💌 What’s happening this week:

• I’m back from the Camino de Santiago!

• Journaling prompt: Before I die…

• Detaching from success

• A mid-year look at my bullet journal 📔

Hi friend,

I’VE MISSED YOU! 💖

I’m officially back from the Camino de Santiago and have been recounting the days on my Instagram stories (@cassandratle). 

I’ve also been slowly getting back into the swing of work, routines, and prepping for another trip back to the USA to visit my family soon. Now that I’m back, many of my marketing clients are also using the summer lull to focus on setting up the back-end of their marketing - yay!

So… lots going on over here!

Last week, I was walking 115km (about 71 miles) from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage through Spain and Portugal, to reach the Cathedral of St. James in Galicia.

This is the 2nd time I’ve done the pilgrimage and on the same route. My first time was in 2023 (a pivotal year for me!!) and now this most recent time, with my family in tow!

My uncle and 3 cousins flew over from Virginia to do this 5-day trek with me and my partner. It was a bit of a whirlwind if I’m being honest…

Timelines were crunched, and every day was a ‘travel’ day (lol, considering that we would walk from one destination to another), and managing 4 additional family members while doing something so physically taxing was a lot 😅

I keep thinking back to the first time my partner and I did the Camino de Santiago and how life-changing it was for me.

During 2023, I was dealing with intense creative burnout, felt trapped inside my business, and the weight of the success of my business was all on my shoulders. I had no time or space to THINK, let alone just exist, enjoy, and rest.

Now that my life looks completely different 2 years later…

• Retired agency owner

• Went through an accidental sabbatical turned adult gap year

• Finding work in other areas

• Exploring creative hobbies and side quests

• And feeling more integrated and grounded in my local community

This second round of the Camino de Santiago felt like a celebration. Yes, it was physically taxing and required mental stamina to keep the vibes high while walking 20km every day…

And in my current stage and season of life, and my current headspace, this Camino felt:

• 🎉 CELEBRATORY: recognizing all the work I’ve done the past 2 years to change my life, how I make money, my relationship with work, and my interpersonal relationships.

• 🌼 HOMECOMING: I felt like I was returning to my body, my desires, my joy. I felt like I was focused on my wants/needs without letting shiny object syndrome distract me.

• ☀️ JOYFUL: probably because we did this Camino in a group, it was so much more joyful, less serious, just… GOOD ENERGY! Yes, still hard moments (especially with my 6 blisters…) but I took things day by day without stressing myself out.

I told my partner while we were having lunch earlier this week that I miss the Camino every single day.

And it’s not because of ‘disconnection’ or ‘being outside in nature’ - although those are two things that I do love about the Camino…

It’s the fact that everything in life is reduced to something so simple:

Wake up, get dressed, put on your shoes, grab your backpack, walk, and repeat for however long you do the Camino (we did 5 days, but we have met folks walking for 30!).

The Camino is always a reminder for me that there IS NO RUSH, that everyone goes their own way, and that we sometimes overcomplicate life…

Anyway, keep on the lookout for a series of vlogs about the Camino coming up on my YouTube channel soon! I’m filming and putting together all the footage I took during my time, and can’t wait to share it with you!

✍️ THIS WEEK’S JOURNALING PROMPT

“What must I experience before I die?”

Whew, if this journaling prompt didn’t TAKE ME OUT!! I will be journaling on this one for a while, y’all. I know most of the journaling prompts revolve around “What do I want from life?”, “What do I want to do?”, etc., and maybe we need to rephrase the question to actually bring consciousness to the fact that we will all die…

So… what are the MUST-HAVE experiences we want before then?

💻 THINGS THAT STUCK OUT TO ME

• CAN YOU DETACH FROM SUCCESS? I’ve been seeing this Creator all over the Internet lately (@donavanbarret) and loved this specific video he shared about detaching from success and letting things work. As someone who struggles with ‘leaving things be’, this one hit home for me.

• CRAZY BROKE ASIAN TRAILER: Can we bring back storytelling like this?! A queer coming-of-age docuseries by a fellow Vietnamese child of immigrants!! They are crowdfunding to bring this docuseries to life. 

• THIS BOOK CHANGED HOW I VIEW LOVE AND DEATH: “All About Love” by bell hooks has been a book I think about often, and I read it almost a year ago! bell hooks helped me be more present in my search for love (in all areas of my life). Highly recommend if you haven’t read this yet!

🗓 PREPARING FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

🌻 GOODIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

2025 (mid year) Bullet Journal Flip Through 🌼 Rhodia Goalbook

Let’s flip through my bullet journal from the first half of 2025! I hope some of these spreads and themes serve as inspiration for your spreads or bullet journal. 😍

🤝 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.

Oh, next week… 

I’ll be sharing about an opportunity to travel with me in the South of Spain next year (!!) for an in-person planning retreat 😍☀️✨

Keep on the lookout for the news and details on how you can join!

Until then…

💖 #stayfierce,
Cassandra