Today we’re going to be figuring out what your calling is. Whether you want to start a business but have no idea what your idea should be, or you have a lot of ideas and don’t know how to pick one, I’m walking you through how to figure it out. Let’s dive in!

In This Episode Allie Discusses:

• The three categories of business ideas 

• Prompts to get to thinking about your interests

• Brain dumping 

• Feeling into your decision

Mentioned in this Episode:

Instagram

Courses (Use the code PURPOSESHOW for 10% off!)

The Purpose Show Facebook Community

Get Clear on Your Calling

Startup School

The Mom Mindset Bundle

Mom life. We’re surrounded by the message that it’s the tired life. The no-time-for-myself life. The hard life. We’re supposed to get through it. Survive. Cling on by the last little thread. And at the same time, Carpe Diem—enjoy every moment because it’s going to go by so fast. The typical mom culture that sends us all kinds of mixed, typically negative messages. We shouldn’t take care of ourselves; it’s selfish. The more ragged you run yourself, the bigger your badge of honor. But also, ditch your mom bod and work out. Don’t yell. Make more money. Show up. Be better, but not at the expense of time with your kids. I am putting a hard stop to all of this. While being a mom, running a business, and whatever else you might have going on is hard, it is a lot and there’s lots of giving of yourself, the idea that motherhood means living a joyless, nonstop-hustle-with-zero-balance kind of life, where you give and give and give and never take, needs to stop. 

I’m on a mission to help you stop counting down the minutes till bedtime (at least most days). Stop the mom guilt and shame game. Stop cleaning up after your kids’ childhood and start being present for it. I want to help you thrive in work, home and life. I believe in John 10:10 that we are called to living an abundant life and I know moms are not excluded from that promise. Join me in conversations about simplicity, some business and life hacks, spirituality and lots of other good stuff that leads to a life of less for the sake of enjoying more in your motherhood. I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.

Hello, my love! Welcome to another episode of The Purpose Show podcast!

A little behind the scenes today—It is a big recording day for me. Over the last week I officially submitted my final manuscript for my book, Declutter Like A Mother, which is officially set to release September 7th. 

Doing the last final touches on that, writing the acknowledgements, which was super emotional (didn’t expect that), and working extra on the final touches of the book kind of put me a little behind on my normal work stuff. So, yesterday and today I have been recording things back-to -back-to-back-to-back. I’m amped up, which is perfect for our topic today! 

I recorded two new bonus trainings that are going to go in the Mom Mindset Bundle that I have. I recorded one on your relationship with money and your mindset about money. I recorded about money as it relates to you if you’re a stay-at-home mom. 

I recorded a really, really big, massive training that was an hour-and-a-half-ish or two hours all about your mindset as it relates to your body and the connection between you and your body. So, it’s been a day of super powerful, emotionally charged recordings and I’m just kind of on this high. 

We’re going to keep it going because I feel like it’ll serve us well in today’s topic: How To Get Clear on Your Calling. 

I’ve got something printed out, so if you hear me rustling through papers it’s because I actually went and printed out a free PDF that I have and you can get. I’m going to encourage you to get it. 

I’m going to walk you through this PDF here in this episode. We’re going to do it together because it’s such a big deal to be beginning the journey of figuring out what you really care about and what your calling is. And this is, of course, in addition to motherhood or outside of motherhood. 

This is if you want to start a business but you don’t know what your idea should be. Or you have a lot of ideas and you don’t know which one to pick. Or you’re just unclear on what exactly is your calling. Or maybe you want to start a nonprofit. 

Anything outside of being a woman, a person, a mom (if you are one). How do you figure out what your calling is? That’s such a big thing. Such a big deal. 

I thought that it would be super helpful to not just have this PDF but also have a podcast episode where I’m talking to you about it and walking you through it. But I want to let you know that you can get this PDF. It’s really juicy. 

I worked very, very hard on this. It’s detailed. I’ve gotten a lot of really, really good feedback on it. People are saying it’s extremely helpful and they would have paid hundreds of dollars for it (which is awesome to hear). 

You can just go to alliecasazza.com/calling and get that PDF for FREE and then you can work through it. You can listen to this podcast while you work through it. Or you could listen to this now and just take the inspiration from me here and then go get the PDF and work through it tonight instead of watching Netflix. That’s probably what I would do. 

Spend a little time thinking and journaling. There are writing prompts and questions. I’m going to ask you to write it out. 

It’s very thoughtfully put together by me for you. I really poured a lot into this. I was actually going to create a mini course but in the end I thought, “You know what? I’m just going to give this away.” It just felt right. 

So, that’s there for you if you want it. But right now let’s dive into this episode on getting clear on your calling. 

This is coming from a question that I get all the time, which is: How do you hone in on what your business idea should be? How do you know? 

First things first, we’re going to do one of my favorite things to do, and that is a brain dump. A brain dump is the answer to basically all of your problems. Not really, but close.

A brain dump just gets all those pent up, random ideas out of your head and onto paper, a screen, or wherever you like to do your brain dumps. It’s kind of a funny term, but it is what it sounds like so we’re going to stick with it. 

Those random ideas and things that come up when you’re in the shower, or when you’re driving, or when you see somebody doing something on Instagram that you think is cool. The things you see and think, “That’s a good idea. I’d be good at that.” 

All those random ideas that come and go and maybe some of them stick around and resurface every once in a while. Instead of those just banging around in your head and not really ending up as anything, we’re going to brain dump them and actually give them space somewhere.

It’s bothering you because you haven’t given it the space it deserves. You haven’t really put it anywhere, looked at it, and asked, “Could I do this?” 

If you have ideas, even incomplete ideas, then you are an entrepreneur at heart and your ideas need to be given space. It’ll drive you crazy until you decide to give it that space. So we’re going to do this. 

There are basically three different types of business ideas. This is my opinion and just what I have seen in doing my job and teaching what I teach. 

We’re going to do a brain dump in each of these three categories and we’re going to see which category you have filled out the most, or which one you like the ideas in the most. Then by the end of this little exercise you will know if you are leaning more towards a “skills-based business idea,” “a passion activity” or a “interest-based business idea,” or a “story-based business idea.”

I’m going to explain what each of those are, and then we’re gonna figure this out. 

The first prompt that will help you get your brain dump going is What are you really good at? 

Is there a skill that you have that you could get paid for? Really think about it. And maybe think a little step further—How could you make money with these skills? 

Get your brain percolating.

Let me give some examples. Forget what I actually do for my business. Pretend I don’t have that yet. 

I’m a mom of four. I feel like I’m an entrepreneur; I want to start a business. And I’m doing this brain dump for myself because I don’t really know where I should land. 

I’m thinking, OK, what am I really good at? 

Well, I’m good at teaching. And then that would make me think, Teaching what? 

I’m really good at creating systems for people who are normally not good at creating systems, because I’m not and somehow I find ways to create systems even though I’m not really Type A.

I’m really good at putting outfits together. And I love doing that. I’m really good at putting myself together for the day and feeling really, really good, comfortable, and cute. It’s doable, it’s affordable, and I would be really good at doing something with that. 

I’m good at decorating. These are things that I’m good at. These are skills. 

Brain dump a list of what you’re good at and any skills that you have that you think you could get paid for. Again, this is all in the PDF and the prompts are there. You don’t have to write this down or freak out. Just go download it. It’s free. 

When you’re done, you’re going to take it a step further and ask How would you make money with these skills? 

After we get all that brain dumped out, what we’re going to move forward with is the passion activity, or interest based business ideas. To trigger this part of your brain to really release all the pent-up ideas, we’re going to ask questions that are a little bit different than the previous ones. 

We’re going to ask: What are you obsessed with? What lights you up? When you log into Pinterest and Instagram what fills your feeds because you can’t get enough of it? 

You obviously would follow accounts that are about what you love. The things that you search on Pinterest are going to have a theme. Or maybe there’s something that’s really, really heavy. When I log into Pinterest, there are not really a lot of recipes because I’m not super into cooking, but for somebody else, there would be a ton of recipes. 

For me, there’s style ideas, Bohemian decor, things like that. I am obsessed with those things. So I would write: Bohemian modern decor…Style for moms that feels really, really good and makes me feel sexy…Cats. 

I’m obsessed with learning about the energy of things. How energy works. And how the energy you bring to things affects everything. So, there would be a lot of pinned articles on energy.

What are you obsessed with? What lights you up? What can’t you stop learning about? What fills your Pinterest feed? What fills your Instagram feed because you can’t get enough of it?

Another question that can help bring this out is: If a close friend were describing you, what would they say is your biggest interest or passion? She’s obsessed with ___. Or she’s really passionate about ____ ? Or she’s really into what?

These kinds of questions will help trigger your brain to release all the pent-up ideas that are about your passions, your activities that you’re interested in, the things that really light you up. 

The third and final section is about the story. So the question here is, What’s your story? What is your story so far? 

Is there a particular theme that you see running through your life so far? Is there a particular lesson you’ve had to learn that was important or difficult that you care very much about sharing? 

What kind of people can relate to you in your life? What kind of people relate to your story? How exactly do you relate to them?

Think through this and really writing it out. Maybe you’ve had cancer and you beat cancer. Maybe you’ve gone through a really difficult divorce and you came out the other side a better person and you want to share your passion about giving people hope when they’re in the midst of that hard time. 

When you see comments on social media about something that you’ve gone through, which ones make you want to reach out and message that person? What makes you think, “I know how to help them and I want to give them the light that I now have because I’m on the other side of what they’re going through right now.” 

This is another topic that you can use to prompt your brain to release. To just get your wheels spinning and release these business ideas.

When you’re done with this part of the exercise (because there’s more), you’re going to have three sections of brain dumped ideas on the paper. A skills-based business, a passion/activity/interest based business, or a story-based business. You may only have one or two of those that really have ideas in them. You may have several great ideas in every category. 

Everybody’s different. There’s nothing right or wrong. It is all just authentically you. 

Once you finish that, you’re going to look through your brain dump list. I want you to read through your answers to the questions that I just asked you and that are in the PDF. I want you to just let your brain wheels start to spin and imagine yourself living your life with each of these businesses being your reality. 

Now comes the part that so many people skip because it’s awkward, it’s vulnerable, and it’s hard. You’re gonna feel into it. Your body knows what is right for you and will talk to you. 

You can think of an idea right now and you can imagine making a decision that would mean, you’re going to go and do that idea. And you will feel yourself inside either contracting and tensing up because it’s wrong for you or expanding and feeling really light and excited because it’s right for you.

You can dive into this scientifically however you want but your body will literally communicate what’s right for you. What your soul knows. What your subconscious mind knows. What your higher self knows. What God is trying to talk to you and tell you. You will know.

We are going to need to get good at feeling into things and understanding the messages that are coming through us when we think about doing or not doing things. This is how we make decisions. 

Getting good at this will make you such a better mom. It’ll make you such a strong entrepreneur. It’ll make you such a strong woman, honestly. 

I’m gonna encourage you to get really good at feeling into things and feeling how your internal self and your body is responding when you think about moving forward with certain decisions. 

Let’s go back to my examples about these different types of business ideas in the brain dump. 

My skills-based business idea is decorating, styling yourself, getting dressed. I could be a stylist. I’m good at encouraging people and teaching. I could be a motivational speaker. 

My passion/activity/interest based ideas would be mindset and energy. Cats – not really a business idea, but maybe. I could find a way if I really wanted to. I’m passionate about motherhood. These are all things that would go on that list. 

Then a story-based business is really what I have. It has evolved into a mix of all three of these things. If I was going to pick one of these three sections, my business would fall under the story-based business category.

My business came out of my story, it came out of my experience as a mom and it has evolved to include my passions, my interests, and my skills. I use my skills to spread the message of my story. I use my skills to talk about my passions and talk about my interests in a way that makes other people’s lives lighter. 

Let’s get good at this for you. Like I said, you can feel within your body your soul communicating with you. You will either contract with tension at the thought of starting one of these businesses that you’ve brain dumped or you will feel yourself expand in excitement. 

Later, when you’re working through the PDF, I want you to feel it all. You can even take notes on your internal reactions if that helps you.

So you’re going to go through these three sections of brain dumping. Then you’re going to imagine that you start that business and you’re a stylist (or whatever). Do you feel yourself contract or expand? 

Maybe you’ll expand with all of them, because obviously you brain dumped these things out, they came out of you so they’re all something that you obviously like. But which one makes you expand the most? 

Feel. Take notes on how you really feel. Maybe it would help you to rank it. On a scale of 1-10, how expansive does thinking of actually making a business out of this idea make you feel? 

What lights you up the most? What makes your soul come awake? What makes you expand inside? 

That is your business idea. 

And I want you to know right now, if you have more than one, good! You’re normal. You can niche down and bring in other topics as you grow. But it’s a good problem to have so don’t stress out.

Basically, this is how you get clear on your calling. There’s more in the PDF that you get that I can walk you through. We think through it a bit more. 

We start to think about what kind of person you want to serve? What kind of results do you want to help people achieve? What problem are you going to solve for people? 

And really make it about service. The crux of every successful business is serving others. Then impact, money, revenue and all that good stuff will follow that. I’ll help you walk through that in the PDF. 

In the PDF, we’re also going to talk about 10 things that your ideal client wants. We’re going to brainstorm that. What are their goals? How do they want to feel? How does the person that you want to serve currently feel? And how to really connect with where they’re at.

All of this will help draw out of you what you’re passionate about, who you’re really passionate about helping, who your purpose involves. You’re here for a reason, you’re here for a purpose. What kind of person in the world is the person that you’re here to help? 

We’re here to help each other. We’re going to brainstorm in the PDF some ways that you could help transform your ideal client’s current feelings—the way they’re feeling about their life—into real results that feel so much better for them. 

There’s more in here and there’s more brainstorming that the PDF is really designed to help you with. I just wanted to bring out this part about brainstorming, brain dumping, and getting yourself thinking through what it is that you are good at, what it is that you’re passionate about, what you’re interested in and what your story is. 

You have a story. Maybe it’s not as dramatic as someone else’s. Maybe it feels a little anticlimactic, but it’s not. You have a story of something you’ve overcome, whether it’s poverty, relationship struggles, infertility, religious abuse. It could be anything.

And I want you to know that if you don’t have serious clarity when you’re done with this PDF, you’re probably unconsciously blocking the answer. And that’s okay. It’s a normal response. It happens to the best of us. 

I want you to know and trust that when you’re ready to receive the answer, it will come. God isn’t playing a cruel joke on you. No one’s keeping anything from you. You’re just not ready to receive it yet and there’s a block there. 

Wrapping up this episode, I’m going to give you something beyond this episode, beyond this free PDF. I’m going to give you something that is really important to prepare yourself for receiving the answer to the question, “What is my calling?”

I want you to say this out loud and then walk away from the space that you’re currently in. Take a walk, go for a drive, make dinner, or play with your kids. Move away from working through the PDF and forcing yourself to find the answer to what you’re here to do right this minute, because that’s a lot of pressure and it’s not good. 

Here it is, my friend. Are you ready? 

This is what you’re going to repeat after me: I am here for a reason. My intuition has told me for a long time that I have a business in me. I choose to be ready to receive the clarity I need. I have decided to live out my purpose. I am grateful for divine timing. I do not need to force myself into anything. When I arrive at clarity, it will be the perfect time. I am open and willing to receive this information.

Breathe that in and out. You have got this, my friend! I am always rooting for you. 

Please know that clarity will come. It’s right on the other side. It’s waiting for you. 

Please go get this PDF. It is free. It’s my gift to you. alliecasazza.com/calling. Go and get it. 

Work through this today, print it out, get it in front of you. You can fill it out digitally, but I think there’s something powerful about working pen and paper. 

And hey, when you’re ready to start that business, join Startup School. I’ll be there to be your guide through every single step, from taking that idea to your first 10K, which is gonna feel effing amazing because you are effing amazing and you are made for big things! 

I am honored that I even get to be sitting here in front of my microphone, being a part of that journey for you. 

Get your free PDF, come back and listen to this episode. Let me walk you through it again. Do the inner work. Brain dump all those things out and start getting some clarity.

alliecasazza.com/calling. I’ll see you over there.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me! In case you didn’t know, there’s actually an exclusive community that’s been created solely for the purpose of continuing discussions around The Purpose Show episodes. It’s designed to get you to actually take action and make the positive changes that we talk about here. I want you to go and be a part of it. To do that, go to alliecasazza.com/facebookgroup. 

Thank you so much for tuning in! If you’d like to learn more about me, how I can help you, how you can implement all these things and more into your life to make it simpler, better, and more abundant, head to alliecasazza.com. There are free downloads, online courses, programs, and other resources to help you create the life you really want. 

I am always rooting for you, friend! See you next time! I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.

Hey mama! Just a quick note, this post may contain affiliate links.