Making space for joy
Hi Everyone,
Happy New Year and Happy Independence Day to Haiti.
It’s been a while since I’ve sent out a narrative letter to you all.
I like to write to you all when I have something to say. I’ve often been the type of writer who shares work when I feel like it, which explains my silence. However, lately, I’ve felt a sense of urgency to get my words out, to be consistent in my production. Thus, my 2024 theme is to be consistent.
Over the last year, I’ve been trying to determine the strategy for this newsletter, but recently, I realized that I want to stick to my roots. February 2024 will mark 15 years since I first published my writing online and my newsletter always served as a place to keep people abreast of happenings in my life and community. Because I’ve always formatted the newsletter as a letter, I started calling it a narrative letter.
I hope in 2024 to bring you monthly narrative letters delivered on the first of the month. These letters will provide a behind the scenes window into my transformation and growth journey, particularly my journey to building an independent business.
The other day, I flipped through a journal that I have reserved for love and I read an entry titled 'Forgiveness 'where I invited myself to not focus so much on healing from trauma, that I forget to make space for joy.
Outside of my theme of consistency, I’d like to create space for joy. This is important to me especially since everyday it seems like the world is descending into geopolitical and climate chaos. When faced with the anxiety of the unknown and collective pain, I invite myself to create space for joy. That can look like, experiencing my city like a tourist, reading a book in the park, making dinner with family, and writing.
This year brought me much joy:
- I started a new role as an executive director, leading Founder Forward, a nonprofit that supports early stage founders to gain access to funding and advising.
- I published my first book, Intellectual Will, a complete system that gives people the tools needed to pivot to new directions, walk an uncertain path, and prioritize goals so that they can take purposeful action.
- I started building out the Learn.Grow.Pass website to serve as the home for evergreen articles, online store, and the vision for a cooperative venture studio.
- I had many experiences traveling to new places, going to set exhibits, going to concerts, and more.
It’s safe to say I’m inviting joy and looking forward to creating more space for joy in 2024.
This monthly narrative letter will change from month to month depending on what’s going on, but I anticipate sharing what I’m reading and what I’m learning. My focus for the 2024 Q1 is organizing my business finances, determining my business model, and writing regularly. I will share my learnings during this time.
I can’t thank you all enough for continuing to join me on this journey. I appreciate all the support and kind words.
I’d love to hear from you: What way can you invite and create space for joy in 2024?
*** Lisa-Marie