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Day 10: I want you to think back to the journey you’ve been on in the last 10 days. I encourage you to read through all your posts to celebrate all that you’ve written, learned and experienced as part of this daily blog challenge. And in today’s blog post, I want you to write about:

• What you enjoyed most about your experience of taking part in the blog challenge
• Your favorite challenge day and why
• The biggest takeaway you’ve had from it
• The next step you’re going to take to make your freedom plan a reality

– Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret.”  – Sam Walton

It’s the morning of day 10.  Heavy rain plays its music outside and I’m here writing with a smile on my face and in my heart.  We did it.  A community, made up of people from around the world, has been writing together, daily, for the past 10 days.  Being a part of this was moving.  Knowing that other humans were carving out time to sit down, every day, to create, made me feel part of something.  Something bigger.  It’s always this feeling that keeps me grounded, motivated and inspired and the experience I enjoyed the most.

“Stop waiting for the perfect day or the perfect moment… Take THIS day, THIS moment and lead it to perfection.”

― Steve Maraboli

My favourite challenge was My Perfect Day because envisioning what life would look like, in such detail, was exciting, fun and rocket fuel for motivation.  Yes, details in the day may change, in fact I expect them too as I grow, but the importance of keeping what I’m working towards, and why, clearly in my mind is what will help me the most to get there. With passion, focus and determination.  Essential ingredients in a life of ups and downs.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”  –Vincent Van Gogh

This etching above, which I made at university, is of a boatbuilder’s hands.  Created as part of a project exploring the line between art and craft.  It’s a series of small marks built up and brought together.  There’s a process to it. Time invested in it.  Each time I sit down at a blank page, I’m back in that space.  Creating small marks on a page that will grow into a drawing. This has been my biggest takeaway from the challenge: the reminder that there is great power in small, consistent action.  Small steps, every day, towards your dreams.  When we look back at the past 10 days it’s incredible to see what we now have – 10 intimate posts about the adventure of being alive and creating a life and business around our why.  The quote I chose there meant a lot too – Gogh was so dedicated, so devoted to his practice, that the amount of attention didn’t dissuade him from creating.  To forgo comparisonitis for inspirationitis and keep creating everyday.  As we take these steps everyday, we also learn through the practice of doing, how to do things better.  We can set up systems, ways of streamlining the process and get into a good rhythm to play forward with.

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.”

– Vance Havner

And we’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other!  The next step I’m going to take, to make my freedom plan a reality, is to hold to my one, imperfect action from challenge 7 .  I’ll continue this forward momentum by creating blog posts about my book, When In Doubt, Draw, until it is finished and out in the world.

Thank you!

Natalie, thank you so much for guiding us through this 10 day journey! I’ve learned so much the past 10 days and it’s been a great experience being given daily challenges to rise up to.  Am very grateful to my friend, Helen Iwata, for sharing the challenge with me and others in our Tokyo community, and look forward to meeting up soon to celebrate and share our takeaways.  If you ever come to Tokyo, you’ve got friends here Natalie!

Warmest wishes to everyone and congratulations – more emotional than I thought I’d be here! – here’s to keeping at it, every day, until we arrive at our perfect days.  I have no doubt that the more people, with more perfect days, is exactly what the world needs most.

Big love & Ever draws, DMK x  

This is day 10 – the last one of this challenge!  If you liked this and want more, make sure you’re signed up for DMK news (pop your name and email in the cool box to the right or on the bottom)  for writings, drawings and news on where I’ll be for events and workshops. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, big love, ever draws, DMK x  

This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 10

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1:  DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2:  DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day  Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6:  DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7:  DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Day 8:  DMK’s Adventure Click here or on the pic above

Day 9:  DMK’s Balancing Act Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

Day 9: Imagine you are on a long holiday in Portugal (or wherever your dream destination is). There are castles to explore, secret bars to discover, and sunny beaches to laze around on. In today’s post, I want you to write about how you will balance your adventure and work while you are away on this holiday.  – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

Last year, I read a book called Momo by Michael Ende.  He is also the author of the wildly famous Never Ending Story (lord knows how many times I watched this as a kid!) and I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Momo before.  It’s now my favourite book of all time.  The Never Ending Story is about imagination and the importance of keeping it alive.  Momo’s central theme is Time.  It totally changed the way I looked at life – I began to think of Time as currency.  I thought longer about how I spent it and how I shared it:  how much was spent with people and how much was spent alone?  How much was spent working and how much was spent playing?   What work would I spend more time on?  How much time was spent in the city and how much out in nature?

As I marinated in this challenge, I thought about times when the line between my play and work disappeared.  The picture with this post is an example of this.  Unplugged holiday time by the sea.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”  ― Anne Lamott

Love recharging in nature.  Learning from its stillness, nowness and not-wanting-to-be-anything-else-ness.  And my sketchbook, the tool of my trade, comes holidaying too.  In this way, I’m keeping up my personal practice and can spend devoted time on my craft – outside of my city life.  I’m constantly thinking about how to balance adventure and playtime with work and it’s hitting home that I can’t do one well without the other. Rest, play and unplugged stillness are essential for the writing and drawing work I do.

In terms of maintenance and upkeep, I use my sketchbook as an inspiration container, my phone to record the moment in pictures and my laptop for when I’m sparked into writing and for storing drafts of me putting things together.  These three things form my basic toolkit and I’m always on the look out for the apps that help me manage better and work more effectively.  Last year, I began working with an assistant too.  She’s fantastic and now knows more about me and my creative business. She’s supportive and keeps tabs on what I need done and by when. She provides an extra pair of eyes and extra pair of hands.  And tonnes of useful suggestions.  She also helps me with my emails and keeping tracks of finances.  She helps me focus on my work in whatever way she can. No cape. But basically superwoman. Ask for help. Take the help.  Two things I’m learning and loving to keep life and work humming beautifully.

That said, there are always days where there is simply too much to do.  And this is another reason I like to learn form trees and flowers and waves.  They’re, as my hero, Eckhart Tolle, says:  “Surrendered to life.”  I can’t do it all, but I can take a step each day – very much like this challenge!

Signing off from challenge 9 with a poem.  An oldie but a goodie.  It came to me as I wrote this.

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

– William Henry Davies

This is day 9.  If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 10. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x  This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 9

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1:  DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2:  DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day  Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6:  DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7:  DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Day 8:  DMK’s Adventure Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

Day 8: Like I said, today is a fun day. So I want you to go out and do something that you’ve wanted to do for a long time. Go out play, enjoy, and come back and write about what you did. Also, write about how you can make such adventures part of your new lifestyle.  – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

A working weekend, so today’s challenge is about a play day date I had last week. A wholehearted YES to more of these adventures in my life as I move forward. It was a day of lights, camera, action and stories.  Girls On The Road got in touch regarding their project – they’re on a mission to inspire and empower women through travelling the world and collecting stories from female entrepreneurs. I knew immediately where I had to take them first.  The rose shop that I’ve been spending so much time in – Afrika Rose, Tokyo – to meet one incredibly brave woman, the founder, Megumi Hagiuda.

It was an adventure and felt like play because it was exciting, inspiring and fun.  Getting to know each other, working things out together and diving into journeys and stories. They unpacked their travelling film set and began the interview. I sat and watched and found myself collecting sparks and scribbling down notes.  What have we come to know? What were our challenges then and what are our challenges now? Megumi told them the Afrika Rose story and how it all began. We met the roses –  that have travelled 17 hours from Kenya – and then enjoyed lunch together – their first Japanese lunch!  They shared some more of their journey with me – stories of women pushing for equality and empowerment by turning their passions into business. Japan is all new for them and it was treat to see their smiles.

I want to make these kinds of projects part of my lifestyle because they spark up so many ideas and many fresh ways of thinking about things.  To connect with female entrepreneurs was inspiring and gave me new ways to approach drawing and sharing creativity. With a focus on building confidence, nurturing community and in turn fostering empowerment.

This is day 8.  If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 9. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x  This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 8

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1:  DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2:  DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day  Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6:  DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7:  DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

Day 7: For today’s challenge, I want you to pick one imperfect action that you can take every day that will move you closer to the life you have envisioned. It could be 5 minutes of walking or meditation, or even just continuing the momentum of this challenge and keep writing 200 words a day on your blog. Pick that one imperfect action and write a post about why you chose the particular action and what you imagine it will be like if you do it every day for the next 30 days.  – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

My One, Imperfect Action

Soaked in this challenge for some time.  What will I dedicate precious time for each day?  Here’s what I came up with.  Or, I should say, what came up when I sat still.

Here’s the one, imperfect action, that I’m going to take every day, towards my dream.

Breaking a big dream down, into loving slices like this, makes it a lot easier to approach.  And breaking things down is something I’m becoming very well versed in!  Some of you may have read my post about breaking down big, meaty words like peace, love and consciousness if you haven’t, here you go .

Some more of you may know that I’ve been working on a book.  When in doubt, draw.  One I speak of often, to make sure I’m held accountable and I keep taking steps towards – and because that’s how the universe works! A way of collecting what I’ve come to learn – the stories, the artwork and life lessons. Thing is, it’s huge. Since beginning this process, in May 2015, I’m a year and a half in, I’ve invested in coaching and it’s been quite the journey so far! I’ve also realised that it’s too big for one book.  I’ve had to break this down too – and so… it’s now a trilogy. (I shared a piece from it here in challenge 4)

And my one, daily, imperfect action?  

Everyday I’m going to post something from each chapter. Yup. Every day. When in doubt, draw, prepare to be shared.

DMK x

This is day 7.  If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 8. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x  This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 7

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1:  DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2:  DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day  Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6:  DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  – Zig Ziglar

It’s one of my favorite quotes because it points at one of the most critical aspects of success — your tribe.  Your tribe is made up of the people who understand and support you, can inspire you to keep going and is crucial to creating your own freedom lifestyle successfully.  Day 6: Find 1 or 2 people who are living the kind of life you want to live, and whose tribe you’d love to be part of. Then write a short post about why you find them inspiring and the one question you would ask them if you met in real life. – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

Tribe.  This word has meant so many different things to me.  The main change has been from wanting to be a part of certain tribes, forcefully rejecting the mainstream, to recognising, deeply, the whole human tribe.  Never apart from. Always a part of.

When I drew my paintbrushes here, I thought about this too – same, but different – all together for the same purpose of creating and the different ways of going about it. Each one adding something else to the big picture. So I called this drawing, Tribe.

The 2 People Whose Tribe I’d LOVE To Be A Part Of

1. Eckhart Tolle.  Yes – the man’s a living legend! – and yes, I’ve always wanted to sit with him and share a pot of tea.  He’s my role model for an evolved human.  How to get better as a human. He’s also living the life I’m working towards, in that he travels the world and generously shares what he has come to learn. He’s shared his work in books – 3 of my favourite books: The Power Of Now, A New Earth, Stillness Speaks.  He’s not run away into isolation, but is living in the real world.  He’s with humans and for humans.  He shares what he’s learned about the ego, the power of presence and whatever’s most helpful for us to grow.  For evolution.  Why I find him so inspiring?  Because he is, as Oprah describes him, literally walking presence and that inspires me to delve deeper into my practice.  To move forward with more presence.  To recognise the ego more.  To be kind.  In terms of what we’re all here to do, that’s it.

My Question To Tolle:  “What’s your hands down favourite book in the world?”

2.  Marie Forleo.  In 2012, I left full time employment and pushed my boat into entrepreneurial waters for the first time.  I learned a lot through experience and mentors who showed up along the way.  But it was in 2015, when I made the decision to invest in Marie Forleo’s B School Programme, that my boat caught the wind.  Her programme, and the level of care and attention infused into each and every step, is gobsmackingly awesome.  It took my career to a whole new level and made me aspire to a much greater vision than the one I had before.  Since taking B School, I’ve also been an avid fan of Marie TV, where Marie has guests and answers questions.  She’s definitely been through a heck of a lot and dealt with everything on both sides of the scale, and she still comes across as very much herself.  Nothing fake or weird and everything generous, loving and kind.  She inspires me to reach that little bit higher.  To stay true to myself and my vision.  To not settle for anything less than my absolute best.

My Question To Marie:  “What’s been your biggest doubt or difficult time and how did you move forward?” 

People As Environment

I once heard a guest on the Unmistakeable Creative Podcast (it’s a goodie, give it a listen!) talk about people as environment.  Who we choose to surround ourselves with.  And how much we grow and change! This quote from the movie, Stand By Me, has never strayed far:

“It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like bus boys in a restaurant.”

One thing stays the same though:  our relationships all have something to teach us.  And, if we don’t get it the first time round, it’ll show up again and again until we do!

“Human interaction can be hell.  Or it can be a great spiritual practice.”  – Eckhart Tolle

Up until last year, I hadn’t learned just how much I was still holding onto an idea of ‘the other’.  This year, 2016 – with its fair share of lessons too! – is bringing me closer to understanding that, as my hero, Tolle, says:

“Ultimately, of course, there is no other, and you are always meeting yourself.”

This is day 6.  If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 7. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x  This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 6

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1:  DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2:  DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day  Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”