in accordance (and not expect other people to see us in all our brilliance if we’re not tending to our flame).

Moral #2: sometimes the vision and mission comes before you are ready.

My loves, a new year is upon us, and I am heading into it with a level of resiliency, capacity, honesty, and alignment than ever before. With that, this community is going to take a front-row seat. I don’t know exactly what it will look like, but I do know one thing: it will be a space where we can be seen and held for ALL of who we are, as we build and grow businesses we love (and that love us back).

With that, I have two asks:

1. Fill out this survey – if you are an entrepreneur who desires soul-centered learning and community in 2022, come co-create the vision with me. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and I would so appreciate your input.
2. Follow me on Instagram at @robynjames.co if you’re not already – I am going to start to turning up the volume on all things soul, strategy, and alignment there while the Soulcademy prepares for a 2022 relaunch.

I’m in this with you and for you.

Love,
Robyn

P.S. If you’re deep in the throes of misalignment, I made something for you: download my free Brand & Business Alignment Audit here. ‘Tis the season for self-reflection.