Remember that all creative entrepreneurs are on a hero’s journey, and that it is an act of courage to pursue your own passion and purpose in business. Courage comes from the French word for heart, coeur. We need courage because pursuing what we love naturally activates fear. Revisit the exercises in Chapter 3 when you are experiencing creative blocks or discouragement. This will help you build a positive and productive relationship with your own creative process so you can do the work your business requires.

Chapters 4 and 5 provide the strategic tools for managing and growing your business. But the value of strategy, or long-term planning, is lost if not monitored, measured, evaluated, and recalibrated regularly in the short-term. Learning how to think and plan and act strategically is something that develops over time and with practice. So keep your journal out and use it regularly as a living, growing business plan. Read and reflect on what you have done, and keep adding to it asa place to brainstorm, cultivate new ideas, and measure your progress.

The tools put together here in The Creative Entrepreneur are the result of my own searching, through many paths, for how to make my own creative business ideas real.

What makes me supremely happy is not only doing my creative work, but helping others to follow their bliss and prosper in every way doing so.

I wish you all the best in your endeavors and invite you to share your stories of creative entrepreneurship with me at www.TheCreativeEntrepreneur.biz.

—LISA SONORA BEAM