💌 What’s happening this week:

• May gross vs. net revenue

• Journaling prompt: The Odyssey Plan 🧭

• Trans guy gets a makeover (I cried watching this…)

• My very first market vlog!

I love a gratitude practice and journaling prompt, especially when I am experiencing feelings of scarcity, comparison, and even jealousy.

I try to be grateful for and show gratitude towards the people in my life, including my support network, clients, and all the other individuals who fall into these categories.

But sometimes I get this feeling that my ‘gratitude practice’ might actually be holding me back. Sounds… ironic and backwards, right?

All of the productivity folks and coaches out there talk about how a gratitude practice can help us to:

• Be more mindful of what we have

• See abundance in everything

• Acknowledge that we are doing ok

So, when does a gratitude practice actually start holding us back?

In a podcast episode I was listening to this week (I linked it below for you!), they talk about how gratitude and ‘being humble’ can actually be two things that hold us back from our confidence.

And you know what? YEAH, IT DOES!

I thought back to all those times I expressed gratitude for the opportunities I received, the money that came in, and getting featured or recognized for my hard work. Being Vietnamese-American, raised in the USA, and now living in Spain… I think I adopted this skewed vision of gratitude, being that I had to ‘show excessive amounts of gratitude’ to people and situations because I felt like I didn’t really belong there - like I had to prove my worth, thus I am so grateful they finally recognized my value.

If you’re also a person of color or hold a marginalized identity, you may know the sensation of needing to ‘work harder’ than your white, straight, male counterparts just to be recognized or ‘earn your spot’ anywhere.

So while I still love a gratitude practice and journaling prompt, I want to add a layer of nuance to that…

YES, I am grateful for the opportunities, money, people, places, all the things that I have in my life AND I did my work and showed up for them, so I am so deserving of them and more… not just for my ‘hard work’ but because I am knowledgeable, smart, and experienced in my field.

Instead of moving in the energy of ‘proving my worth’ and feeling grateful that opportunities, things, people came in because I am grateful someone recognized me…

I’m grateful for myself. For showing up, for doing the work, and for cultivating my knowledge, experience, and expertise… making me more than deserving of everything I have and more. I am moving in embodied confidence, not groveling humbleness… 

Anyway, that was a long way to say that we’re back with another Money Diaries 💸 series to break down May’s gross and net revenue - which was GREAT. You can read it all below, and if you missed April’s, you can read last month’s edition here. 

May’s Gross vs. Net Revenue

*Just a reminder that gross is before taxes and expenses and net is what I get to keep!

GROSS REVENUE = 5329,55€

• Education (professor role)

• Marketing consulting (4 contracts)

• Content Specialist freelance role

• Rastro Literario (my in-person market in Toledo)

Where my clients came from:

• Repeat clients

• Referral

• Instagram

• Contract position

• Cold sales (in-person)

CASH FLOW = 4579,55€

MAY EXPENSES = 669,83€

• Accounting fees

• Freelancer registration fees in Spain

• Cloud storage

• Internet & phone

• Canva

• A marketing membership

• A Creator membership

• This newsletter platform

• My membership platform

• Domain renewal

NET REVENUE (from cash flow) = 3909,72€

I have officially put away 3 months’ worth of a work buffer for myself!! 🎉🎉🎉 THIS IS HUGE! For a year, I was living off of savings, and my partner was graciously covering my side of the expenses while I was getting back on my feet with work.

I can now contribute back to the household, put money away for savings, and have projects lined up for the rest of the year that will help me bring in steady income 😭😭😭 I feel so much relief!

✍️ THIS WEEK’S JOURNALING PROMPT

Your Odyssey Plan

I heard about this journaling prompt from Tammy of Uncomfy, a Creator I’ve been following on YouTube for years! The Odyseey Plan was created by professors at the Standfor Life Design Lab to help students think about and ‘design’ their futures (both personal and professional) more effectively. Y’ALL KNOW I LOVE THIS!

Here’s how you can explore your own Odyssey Plan:

• Create a chart with 3 possible alternative lives you might live over the next five years

  • Option 1 → What would your life look like in 5 years if nothing changed?

  • Option 2 → What would life look like if you made one big change? This can be in career or personal life, or even a mix of the two (ie: changing careers, moving, etc.)

  • Option 3 → WILD CARD: The big, audacious life you’d have if you had no constraints and all your basic needs were assured and to be met

I’ll also be exploring this journaling prompt this week - can’t wait to dive in!

💻 THINGS THAT STUCK OUT TO ME ON THE INTERNET

• SHE’S SO LUCKY PODCAST: I listened to this episode on “Stop Being Humble” with Alexis Barber on my morning walk and had so many moments I caught myself nodding along. SO good!

• THE TRY GUYS: I have been LOVING their new series, “New Guy Tries” featuring Ash Perez, a trans man, who shares his journey of ‘being a new guy’ trying all the typical guy things! The 2nd season just started and this is the original episode that had me BAWLING my eyes out, it’s so beautiful.

• UNEXPECTED WAYS TO MAKE FRIENDS (as an adult): This snippet from Dr. Joy, Founder of Therapy for Black Girls, stuck out to me this week! As someone who’s been intentionally trying to make more friends and deepen my relationships, this simple advice got me challenging myself to reach out to more folks!

🗓 PREPARING FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

🌻 GOODIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

🍋 FIRST EVER POP-UP MARKET VLOG! 📚 Sewing bookmarks, market results

Join me as I prep for an upcoming book market in this small business vlog! 😍 This is my first market, so I’m taking you behind the scenes for my booth setup to preparing inventory. I also share the breakdown of what it’s like for sales and marketing for art and maker businesses in comparison to running an online small business.

🤝 HOW TO WORK TOGETHER

Want to work together to create time and space for intentional connections? Here are a few ways to do that through marketing support, journaling, and education.

• 📓PLANS TO PROGRESS MEMBERSHIP: A quarterly membership for big dreamers to intentionally plan each month with the accountability to transform your ideas into actionable steps and projects. Join us inside the Lounge here!

• ⭐ SIGNATURE BRAND & WEBSITE DESIGN + COPYWRITING PACKAGE: Get 2 brand strategists on your team to elevate your brand visuals, website, and messaging for your next stage of business. Learn more and apply here.

• 👀 WEBSITE AUDIT: DIYed your website copy and want to get an expert’s feedback and edits? Book a Website Audit and get feedback on what’s working and where to improve in just 2 weeks.

Next week, my family is arriving so we can embark on a 5-day pilgrimage in the north of Spain! 😍☀️

This is the 2nd time I’m doing the Camino de Santiago, and I am VERY excited to do it again at a different stage of my life.

Anyway, I hope you had a restorative weekend, friend…

Until next time…

💖 #stayfierce,
Cassandra