Oh boy, you’re in for a treat today! I’ve got a very special guest who is near and dear to my heart, Amy Mitchell. Amy has not only revolutionized my business, she’s created systems that actually work for my creative brain.

I’m so honored that she’s joined me for this episode to share with you that it is possible to get organized in your biz, even if you’re an Anxious Creative like myself.

So, let’s dive in shall we?

Let me take you back to fall of 2014. I had just recently moved to Calgary, after selling my home and my salon in another province, the only person I knew was my boyfriend.

I was two weeks into running my home-salon in my basement. I was pretty excited to be getting new clients booking in.

On this fateful Wednesday, I had one client I had previously seen in my chair finishing up, with another one (a new client) sitting patiently on my pink couch waiting for their appointment.

**CW: Talk of abuse, suicide, divorce and assault**

I’m so excited to be bringing you this episode of The Anxious Creative. I’ve got a super special guest for you, Mark Peyton. He’s a barbershop owner, mental health advocate and fellow Canadian from Nova Scotia.

It’s been a long time coming, but I think the Anxious Creative has waited long enough for a barber to come on to the show. He’s got such a heart of gold and I can’t wait for you to dive into this episode.

I’ve always been good at making things more difficult than they need to be.

• Need to update a photo on my website? Well, gotta redo the whole page then.

• Nick’s wondering what I want for dinner? Well, I guess I have to weigh all the options and reference the stars.

• Simple task I need to complete? Let me over-complicate it!

Honestly, a lot of it is imposter syndrome. Thinking that I need to be more or have it more together. That there’s no way I deserve the success and opportunity coming to me.

I’m throwing it back to a classic episode of The Anxious Creative. This is one of the all-time favourite episode of my podcast and I’m really happy that we’re bringing it back.

‘Cause let’s be honest, you’re struggling with boundaries.

And I get it, I used to be the exact same way, I lived most of my life not even knowing what boundaries were. If someone asked something of me, I had to say “yes”.

I honestly didn’t think “no” was an option.

“Here’s my card, I’m a hairstylist and I’d love to do your hair sometime!”

(It all came out so quickly it probably sounded more like “heresmahcardimmahairstylistandidlovetodoyourhairsometime”) The grocery store clerk raised her eyebrow and awkwardly took the card from my hand.

“Uh… thanks…” she smiled and continued to ring my groceries through the till.

That’s how I got my start talking to strangers.