Seasonal Work and Life

Kathleen Shannon 0:00
All right, the being boss book is here, and you can buy it wherever books are sold and bosses. It's beautiful. If you've bought the book and want to help us make it a bestseller, please leave us a rating and review on Amazon. Hello, and welcome to being boss,

Emily Thompson 0:19
a podcast for creative entrepreneurs. I'm Emily Thompson.

Kathleen Shannon 0:23
And I'm Kathleen Shannon.

Emily Thompson 0:28
Today we're talking about living and working seasonally. As always, you can find all the tools, books and links we reference on the show notes at WWW dot being boss dot club.

Kathleen Shannon 0:40
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Emily Thompson 1:57
I'm always most excited about episodes like today's episode,

Kathleen Shannon 2:03
and it's our Earth Day episode.

Emily Thompson 2:05
That's it. That's it. I remember the first year we went through Earth Day with a podcast, me being the earth nerd that I am. I was like, Hey, we have to do one. And then it became an annual thing. And again, between this one and the Halloween episode, two favorite episodes of the Year for sure. So who is our Earth Day guests last year was it it was Mary Reynolds who wrote the garden awakening, which is still one of my very favorite books. It's actually one of the books that I started when I first started caring with Almanac supply co so I was I was, you know, getting couple books together for there's like, obviously, this one's going to fit. It's still it's like it's like a life textbook almost. Now we're going into redoing our yard since we've moved in two and a half years ago. And it's when we like go back to over and over again as we plan how to live with our land and help it go wild.

Kathleen Shannon 3:02
And that episode got a ton of response, which was super exciting. So guess who we tried getting on this episode?

Emily Thompson 3:10
You better believe that we here at being boss are always trying really hard to get some awesome people but know that we're not so boss that sometimes we don't get turned down. Because we tried to get Bill Nye on and he or his people very respectfully declined.

Kathleen Shannon 3:28
So they said no, but they also copied Bill Nye on the rejection. So we have Bill nyes email address.

Emily Thompson 3:37
Right. And we had a conversation about like in house as the never copy and Kathleen and I on emails like that because oops. Now we know Bill Nye, we gotcha.

Kathleen Shannon 3:48
brand, keep trying. So if anyone has a Bill Nye connection, or maybe Neil deGrasse Tyson connection, yes. Okay, but we are super excited to dig into this episode. What's funny about this one, we're talking about living seasonally. And we did a minisode all about seasonal businesses. But we were talking about I don't know, like if you sell a bunch of stuff around the holiday season that's like holiday specific. So we're talking more about business model. But in this one we're going to really be integrating in living seasonally, like from a seasonal perspective, we're talking Summer, Fall, Winter spring. And it's funny because I think a lot of people thought that's what the minisode was about. And so they were commenting like, Oh, I can't wait to listen to this one. Because I've been so curious about this. Oops. But now we're gonna dig in.

Emily Thompson 4:40
Yeah, for sure. So that minisode got a lot of response and then also at almanacs. So, living seasonally and working seasonally, something I've been super into for a really long time. And it's not something we've brought to the forefront here very much because we have a million other things to talk about. But it is something we want to start infusing more and especially as I've built almanacs, Supply Company which has a huge focus on living and working seasonally. I've even done some polls over there like on the Instagram account for Almanac as like, what sort of seasonal things do you want to know about and everyone's responding business and not really my focus at Almanac, but it is proof that we need to be talking about this more here. Because I feel like we have a lot to say.

Kathleen Shannon 5:21
Alright, so let's dive in by talking about what it means to live and work seasonally, and how we're doing it and what we hope to practice moving forward. And we haven't really prepared a whole lot for this episode, I'm really excited just to brainstorm it out with you, Emily, and see where it takes us. But I want our listeners as we are discussing this to think about how they are living seasonally and integrating that into their business. or hopefully you get a few ideas for how you can start doing this as well.

Emily Thompson 5:51
Yeah, so I think to get started, though, you need to understand a couple of things. So there are a couple things I want to lay out here in terms of what it means to live and work seasonally. Because I think a lot of times whenever people think about living seasonally, it's all about eating seasonally, it's about eating the foods that are in season, our making sure you get your pumpkin spice latte as soon as it hits the menu at Starbucks, or whatever it may be.

Kathleen Shannon 6:15
This is legit, though. I'm about seasonal eating. And I'm about some pumpkin spice. Yes,

Emily Thompson 6:20
I know, I know. And you shouldn't be like that's definitely part of it. But that's only a very, very small part of what it means to live and especially work seasonally. So I want to go into this with this understanding that every year has a as a rhythm. It's a rhythm that that happens with the four seasons of the year, but also it kind of happens monthly as well. So when I go into it with that idea, where every year has a rhythm, and we're gonna be talking about how to tap into those parts of that of that yearly process.

Kathleen Shannon 6:52
I also think that in that vein, every project, relationship, business, all these different aspects of our life, our hobbies, what we're doing, those have a season as well, that happens seasonally and monthly as well.

Emily Thompson 7:06
Yeah, yeah. So the seasons of the year, I can easily be reflected and all the things that we do. And it doesn't mean that just because it's spring outside your you know, dairy, you're in a spring phase of your business or anything like that it doesn't have to be that tightly correlated. But you can think about the seasons of your business or relationships or whatever, in the same in the same essence as you do the seasons of the year.

Kathleen Shannon 7:31
All right. And so we want to talk about why we should be living or striving to live in accordance to these rhythms and how it can help our work.

Emily Thompson 7:40
I think that I think that living seasonally or really getting in tune with the seasons, there's a lot of really good things for you. I think, first and foremost, it creates this like environment of mindfulness, where you're simply being aware of all the things around you, you know what's happening in your yard or on your drive to work, what the temperature is like, what the lighting is, like you're being so very conscious of everything around you that living seasonally or striving to live seasonally brings a very heavy dose of mindfulness to your day to day living, that I know we all strive for, but have that have a really hard time pinpointing how it is to do it. I think living seasonally is the best way to do it.

Kathleen Shannon 8:23
I also feel like it's something that we've lost as we've become more modern. So even our grandparents, but just a couple of generations back were growing their own food. And I mean, coming back to the food thing like that had it seasons. But I also felt like they were working very seasonally as well. And if you go back further and further, everyone has their seasons. But modern, you know, modern life has afforded us a lot of privileges. It's allowed us to work all the time whenever we want. But that also comes with its disadvantages, and it can throw us out of balance sometimes.

Emily Thompson 8:59
Yeah. And I also think that part of that is part of that also comes into a person's creativity, I think that you can tap into the rhythms of the earth of like the seasons that are around you, and create in this at the same pace as the earth and you can tap into that like extra flow of energy, which sounds super woowoo and out there, guys, but we're going to be talking about that more in this episode and really bring it home in a way that I don't see as Whoo, I see as being just very Earth conscious, which, as a geographer, that is based in science is not true at all, but how it is that we live as humans on the earth.

Kathleen Shannon 9:41
You know, even the other day I was flying home from Oklahoma City back to Detroit and I got in a half hour early because the wind was carrying us a little bit faster and I think about living seasonally in that way as well. Just think about it as like riding that wave catching the wind, having it behind your back to help you go to sell Little bit faster. And we're always talking about working smarter, not harder. And I think that this is just one more aspect where you can work a little smarter, use the seasons to your advantage, rather than just forcing it or even swimming upstream. There you go see salmon could learn something from this.

Emily Thompson 10:18
Or we could learn something from salmon guys is really what it is, right? And so so from that we can really bring a very practical sense of business into what it means to work seasonally. So how is it that you can run your business on this sort of annual basis in connection with the seasons, that allows you to create but also rest, and do all the things to be super fruitful? Because I think we can probably look at the earth around us and go, she's probably not missing out on much because she's doing everything she needs to in the right, order and process. And it's she's doing all right for herself. Alright, so

Kathleen Shannon 10:55
where do we begin spring? Do you want to talk about spring first?

Emily Thompson 10:59
Yeah, let's talk about spring. Well, do we want to talk about spring, what I actually want to start at the very end of winter. So for me, whenever I think about how to live seasonally how to start like super beginning. And I see winter is actually being divided into two parts. And it's probably the one season that I see most easily being divided into two parts. And the second part of winter is where we're actually going to begin. And this is a place where it's darkest outside, where it's cold, and you just want to be cozy and wrapped up in your blankets. And what you're probably doing or what you should be doing is dreaming about what you want to do next. And I think especially the northern hemisphere, like in on this continent, or where it is that we are doing New Year's on January 1, we very naturally already have in place this time of year in the late winter, when we sit down and we make goals for the year ahead. So we're thinking about what it is that we want to create next, what it is that we want to do next. And this is a very important process, as we know are very important part as we know, to the process of creating anything. So in late winter, you are going within you're getting really quiet, you're thinking about what you want what you're going to be putting your effort into for the entire year ahead. And this is such an important part of what it means to grow a business of being a creative person, you have to lay out where you're going to be putting your energy and the months ahead. So that's what happens I think, in late winter,

Kathleen Shannon 12:44
and then console is late winter, would you say january, february?

Emily Thompson 12:49
Yes.

Kathleen Shannon 12:50
And early winter is November, December.

Emily Thompson 12:53
Yes, exactly.

Kathleen Shannon 12:54
So do we want to talk about November and December? A

Emily Thompson 12:56
little bit? No, we're gonna wrap up with Nova.

Kathleen Shannon 12:58
Okay, I gotcha. So we're starting like January, January, February. So

Emily Thompson 13:03
the very beginning part of the process when you're just being super chill, holidays are over, beginning a new thing. You have to like, plant those early seeds of thought and hopes and dreams. Because soon you have to start taking action.

Kathleen Shannon 13:19
And you know, we're not well, I can't speak for both of us. I love some resolutions. In fact, I should share here that I've totally failed at my no cursing resolution.

Emily Thompson 13:31
But I had the highest hopes for you, Kathleen.

Kathleen Shannon 13:34
But even more exciting than resolutions. I think for me, it's just this. It's almost like gearing up for spring like I feel like spring is where some of that like where the resolutions start to come to fruition and where I kind of get re motivated around them. But I love the winter that are that late winter, January, February, for like you said, planting those seeds and really thinking about what I want my intentions for the next year to be. And so again, we do this with our one word, intention practice. But then, like we were talking about the rhythms of the seasons, we also carry our intention practice into the months with the moon. And so this is another like Earth based way that we are guiding ourselves along with nature to work smarter, not harder to use the forces of nature to help us along our way. And to you know, get out from behind our computer screens, right. So I like to think about like so this year, your intention, Emily was peace. Mine was abundance and style because I couldn't pick just one. So in January and even now in February, I'm thinking about how those might start to carry out throughout the whole year. It wasn't like I think this is where we don't lose steam around our intentions. It's not like we're going whole hog which I think is the problem with resolutions and why they fall flat. We're not going whole hog and really executing, the moment that we decide what our intention or resolution is. We're kind of thinking about how do we plant that seed deep inside the earth when it's still cold? How does that seed start to become nurtured? How is it going to bloom and show up for us in ways that we expect and in ways that we don't expect. And so I think that that's another way that I like to think about those things in the late winter.

Emily Thompson 15:28
Yeah, another part of late winter, I find is also super nurturing the closest or like the, the most immediate parts of your support system. So for me, for example, that's my business partners, it's you, and it's my Almanac, partner, Holly, it's also, you know, my life partner, David. So immediate family. So David, and Lily, my closest friends, my closest family members is the time when you know, you're not really going out. And you know, doing big vacations and meeting all kinds of new people like that's for summer you do those things when it's nice outside winter is when you're nurturing those closest parts, or those closest relationships that you have the closest parts of your support system, because that support system is so imperative for the growth that's coming throughout the rest of the year. So late winter is also a time to put some extra energy into the people who are closest to you as well,

Kathleen Shannon 16:26
who I love that you're saying this because this is something I really naturally felt this year. And I don't know if it's because I moved at the very beginning of January and kind of hunkered down with my family. But I also felt re energized, even in my business relationships, and almost a sense of optimism, which is weird, because it's so cold outside, it's getting darker. But I think that this happened, I remember this happening last year as well. And that like just at the beginning of the year, I think like okay, I'm going to bring it, I'm going to bring the enthusiasm or at least just the warm feelings and open heart where my business partners and toward my family, I think a lot of it's because toward the end of the year, so November, December, those are usually such busy times, whenever it comes to the holidays, and kind of just feeling the weight of the whole year behind you like really adding up it's a time whenever I tend to get burnt out and I'm ready for that rest. So I think it's like resting through December allows me to come back to my relationships fresh and ready to give it a re energized I don't know re energized feelings or energy or vibes.

Emily Thompson 17:32
Yeah, yeah. And I also want to point out here one of the one of the things that really helped me begin super tapping into this flow, especially in terms of work though, you know, I've always not always I've, for several years been super mindful of living live living seasonally Bella really brought the business part of it to the forefront was when you and I started taking December off so we very naturally fell into this rhythm where like that mid winter section of time was spent disconnecting from all business things basically, and really getting into really creating sort of this annual flow of how it was we were tackling our business. So I love that we you know accidentally though I don't think it was accidentally I think we ended up you know, manifesting the ability to tap into seasonal living and working in this way. But that really helped us find this place find this like dividing point between early winter when you're you know, doing some celebrating and things that we'll talk about in a minute, and then the end of winter, which is when you really sort of begin your whole year again. So know that taking December off which is something we've talked about several times is what's really helped us tap into this. So taking December off moving into moving into late winter, which really is when some like super behind the scenes work starts happening even draw some really cool parallels here to between what is happening in the ground and late winter. So seeds at this point are beginning to germinate. There's like I always think of the word quickening like there's this like these little movements that are happening you know behind closed doors are like under the soil that you can't see above ground but it's happening anyway and that's what I see happening you know in my work and how it is that I'm living is I'm not going out very like I just go to the grocery store guys I spend late winter pretty much just in my PJs but I am here like setting goals and starting to do the work you can't see it yet because that will come soon but late winter is for that that underground, very important work that lays the foundation for everything that comes

Kathleen Shannon 19:49
sorry I was I was thinking about like midwinter you'll and even those celebrations and how they start to tie into winter and you know I think that there's a lot of Traditional are traditions in seasonal living that have been carried over in different traditions or even different religions. And so if that's your jam, I would definitely look into that as well as ways to really mark these seasons, if that's what you want to do. It's something that I like doing personally,

Emily Thompson 20:18
there are numerous examples of you know, of religions, tapping into this flow of, of living and working. And it all comes back to especially before the Industrial Revolution, this is how people lived, people didn't know how to live in any other way. So it's obvious that belief systems would also tap into this natural flow of living and working. Since we've disconnected ourselves from that. It's harder for us to see the connections, but they're totally there. So yes, there are there is plenty of support in and you know, religion, or even like how the education system works, all of these things can easily tie back to this. But it can also be super secular, and very practical, and you know, very just living and working with how the seasons move on the earth.

Kathleen Shannon 21:08
And I almost even think about it. style is one of my words of the year. So whenever I think about the style that I'm bringing to the season, I can't help but think about my home. So in the winter, I'm lighting a lot more candles, I've gotten evergreen in my home, I'm diffusing like really earthy, spicy oils, like I'm really trying to live it in my space. And I think that this is another good point when it comes to living seasonally, even if the place that you live doesn't have all the seasons. But in talking about this, I think that I've really appreciated living in places that have clear distinct seasons, as much as I would love to be on the beach in California year round, I think that I would miss the seasons. And another thing before we move on to spring that I want to talk about is just this idea of whenever I was a kid I remember always waiting for the next season like I was so impatient and ready for spring are ready for summer. And especially in the height of winter. Whenever you cannot stand one more snowfall, you're like, Oh my gosh, I just can't wait for summer. And then in summer, you're really hot. And you're like I just can't wait for fall. But I think that this idea of seasonal living has allowed me to really be present. Like I've kind of let go of some of the I can't wait for this to be over situation. Do you have any thoughts on that? Emily, you even posted something on Almanack the other day of like, okay, winter is about to come to a close, but like, let's not rush it, let's be present with it. So what are your thoughts on that?

Emily Thompson 22:40
That's me preaching to myself. Short because I hate winter guys, I hate being called so much I am a son baby through and through, just put me out at it and burn me to a crisp, please, all day every day. Um, this has definitely helped me deal with my seasonal issues. Because now I have such a better understanding of how important winter is and not just for you know, the plants and trees outside because it is very important for them as well. But it's really important for me to rest to, you know, get clear on what it is that I want to create over the next several seasons, all of those things, I see the necessity. And that helps me you know, gritting my teeth and Barrett. I don't enjoy it at all. But it does, it has helped me come to terms of the law. And I look forward to it over the next couple of years helping me come to better and better terms with winter because it is my least favorite. For sure. And I even want to even point out here, you know, this time of year we're recording this, right at the at the end of winter, beginning of spring. This is also the times when trees grow the most, which I find super fascinating. So even think about you know, before they're green and beautiful, it's actually when they're getting ready to be great and beautiful. They're growing. So in the winter is a very, very important time of the year. So if you are one of those people like me who very, very much so dislikes winter, dare I say hate it. This process of living and working and being super conscious of the benefits of winter has helped me come to terms with it.

Kathleen Shannon 24:21
And so I just moved up to Michigan in this time of the year in the winter, it was the very beginning of January and I have found myself actually working more so the days are a lot shorter, it gets darker earlier, the darkest day of the year is what December 21. So that is also playing into things for me I find myself even though I'm hunkering down in so many ways with my family. I'm also really using that time to work more or to plan for you know, plan for my work more. So two things. One, I'm actually working more because I have more time and I'm kind of prepping for spring and summer when I'm really going to take advantage of being outside and those longer days. So I found myself working more. I'm also really using this time again, that growth aspect of it before you see any of the green happening, I'm using this time in my business to really plan out what I want in my year ahead. So one really practical thing that we did, Emily was our own CEO day kids. Which shameless plug is available at courses dot being boss club, it's our own tools and tactics. But we use this time of year to really go through our own CEO day kit, and plan our revenue and marketing calendar for the year. So one thing that we really learned from last year that we're bringing into this year, is focusing on what we want to be promoting or really working on every single month and trying to make it be just one thing, at least for being boss, because we're both working on other things on the side at braid and over at Almanac. But that's been really, really helpful to just get our ducks in the row and this time of year is really perfect for it.

Emily Thompson 26:04
Yeah, I agree.

Kathleen Shannon 26:08
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Emily Thompson 26:51
All right, so that's only half of winter, let's keep going. I know, I know. Because once we get through winter, that's when spring happens. And spring for me is when so I agree with you like there are parts of winter when I'm probably working the hardest. And again, it's like the that behind the scenes, really just putting your head down and grinding things out. And spring is the time when you get I think spring is the time when you can actually start showing people what it is that you've been dreaming and scheming and putting some work in behind the scenes. It's when it's when things start blooming, it's when it's when you actually have the opportunity to share what it is that you're doing in terms of work. And I see this true, especially as we have taken a very seasonal approach with being boss, where we're taking these Ember off. So we're doing the dreaming and scheming at the end of winter, and starting to put in some work. And we actually start sharing that work in spring. So spring is the time when you know this year, we're launching the being boss book, spring is when we always launch our boss vacation for the year, like spring is the time we can actually start putting out into the world what it is that you've been creating.

Kathleen Shannon 28:01
I think a lot about spring cleaning. So I can't help but think about my home and opening the windows and smelling everything blooming and really bringing that into my life. But I'm curious, because it feels a little counterintuitive that I'm shutting things and letting things go like in my home, for example, I'm going through and donating a ton of stuff. While things are blooming. It seems like there's kind of a disconnect there. Shouldn't that be happening in the fall? But I still feel the urge to spring clean, is that conditioned? Or is that seasonal?

Emily Thompson 28:34
I think it's all things I think spring cleaning, quote unquote, happens every season. I think there's I think purging have is is completely relevant any season. And I've even found a little bit and I don't I don't have enough of a point of view on this yet to really share what it is that I mean, because I don't know how to put it into words. But I think that there are parts of your life that can be easily purged at any season. So whether that's relationships or parts of your business, or, or your house or whatever it may be there are times of letting go. And I do think that spring is the time when it's what's in your physical space. So spring is when you know you're opening the windows, you're airing things out and you need to make room and you're making room I think also, because over the next six months, you're going to be creating and then soon harvesting you need to make space for bringing more things that you want into your life. So spring cleaning is completely irrelevant, but I do think it's also relevant to other seasons as well. Depending on your own mindset and needs.

Kathleen Shannon 29:42
I love it. So I also think of spring as being a really good time to get outside and take action steps. Actually I want to say I like getting outside. I've decided during all the seasons. I think it's really important even in the winter, I think that we become to condition to staying inside And getting Cabin Fever in the winter. Y'all put on a heavy coat, do what you need to do. But I think that for me experiencing the winter and really being out in it has really helped me embrace it. And I need to try and find a way to do this. In the summer without having a heat stroke, I'm kind of the inverse of you, Emily, where I'm kind of more of a winter baby than a summer baby, even though it's born in May, I don't know if that has anything.

Emily Thompson 30:27
I'm not sure. But I do know that. I do know that even me like even me disliking winter, as much as I do. I love a good winter hike. It's always hard to get me out there. And at the ones that I'm out there, I always love it. So yes, being outside taking walks is an important part of it. But even back to spring, you know, getting out into your yard. Again, that's when you sort of leave the house and you start putting things out into the world. So it's going out in your yard, and weeding and planting and those sorts of things. This all has a very direct parallel, you know, or working seasonally has a direct parallel with what it means to live seasonally in terms of, you know, planting seasonally that what you plant in late winter and early spring is what you harvest in the fall. So what you are doing for your business and late winter and early spring is what you'll reap benefits from and a couple of months. So there are some direct parallels. And I do like the action of going out into my yard very mindfully, putting seeds in the ground and knowing that that action will garnish results and it's something new. It's like creating those like neural pathways in my brain where I know that you know, the work that I'm doing now will reap benefits in the future. It's the exact sort of thing that I bring into my business and helps me be as productive as I am.

Kathleen Shannon 31:50
So I have to admit spring is my most like throwaway season. I am so happy that fall I mean sorry. I'm so happy that winter is over. And especially now that I've really experienced winter up in Michigan, I cannot wait for spring. Even as of recording this this past weekend, I was in Oklahoma City and the South gets spring, you know a little bit sooner than we do up north. And I was just basking in the sunlight. I was trying to soak it up as much as possible. But in general, I think that spring I just kind of feel like it's kind of unremarkable. And I don't know if that's because of like holidays and vacations for me happened in the summer and fall. And then, you know, winter obviously has like its new beginnings. But I really want to find a way to really embrace spring. So other than like getting out in your garden. Do you have any other ideas for really bringing that seasonality and really owning it into spring? Yeah, yeah.

Emily Thompson 32:43
So for me, it's it's walks around my neighborhood, and we are the really dorky family in our neighborhood that is walking around, like looking at every flower and talking about it. Like if you look outside your window, we're walking down the street, you're gonna wonder what it is that we're looking at, because we're like, bent over looking at the smallest flowers. That's one of the things we do, we become obsessed with flowers, basically, or walking down the street and picking out everything that we see. And you know, but it's easier because we have a kid. And you can do this with Fox for sure. Or even like counting them, or seeing how many different kinds of flowers and talking about them as they as they bloom and die and what's blooming when So, you know, early, early spring here, like our chickweed is obviously blooming. Some of our tulip trees are currently in bloom, and they're beautiful, the daffodils are popping up those sorts of things, whatever. Maybe this is just me being obsessed with flowers. But for us becoming obsessed with flowers really helps us appreciate the beauty of spring and that you know all of these things beginning begins in a really beautiful way.

Kathleen Shannon 33:53
Okay, so this makes me think a little bit about you know, eating locally is kind of obvious whenever it comes to the food that you're eating. And in the spring, I'm going from cooking stews, to eating a little bit more fresh. But I am so impressed by people like you and my mom and my sister who can look at plants and name them. Even the most simple plants I have the hardest time with it. And so I think that that might be my intention for the spring is to actually learn the flowers and to learn the plants that are indigenous to my area. So I started to kind of get it in Oklahoma, but now I'm in a whole new place. And I think also a way that I could really start to reengage so I actually have a state park down the street from where I live and maybe I'll start taking hikes there and really noticing what's blooming but also being really intentional about learning the names and saying them

Emily Thompson 34:46
Yes, so I highly recommend you going to your local bookstore and I recommend going to your local bookstore like physically going to a bookstore and checking out the nature section and looking for books that are in your area. And or books of plants that are in your area and making sure you actually flip through because there's a couple of things you have to look for, they need really good photos for every single plant, and they need to have them divided in a way that makes sense. And however it needs to make sense for you. For me, I prefer my plants being divided by color of bloom. Whereas I found plants that are just all like super scientific, scientific categorizations that make no sense to me. So find a book that really resonates with you and then take it with you. There's just something about having that physical thing that's really greatly categorize the has a color photo for everything that allows you to to properly and happily identify the plants that around you. Using your phone, I feel like takes away quite a bit of the magic. And it's also so easy to get inundated with every flower in the world, whenever you're trying to look for like white five petal tiny flower, it's going to be super difficult.

Kathleen Shannon 36:00
I know, I can't really imagine taking a book with me. But maybe what I'll do is get the book, take photos with my phone and then look it up whenever I get back. And then the next time I go for that hike, try and look for those flowers and then name them from there.

Emily Thompson 36:15
Yes, also perfectly acceptable way of doing it.

Kathleen Shannon 36:20
Okay, another small thing I've been doing is noticing the position of the sun during sunrise and sunset. And also the moon even. And so this is something I've really been doing for the past year is I never really realized where the moon is in the sky when it's full, or when it's waning, or when it's waxing and really noticing that has been pretty impactful. But now I'm starting to notice with the sun, and it's been really easy because I have this really great view of the eastern horizon. And I can tell that the sun is moving a little bit more north and so even understanding Okay, and then what I have to do is look up a diagram and literally see, okay, where is the earth? Where is the sun? Where is the moon it? I don't know, it just helps me understand our position in the world and where we're at. Absolutely. So

Emily Thompson 37:07
this is where the geography nerd in me is a flubbing out. Absolutely. It's one of the things too, I absolutely credit as buying the house that we're currently in with helping me better tap into living seasonally. And for that exact same reason where most of the windows and like the long side of our house faces east. So I can see the rising sun and moon from most of the windows or like the windows from all of the rooms that are frequent most often. And being able to track where the moon is, or the where the moon and the sun are rising in the winter, as opposed to you know, at the height of summer is a really great way to it not only helps you visually place where you are in the season, but it also does some fantastic things the way it lights your house, and that paying attention to the lighting can help set the seasonal mood for you as well.

Kathleen Shannon 38:05
Okay, the one other thing I want to mention with spring and going from winter to spring that I've been doing that I've really been enjoying lately is meditating before my work day, and meditating facing ease where like I My eyes are closed, but the sun is searing through my eyelids into my brain, there is something about it waking up my circadian rhythm. And really I'm thinking about like drawing energy, this is getting a little woowoo here. But it's a really good time of day to draw energy from the sun and to also think about what my daily intention is. So we're talking about seasonal energy, we're talking about monthly rhythms. And I think that there's a daily intention setting practice that can happen as well. And so just even taking 10 minutes to quiet my mind and think about the tone that I want to bring to the day has been really huge and it feels really appropriate for spring kind of like coming out of hibernation, being this bear that is like coming out of my cave and opening my eyes to the sun that is coming out longer and longer every single day.

Emily Thompson 39:07
Yes, I love that. And I also want to hit on the circadian rhythm piece for a second because I also credit in this creative entrepreneur lifestyle that I'm able to live with, you know, my ability to, to live daily very naturally. So if you're one of those people that has a really hard time going to bed at night or waking up in the morning, whatever it may be your circadian rhythm is all out of whack. You're probably going to struggle more with living seasonally because you don't have that like smaller pocket of time really under wraps. So for me being able to to go to bed at the same time, which for me is different seasonally, I go to bed significantly earlier in the winter than I do in the summer. And being able to wake up naturally without an alarm clock is a really important, I think a really important characteristic of someone who's able to really tap into the flow. of the season, because you're also able to tap into those daily flows of light and dark, which is all the seasons are on a larger scale. So, so if you do struggle with your own daily circadian rhythm, maybe we'll practice tapping into that a little more, a little more consciously, and being able to wake up and go to sleep at a set time, whatever that is for you. Because it's different for everyone, I think really sets you up to be able to tap into those seasonal flows significantly better. And then I do want to do one, or I want to say one last thing about spring. And that is, you know, bringing things into your home that our spring, ghee is also really important. So for me, this is a time of year when I start filling my house with flowers, and whether those are flowers that I've picked from my yard. Or if it's flowers that I buy from the grocery store, I feel like for me buying a bouquet of flowers in the grocery grocery store every week as an expense that is just completely and utterly worth it. And then we put them in our compost, so we even get like more out of them later. It's really important, I think, to start filling your house with things that feel like spring so spring cleaning is definitely one of them. But what can you bring into your house to to make you think of spring and blooming and showing off and all of those things that will tie into your business as well.

Kathleen Shannon 41:22
I think this spring is also a really great time for some like energetic cleaning. So making your own like vinegar cleaner with some rosemary in it or, you know, whatever you want, like maybe get citrusy like I think about that as well and burning some sage clay opening the window clearing out the house. Another thing I wanted to mention on a more woowoo note as well is I really love it as a way to get into living seasonally through all the seasons. winter, spring, summer fall is thinking about how animals move through the seasons. And one of the ways I really like to do this is with the wild unknown animal spirit deck. I think it's a really great way of just tuning into different animals. And so I even pulled I we both do the year ahead spread where we're pulling a tarot card, and an animal spirit card for every single month. And so mine for the month of March was the bear, which was perfectly appropriate because it did make me think about coming out of hibernation. And what that really looks like and kind of coming out slowly like a bear isn't coming out of its cave and just moving full force into spring and going hiking and doing all the things that you might be doing in the summer time. So I like you were saying a quickening. I also think of other spring as a time for awakening, and really just waking up to like what's ahead.

Emily Thompson 42:48
All right, excuse me while I pause this for a moment and let you in on the most exciting news. I've made the ever shared. Kathleen and I have had a baby, a book baby. That's right, the being boss book is out and available for you to purchase. It's been a long labor, but it's here and it's beautiful if we

Kathleen Shannon 43:06
must say so ourselves. We wrote this book to help creatives like you cultivate the confidence it takes to take control of your work and to make money doing what you love so that you can live life on your own terms. And because that mission feels so right deep down in our bones, we're here to ask you for some help. We need to get this in the hands of every creative who suffers from frati feelings, who's stuck in mindsets that keep them from creating the thing and who struggle with charging what they're worth.

Emily Thompson 43:35
So first, buy this book for yourself because if you're a fan of this show, you're going to love what we've got going on in the being boss book. Note, we highly recommend getting the printed book, we've made it to be held written in and become an accessory on your desk.

Kathleen Shannon 43:51
Second, send a link to a friend. anyone you know who could benefit from some boss awesomeness in their eyeballs. It's filled with full color photos, worksheets and tips for being boss, they're gonna love it.

Emily Thompson 44:04
Third, leave us a rating and review on Amazon Our dream is to skyrocket this book to the kind of success that has every creative in the world feeling like a total boss. So your support there would mean everything to us. Now go to being boss club slash book for links to purchase or head on over to wherever books are sold. Thank you for your continued support. It's because of you that we've been able to bring this book into the world. Now let's get back at it.

Kathleen Shannon 44:36
Let's move into summer because this is like the if our phrase is do the work summer is the do the work time of year.

Emily Thompson 44:45
Yes, it is also my favorite which you can draw whatever parallels there you'd like for sure. But yes, summer is my absolute favorite and for lots of reasons. I mean, this is the time where you know if winter you're nurturing the relationships closest to you Spring you can start like reaching out, you know, back out to some of your closest friends for like, you know, a drink on the patio on a warm day or whatever summer is when you're going out and meeting anyone and everyone, it's when you are really diving into delivering what it is whatever it is that you've started creating. It's, it's when you It's when you do the work both like professionally, but also personally, you're taking vacations, which vacations are great, guys, but I think we can all agree that vacations can be some of the hardest hustles on the planet, for sure. Especially if you have kids, especially if you have kids. So summer is when you are showing up and you are doing the work and the this the earth supports you in that you have a longer days you have more sunlight in which to do everything that you want to do. But because of all of this, I also think it's important to note that summer is a time when you need to put some some extra effort into taking care of yourself. Because we can all get so busy with doing all the work and showing up at all the things and nurturing all the relationships or whatever we need to take care of ourselves, we need to make sure we're putting on sunscreen that we're staying hydrated. There's, there's this very outward focus of like, you know, focusing all of your energy outward and meeting all the people and doing all the things. But because of that you need to take extra care to focus just as much energy still inward in taking care of yourself, I feel like so many of us have probably experienced getting to the end of summer and being totally burnt out and tired and unable to continue on, where there's still two more seasons to go. And that comes from not being super mindful of taking care of yourself just as much of the summer as you would say in the winter.

Kathleen Shannon 46:43
Well, and on that note, I have found myself naturally wanting to take the month of June off. So just like we take December off, I really like to slow down whenever it comes to work during the month of June. And usually this is because I'm taking my annual beach vacation in June, I'm laying in some sand, I'm soaking up some sun. And certainly there are times leading up to that vacation, where I'm hitting deadlines and doing the work and getting stuff done. So during that week, I don't have to think about work at all. But this year, I am really interested in extending that a couple more weeks to get more stuff done around the house to do some more of that seasonal purge and really looking at, okay, what needs to be done in my life as well as my work as a time to rest. You know, I mean, if you look at animals, again, a lot of them are just chilling real hard during the day all summer long, and then they're hunting through the night or whatever it is that they're doing. And so I want to bring a little bit of that into my rhythm as well. Another thing I want to mention is we've talked about eating seasonally, we've talked about working seasonally, I like to move seasonally as well, some of you may know working out is essentially my hobby. And I've fallen into the trap of being a gym rat year round and buying a program or an exercise routine that I'm following to a tee no matter what time of year it is. Now I'm so much more into moving intuitively. And a lot of this comes from my gym, my home base in Oklahoma called Green strength. And they're really about moving seasonally as well and being physical culturas and not just tying it to you. Okay, here's how we're going to build some muscle and shed some fat. It's really about moving seasonally. And so I really like thinking about in the winter, slowing down I'm thinking about kind of like staying flexible through the winter and moving my body and really easy ways. I'm not raising my heart rate a whole lot. I'm not doing a lot of cardio. I also think that spring is a good time to start building on some muscle and shedding a little bit of extra weight that I put on in the winter and not feeling bad about putting on extra weight in the winter. Like that's what it is for. But in the spring I'm starting to move more. And then in the summer I am full on eating a lot less like not again, not intentionally I'm not starving myself. I'm not even on a diet. I'm just not as hungry. There's something about being hot, where I'm thinking more about eating salads, and staying really fresh and fruit. And then moving a lot more I'm going on more hikes. I'm getting outside more and that's probably for me again because I get heatstroke pretty easily. I'm more like spring with that stuff. But it's gearing up for a summer of just working hard and playing hard.

Emily Thompson 49:29
Yeah, for sure. I will say that during the summer you know my work days are very different than they are in the winter and the winter you know I'm here pretty much as soon as the sun is up I'm working until the sun goes down more or less than I'm like, you know, hungry down and watching TV and it's not it's not super exciting, but during the summer, I'm going to be waking up significantly earlier. I'm going to be you know not really coming into work until it starts getting hot. And then I'm going to come into the air conditioning and I'm going to work away and then I'm going to spend a you know a long evening sitting on the porch I think whether it's your work day, or how it is that you work out, it's really important to take note as to what it is that you're already naturally doing. Because I bet if you were to pay attention to how it is that you're living your life through the seasons, you're already living seasonally, you may not even realize that though, and I think tapping into those or identifying them, and then tapping into those, is how you can really make the most of them. Because everyone's body needs different things, and your body is already doing what it needs to do. You can just help it along if you pay attention.

Kathleen Shannon 50:34
And you know, like I follow this rhythm seasonally, I'm also following them monthly and even daily. So there is some days I've actually moved my workouts, I could nerd out in a whole other episode about this. So maybe we'll bring Jason or my trainer back on sometime to talk about working out seasonally, because I know that that's their jam as well. But um, I just think about, you know, every day really listening to my body. And I think that living seasonally is another way to really tune into that I know that the phrase listen to your body is used a lot. And a lot of us don't really know what that means. But even just getting outside and feeling the seasons and living accordingly is going to help you do just that. And one of the things that you're talking about was sitting on your porch. And so I want to talk about the social aspect of living seasonally. And so again, when we were talking about winter, being about hunkering down, and you know, really focusing on your family and probably your closest relationships, I'm super excited about summertime and sitting on my porch, and getting to meet my neighbors and really focusing on you know, meeting new people like, like hanging out with strangers is summer is a great time for that where I don't mind getting out and about in the winter. I'm just like, ah, I just want to hunker down,

Emily Thompson 51:49
right. So I mean, if you think about, you know, a couple centuries ago, and maybe not even a couple of like one or two. socializing happens seasonally, there was like a social season where you came into the city from your country house during the warm months. And that's when you like, met your future husband, or talk to your friends that you hadn't seen or whatever it was, like you, you had a social season. And we still do that. We're just a little less conscious of it to where you know, we're just staying in the same house all the time. And friends really only come over in the summer, or they come over most in the summer, spring and summer. So there is this very like outward reaching again, I feel like energy in summer is so much more, so much more vibrant, and like outward reaching, and that you can sort of pull in anyone and everyone Yes, when you have like garden parties, or you know, for me, My birthday is in the summer. So that's when it's would have always been very natural for me always to get all of my friends together. In the summer ever since I was a little kid, and even not in school, like you even had to like, put more effort into it. Because we weren't all in school at that point. Summer is the time when you are growing and nurturing your broader network of support. It's also the time when you are tending I think you if you draw the parallel to, you know plants or farming, it's when you've planted the seeds, you've you know, done that initial work. And now it's just making sure everything is super happy. So whether it's your creative endeavors, or it's your relationships, or it's your home, or whatever it is, summer is the time when you are just doing sort of the consistent like day to day work. It's just the repetitive stuff that you just keep. So

Kathleen Shannon 53:36
I wonder if this is a good time to look at your systems and processes in your business and to automate what you can so that you can get outside and play.

Emily Thompson 53:44
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think I think summer is the time I think of actually late winter as the time when you think about what those systems and processes are like because you're looking ahead at what you'll be creating over the next year spring is when you put them into place and you test them and then summer is when you let them roll. It's when you take all the effort that you've put into it thus far and start more or less reaping the benefits so that you can enjoy your summer

Kathleen Shannon 54:13
you know all of this is also making me think about letting go of some guilt around not networking in the winter. So I just moved up here a lot of great people have been reaching out saying like, hey, if you want to grab coffee or hang and I felt the need to just hunker down but I really am also going to see how this pans out in the spring and summer as far as Okay, now I'm ready to go grab coffee The days are longer. I have more time to work but I also have more time to play.

Emily Thompson 54:38
Yeah, and it's just feels better to wear less clothes for sure wearing less clothes please. Thanks. Alright, let's talk about fall now because fall for me fall for me is hard because I love summer so much fall to me is proof that the joy is over and that winter is coming and so I have to

Kathleen Shannon 54:58
I love fall. I love that first day where you can almost feel the crispness in the air and it's not dead yet, but like, you can feel it coming. Oh, I love it. It's an iron, it's beautiful. Whenever the all the colors come out, I love it. Well, good,

Emily Thompson 55:18
good, I do less. So I do less. So I this beautiful and for me though, for me, though fall or for anyone's Susan, just for me fall for me, I'm gonna keep saying it is, is this season when, like, change is proven, like you're being shown that change is inevitable. And that as good as like doing the work and enjoying all your people and all of those things was now you have to change, you have to take the next steps. It's not all doing the work and joyfulness and that like summer way, but things are going to die, and you need to release things, and you need to move back into the cold. So let's talk about fall.

Kathleen Shannon 56:03
All right, well, I love that the trees are changing, and that it's so beautiful. I mean, this is just such a metaphor. And I feel even cheesy saying but that the trees changing from green from like a, you know, they they're lined green in the spring, and then they become a darker green through the summer. And then they become red and brown and yellow through the fall. And I just think it's so beautiful. And that none is better or worse than the other. I mean, I do think that we think about bear trees as being kind of like ugly and blah. But it is part of the process. And so part of that process is really becoming you know, beautiful and having your moment to shine before letting go. And so thinking about what it is that you need to let go of, but even just from like, you know, a business and life perspective, I really think of it as a time of winding down. But then also celebration, I love all the holidays around fall, I think Thanksgiving is probably my very favorite just being able to eat really good food around the people I love the most. And I know that this is like a loaded holiday for some people, but in my contacts and in my experience and in my family, it is a really good time to just get together and eat. And it's not so much about, you know, all the pressure and gifts that come with other holidays like Christmas, for example, is it really is just about the time, like the quality time of it. And then I love the celebration of Halloween I love me and my little family. So me and my husband and our kid, we've done family costumes for the past few years. And so celebrating that and really having enthusiasm and energy around that has been so much fun. I just love that whole time.

Emily Thompson 57:51
Right? So let's, you just got way ahead,

Kathleen Shannon 57:53
sorry. I know. And I like I'm just like, oh, what I love about fall, I'm not relating it to anything, I'm not really bringing in a whole lot of metaphor other than the trees and letting go. But it's probably my favorite season.

Emily Thompson 58:06
Good, good. I admire that. For me, it's a little difficult, I do find it beautiful. But I also see it as part of the process didn't get I hope that like my continual practice of this will help me come to terms with fall and winter on a whole other level so that I can enjoy them just as much as everyone else. And not to say that I don't enjoy fall because I absolutely do. And so let's talk about business for half a second. Where, for me in business, and again, this has come naturally you from a sort of taking December off and sort of kicking into this this annual cycle of running our business, we always find that follows when we're doing the most travel, which for me is like the harvest where you know, I remember whenever we started this podcast, we're like we're gonna use being boss to help us travel the world. So for me, the like harvest of the hard work that we do usually comes in being able to travel places. So I love that it's sort of lined up in that way where where fall is when you start reaping the benefits of all of the hard work that you've done throughout the entire year. So whether it was making the plans or planting the seeds or you know, tending and nurturing This is when you can actually pick the fruits and enjoy them. And then going into that, that Thanksgiving idea where it's not just hoarding away what it is that you've created, but it's sharing it with those who are important to you. And maybe to those who you don't even know it's sharing, you know, on a broader scale. I think that's a very important part of the process. So whether it's, you know, thanksgiving holiday or otherwise, showing gratitude and sharing in that way and that like a very tight knit way because I do see Thanksgiving as being a more intimate version of Christmas. If if we can like do some holiday comparisons there. Where, where you're sharing with the people who are closest to you from the bounty that is closest to you. So it's sharing food and not gifts. It's sharing time with those who are closest to you. I think there's a whole A lot to be said about what humanity are like the flow of seasons that humanity is naturally tapped into. And that sort of reaping benefits, collecting your harvest, and then doing a very tight knit sharing of the people around you is really important, I also see fall. So going into this, this sort of dying aspect of it. Fall is the time whenever you have to come to terms with whether or not you've done the work that you were supposed to do. So if you owe tough love in the fight, so if you get to fall and you haven't had an harvest, you have to look toward or look forward to being it being a very cold and sad winter, where that you have not prepared for or fall is the time when you can actually be excited about everything that you've done and you're reaping this this big harvest. So for me, follows a bit of a time of judgment, which it can be very closely tied to the fact that whatever was green and bountiful, around you is going to get crispy and die soon it is beautiful before that death. But there is a coming to terms that has to happen.

Kathleen Shannon 1:01:05
For sure. I also become a lot more inward facing whenever it comes to the fall. So I'm going from getting out and about and probably networking, to really starting to bring my attention and intentions more internal. So I find that the Fall is the time whenever I start to really tap into my spirituality and get re energized around that probably especially around Halloween, which is also Psalm hein. I really like to think about all the ancestors that came before and thinking about how I'm going to die one day. It's not the most pleasant thing in the whole world. But I think it's an important

Emily Thompson 1:01:43
process.

Kathleen Shannon 1:01:44
It is a part of the process. So I started thinking about my own mortality. I'm reading books on stoicism, I'm getting a lot more philosophical. And I do really see that as kind of a preparation for the winter ahead, but also really the year ahead.

Emily Thompson 1:02:02
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, fall is again, follow super difficult for me. Like just on a temporary, it's temperature, guys. It's just temperature that I don't like I don't like being cold. I do enjoy all the other aspects of it, though. I do. It's beautiful. You can start wearing cozy Oh clothes, maybe that's one of the ones that I don't like very much. Again, less clothes, please.

Kathleen Shannon 1:02:23
I basically a vampire. I mean,

Unknown Speaker 1:02:27
right?

Emily Thompson 1:02:28
We've discussed this before, where your sister actually called me a vampire. And then I had to tell her No, I love the sun too much. And then we all agreed that you were the vampire. Which is fine. You can be a vampire loves and Buffy.

Kathleen Shannon 1:02:42
I just I'm practically I'm even looking at us on zoom right now. And my skin is basically translucent, white and blue. Right? It's fine. It's fine. So in the fall, I'm like getting very Interview with the Vampire. I'm layering on the clothes. I'm getting a little more Gothic and moody and thinking about death.

Emily Thompson 1:03:03
Yeah, all the things? Well, it's it's interesting to, you know, be able to tap into how it is that you feel throughout the seasons and how it is that you can can express yourself in those ways. I think I think self expression happens seasonally as well. It's not just you're the same person all year, I'm a very different person in the winter, that I am in the summer, like completely different people and a lot of ways. That's a very important part of it as well.

Kathleen Shannon 1:03:25
I'm going to talk about that for a second. Because I feel like we're so expected to stay the same in our business. I mean, we talk a lot about consistency. But there is I think that idea of living seasonally gives you so much more room for variation and evolution. Like it really gives us permission to change and to not feel guilty about it. I think that there's so much guilt that comes around someone feeling you know, quote unquote, lazy one day, we'll look at what's happening around you. Is it wintertime? Did you just travel a lot? Do you have extra stressors? Are you living so that you are you know, canning your abundance? Like I'm thinking about canning vegetables in the fall? Right? Yeah. So I mean, I think that all of this really starts to tie in. And I want everyone listening to just think about your seasons and which seasons resonate most with you and why. And even you know, we do the ideal day exercise. And you can find that on the resources page over at being boss on our website. But I would also even think about like ideal seasons and listing out what your ideal season would look like what would summer look like for you. What would winter look like for you spring and fall really get down into what it is that you want to be doing during those seasons and planning accordingly. Yeah,

Emily Thompson 1:04:43
I also think about you know, for me work also in the fall is probably the hardest, like I may not be working the most, but the work is the most difficult because at that point you're wrapping everything up. We all know that like those last couple weeks of launching a website is always the hardest the last couple weeks. Since launching the new program or you know, making those, making those final touches on anything that like super persistent, consistent work, those last weeks before you wrap everything up is always the most difficult. So for me, and for me, that's fine. Like, that's definitely my dream fall more or less, because I know that that means that I'll be able to take winter off in that capacity. But for me, fall always ends up being the most difficult work, or it's the most the hardest work like for my brain, if that makes sense, as opposed to like the time that it takes to do it,

Kathleen Shannon 1:05:36
for sure. And, you know, I kind of want to wrap this up by saying that it's not going to be easy to live 100% seasonally in our modern world, for better or worse, like, it's so awesome that we can work whenever we want, we can hustle whenever we want. We can go on vacation to warm places whenever we want, we can do what we want, for the most part. But I really do think that the more in tune we can get with the earth and its rhythms, just the better. We're going to feel mind, body and spirit. And this is a topic that I want to really continue to explore and dive into, throughout, you know, all the topics of being bossed throughout mindset and habits and routines and boundaries and really thinking about how all of those things are applied seasonally, and how they shift with the seasons.

Emily Thompson 1:06:24
For sure. I agree with all of that. Okay, but we're not done yet.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:29
Okay, what else do

Kathleen Shannon 1:06:30
we have to talk about?

Emily Thompson 1:06:31
Because we have to finish up winter, we have talked about the first part of one,

Kathleen Shannon 1:06:34
oh, gosh, I'm trying to avoid winter,

Emily Thompson 1:06:37
right? I know. But I'm also not surprised because this for me really is celebration. So if you've done the work that you were supposed to do, the beginning of winter is when you get to celebrate, it's when you get to see all of your people, it's when you get to share your bounty on a whole other level. I know that gift giving at Christmas has become kind of a sticky subject. But I think when done correctly, and in accordance with the season and lined up with what it is that you've done all here, it makes sense to share your abundance that you've created with the people that you love, you can be done in the wrong way and with the wrong intentions. But I think I think it can very clearly be something that rounds out the entirety of your year. So for me that like end of winter is when it's I'm not surprised that you skipped it because we both have struggled so hard with celebrating our hard work. This is the time that you have to set aside to celebrate not only your own successes, but the successes of the people around you. And you do that through through getting cozy with those who are closest to you and sharing gifts and time together. And again, moments of reckoning, where if you didn't do the work you were supposed to do all year, you're not gonna have much to show for it.

Kathleen Shannon 1:07:51
You know, this also brings me a lot of peace around being a mom. And you know, sometimes I can feel bad about the amount of work that I'm doing. But I do feel like winter is that time where my attention even the attention that I'm giving to my family is a gift. And whenever you're talking about intentional giving, I think that that's a really big part of it. I mean, obviously with Christmas and all the hubbub and commercialization of that, it is really easy to you know, just go in on a black friday or to like last minute shop and just buy someone, whatever, just buy them something. And I think that there is, you know, something nice in that like that you're trying to think about something somebody and share your abundance. But I think that getting really intentional about what it is that you're creating and harvesting can happen year round. So this is maybe a time to think about what you're going to give somebody I mean, throughout the year, spring and summer, you might come across things, go ahead and get them now so that you can share that gift in the winter and really celebrate with those who are closest with you. So I love that. And I also love the idea of attention itself and hunkering down itself and the traditions that we do have in the late winter or sorry, early winter being, you know, November with thanksgiving and then December with Hanukkah or Christmas or you know, just whatever traditions you celebrate. I think that it's just a really good time for that. So yeah, I'm there. But it is hard. I am always in business wanting to just skip over and raise the bar and go to the next goal and go, go go. It is hard to celebrate sometimes

Emily Thompson 1:09:33
it is it is but I think we've even naturally giving given ourself that space taking December off allows us to sort of have that celebration in business that equates to not being there to be able to step away and joy and enjoy the life that it provides us. I think that's such an important part of the process. And the great thing about living and working seasonally in this way is you are mindfully going through every step of the process along In a way, you're not skipping over any of it unless you're just skipping the whole month of September, or whatever it may be, which you can do if you're not like awake to it. But if you are paying attention, you'll never be surprised. By having Christmas sneak up on you or having spring be over. You are very consciously living through each season. And you're creating the life and business you want to create along the way.

Kathleen Shannon 1:10:23
I was thinking a little bit about recognizing patterns throughout the year. And really like by living seasonally, like it's not, we're not just going to figure it out this year, like 2018 is not going to be the year that we perfect living seasonally. This is a topic that we have been thinking about, you know, for a while, but it's really come to surface are really getting intentional about seasonal living in the last year and recognizing where the seasons are, how the seasons have shown up for us in the past, and how we want them to show up for us in the future. But really just acknowledging and recognizing how it's happening moving forward, I think that this is huge in work and life. And so I think that a great way to do this is to start now just start looking at what's happening. check in on your numbers, like look at the money that you're making throughout the seasons. Do you have feast and famine periods? And what are those? And how can you better take advantage of those so that you feel more comfortable and secure through the winter? How can you take advantage of those so that you are hustling it out in the summer and also able to take a vacation? So I really do you want you know me and you Emily, but also for our listeners to really think about this in a long term way. And then we can even start to think about the seasons of our lives and adolescence and becoming adults and then retirement and what does that even look like? So this is kind of never ending and something that we should really think about both in today and tomorrow. But then also years from now.

Emily Thompson 1:11:55
Yeah, for sure. And I think my task for everyone is to take a walk, because all of this is aligned with the world around you. And I think that for too long, we have disconnected ourselves from it. It's not to say that we can't continue to hustle, hustle hustle all year, every year. But I do think that there is very seriously something to say about the correlation between your ability to hustle and the hustle that the world is doing around you. And if you can tap into that, then you're going to be able to create more, more beautiful things, more aligned things and you're going to be more fulfilled throughout the process. I am absolutely confident of that.

Kathleen Shannon 1:12:41
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Emily Thompson 1:14:17
do the work. Be boss and we'll see you next week.