Ep. 49 | Daring to Dream Big and Act Boldly

What does it mean to truly embrace audacity in your life? Join me as I share my personal journey of discovering "audacity" as my word of the year, amidst some significant life changes. Through reflection and growth, I found that this powerful word perfectly captured the leap of faith into my creative projects and dreams. I hope that this episode inspires you to believe in yourself, take bold actions toward your goals, and remember that the world needs your unique contributions.

On this episode, I also share insights from recent business workshops that have sparked a new fire in my entrepreneurial spirit. We discuss transformative activities like visualizing your ideal life, tackling self-doubt, and shattering limiting beliefs. You'll hear practical advice on achieving financial freedom, working smarter, and conquering the fear of being seen, which is imperative for women in business. Together, we'll unpack how stepping into your power and vision isn't just liberating; it’s essential. So, "shake the table, break it if you have to," and choose audacity as your guiding light.

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Theme Music:
She No Dull Beat by Nana Kwabena
Festivities in Belize by RAGE Productions

Chapters

• 0:00 Embracing Audacity
• 13:38 High-Level Takeaways From Business Workshops
• 28:23 Unleashing Audacity and Creativity

Transcript

Aliya Cheyanne: 2:22

Have the audacity to pursue your dreams. Be audacious and trust the process. Hi friend, welcome back to the show. I'm your host, aaliyah Cheyenne, and this episode is all about my word for the year. Now, hold on, don't come for me.

Aliya Cheyanne: 2:43

I know usually people pick their theme or their word for the year at the beginning of the year, but I honestly didn't have it At the beginning of the year. I was going through a lot of transition, a lot of transition in my career, a lot of transition in my home, and I was all over the place. I was also in a very disempowered space, I guess. At the beginning of the year I was bearing witness to a lot of things around the world and was so overcome by just grief that I really had to pull my way out of that through self-care, through community care, through showing up in spaces in different ways. And, yeah, the beginning of the year I just did not have it. I didn't have a word. I didn't have a word for most of the year. But in reflection, and the way I've been feeling since the summer, is that my word for the year is audacity and I feel like I've had that. I've had the audacity to bet on myself, to take a leap of faith, to believe in myself that I can build something and grow something for myself and create, or be on the path to create, my dream life. I've had the audacity to pour into creative projects including this podcast, but not limited to this podcast and show up and share it and be comfortable in the discomfort of doing that. So my word has definitely been audacity this season, and I want to encourage you to be audacious too.

Aliya Cheyanne: 4:33

I want to encourage you to have audacity, too, to show up as yourself, to show up in your power, to show up in your gifts, to show up for yourself by believing in yourself and what you're capable of and knowing that if you have a vision or a dream placed on your heart, it's not there for nothing, it's not there out of nowhere. It's there because it chose you as much as you've chosen it, and that you owe it to yourself, you owe it to community, you owe it to society to express yourself, to express your talents, your ideas, your gifts, your vision, all of those things. So be bold, be audacious in doing that. Be able to speak life into those dreams and those visions, be able to take tangible action into making that thing real for yourself, for your family, for your community, for your friends. We need you, society needs you. I don't mean to be cliche and saying, oh, the world needs you, but it's true. We are the ones we've been looking for, we are the ones that we are waiting for, and we need you to show up and stand in your purpose. So have the audacity to do that, and this message is as much for me as it is for you and as much for you as it is for me have the audacity, be audacious, be bold.

Aliya Cheyanne: 6:04

You've got this. We have one short life to live. There is no timeline, there is no schedule, there is no rule book that says you have to do anything a certain way. All you have to do is make the most of this one life that you've got and to leave your mark on the world. So be audacious enough to do that. Have the audacity to do that. I feel like since choosing this word, or this word choosing me, I've seen it and heard it constantly since then, and every single time it is a reminder of the promise I've made to myself, the commitment I've made to myself, the vision I hold for myself, and every time I hear it, I feel reminded, I feel empowered, I feel encouraged. So I love to be reminded of this word and if this is your word, too, for 2024, or maybe you want it to be your word for 2025 or the years to come, the months to come, the days to come, yes, adopt it.

Aliya Cheyanne: 7:31

Do what you need to do to stand in the power of audacity, because a lot of people in this world have audacity. Even if they're not great at something, even if they're not the best at something, it ain't stopping them from putting their foot down and making their mark and being bold and being audacious. So who are we not to be? We deserve to have audacity and be audacious just as much as anyone else. So this is your reminder to pursue the thing you want to pursue. Do the thing you want to do, stand firmly in who you are, what you envision for yourself, what you believe, stand firmly in your power, stand firmly in your audacity. Stand firmly in your audaciousness. Take up space. It is okay. You deserve to be seen. Your visions deserve to be realized. Your goals, your dreams, your purpose, all of these things they matter just as much as anyone else's. So be audacious enough to pursue what it is you want to pursue and don't let anyone deter you or tell you otherwise.

Aliya Cheyanne: 8:47

I actually saw a post the other day by the ignorant intellectual on Instagram and I'm going to pull it up and I'm going to read it because it really resonated with me and I think it fits with this theme. It speaks heavily to this topic of standing firmly in what you know, being audacious and doing the thing that is on your heart, no matter what the rest of the world says. The post says everyone isn't a dreamer. Everyone isn't a visionary. Some people will consistently respond to your dreams of what can be, with reminders of what is. Stop going to them with your visions. In this case, do not stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to Find new waters. I love that post so much. Had to save it, but I think it's so good and I think it speaks to having audacity and being in community with people who are supportive, with people who get the bigger picture, with people who understand, with people who are wanting to have the types of conversations that you're wanting to have.

Aliya Cheyanne: 10:05

I think for me, this also looks like you know who am I to show up in this space and claim to be a creative or a solopreneur. Like who am I to feel like I can do that? And I think the real question is who am I not Like? Why not me? I might not have gone to business school, I might not have worked at some you know fancy place on Wall Street, I might not know everything, but I have a vision, I have an idea and I have every right to pursue that. I have every right to want to build something for myself, and if there are aspects of it that I'm not privy to, that, for whatever reason, I can't find information about or learn about on my own, the good news is that there are things I can outsource to someone more capable and more competent in that area, but it doesn't mean that I can't build something for myself. So audacity is speaking to me heavily in this season and I hope it's speaking to you too.

Aliya Cheyanne: 11:12

I hope this is your reminder to step into that vision you have for yourself, to step into your power. I hope this is your reminder to step into that vision you have for yourself, to step into your power. I hope this is that reminder to be audacious and to take up space and to pursue whatever it is that you want to pursue, in whatever capacity. That looks like for you. That could be in tandem with your work, that could be taking a leap of faith, that could be. Maybe something is not a business, but maybe there's a new hobby you want to pursue that maybe you think people might judge you, for who cares? Be audacious and do it anyway. If that's something you're interested in and that you want to do Whatever it looks like for you, be bold, have the audacity, do it anyway. Like I said, life is short and I think we all deserve to dream big and pursue the things that we want to pursue.

Aliya Cheyanne: 12:01

I had an episode around death in the past with Adriana Michelle, who goes by the death alchemist on Instagram, and we spoke a lot about a lot of things surrounding that, but one of the things referenced back to a post that she had shared with someone of an older age being on their deathbed and meeting death with a smile, because when they look back, they were proud of their life. They were happy with the life that they had lived. They felt like they had done and accomplished enough, and I want to make sure that I've lived life well, that I have enjoyed myself, that I have pursued the things that I wanted to pursue, that I've at least attempted to do the things that I want to do so that when my time comes, when I look back on my life, I can feel proud, I can feel like I accomplished something and like I lived well. I pursued my passion, my purpose. I saw the world, I made love, I had great friends. I was deeply connected to members of my family that I love the most. I loved my pet storm and any future pets I might have. I did the things that made me happy and made me feel proud, made me feel accomplished. I want to look back and feel good about those things, feel good in my body and in my bones. So I'm having the audacity now to create the life that I want, so that I can feel proud now, I can feel proud in the future and I can feel proud at the end.

Aliya Cheyanne: 13:39

That being said, I have attended some workshops recently. I also have brought on a business coach because I recognize that I need help and I need support. So we'll talk about the coaching a little bit later, but for the time being, I have attended some workshops recently about business, about marketing, communications, and I wanted to share just some bigger takeaways from those workshops, not so much all of the nitty gritty stuff, but I wanted to share some of the more high level things that stood out to me from those workshops, because I personally tend to gravitate toward the big picture. The big picture tends to inspire me and remind me of why I'm taking smaller steps of aligned action to make the big picture possible. So I wanted to share a couple of takeaways from those workshops. So I'm going to open up my handy dandy notebook with all of my notes from those sessions and I am going to share just a couple of high level takeaways from those workshops. So one of them was by CCB and it was about getting to the bag honey.

Aliya Cheyanne: 15:01

But one of the activities she had us do was to visualize a basket or a pot and to drop ingredients quote unquote ingredients into the basket or the pot, or items into the basket or the pot that are representative of the life we want to create for ourselves. And some of the things that I dropped into my pot because I'm always thinking about food were control over my time, which I've expressed on the show before. Freedom, which is very important to me, and not just freedom with my time, but the freedom, with my time, that comes from financial freedom. So financial freedom and working smarter, not harder, which is like very projector vibes. If you listen to a past episode about personality tests enhancing your life and helping you to get into the groove for your workflow, you know exploring personality tests and beyond. I talked a lot about human design. Work smarter, not harder, is very much projector energy and that's something I want to do. I want to build things that last. I want to build things that grow residual and passive income for me so that I have the flexibility to free up my time, free up my energy and move through life doing the things that bring me the most joy.

Aliya Cheyanne: 16:29

Something else that I really liked about that workshop is that we spent some time thinking about some of the self-doubt and limiting beliefs that come up and impact us in business, particularly women in business, because a lot of that sort of core and personal wounding can show up in our work and how we build and run our businesses. So I loved that we took some time to unpack some of that and think through some of that and how we build and run our businesses. So I loved that we took some time to unpack some of that and think through some of that and how it might be showing up in our work. One of the things I won't go into everything, but one of the things that came up for me is feelings of not being good enough and really having to sit in that and think about where that sort of core wounding even came from and why and how those feelings of not being good enough show up in my business life now with the consulting work that I'm trying to build and reminding myself that that might be a core wound but it is not true. And how do I combat that now in my work as an adult and reminding myself that I am enough. I am more than enough. Whatever might have happened in my past or in childhood does not dictate who I am today and how I can show up today. So working through that in the workshop I thought was really, really good. Thinking about what I want Again. What are those items or ingredients that you put into your bucket or that you put into your pot? What are those things?

Aliya Cheyanne: 18:16

Some of the other things we talked about in that workshop are around the fear of being seen, and this is a theme that has also come up on the show. In an episode we did with Margo Feldman, we talked about being seen a little bit. We also talked about that in an episode with Michelle Thames, like the fear of visibility and showing up online and working through those things, because, especially if you are the face of your business or the face of your brand, like overcoming those fears are really important because if you're afraid of being seen and you're never seen, like how can you really grow that business or that brand the way that you want it to be? So that's something that's come up, that came up in that workshop, and just some general guidance about, you know, not standing in your own way. A lot of times we stand in our own ways, like we get in our heads about things, maybe we overthink things and that affects us when it comes to showing up in the ways that we want. So stepping out of our own way, allowing ourselves to flourish, is really important. That's also something we discussed in the workshop and that I loved.

Aliya Cheyanne: 19:23

And being seen getting out of your own way. These go back to this topic of having audacity, of being audacious, of being bold, of taking up space. So all of it really came full circle for me, from that workshop to deciding on this word for my year. For the rest of my year, however long, I am using it as a reminder to pursue the things I want to pursue, stand in my power, stand in my passion, continue to build and create the life that I am continuing to build and create for myself, and also being mindful of feedback that you get.

Aliya Cheyanne: 20:06

One of the things that came up in that workshop was the fact that anybody who's actually doing something with themselves, with their life, will never tell you that you can't. It's usually people who are not who tell you that you can't, and I think that also goes back to that quote from Ignant Intellectual about finding new waters if you have to, because not everyone is a dreamer or a visionary. Not everybody has that capacity to be a dreamer or be a visionary. So finding new waters if you have to, or being in spaces with people who are encouraging are so important and they matter so much, being mindful of the company you keep. So that's also something worth thinking about and considering, especially when it comes to having the audacity. Have the audacity to move through different spaces and circles if you need to, if you are not in a space where you have the support system that you need, where you have the encouragement that you need, you're being met with a lot of limited mindsets. That is a huge indicator that you need to be in new spaces and in new waters. So don't brush that under the rug. Don't be resentful, because you keep hearing people that are trying to keep you confined and they don't understand what it means to be big. Be big and move to new spaces that can hold you if you need to.

Aliya Cheyanne: 21:38

Another thing that came up in that workshop was being mindful of saying what it is you're up to until it's accomplished. And I've been guilty of this, like saying what I'm working on early before it's actually accomplished, and being met with naysayers or non-believers or just people who don't have your best interest at heart or who are not supportive, and I think it's very important to be mindful of that type of energy when you're expressing what it is you want to do what it is you're looking into. So I think that's also really important and something that I personally will be mindful of going forward, like sometimes you got to pop out and show niggas. Like sometimes you got to keep your mouth shut until it's accomplished and you have it out in the world and then you say something. Everybody doesn't need to know your plans in between then, unless it's in spaces that are filled with folks who are actually supportive, filled with folks who actually want to collaborate, filled with folks who want to hype you up and support you and share what you've got going on or connect you to people who can help you bring that vision to life. If it's not in that kind of space, if you can't tell whether or not that's the type of space you're in, that's a sign that it's not the right space for that kind of conversation. So be mindful of what spaces right space for that kind of conversation. So be mindful of what spaces you're bringing that kind of conversation to and how it does or doesn't serve you and your purpose.

Aliya Cheyanne: 23:19

Something else that came up in that workshop that I really loved was really identifying your audience and who that looks like and this also came up in the episode with Michelle Dames like really getting down to a more granular level and describing who your ideal client or your ideal customer or your ideal audience member is. What does that person look like? What do they do for a living? How much do they earn? What does their lifestyle look like. Thinking about those things can really help you to tailor your work, in whatever capacity, to who you're speaking to, and I think that's really good advice and I think that's really important. There are so many things that came up in that training. It was so, so good. But those are just a few high level things I wanted to talk about and share. There was another one that I had attended for creative wild women entrepreneurs by Alison Sharp, and that was really good too.

Aliya Cheyanne: 25:21

What I loved most about that workshop is it got back to the essence of creativity, the essence of the human spirit. When it comes to creativity, and particularly for women. We are creative beings. We birth things into this world. We birth things into this world not solely children, but we also birth ideas, we birth passions, we birth projects. We birth so many things into this world.

Aliya Cheyanne: 25:55

So I really loved the nature and the essence of that workshop and just getting back to the core of what creativity is, and I loved just you know just some of the messaging that got reaffirmed, like sometimes you'll hear a lot of entrepreneurs say things like oh well, I'm always working. It doesn't feel like work. Some people will actually like run themselves to the ground and, you know, be burnt out and have to actually implement some community care and self care practices so that they avoid that level of just burnout and suffering. But others will say it's nothing for me to take my computer with me when I travel. I enjoy what I do, it's work, I don't mind it. Their passions allow them the flexibility to be somewhere else doing their work, but it's nothing for them to pour into their craft on a weekend or whatever day of the week, because it's what drives them, it's what sustains them, it's what they love to do and I love that. I love the idea of working in tandem with my creativity. I love the idea of ebbing and flowing and being in and out and being in tandem with my creativity and my business and my passion projects, because I'm in that space. Now there are days where I pour into it way longer than others. But it also doesn't bother me to be at home on a Sunday, spending a lot of my Sunday pouring into my work, like I don't mind that, like it doesn't feel burdensome to me because I enjoy pouring into my work and my creative projects. So I like that.

Aliya Cheyanne: 27:36

I love some of the messaging in that workshop around innovation, integration, transformation and change and really embodying those words, because as we innovate new ideas, as we birth and create these projects and these businesses, we are integrating them into our lives. They are becoming a part of our lives and our worlds, and not only are we transforming them, we are being transformed by them, and to me, change is also adaptability, like being able to move and groove with the times. I think is really cool and really important as well. So I think that's really interesting and I enjoyed that messaging.

Aliya Cheyanne: 28:24

There were a lot of comparisons around creativity with I don't know just a lot of the things in nature that we think about, or things around balance and duality that we think about, and I love the messaging around gifts being able to sustain people and allow them to live the life of their dreams. Everyone's gifts are different. Some people have the gift of communication, some people have the gift of artistry, some people have the gift of mathematics, some people have the gift of physics and astronomy, some people have the gift of astrology. Some people have different gifts, and I love the idea of leaning into your gifts to support you and to sustain you, because when you tap into those things that, pardon me, in my belief system, are from source. They are gifts from source. When you tap into that, there's an unlimited supply of you tuning into your gift and honing your craft. You should never be drained of that when you're using your gift appropriately. So I actually really love that thought process that came up in this Creative Wild Woman Entrepreneur Workshop.

Aliya Cheyanne: 29:37

A common theme between this workshop and the Get In your Money, get in your bag workshop with CCB is destroying limiting beliefs. In that workshop with CCB we talked about limiting beliefs and how that impacts us in our work. That also came up in this creative wild woman entrepreneur workshop destroying those limiting beliefs so that we can step into our power, step into our audaciousness, step into our audacity and destroy those limiting beliefs and fully step into our power and our gifts and how we show up in the world. So I actually really loved that segment about the workshop as well. Two other things that stood out to me that I jotted down in my notes. One of them was when a woman is held back, underpaid and burnt out, she exists merely as a shadow. She is a shadow of her dreams and her vision, and I thought that was so powerful, like, so powerful, like how many of us can relate to that Like being so burnt out and like like having our ideas and our passions and our visions in the back of our head but not being able to pour into it, so existing merely as a shadow.

Aliya Cheyanne: 30:53

I was listening to a small doses podcast the other day and it was about death and there was a phenomenal guest on there talking. She was talking about a number of things, not just death in a physical sense, but death of self, like ego death and a number of things. But there was one sentence she said in a segment where she was like how many of us are actually living or are we walking dead? Wow, that episode is actually called Side Effects of Honoring Death with Dr Nicole Truesdell. Dr Nicole Truesdell is the one who said that sentence like how many people are actually living or are you walking dead?

Aliya Cheyanne: 31:35

And I think that ties back to this line about when a woman is held back, underpaid and burned out, she exists merely as a shadow. She's a shadow of her dreams and her vision, because when we are not able to live in our purpose, when we are not able to materialize our vision, there is an aspect of us that doesn't feel full, that doesn't feel completed, that doesn't feel whole, because we're not able to pour out in that way, and that is what we are designed to do to create, to bring forth life, not just with children, but also with projects, with ideas. We are innovators at our core and I think that is just so profound. Nobody wants to be walking dead. We actually want to live and live full lives, and I think that's so important. Creativity is something that helps us to get there. Having the audacity to pursue the thing that you want to pursue is how you also get there, and I just love that. Another thing that came up in pursue is how you also get there, and I just love that.

Aliya Cheyanne: 32:45

Another thing that came up in that workshop that I wrote down was shake the table, break it if you have to live in authenticity. If that ain't having audacity child, I don't know what is Okay, like I don't know what is if that ain't it. But there is a very real element to that workshop as well that talked about how creations like my creations, your creations need to fully support you and your desires, like they need to work for you. As much as you're creating these things and putting them out into the world, they need to pour back into you and support you. So we got into very real elements around that. We talked about healing through doing like how creating is a form of healing, and I thought that was really powerful as well.

Aliya Cheyanne: 33:33

There were so many things and so many good points in both of those workshops and I actually also tuned into a communication workshop, also by Allison, who did the Creative Wild Woman Entrepreneur Workshop, and so many tidbits and takeaways but so many elements of the things that I shared in both of these workshops were things that reaffirmed this season of audacity for me, this season of choosing audacity as my word, this season of stepping into my power and pouring into myself and my creative visions and my creative process and doing the things I want to do, making the things that I want to make, and I just wanted to share that. I wanted to share this as a reminder for you to also be audacious, to also have audacity for the things that you want to do and the things that you want to create. I hope that this episode inspired you to have audacity. I hope this episode inspired you to take up space and be audacious. I hope that this episode reminded you to stand fully and firmly in your power, be unmovable. You are capable, you are brilliant, you are smart and you can do all of the things that you set your mind to. Don't let anybody tell you that you can't. Okay. If they tell you that you can't, you tell them that you will okay.

Aliya Cheyanne: 35:13

Y'all remember that tiktok that went viral a while back. You think it's small bitch. You got to be thinking big bitch. You think it's small. We need to be thinking big. You need to be thinking small. We need to be thinking big. You need to be thinking big bitch. You need to be thinking big bitch. Think big bitch. So think big, think big. Have the audacity, be audacious and do your thing. All right, friend, that is it for this episode. I hope that you were able to take something away from it, as always.

Aliya Cheyanne: 35:49

Thank you so much for spending time with me, if you enjoyed this episode if you enjoyed any episode really and you have not written a review for the show. So please I am on the floor kicking and screaming, begging. Please leave a review for the show. Five star ratings all around the board. Please send me your thoughts in a review. Send me your thoughts in a text message to the show. There's a link in the show notes. You can hit that to send a text to the show, send a voice note to the show. I would love to listen to that, hear your voice and play it on the show and respond to you in real time in a future episode.

Aliya Cheyanne: 36:34

And yeah, if you love this content, if you support the show, if you want to support me, consider supporting the show with a recurring gift. You can do that by clicking the link in the show notes to support the show with a recurring gift or with a monthly donation. That will support me in keeping this show going. So thank you so much for your support. Thank you so much for your time, for your ears, for your attention today. I'm glad that I got to be a companion for you in whatever it is that you're doing, whether you're driving, walking, cooking, cleaning or just chilling and listening and vibing with me. I appreciate you being here and I am so grateful for you. Thank you so much, friend. I will catch you on the next episode. Bye.