(photo by Stephanie Bell)

Laura Hollick is an award-winning artist and shaman. She is the creator of Soul Art® studio, a business devoted to guiding people to connect with their spirit and create a life and business that expresses it.  Through her own healing journey Laura developed several unique creative processes, Soul Art® and Bodymapping, that allow for deep healing and transformation, and she now shares these methods with thousands of people all over the world.

BRAVO TV created a documentary about Laura’s art and life, called “The Artist’s Life – Laura Hollick.” She has hosted and produced over 500 public broadcast radio shows, and has recently produced a movie as well. Laura’s business grew as a natural evolution by combining creative expression, body healing, and mental and spiritual transformation. She describes her art as a Divine Love Affair, and she creates Soul Art to grow spirit on Earth. Enjoy her exclusive Business Heroine interview…

BH: There’s a whole stigma out there about the “starving artist.” You always knew you were an artist. How did you know you could stay true to that and make a prosperous life for yourself at the same time?

Laura: Well, I don’t think I knew that I could! When I was younger, I was definitely very creative and imaginative. And I just thought, “Oh, that’s what I’ll do!” I didn’t really comprehend the idea that I couldn’t do that. But then when I went to go do it, I realized, “Whoa, this is really hard!” It wasn’t flowing as easily as it did in my imagination at the time. And so I did really struggle and became aware of the concept of the starving artist, because I was pretty much living it at the time.

I went through a massive transformation – and I actually think in many ways that I may have been holding the DNA code for many other people to shift through that – so that I could really embody my creative spirit on earth and thrive at the same time.

{photo by Kevin Thom}

A lot of it has been this journey of being able to unify the dream world, the imagination, the desire of who I was and who I want to be with this real world (where we do use money and we do interact with people and we have structures and systems). It’s about really unifying those. As those unified, I was able to live as a thriving artist.

BH: One of the principles close to our hearts at Business Heroine is that you can invent your dream business based on your unique genius, passions, and true self-expression. How did you go about inventing your business, and what advice do you have for those who want to create their own career that doesn’t fit in any existing box?

Laura: First of all I think it is essential right now that all of us open ourselves to the concept that this is how we create careers now. A lot of the things we thought were a career path – they don’t even really exist. There are so many people now that are called to just be themselves. So what’s the job title for being yourself?

For me the transition from actually being that starving artist person to being a thriving artist continues to unfold and evolve, and there’s always further I want to go. The transition is a healing journey. We’re cleansing the old belief system, we’re opening our minds and our hearts to believe that we’re enough and that what we have to offer has value. Then we’re clarifying and crystallizing that value so masterfully that other people can see it and recognize it.

I think being an artist is just being someone that approaches their life with creativity, and that could be in gardening, designing, coaching it’s really just that you approach your life with your full self, and you let it unfold, be organic and natural to you. There is a healing journey to claim the value of that, because it’s just you being you. We do have to discover that value.

{photo by Kevin Thom}

That’s the journey of the artist to learn what is unique about you. What do you bring to an experience? What is your presence doing when you’re in a room with other people? Crystallize that and you’ll be able to offer it in a way that people see its value and pay you for it.

BH: You talk about archetypes as a path for finding your essence and foundation. Do tell!

Laura: I like using the word “icon.” When we think of archetypes, we sort of think of Venus or Athena. And these archetypes have their own mythology to them. They can be guides for us and can inspire us. But an icon is its own being. There is nobody else who is that. They are THE one, they are THE archetype.

And so when I’m guiding people, I want to inspire them to really become this version of themselves, not a version of an archetype that already exists, but the icon of who they really are, the archetype of their spirit. They’re not copying anyone else, they’re not following some other mythology, they’re creating and inventing their own.

When I’m working with people to discover their own iconic essence, it really is a journey of discovering who they are. What is your value? What is your uniqueness? And that’s a creative process. No one can hand it to you or say “This is who you are.” You actually have to live your life and discover it.

On that path of being an entrepreneur, one of the things that I don’t think is spoken of very often is that there’s kind of this romantic notion that you just go in, make six figures in six months and it’s all going to just be perfect. But the truth is, to be in that level of crystallization where you can manifest that lifestyle IS the journey to discover the clarity and land on your own iconic essence. When you land on who you really are you’ve got gravity and you will be like a vortex. Things will naturally come to you. But that is a process. It’s like you’re winding through your own labyrinth to find that core place that you can land in. And when you land in it, then you know what you brand is, you know what your marketing is going to be, you know what your offers are going to be.

{photo by Kevin Thom}

For me it took over 10 years to labyrinth through to land on the core of my own iconic essence, so I could feel like “Oh, I get it. I know who I am. I know what I’m here to do. I know what my challenges are, and I can move through them. And I can be visible, and I can share.” And there’s more for me to heal and move through, but there’s a point when you land on the center.

When you’re starting your entrepreneurial path, give yourself that breathing room to discover who you are, your own archetype, your own iconic essence and then things can grow really quickly once you’ve landed on that foundation of your own self.

I love being able to share the reality of the time factor when it comes to self-discovery, because I think there’s a pressure we put on ourselves. If we see someone else that’s reached a certain point of success, we think “Why am I not there or how can I get there faster?” But really, people are like trees, and a tree starts as a seed. A majestic old oak didn’t happen overnight. It had to grow roots and do a lot underground that nobody saw.

And the entrepreneurial path is very similar. You have a seed of an idea and it needs roots, but nobody sees all of that development and work. So I want to really put value on the time that it takes to develop, because it creates a foundation and makes the outer growth and the success of money so much easier and faster. It’s so fun to discover who you are and figure out your own mythology! When we claim it as that, then we get to own it more deeply and the process moves faster because we’re engaged.

BH: How can the Business Heroines tuning in get more of you?

Laura: There’s something that I would love to offer entrepreneurs in that line of discovering yourself. I do have free quizzes as a way to get insight into who you are, your own iconic essence and your unique way of expressing your creativity. That’s a way that people can start to discover. And also through my website or through my weekly newsletter. I love sharing. I’m in that place where I feel like my tree is strong and thriving, and I have a lot of fruit and flowers that are overflowing to share.

{photo by Kevin Thom}

BH: Any last words of advice for emerging entrepreneur Heroines?

Laura: Definitely! One of the big questions that comes up is just “How do I make money?” It’s so fun to talk about the discovery process and how to make the money happen. I want to put the value on that discovery but also acknowledge the feelings that come up when you’ve really got to pay for something or you want to hire someone but can’t afford it – to acknowledge that money is something to look at, as well.

One of the things that helped me to shift into a position of joy with money, is I started making money a character in my own mythology. And I started interacting with it a way that allowed me to enjoy the time I had with money. I changed my relationship with money which just made it more fun.

{photo by Kevin Thom}

During the time when I was developing, I had another job, and as I took off the shame I had associated with having that other job, my process moved along faster. I was able to let go of the job and go full-time into my own art and my own business. There’s no shame in having a job that seems unrelated if you do want to have that money flowing so that you can relax and develop and allow yourself to build that solid foundation for your business.

Just alleviate the stress, alleviate the pressure and let yourself enjoy receiving the money (whatever way it’s coming), and let it be known that you’re using that as a transition as a bridge to your next level. Receive the money in that way, because if you receive the money with resentment, then the money has that energy, and then you kind of punish yourself, and it keeps you in that place longer than you need to be there. Let yourself receive money even if it doesn’t seem directly connected to your dream yet, because in the big picture, it is connected.

And of course, do whatever you can to invest in building your foundation. If that means that you go for walks to feel that you’re relaxed or you take a class or you spend time alone or maybe it means you travel. Whatever it is that allows you to build a solid foundation for your own self, whatever allows you to feel the most you is going to help you to go faster into the land where you have offers that can make you money directly connected with your dreams.

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Cover Heroines, October 2013 Issue