One of my favourite newsletters is the one from Mike Dooley’s ‘Notes from the Universe’ – if you’re not already signed up, do yourself a goodie today, and sign up! Here’s the website: http://www.tut.com/Inspiration/nftu

Something I received today – and this is ad verbatim – what I got in my email. It’s about how you respond to what people might say around you, something we don’t normally feel we have much control over. Anyway, here it is! 

The next time someone upsets you, think, “Thanks for pointing out that I’ve begun depending on you. Time I lose the expectations.”

And the next time someone doesn’t take your view into account, think, “That’s okay, I was once like that.”

And if someone steals from you, think, “It was nothing, my supply is the Universe.”

Or lies to you, think, “I’m sorry you feel that need.”

Violates you, “All for my growth and glory.”

Is rude to you, “Cheer up, dear soul, it’ll be okay.”

Judges you, “Thanks for sharing your truth.”

Drives by you like a bat out of hell, “Be careful, my friend. I love you.”

And the next time someone greets you with a smile, smile back, like you’re sharing a secret.

Headmaster,
The Universe

Guys! It’s been a while. I know!!! I’m stoked to be back.

// As I write this, I’m both chuckling to myself, in the nicest way, and also energised by the possibilities surrounding me. And as I write this, we are officially operating here in Sydney as well as in Perth. (!!!) Somebody pinch me! I thought about this, but never in my wildest dreams did I think this year, 2017, would be the year I’d be living, like a proper Sydney sider, here in freaking Sydney!!!

My husband Josh accepted a new job here, and that’s the reason we came here. Wow. Life knows how to surprise, delight and errything! I’d be lying if I didn’t also tell you that it’s been chaotic, exhausting, full of tired nights and heavy eyelids, but we’re waking up daily to a city that is buzzing, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m in for this wild ride…

It’s been almost 3 months since we left Perth, and since then, we’ve lived in a hotel for a month (in Chatswood), scrambled around to find a place to live, and finally found the perfect spot in Ryde, opened 55 (yes, 55) boxes of home life, and tried to put things in place. In between all this, there was a trip to the Philippines (Boracay) – sharing more about this soon! And now, in another 10 days, I will be flying back to Perth for a dear friends wedding.

Exhausted just writing all this out so you can imagine the journey. It was. intense.

But I’m here and it’s quiet. I can hear the birds singing, the traffic sounds have a somewhat calming on my work, our to-do lists are not as long, even though we have lots to look forward to this year, and there is a sense of newness in every day, especially in the way I approach work here at Chutzpah.

Someone asked me the other day – a friend who wants to begin her own business – what does business mean to you? Good Q.

Personally, it means the world to express, to create, to serve to your highest ability. To meet and work with different and talented clients, to go beyond what you thought was possible, and to dream big.

When I began, the enthusiasm to just begin was so great, and I had so much fun in the first few months with my first few clients. There was a spark in literally everything I did! Even if I had to work all night to hit a deadline, and even with balancing different issues within the business – I could just not miss the smile and satisfaction of a job done.

Back to being in this new city.

I wonder what’s ahead. I smile at these blue skies and want to jump with some amount of excitement, even as I think about my friends and family in Perth.

And as always, I ask myself this question – what are my goals supposed to be? Do they change massively because I’m in a new place? Do they become bigger?

Strange are the ways of my brain – but these six are what popped out for me

1. Serve with Soul: Envelope my work with warmth and love.
2. Discover Sydney: It’s a new city, let’s go play!
3. Connect with others: I don’t know anyone here. It’s an opportunity to make new friends!
4. Share your work: Update that portfolio, and get case studies up and running’
5. Build a team: More about this a bit later
6. Progress over perfect: This is something I learned from Lara Casey, and it’s always brought me from a place of angst about perfection to knowing that I can take one more step forward and I’ll be just fine!

// Some things that helped me with the move: 💕                                                                                                                                                                            Essential Oils: Hardly thought I’d ever even say this, but using DoTerra Oils – so good! My favourite is the Balance blend 🙂

Journal practice: 

Staying in the moment – I try! But no seriously, journalling the monkey mind is key – every morning, some stream of consciousness gets passed on to a lucky piece of paper – or my very loyal laptop.

Doing the work:

Timing, timing! All about that time! I came to Sydney with a massive project and a lot of editing to do – a whole album with a super talented artist and some close deadlines. Along with working on my laptop for almost a month, because my desktop was on it’s way – and being in a hotel room, I was well on my way to being focussed for a few hours a day.

God:

Last but not least, I think my faith in God and His providence has grown stronger with this experience. Spending time in the quiet is the best time of my day.

As it stands, this week – Friday, I head back to Perth to reconnect with the city, be bridesmaid <!> (more on this later), visit family and generally exhale. We’ve had a pretty full on couple of months here, and this is going to be so, so good.

back soon,

Fayann x

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

Coming back to this space has been on my brain for quite-some-time, and I’m happy to say we’re finally back on track with our editing projects!! <cue the celebratory music!>

It’s been 5 months of being in full-time biz, and what a glorious, exciting, heart-thumping ride to be on. Each day is different and each passing moment brings new opportunity, new challenges and most importantly, growth.

When I decided to go into business, it was mainly for one reason – to feel more joy at work. (can I get an amen?!)

Sounds simple enough, right? More joy at work? What brings this ‘joy’? Well, I really, sincerely wanted to feel like I was doing my very best, working with the very best, and serving the community and the world through this joy. I wanted to feel ease and freedom when it came to communicating with people, I wanted to work with my strengths, focus on what I did best, and create freedom and space to be creative, innovative and relevant to the current zeitgeist.

It’s not easy to create this, but what I’ve found is that it’s POSSIBLE.

What materialises when one steps out into the unknown? What adventures and experiences are to be had when one does not know everything?

When structure is thrown out the window and mediocrity is ignored, I found ample opportunity for spontaneity, and as a result of that, some sweet ol’ joy.

Don’t get me wrong, when I say joy, I don’t mean that the road is easier, at all. In fact, the amount of work has doubled, tripled, at times leading me well into creating and producing content at all crazy hours of the day (and night), striving to hit deadlines and feel like I am doing what was set out to be done. The joy has come with some struggle, with adjustments to new ways of communicating and being, with adding new systems in place (where there were none before) and with the knowing that this will be a path where lessons will be learnt at all times, and in every situation.

Having said all that, I’m super grateful to every single person, every single business and every single agency who has gave us the opportunity to get started and get going. There are not enough love hearts in this universe to express the love I feel about this journey.

Since starting 5 months, we’ve had the privilege of working with almost 20 different clients, (case-studies series releasing shortly) committed to finding new ways of working with video and the post-production process,  supported 2 not-for-profit organisations, worked with local vendors in the video production industry in Perth, collaborated with new freelancers (and hope to do more of this!), had the pleasure of speaking at a Girl child education event – a cause that’s very close to this heart, and worked with both children and pets – finding the shot and pressing record at the correct moment!

It is our hope that we’ve begun a conversation about effective communication in the digital age. The short-term goal is to understand what will be most helpful to our clients and how we can most effectively create content that brings clarity of message to their audiences. With the right mindset and the intention to do good behind everything we do, we’re on our way there.

With Gratitude to Infinity,

Fayann + Team Chutzpah