In 2018, I participated in a 12-day vision quest in the Utah desert with the Animas Valley Institute. (Highly recommend.)

In the days leading up to our peak experience — a 3-day solo vision fast — our wisened guides taught us many key skills of Soulcraft (as they call their discipline).

✨Talking to the wild others around us.

✨Sensing with our animal bodies.

✨Acknowledging the Great Mystery of the universe through song and dance and play.

✨Wandering through the landscape letting something deeper than our minds guide our footsteps.

Our key instruction for that last bit?

Follow your allurement.

I followed my allurement all over that Utah canyon country.

I’d catch a thread of curiosity or desire — a wisp of, “Hmm, what’s over there?” — and off I’d go.

Down brushy hillsides, up craggy alcoves, and to the farthest solo site of anyone in our group.

Turns out my allurement liked taking me to difficult places.

Sometimes I had no idea why I’d ended up where I did, but at the least I could trust my process.

Sometimes my allurement led me to hidden oases and islands of paradise I couldn’t possibly have imagined.

Either way, it was a great way to walk.

***

Just this week, someone I met through another Animas program reached out for some marketing advice.

He’s just getting started in a new field, and while he’s attracted some clients, he wasn’t sure how to get more.

He’d been forcing himself to show up on Instagram, hoping that would do the trick.

It wasn’t working.

Among other advice I gave, I reminded him about this Soulcraft lesson he already knows.

“Especially for solopreneurs selling services, Follow your allurement is also good marketing advice,” I said.

“Show up where you want and like to be.

“Life’s too short to build a business that requires you to be consistently doing something you hate.”

Don’t like posting on Instagram?

Then for goodness sake, don’t try to build an empire there.

Feel into how you DO like connecting with people.

One-on-one coffee dates?

Networking events?

Writing weekly emails?

Appearing on podcasts?

Drawing comic strips?

If you’re doing all your marketing yourself, build it on something you LIKE doing.

Alluringly yours,

Rachel

PS – Ok yes, I admit, there’s some element of paradox here. Because sometimes you DO have to use discipline and try things that don’t light you up. But the more you can follow your authentic energy — what brings you joy and turns you on — the better your visibility efforts are going to go. I promise.

PPS – Before following your allurement anywhere, I advise you figure out how to talk about what you do in a compelling way. The best framework I know for helping you do so is StoryBrand. I just puta new page on my website offering 4 ways you can get started with the StoryBrand framework — including for FREE. Check ‘em out!

This post was originally sent as an email to the Magic Words of the Week newsletter list. Every week, I share reflections on a word, quote, or phrase I think will help you thrive in your life’s work.