sent with love from

ERICA MIDKIFF

Sooooo things look a little different around here, huh?

It was time.

But you know what’s funny? I didn’t know just how much I needed a new look until after I started creating one.

I’d been feeling inspired to change things up, and to be honest, for a bit there, I was kinda hard on myself about it. I felt like it was just a distraction, not a valid need.

But the feeling didn’t go away, so I trusted myself and switched to FloDesk from MailChimp, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. (To that end, I updated my Privacy Policy to include FloDesk.)

And I immediately felt fresh excitement and energy around sending emails! I actually had to trim this one way down because I had so many things I felt excited to share in this new space (and I fully acknowledge I am still sharing a lot here!).

So why did I switch from MailChimp to FloDesk? It had nothing to do with the service, and everything to do with my own personal needs and experience.

I’m going to explain this in Human Design language, because HD has been such a helpful way for me to more deeply understand things about myself that have always been there, but that I couldn’t quite articulate (and sometimes didn’t trust).

(Even if you’re not interested in HD, I hope it’s been interesting to hear me share insights about my own experience with it!)

In Human Design, I have an emotional authority. If you’re not familiar, your authority is where aligned decisions come from. Mine is…my emotions. (This explains a LOT.)

I experience life through my feelings, and so when new opportunities or situations come along, I feel highs and lows around them, but to make a decision, I wait until I’m in a more neutral place (this is often called “riding the emotional wave,” which feels spot on).

I've also found I develop emotional associations with all kinds of things, and sometimes need to make a change to create a fresh emotional slate.

So I'm realizing I was done with the feeling of MailChimp—not because of the platform, but because I’d been there for so long and, naturally, had so many emotional experiences while using it.

I needed a new feeling, a new visual to work within (not just how these emails look, but the entire user experience).

I’m really proud of myself for listening to my intuition and honoring the pull to make a change, even though I couldn’t exactly articulate the reasons behind it. I’ve been focusing on trusting my own intuition the last couple years (thanks in no small part to my friend and intuition teacher Jessica Peppler), and I’m noticing something she’s been telling me all along—I am deeply intuitive. I just didn’t see it before!

So here we are, immersed this new look I allowed myself to create. I hope you enjoy it as well. <3

ABOUT THE NEW LOOK

Here are some notes about the design of the newsletter, in no particular order:

• I haven't been as into photography recently, but I'd like to rekindle that love and share photos here (like I did at the top of this email). I have a fancy camera that I'd love to start using again after somewhat of a hiatus…but for now, you get an iPhone photo of blooming trees in Alabama (I didn’t want a lack of “real” photos to stop me from sending this).
   
• A LOT of my friends are feeling totally over Instagram. There are parts about it I still really like, but I’m also feeling some deep weariness around it. As I was designing this email, I was thinking about how having these types of sections could satisfy a desire to write about multiple things…without always having to take to IG to share them.
   
• If you're missing the yellow I was using for years, my yellow logo is still on my site! And I'm not giving up my signature yellow heart. But making a big change felt good for right now. <3

BRAVERY TRACKER UPDATE

A couple weeks ago, I shared on Instagram that I’d made myself a bravery tracker. I said I would likely create a version for you to use, and I’m right in the middle of doing so!

It’s coming very soon (I’ll email it to you), and…I think I might offer a group experience around bravery as well!

I’m thinking we could come together and talk about what bravery means to each of us, and then everyone can create their own definition and plan a bravery experiment for themselves (or something like that…details are still coming in).

I’ll share more as soon as I can! If you know for sure you're interested, feel free to just wiggle with excitement (I do this often)—or, if it feels aligned, you can reply to this email and let me know. (I'm already feeling energized around it, but it also helps to know others are looking forward to something!)

Back in December, I mentioned creating another group experience in which I share about (and then support you in experimenting with) the practices I use to implement, integrate, and engage with ideas and information I take in (from Instagram, books, classes, podcasts, conversations with friends, etc.). 

I'm still excited about this one (sharing that last paragraph made me feel all tingly!), and I've been working on it. 

But it also feels like a big thing to create because it encompasses years of practices that I'm examining and considering how to share, and when the bravery idea came to me, I realized it would be a great way to dip my toe into offering this kind of experience. I’m pretty sure it’ll renew my excitement around the bigger project…and make it feel more doable!

So there’s a little behind-the-scenes for you, and here's a little more—a sneak peek of how the cover currently looks! The subtitle is a bit of a placeholder (so it feels a bit vulnerable to share), but I love seeing visuals, so if you do as well, I hope you enjoy.

I HAVE SPACE FOR YOU

I have space for new clients, and I would love to support you if it's aligned for both of us!

If you're wanting someone to deeply listen to all the thoughts swirling around in your mind, and then tell you they actually make sense…I'm listening, they do, and I have space for you.

If you're needing perspective on your ideas because they've gotten all tangled up with your doubts and fears…I have it, I get it, and I have space for you.

If you're curious about the brilliance that might emerge if you had space to open up and really talk about what you're excited about…I'm so ready to hear, and I have space for you.

If you're feeling like you have all these jumbled thoughts and ideas, but they don't add up to anything…I know they do, I can show you, and I have space for you.

If you're craving that beautiful feeling of being seen…I'm so good at seeing, and I have space for you.

If you're wanting to create a new offering, build supportive tools for your one-on-one clients, consider how your wisdom could flow into a course or book, more fully speak to the beautiful work you do on your website, or have something else exciting in mind, but need some support around bringing your project to life…I love dreaming and birthing, and I have space for you.

Sound like you? You can book a free Discovery Call with me right here (we'll talk for up to an hour about where you are, what kind of support you desire, and how I might be able to help), or learn more about working with me right this way!

Feel free to respond to this email with any questions you may have. I'm here! <3

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