In this photo, from right to left, is Rachel MacDonald, Tara Bliss, Susana Frioni and myself. We met in an organic cafe on the Gold Coast, just before I left for Europe in March.
This was the first time I’d met these girls ‘in person,‘ because before that we’d all been ‘online buddies.’ We met through an online training program called B-School, which teaches women how to create and run online businesses.
Through B-School I also met other gorgeous friends too: Jess Ainscough, my wellness warrior guru, Anja Schuetz, my beloved assistant, and Kat Tepelyan, my design and programming genius. (When I met Kat I knew everything would change forever. She sauntered into my life – New York ghetto style – and turned it upside down in the most liberating, marvellous, psychedelic and unforgettable way.)
Connecting with other like-minded women has not only been fabulous for making and cultivating lasting and deep friendships, it has also been the key to my success as an online business owner.
Before B-School, I’d always been a lone-ranger. For years I was the youngest psychic around. I was at least 20 years younger than other people at spiritual conferences and events. I was also by far, the youngest ‘working’ psychic anybody had ever heard of.
Being an ‘old soul in a young body’ made it difficult for me to find friends my age. Not that there was anything wrong with having ‘older friends,’ but as I got older I realised how important it is to have people with whom I can talk about the everyday stuff too. Like raising children, the ups and downs of motherhood, fashion, health and diet, and stuff that women in my age group need to ‘air.’ So being able to meet like minded women in my age group was eagerly embraced.
What I never expected to discover though, is how vitally important it is for your business to be well-connected. Of course, I’d been told that ‘successful business is all about being well-connected,’ but I thought that meant I needed to social-climb, appear at events to be seen and heard, and sweet-talk my way to success. So, I rejected the notion of being ‘well-connected,’ deciding not to do any of these things because they felt unauthentic and slimy.
(I’m also a hermit at heart so being told ‘I’ve-got-to-get-out-there-and-meet-people-to-make-it-happen’ made me crawl deeper into my cave…..)
However, as the months passed and I grew into my role as a business owner, I found myself becoming well-connected. I wasn’t only meeting and socialising with amazing people, I was writing for other people’s blogs, giving interviews, making appearances and being invited to business lunches to meet ‘such and such,’ for different world-changing projects. I was networking!
Yet all of this unfolded naturally and wasn’t forced or contrived in anyway. I just found myself being offered and invited, and I also found myself ‘offering’ and ‘inviting’ others.
I discovered that being well-connected means opening your heart to life and inviting more love in. It means keeping your energy open so that like minded people, projects and opportunities can find you. You can’t be a lone ranger if you want to be successful because success always comes from another person’s love and willingness to open up to you, and to embrace your unique ideas and perspectives.
This past year, I’ve had many people extend their hands to me in love, offering me success. Many of them were the lovely women I mentioned above.
From the depths of my heart, I want to thank you for your love, support and kindness. I do hope that I too, can be instrumental in your success.
in White Light + Love,
Belinda
[…] These connections and friendships have been fundamental to the success of my online world and school because without them I would not have had the support I needed. I couldn’t “go it alone,” and together with this amazing group of women, I learned, laughed, cried, stressed, conquered and built a platform for my message and friendships for life. ( I wrote about it here). […]