What is passive income?

We recently read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki (http://www.richdad.com/). He lists various ways to create passive income, that is, to put your money to work for you. They include: buying real estate, investing in the stock market, and creating intellectual property (such as patents, books, and music that will generate royalties).

Passive income is great, but even if you’re wealthy, you’ll still want to do things that you enjoy. Why not make your passion work for you and become part of your income? There are many ways to take a hobby or interest and turn it into a business. We’ll use our own situation as an example.

First, don’t let the term “business” faze you, especially if you’re a creative type, like us. Lately we’ve been “working on our business,” which sounds dry and boring. But we’ve been having an incredibly fun time, overflowing with creative ideas and epiphanies! It’s amazing how easy it can happen if you let go of the stereotypes of doing business the way you’re “supposed to.” Instead, do things like you do them.

The key word here is “do.” Taking inspired action is a way to move energy and thus create new opportunities. How do you get inspired? Find like-minded people who have creative ideas to share. We recently listened to a free teleseminar by Christine Kane, about how to “Uplevel Your Business” (http://uplevelyourbusiness.com/). By opening ourselves up to some new tools that she offered, we came up with lots of ideas and strategies for our business, ones that are fun to create and implement.

As creative people, we chose to start with creating content such as books, guided meditations, music, and other projects. As we build our business around these creations, we can re-invest in it and then expand our offerings as we go, such as adding retreats and online classes. We want to encourage our passions, so the passive income we’ll be generating can support the next set of adventures we want to explore. We’re integrating our passions with our business, and allowing our “passion income” to flow freely into our lives.

When doing spiritual work, be sure to take time to focus on yourself in a kind and generous way. Look at the positive qualities you embody and the creativity and skills you bring to your daily life. Sometimes it can be a challenge to see the best in you, because you’re always trying to improve yourself and learn to be “better.” Yet you are an amazing being! Cherish yourself as you would a beloved family member or friend.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate and take care of yourself:

• Schedule a “me day.” Take yourself out to brunch, get a massage, and go see a movie, or simply sit in your favorite chair and read a book.
• Soak in a warm bubble bath or take a long hot shower, just because it feels good. Then get in your most comfortable pajamas and enjoy a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Savor it.
• Exercise! Not the kind that bores you, but something you really enjoy. Take a walk or a swim, dance around the kitchen, or go cross-country skiing. Notice how you feel during and after moving your body.
• Write a love note to yourself. Thank your body, mind, and spirit for all that they do, and expound upon all the wonderful things you’ve accomplished. Keep it by your bedside so you can re-read it at the end of a challenging day.
• Meditate on your breath, or find a recorded meditation to guide you. Sit comfortably and let your thoughts drift by like puffy white clouds in the distance. Connecting with your inner be-ing is but one breath away.

We are inspired to take action, and this post is our first step.

We have decided to rededicate ourselves to ourselves and our calling, which means our creativity and our business, Feline Dreamers! We want to share ourselves with our online kin while we explore new avenues of creativity and abundance.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, here is what we mean. In the past couple of months we have been focusing our energies into writing our personal blogs, BlackLion’s Den and Starcat’s Study (we did a 30-day blog challenge). We have been introspective, taking on and completing a 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse. And we have focused our energies on learning to Uplevel Our Business.

So what’s next for us and Feline Dreamers?

We are nearly finished writing our 30-day Core Belief book and will soon start working on our meditation recordings. This has been a long process, but we have learned a great deal about ourselves and how to create something really cool for others to use. We look forward to launching it!

We are also planning on updating this website with new images, design, and content. We hope to have that going in the near future.

Along with the revamped site, we will be offering a weekly e-zine to share our thoughts, inspirations, and ideas with you.

There are several other exciting projects percolating and we look forward to offering them in the new venues we are creating.

We hope that you will be a part of our new adventure and learn, laugh, and enjoy yourself along the way!

Blessings,
Starcat and BlackLion