Recipes have been in my thoughts a lot lately. After creating my new online course, "Make Inspiring Card Decks For Impact & Influence," I started working on a new card deck with my Mom’s recipes on them. So, when an Emotional Intelligence individual I was connected to compared my card decks to cookies, that statement had a pretty profound effect on me. I have been reflecting on it ever since. He said, "You know Karen, that your card decks are your cookies to the world." That statement has really stuck with me.
My Mom’s Creative Outlet: Cookies
You see, my Mom loved to bake. Mom shared her cookies and made people happy. Cookie plating day was one of the happiest days of the year for us. I think back on the 2,200 cookies she made in December of 2019. I remember carefully placing all of them with her on the 30 plates to give away to her family, friends, and neighbors. Comparing my card deck to my mom's cookies seemed strange. My new online course teaches people to create their own card deck and comparing that to my mom’s cookies was an important and very touching metaphor. When you think about it, baking is unleashing your creativity in edible form.
Each year, Mom started like other bakers with basic ingredients like flour, sugar, and
eggs. These ingredients are the building blocks of baking, found in virtually every standard
cookie recipe. Then she added special ingredients to make all the varieties of cookies. Chocolate, powdered sugar, candy, and other add-ins made each cookie flavor unique.
Mom would make dozens of batches of different cookie recipes. Baking was how she embraced her creativity and also how she shared her love. She put in the ingredients she wanted, mixed them, put them in the oven, and watched them become something that made people happy. In turn, that made her happy.
My Creative Outlet: Wellness and Relaxation Tools
While Mom and I shared a very close mother/daughter bond, my own creativity comes out in different ways. Instead of a passion for baking, I have a passion for showing people unique ways to enjoy
relaxation and wellness. I help people understand that a relaxed body and mind helps them be more intentional. When they have more intention, they become more productive and that feels great! I have a passion for sewing and creating things to help people feel healthier. I also recently found that I have a passion for helping other people develop their own creativity.
After thinking through this cookie analogy, it was so clear to me that my new online card deck course is a recipe that I use to help others be very focused about the direction of their life or their business. You see, part of this course is the same for everyone. Like a cookie recipe needs flour, sugar, and eggs, creating a card deck requires some basic steps for everyone to take to start their creation.
However, just like a cookie recipe, it is the addition of unique ingredients that really makes
everyone’s personal card deck their own. In fact, a large portion of the course is dedicated to
uncovering your unique wisdom that will be shared through the cards in the deck. In a cookie recipe, that might be adding nuts and chocolate chips. In the card deck course, it means adding your area of wisdom and expertise that you want to share with the world.
Your Creative Outlet: To Be Determined
In the course, I invite you to think through some important and very personal things. You have the opportunity to go on a mental and emotional journey to find out what part of your life or business is like a recipe. Discover what helps you enjoy a happy and satisfying life. You see, what we input into our minds is mixed, baked, and comes out as something delicious and also nourishing to body, mind, and spirit. What we let simmer in our thoughts, comes out through our written words, through our social media, through our relationships, through our products, to make a positive effect on others.
So, ask yourself: what is the recipe that you tweak or use that becomes the cookies you
share with the world? What satisfies your taste buds, aka the desires of your heart?
That is what we draw out of you in the Make Inspiring Card Decks For Impact & Influence Course. It’s ok if you do not know right now. It’s ok if you choose one thing and then find a different source of inspiration and new wisdom that you want to share. In fact, that is a normal part of life, a normal part of entrepreneurship, and definitely a normal part of baking. To always keep
growing, thinking, and discovering new recipes.
My mom shared her cookies to show her love and affection. She knew what everyone's
favorite cookie was and made sure you had a few extras of that one. I share my Relaxation Eye Pillows and my other creations made of fabric. I share my guided meditations and inspirational thought starters and statements in my Blended to Inspire card deck. What you share will be unique to you, based on your own passions, and your own gifts.
Follow this link to grab a giveaway and start capturing your wisdom. You may be surprised at what you uncover. I know I was when I decided to create my own "Blended To Inspire" deck.