Gorgeous pie from Pioneer Woman...

There is a difference between being “successful at something” and being “successful in life.”  Ultimately, you want to marry both, but the balance is a trick to strike.  Images help me much more than words, so when I first tried making Julia Cameron’s “life pie” chart I was astonished by how imbalanced my life was and how much fun it could be to correct it!  

First let me say that without the book, The Artists Way, I don’t know where I would be!  Its truly groundbreaking, and even if you’ve read it 12 times (as I have) and done the 12-week course of the book multiple times (as I have) the tools she presents in the book always surprise me anew when I pull them out from time to time.

Feng shui my way is not about rocket-ship-zooming-speed to get everything you want in a witchcrafty-instant-fashion, though sometimes the results do come so fast that it feels as though it is something magical. If you can strike a balance in your home, you will have a more balanced life with more energy concentrated where it needs to go.  Before we start moving things around in your home, sometimes its helpful to see where that energy you have is going right now.  So, lets see where you are spending your priceless energy…

Draw a big circle on a piece of paper, divide it into 6 pieces of pie and write the following in each section:

This chart can change your life!

Now, once you have your “life pie” ask yourself, “How fulfilled am I in each of these areas?” When I read Julia Cameron‘s paragraphs about the life pie chart I was struck by her use of the word “fulfilled”.  That’s different from “How many hours do you put in?”  We all know its very possible to work 80-hour weeks and feel totally drained of life. Even “love junkies” get despondent in their romantic excesses.  So, now, draw a circle (can be huge or the size of a dot or anywhere in between) in each area of the pie.

You now have a roadmap to where and how you are off-kilter.  This isn’t a self-damning exercise, but, rather, an eye-opening way to brainstorm how to find FULFILLMENT in different sections of your life.  If you hate exercise, can you walk your neighbor’s dog once a week? Can you find a sport you can get into?  If you have no “play” time on your pie, grab a newspaper or go online and find something fun in your area and DO IT!  If your work sucks or are unemployed and feeling crappy, can you volunteer a few hours a day or a week to make a difference and help others? That’s work, too!  And its actually the best kind of work, because you are being of service.

Its such a simple, brilliant exercise, this life pie.  Take a second and sketch one out for yourself.  Now, how much fun will it be to get more balance in your life? Remember, nothing extreme is necessary!  The only thing required here is the willingness to allow yourself to be creative and happy!

Have fun!  xoxo Dana