More Than a Mum

​I can still feel the darkest hours of my depression, lying paralysed in self-loathing, peering through brain-fog, confused and lost with no sense of direction or care for life. It felt painful to peel myself out of bed in the mornings and I would wince with disgust as I glimpsed at the chip packets and chocolate wrappers that surrounded me. Unable to feel any warmth for myself, conversations with family and work colleagues appeared disjointed on the surface as I desperately channeled the remaining energy I had to keep a lid on the flooding sadness that engulfed my throat. My life back then, is what the colour black is to white, when you compare it to my life now. And sometimes, the contrast baffles me. These days, my life bursts with creative inspiration, belly-laugh love and a deep sense of yearning and fulfillment. I am a 34 year-old proud Mumma of two gorgeous children, Jackson and Ivy and wife to my best friend Leigh. Together, we have a clear purpose, and that is to simply enjoy life. We live in Bendigo, the regional Victorian city I dreamed of building a life in since being old enough to remember the crisp, natural beauty of it. And my life in business, well that part really is a dream come true.

Living with undiagnosed depression from the ages of 13 to 23, I felt like a hopeless case and a debilitating burden on my family. When I reflect on this horrific period of my life I can see clearly that I was out of alignment with my soul. I remember feeling so low, I lay in bed having just woken up, absent of any desire or purpose and thinking my life would be much easier if I hadn’t woken up at all. I lacked love for myself and was living out of fear. Fear of not being good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough and not funny enough. I was terrified I would be rejected for simply being me. I believed all of the horrendous thoughts that consumed my mind day-in, day-out and thought I wasn’t worth anyone’s time. I needed something to turn my life around.

When I welcomed meditation into my life, everything changed for me. I became radically aware of the never-ending stream of severely unhelpful thoughts my ego created and I realised this was an ingrained part of being human that would never leave. I learnt that even though my ego formed these thoughts, it didn’t mean there was any substantial truth to them. This was a huge lightbulb moment. With stillness, I could detach my life from those thoughts and consider, ‘If I’m not these thoughts, then who am I?’ When I explored my life-long curiosity in spirituality, I discovered my soul beyond my ego’s fear-based thoughts and saw clearly that I could either feed this lower-vibrational fear energy or channel divine love into my life. I made it my mission to choose love. My life was transformed from viewing myself as a failure that no one could fix to a spark of possibility who could follow her dreams.

I began my business when my firstborn, Jackson arrived in 2015. I remember him rocking back-and-forth in the bouncer while I started my online presence on Facebook under the name ‘Holistic Living’, which then changed to ‘Creative Spirit’ for a while, as I transitioned my focus from health and wellbeing to spirituality before building Facebook pages Bronte Spicer, Soul Worker Academy, my beloved Facebook group Soul Worker Sisterhood and Instagram account Bronte Spicer. I was so inspired by my business I worked at ridiculous hours of the night, too excited to sleep. My business was my other baby and a welcome outlet for the self-love that rumbled from my heart.

I’d been practising Reiki for six years prior and once I secured an affordable space to rent locally with a fellow Reiki Practitioner this was my first service, for both adults and children. I’d attended a Two-Day Certified Angel Card Reader Workshop with Doreen Virtue and this soon became an additional service for my clients. Following, as I studied with the Australian Centre for Holistic Studies to receive my Advanced Certificate in Guiding and Teaching Meditation, I offered regular Meditation Courses and Workshops, and eventually Soul Retreats.

Reflecting on this time, my biggest challenge was believing in my services. I began my Meditation Classes as a casual service, where my clients would pay as they go. Sometimes I would have one person arrive for my classes, and while I presented calmly on the surface, I was riddled with anxiety about how I was going to afford my rent. I was petrified to charge for classes by the term and could only imagine losing all of my students as a result. Reflecting now, my fees were extremely reasonable considering the benefits my students were experiencing, yet I was blind to the true value of my classes.

I realised I was doing my students a disservice of offering casual Meditation Classes because the fee structure didn’t encourage them to practice regularly. The more they attended my classes the more calm, centred and energised they felt. I saw a huge spike in commitment levels from my students when I replaced casual fees with term fees. Similarly with Reiki treatments, initially I refrained from suggesting to my clients who really needed it, to return for a second or even third treatment in case they interpreted this gesture as revenue-building. When I remembered the purpose of my service, to help my clients to be the healthiest and most vibrant version of themselves, it was my responsibility to put my own limiting story aside, and offer them the support they needed. Taking courageous action improved my service for my clients and helped me pay the rent too!

At this time, my mindset around my business income started to shift in a welcomed direction; I was making money! I felt inspired to map out my projected income and felt a sense of pride when I could pay my rent with ease. I began contributing to the family’s spending money and invested 50% of the gross profits back into the business. I always had an inkling that my work would be wildly successful and it was exciting to see the start of the fruits of my labour.

Soon after, my sense of trust in my vision was tested. I’d been doing the odd day of Casual Relief Teaching (CRT) at my old school which comparatively, was good money for our family. In order to be available for CRT I had to limit my appointments for my clients. I grew frustrated with CRT, often not receiving work when I’d turned down appointments with my clients. Despite the lure of good money from CRT, I had to dig deep and fiercely trust that if I kept myself available for my clients my business would grow and surpass the income CRT offered. This part of my journey tested how committed and dedicated I was to my soul work… thankfully, I passed.

As more clients came for Readings, I witnessed an influx of people who wanted a career change and had a quiet desire to run a business doing what they loved. I thrived on sharing the intuitive wisdom that was channelled for these clients and could see it was a direct reflection of my own journey. I realised this was my passion; to support and inspire others to trust their intuition enough to follow their heart and pursue the work of their soul.

A part of me felt somewhat limited sharing my work in one-on-one appointments. I wanted to inspire more women and make a bigger impact. A teacher by trade, I wanted to show thousands of women how meditation could change their lives, how to channel age-old wisdom so they could lift themselves out of the illusion of their worries, stop believing those nasty fear-based thoughts and return to their truth; that they are an incredible bundle of infinite possibility and they can create their wildest dreams. I wanted to create a ripple effect of love right across the globe.

A vehicle for growth in my own self-worth, I knew that I needed to invest in some coaching to help me get my message out to more women. In the past, I had found it impossible to invest in my business; it took me six long years to buy $200 annual insurance for my Reiki services. ‘What if it doesn’t all work out?’ I doubted… ‘What if I spend all this money and my business is a failure?’ I came to a realisation that I was worth spending money on, that I was worthy of receiving my dreams and that I had the choice to invest in my big vision. Once I raised my self-worth and began to invest in my business, my income grew faster than ever.

I took baby steps with my investments in coaching. I balked at the price for a package of two coaching calls with Cosmic Alchemist and Brand Whisperer Eloise Meskanen but something deep within me was calling me to work with her… so I did. Months later, I took the plunge and signed up for Kushla Chadwick’s Confident Coach Academy, to learn how to enrol more clients. When I registered to work with Kushla I couldn’t quite work out what I was doing… I was signing up for something I couldn’t afford! I was too frightened to tell Leigh. I only had enough money for the first instalment and had no idea how I was going to cover the rest of the payments. Again, something deep within was calling me to step up and be a part of this Academy. I was learning quickly to follow my guidance in order to manifest my dreams, and of course, I received more than enough money to pay for the Confident Coach Academy.

Having someone coach me accelerated my path to my dreams as a Spiritual Entrepreneur. In just weeks, I had formed the SOUL Method and the Soul Worker Academy, I was clear on who my clients were and I knew what my gifts and talents were. I could see what problems I could help my clients solve, I knew how to market my services and sell my program in a way that didn’t feel icky. In the words of Soul Leader Mentor Melissa Sandon, I had embodied the feeling that I was ‘that woman’ who had a business coach.

My business evolved into a sacred path of service in total alignment with my soul. Now, I help women on a spiritual path who have a deep yearning to serve. They want to help and care for people and the planet. I refer to them as ‘Soul Workers’, because they work from the essence of their soul, or love. Maybe you really want to help people feel healthy and well through yoga and nutrition, or show others how to become mentally resilient with Meditation and Emotional Freedom Technique or teach children how to practice loving kindness through picture stories. If you have a strong desire to help others, then you are a Soul Worker.

I founded the Soul Worker Academy; an online learning facility that guides Spiritual Entrepreneur Mums to build a solid connection to their soul and higher purpose, courageously step into their role of leadership as an expert in their field and follow their path of service, all while making a healthy income for themselves and their family. I define Spiritual Entrepreneur Mums as Mums who run a business that’s in alignment with their soul purpose. Loss of identity can be rife in Motherhood when we are thrown into the role of feeding around the clock, cleaning, changing nappies, washing, drying, shopping and the rest. Since you’re reading this book, it’s likely that you dream of running your own business. Maybe you envision yourself running health retreats or writing books or speaking for TED sharing your powerful message. The Soul Worker Academy is for those women who have done the study and need to learn to manage the relentless fears and self-sabotage that can feel crippling in the journey of entrepreneurship. It gives you a pathway to help people you’re truly inspired to, unlock your ultimate potential and manifest your wildest dreams.

The Soul Worker Academy supports you to build:

• confidence in your gifts, experience and abilities
• trust in your intuition and;
• competence in running a successful business.

What I have learnt, is that when you are clear about your abilities and gifts, you can accelerate yourself to your dreams in business. Throughout your life, or lives, you collect skills, wisdom and abilities through study, professional and personal experience and when these are ignited by the work of your soul they become your powerful set of soul gifts. The Soul Worker Academy helps Mums find clarity on what their soul gifts are and who they’re specifically passionate about working with and then create tangible services and products that ignite their fire. When you have the pleasure of fulfilling your purpose and potential, that’s when you get to experience true abundance.

While observing the women I worked with, I realised their biggest struggle was trusting their intuition and brilliant ideas they were receiving to make the positive impact they dreamt of. This encouraged me to form the SOUL Method. The SOUL Method is a framework to move out of constantly worrying and doubting yourself, to build a strong abundance mindset, return to the infinite possibility that you are, receive clear steps from the universe and practice courage to leap with faith and take solid action towards your dreams as an entrepreneur.

The SOUL Method is comprised of four elements:
S – See the Truth
O – Open and Expand
U – Unite With Consciousness
L – Leap With Faith.

See the Truth
When you’re in alignment with your soul, you see the truth; your soul is a part of the collective consciousness and all that is, you are infinite possibility and can create what you desire. Yet when your reality is swayed by the ego’s fear-based thinking, you are living within the illusion of fear. Maybe you haven’t started your business because you feel you don’t know enough, despite having undergone study at great lengths or even had professional experience in your proposed field. Perhaps you can’t see past all the things that could go wrong with your business or you might doubt you can make a good income from what you really want to do. These are all fears from your ego and not the voice of your soul. You are a spiritual being having a human experience and the truth is that you are qualified enough, things will go right and you can make a good income from the work you yearn to pursue. By unraveling each layer of resistance or limitation encasing your soul, you allow more of your potential to birth into your world. As you begin to implement techniques like meditation, journaling and affirming on a daily basis you can realign with your soul and see the truth in every situation. The commitment you show when dedicating yourself to a daily sacred practice offers trust in the universe and courage like no other to act upon the ideas and guidance you receive.

Open and Expand
You have an energetic body, as well as a physical body, which acts as a gateway to connect with your infinite potential. If you have practiced yoga or had a Reiki treatment, you’re likely to be aware of the chakric system. Each chakra, or spinning wheel of energy creates flow, offering balance and vitality in the body, mind and soul. Learning to channel fresh, new energy into your body offers you the opportunity to channel your desires. The soulful business that you crave, the income that you dream of, the inspiring work that you envision yourself doing and the impact you see yourself making all emit a particular vibration. As you look after your energetic body through energy-healing, meditation and other energy work, you can attract the vibration of your dream business and it inevitably manifests into form. Now, the universe will not hand you your dreams on a platter without commitment and action. Yet, energy work is a powerful tool to build your belief mindset and trust in your path to your life as a successful entrepreneur. Experiencing the expansive nature of your energy field quickly reminds you there is more than the physical world you live in, there is more at play than what the eye can see, you are unlimited potential and your dream business is possible.

Unite with Consciousness
When you unite with the collective consciousness you have the delectable experience of connecting to your soul guidance and receiving your next action step to take towards your dreams. Your soul guidance is the team of spiritual beings that have been assigned to you in this lifetime to help you fulfill your soul purpose. They might include guides, angels, ascended masters, animal spirit guides, gods, goddesses, deities and fairies. Infusing automatic journaling, card readings, prayer and meditation into your sacred practice develops your four intuitive abilities, including clairvoyance, clairsentience, claircognizance and clairaudience. These help you receive clear messages and learn to trust the guidance enough to follow through with action. Intuitive messages from your soul guidance can come in various forms for your business such as synchronicities, recurring numbers, new ideas or symbolic dreams at night. Learning how to receive clear messages from the universe can be a powerful tool as an entrepreneur because you are always making decisions. When you are tuned into your soul you can learn to choose from love rather than fear. Your soul guidance always guides you back to love and will support you on your path to your highest visions as a Soul Worker.

Leap with Faith
When you take the plunge to leap with faith you are practicing full trust in the universe that it is safe for you to implement the action you’ve been guided to take. Perhaps you’re getting the call to speak at a local community event, apply to be a guest on a podcast or become a published writer. The Academy students are guided to take action within what I refer to as the ‘Magic Zone’ and this is crucial to creating your dreams and desires. ​In order for magic to happen, you need to step out of your comfort zone. Concurrently, it’s important that you don’t push yourself too far beyond your limits that you shut down. You need to take action that excites you and brings nerves along with it too. You also need to take action that gives you enough space to manage the fears that arise with it. If you choose an action that is far greater than you can handle, you will bypass magic and enter overwhelm. Your role as a Soul Worker is to remain curious enough to observe how far love will take you, implement your action steps and let go of the outcome. Surrender to the divine nature of the universe and maintain faith that your guidance has heard your desires. Sometimes what you receive is just as you’d envisioned and other times it’s a blessing in disguise. A Soul Worker practices trust that they are exactly where they need to be and everything is in divine order.

Throughout the twelve modules of the Soul Worker Academy, women build an unwavering faith in their abilities to create a business that’s aligned with what their soul desires. It initiates powerful healing, builds a sacred practice, deepens an awareness of Self and naturally penetrates self-love and self-fulfilment into their lives. They journey through a process of releasing the shackles that hold them back and begin to express who they truly are with the world. I am blessed to witness the profound personal growth and wild transformation of the women who journey through the Soul Worker Academy.

Taking action as if I was already successful made huge changes for me on my path to running a successful business. I used to compare myself to other entrepreneurs, see their websites with their beautiful photos and think ‘I’m not good enough to have photos like that taken. They must have a massive income to be able to afford that.’ When I caught myself saying that, I questioned it. ‘What’s really stopping me from having beautiful photos and a professional website?’ My mindset shifted and I was quick to trade some Soul Coaching sessions for the most immaculate professional shots from local photographer Lou Firli and this helped me believe in the successful progression of my business. With a pinch of ‘faking it ‘til I make it’, I was taking action as if I’d already made it… and my business was growing.

Once I’d learnt the nuts-and-bolts of business, I knew I needed more time to implement the strategies. I’d been limiting my time spent on my business to the bare-minimum in the fear that I was asking Leigh to do too much and that I was neglecting my children. After really considering what the truth was in this situation, I realised that my yearning to do this work was so big that I couldn’t live without it. I had a deep and heart-felt responsibility to help more people see what was possible for them. So, I thought, ‘I might as well make some money while I’m at it.’ I had been spending some time away from Leigh and the kids to work on my business. If I spent a little more time, I could keep filling my cup and make a good income for the family. This is when it dawned on me that my business could be uber-successful. Together, Leigh and I got really accountable with my two-days of work per week at home. I got dressed up to go to ‘work’ in the back room of our house. It was the first time I took my business seriously. I made a decision to become a wildly abundant entrepreneur and this kept me on-track, ensuring I was utilising my work hours in the most productive way to grow my business.

That year, with Ivy just a few months old, I made more money than I ever dreamed of through my soul work. Building a healthy income from my business gave me more inspiration to share what I had learnt about business with fellow Spiritual Entrepreneur Mums. I knew what it was like to doubt my own abilities to create an abundant business from the work that I loved and I wanted to show every other Soul Worker how they could move out of doubt and build their dream business too. I included the Modules ‘Monetise Your Soul Work’ and ‘Embed and Embody Your Soul Work’ which are jam-packed filled with ways to market and sell with soul. If I could make a good income, so could my clients.

One of the biggest worries my clients have is ‘what will they think of me’, and maybe this is a fear of yours too. Being spiritual can feel foreign to the mainstream Australian culture and it took courage for me to stand up and express this deeply-felt part of me. You might feel different in some way or feel as though if you shared who you truly are, and what your actual dreams are, you might be ridiculed. On my journey of choosing love, I have expressed more of who I truly am and my self-expression has been both warmly received and utterly rejected. Both have been a blessing. The more you share your truth, the more you calibrate with your tribe. When you are rejected by family or friends, it is a blessing for you to raise these big fears of yours to the surface. I have been called ‘fake’ and my work has been labelled ‘bullshit’. While I initially felt hurt by these words, it encouraged me to really question these deep-seated fears of mine. ‘Am I fake?’ or ‘Have I been brainwashed?’ Sitting with these raw feelings and exploring these fears, I came to a deeper understanding that this was my path, and not for anyone else. Other people may not understand my journey of full self-expression but I am choosing love and pursuing my dreams.

As you step further into your potential and experience rejection yourself, practice a healthy dose of self-awareness and self-compassion. Becoming radically present with the unhelpful thoughts your ego creates like ‘No one’s going to buy it’, ‘You’re not good enough’, or ‘You’re never going to make it’ is crucial. In fact, write them down in your journal so you can extract them from your monkey mind. If you have a healthy connection with the universe, call in the wisdom of your soul and ask ‘What is the truth in this situation?’ and finally, wrap pure divine, white light around your body and into your heart as you feel the anger, pain, frustration, sadness or any other uncomfortable emotion that arises. Let yourself feel into the discomfort that comes with rejection and love yourself anyway. A tangible toolkit to manage your thoughts and emotions are key to being successful in business.

Practicing balance in your life helps you avoid burnout and create longevity. As an entrepreneur, I choose to be in the game for the long haul so I must ensure I’m balancing work, family and time for myself. Early in my business, I worked solidly each night as soon as I could. Initially I was naturally inspired, but this quickly turned into the grind, like I was a slave to the neverending to-do list for my business. My ego kept pushing me to WORK. WORK. WORK. A couple of times, I fell in a heap, as sick as a dog and unable to feel any natural desire to be immersed in my work; I was out of soul alignment. I needed to create boundaries for myself so I didn’t feel like my entire life was work.

I implemented clear rules to be my best version for myself, my family and my business:

– Accept your work will never finish. There will always be more to do and it doesn’t all need to happen overnight. Strengthen your trust in divine timing and know that in order to fulfill your soul purpose you don’t need to be working like a crazy lady.
– Don’t work at night. Spend time with your loved ones and immerse yourself in your sacred practice. Read. Go to yoga.
– Don’t work on your days off. While it’s easy to be productive with a three-month old bouncing away in the bouncer, it’s a mental nightmare to try and work on your business as your children get older. Enjoy your precious time with your children. Be present with them, engage with them, marvel in their beauty and have fun with them.

Building a dream is a team-effort. Lisa Forde, Principal of the Australian Centre for Holistic Studies is my Mentor and I am always looking for additional coaches to help me on my path. Leigh is my biggest supporter of my dreams. We are lucky enough he is home from shift work for seven days a fortnight and is with the kids while I work. I’ve hired others to help with babysitting and administration along the way and am proud to have Soul Worker Academy graduate, friend and Freedom Facilitator at Enriched Entrepreneurs, Linda Bonney on my marketing team. You’re not meant to do it all alone so reach out for the help you need.

Life as an entrepreneur is a journey of profound personal growth and self-development. Since running my own business, I feel empowered to make my dreams a reality. I believe in myself and know I offer something worthwhile. I continue to become clearer on what my soul gifts are and I have gained confidence in sharing my work. I know the value of my products and services and I’m comfortable in inviting my soul clients to work with me. Each time I take the next step, whether it’s a leap or tiny shuffle, I am reclaiming more of my innate power to express who I am with the world and it’s truly liberating.

My path as a Spiritual Entrepreneur Mum continues to unfold. I am excited to be currently writing my own book, a sacred guidebook filled with spiritual practices, intuitive wisdom, energy rituals, meditations and more to accelerate you on your path to your wildest dreams as a Spiritual Entrepreneur Mum. I would love to co-create some oracle cards to accompany this book to help you develop your trust in your intuition even further. And I am looking forward to adding the Soul Worker Retreat to the Soul Worker Academy, a nourishing in-person experience where you can dig deep into your soul, release what no longer serves you and find the courage to take that next big leap.

If I had some final words of wisdom for you, as a Mum with a dream to start your own business, it would be to rebuild your beliefs around how you can generate an income for you and your family. Gone are the days where financial security must come from a 9-5 job. You live in an exciting time where you can reach your clients right across the globe from the comfort of your own home. Facebook alone has two billion active users. Ditch the old employment paradigm, and enter the new. Contrary to what some people believe, it is possible for you to build a business doing what you love.

From my heart to yours, Bronte Spicer.