Just like with anything great you want to achieve in life, running a successful online business is all about showing up in it. When I say “showing up”, I don’t just mean daily posting on social media.

I am talking about the level of commitment to take action, not only when things feel exciting and hopeful, but especially when they feel tough, unclear, and even unmotivated.

On Motivation Behind “Showing Up”

Showing up is about identifying the systems that support the discipline to execute activities and tactics consistently, however imperfectly at times, that bring you closer to your big goals and objectives. 

So, having a big goal and a clear vision of where you are heading is crucial. I find myself getting really disorganised easily when I do not have a clear vision or a goal to work towards. 

I also find that there are two types of motivational goals that need to be in place to even start addressing the lack of discipline. 

One is the “reason I am doing it.” For example, in my personal life, I have had to reach a point where I’ve had enough of something, such as feeling weird aches and pains or being slightly overweight, before any real progress happens. And I am quite bad at it, because I tend to put up with things until they reach the boiling point, making all sorts of excuses (often enough to convince not just anyone else but myself too) not to take action. 

In business, it could be that clients are still coming in without me doing anything special. Yes, I am fortunate enough to have developed specific ways, tailored to my approach and style, in which client attraction largely relies on the client’s active pursuit – looking for a solution to their problems or lack of clarity – rather than my efforts in the moment. 

What I mean is that I understand the demand, and supply content pieces that match the search for that clarity, offering further support and guidance through my business as a Marketing and Human Design strategist.

On top of that, I do things differently, prioritising the uniqueness of one’s design in determining the strategies and tactics to help them build a business that can support them energetically as well as financially. 

So while the potential client actively searches. My content pieces are kind of passively waiting to be found. Obviously, I work on getting found in search engines and creating topic clusters to really highlight my knowledge approach and perspectives, but as a piece of content is created, there is no more active involvement on my behalf is required. 

In the past, and even often nowadays, what kicks me into action from my natural, let’s call it Projector “catness” (often mistaken as laziness), is either financial pressure, or more recently, just the 1st line need to feel secure about having the financial stability.

If everything is flowing well, I tend to step back. 

Another motivation that I find is becoming a much more important one is a sense of fulfilment that is lacking when things get too laid-back.

The Dark Side of Slowing Down To Accelerate

“Slow Down To Accelerate” is my life’s motto. It is the tag on the alarm every day at 11:11 am that rings to remind me to stop rushing through life. I wrote about it in my first book, “On Marketing & Human Design”

When we rush, we start tapping into a scarcity mindset, getting caught up in FOMO, or human politics. When we slow down, we get to see what truly does not serve us, unnecessary and non-essential.

It was the slowing down that created the consistent flow of clients and revenue growth beyond expected or what preceded the slow period.

However, what I did not feel good about was the sense of being unproductive, stuck, and lacking clarity on what direction I am working towards. Which actually revealed some other negative feelings, such as being disinterested in what had previously made me so passionate about my business.

I felt like I was sliding into something that did not feel solid and secure (Again, my 1st line mind’s shadow).

So, in terms of motivation to show up, feeling a sense of personal fulfilment has become even more important than financial security. Because when I focus on making money (especially with my completely open Will centre), it feels scarce and restrictive. It feels heavy and even – in spite of the facts of my own life and business successes – impossible to achieve.

How weirdly ironic to have these feelings when year after year the business revenue just keeps breaking all previous records, right?

This is what I think conditioning is. It is how we sabotage ourselves, getting hooked up on the stories, feelings and insecurities that contradict the facts, the reality. 

So showing up, having the discipline to take daily action towards my goal, has a lot to do with feeling in the flow. And to achieve that flow, the solution is actually quite simple: plan and execute. 

Proving Your Worth vs. Taking Inspired Action

I am currently reading a book by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington called The 12 Weeks Year. 

With my open Will center, the interpretation is that I am not designed to use my will power to achieve my goals, that I am not designed to follow through on commitments, that I am designed to be “open to receive.”

During that recent slow period in my life, I really leaned into these concepts. And they are not wrong. But, as usual, I came to the need to redefine Human Design definitions so that they do not create barriers for my personal and business growth. This story demonstrates exactly that.

The key to the Will centre conditioning, in my view, is the energy of “proving” oneself. So if I have a goal to “prove myself”, then energetically it will feel off, it also may influence the decisions I am making, taking action to prove my worth, versus being open to receive as I do my part – execute what is required.

“Proving your worth” to others is always going to end badly, in my experience. Often, in a typical desperate Projector style, I would try to do so much that someone on the receiving end thinks I am a good person, employee, coach, or friend. But whatever I did, I either did not get fully appreciated, I did not feel seen and recognised and continued feeling “not enough” – often pushing and pulling, rather than stepping back and seeing what happens. It almost always left me bitter and unfulfilled.

At the start of my online business journey, I made a concerted effort to “prove my worth” and even had to admit that some of the activities did bring me some good credibility markers. Like writing for external publications, eventually landed me a placement as an online contributor for Entrepreneur magazine (before they opened it up for anyone to pay and play).

Now I not only have several articles published there, two of them are covering Human Design, and one of them was the very first article in a large publication EVER to talk about marketing and Human Design, you can read it here.

I also fully committed to getting my business seen and known using Facebook organic marketing, which I specialised in at the time too. Being extremely consistent and visible then landed me an online feature in Forbes during the 2020 pandemic, called “How To Stay Visible In Uncertain Times”

But it is only when I “show up” because it gives me personal fulfillment that my content becomes magnetic to the correct people, and it activates my favourite place being in the zone” sharing my personal insights and perspectives (and being energetically aligned with my 1/3 profile brand voice too).

For example, even updating this article, which originally was written two years ago, and you are about to see some juicy ideas on tapping into your Human Design Sacral activations, I feel that powerful sense of self-recognition, sharing what I found does not work, and breaking through the smoke screen of what even I myself have been buying into before.

We always grow. For me, and energetically for someone like me, to share what I’ve discovered that is not all that solid, when I outgrow something and evolve into the next stage, is how I contribute to the collective. It is my role, my purpose. Understanding and redefining definitions of my Human Design just validated that it is a correct thing for me to do, even more so – this is specifically what is so valuable about me to the collective.

My biggest insight into Slowing Down To Accelerate is that in order to accelerate, you need to intentionally create the systems that will build the discipline for consistent execution towards your vision – both in business and in life, and it is nobody else, but YOU and only you who is in control of it.

The Secret To Finding The Discipline

Before we jump into the fun stuff let’s wrap up the contemplation with the “mothership” question – how to find the discipline. The secret (that I occasionally completely forget about myself) is so simple. Focus on one project at a time. Find what accountability system works for you. This is why I love that book, The 12 Weeks Year.

I do not need to follow the outlined method to a tee, I believe everyone has their own unique combination of how to execute and stay in the flow on a daily basis. Plus my 3rd line body will always want to challenge the presented system and innovate it… I loved that the book covers the right mindset for achieving the goals. The fact that there is an emotional journey involved, that is not always fun or positive, and suggestions what makes a difference staying committed.

The fact that focusing on tracking and measuring execution helps not only tackle overwhelming projects but feel the flow and assess the results of your efforts (rather than overall results of whether the goal is achieved or not, which can feel heavy and often make it easy to just give up on the whole thing). And of course, that measuring execution (and not only the overall results) can help adjust your course accordingly, while still taking action every day.

So the responsibility to have the discipline and overcome the paralisis is on me (or you). And in my experience, it is always so much simpler than it feels initially.

It can be as easy as taking 5 minutes at the start of the day to outline the daily tasks – I call them “missions”. The only observation is that a bigger project approach is required, otherwise even with daily missions there can be this underlying sense of lack of direction.

Long term planning never worked for me, so project-based approach that I give a target deadline to is much better. For example, in June 2025 I want to focus on revisiting all my articles on this blog, rewriting some, linking any important keywords and phrases to other existing articles, and recording videos or adding some complimentary resources where relevant.

There are several dozen articles and the project feels huge. I also know I cannot commit to writing daily. Some days there will be more creative energy than I feel on other days. Some days there are more external commitment and appointments than other days. Some days I will just feel flat and will need to spend time on self-care. But I set myself a deadline, 4 weeks and a minimum accomplishement – 12 articles.

This means 3 articles a week, I give myself 2-4 hours to work on each. Some will require more writing, like this one, some are pretty good as is, and this time slot will probably let me also record a quick video summarising or sharing even more insights and then do the basic editing, upload it to my YouTube Channel and embed them into the article, for that rich consumption experience for my readers. And possibly even have a few minutes to create promo blurb and add them to my social media automation tool for evergreen reposting.

This means that by the end of June, at the worse case scenario, I will have 12 updated in-depth articles, all interlinked to relevant content on my site and beyond, all with a video or a complementary resource included to both grow my audience and nurture potential clients to work with me.

On top of that I will have a bunch (ideally 12) new videos on my YouTube Channel driving the traffic into the articles and through that my offers, usually starting with a Marketing Blueprint By Design™.

Plus, 12 pieces of content ready to be posted across all my active social media channels (in several variations as my automation tool allows to avoid repetitive visuals). I will also copy some of my articles into my SubStack and Medium publications for extra discoverability.

Frankly, I have not been this consistent in two years as I was dealing with some serious transformative shifts in my personal life. And just a couple of days in I already feel “in the zone”.

Now the other part is staying on track. That is the hardest part. I know that sometimes when I manage a big project like above I can stick to it myself. But other times I need accountability. It can be as simple as asking a family member or a friend if you could report to them that you have accomplished what you needed.

It can be an accountability buddy that you meet on a regular basis, a pairing app like Focusmate to get you to stick to the timeslots and do the work. The goal is to try and see what helps you stick to your goals long-term

Or when you have a mentor or a coach that can also help with brainstorming and guide if you get stuck (I can do that with you within the 12-month Visibility That Sells mentorship I invite clients to after they did their Blueprint).

For me this kind of accountability works the best, the family members find me too stubborn or overpowering, I am not easy to push by someone I know is quite ignorant about what I do. I need to be asked challenging questions, and expertly point out my blind spots.

And I need to know I am investing financially, because if nothing else this will trigger my execution as I will not want to waste my ,money for nothing.

So in order to get disciplined you need to organise yourself and be held accountable for execution and on track with your process. Accountable. Not shamed for the lack of it.

Finally, The Juicy Human Design Details

Ok, now that the bigger picture is clear,  let’s have some fun and look at some really cool juicy Human Design stuff. Showing up is a frequency game, but sometimes it feels impossible to keep it all up. Even with al the planning and execution systems in place.

Every energy type struggles with consistency for its own reasons. Projectors, Manifestors, and Reflectors lack consistent access to the life-force energy to get things done with their undefined Sacrals. Generators and Manifesting Generators often do not know how to work with it. 

I want to give you a few shortcuts that will help you activate that power to show up and “shine your light” – because it is precisely that light not being ON that often causes us to procrastinate in the first place. 

In this case, we will be looking at your Sacral center. This is the center responsible for the access to that sustainable vitality, getting things done, creating and mastering your “work.” 

For those who have this center defined, having discovered how to work with it (mastering their Sacral Response) and finding their “work” will bring an immense feeling of satisfaction, especially for Generators. Manifesting Generators can find a way to manage their more vibrant and somewhat irregular impulses in a way that gets lots done and adds that feeling of flow and satisfaction. 

And even if you are like me with undefined Sacral, there can still be consistent energies activated in the gates coming off that center that can show you how to tap into this energy to help us activate our creative flow, or on the days when transits or personal connections define our Sacral, we can really take advantage of this power source, even though it is temporary for us and will require some sort of winding down and resetting afterward. 

What fascinates me the most is that the gates in the Sacral center offer insights into what we love and do not love doing so much. Recently I saw a graphic posted on Instagram by Human Design Coach Alexandra Cole (who also has a Substack publication worth subscribing to the paid level, by the way).

The graphic – I embedded it below – really nailed it for me, and I want to share with you how you can use this information to determine what you need to pay more of your attention to in order to get the most of your Sacral (defined or undefined) and activate that natural feeling of aliveness and creativity. 

Alexandra uses the word magnetic, but to me, that does not have the right “flavor.” I definitely would say you feel “most in the flow” when you tap into the consistent energies of your activated Gates. 

Running a business, constantly looking for clients, staying visible, and launching often comes with a feeling of not being enough. Feeling inadequate. The fact that our social media newsfeeds are full of super polished and seemingly super successful competitors does not help. I bet you found yourself comparing to the claims of yet another coach you see on Facebook at least once!

“How come I cannot reach that [insert amount]K month mark- it seems so easy to other coaches!
I must not be good enough…
…not charismatic enough…
…maybe I still do not know enough, and they feel it… (people with line 1 in their profile will relate to this one)
…I am not productive enough…
…I am not organized enough…
…I am not young/skinny/photogenic enough…

But here is the thing… NONE OF THESE STATEMENTS ARE THE TRUTH.

Entrepreneurship is hard, but it is incredibly empowering and a life-changing experience as well. Communicating your value, educating, and selling your offers on social media is tough, AND building a connection and sharing your expertise is essential.

It only looks easy, and yes, of course, there is the whole art of speaking in an engaging way, addressing your pain points directly, and making it sound like the solution is only one investment away… That is marketing and let’s not get bitter about it because it is just how this whole thing works.

There is, of course, a way to do all of this authentically, and this is where Human Design comes in so handy as a compass-like tool to rely on. Click here to check out my Marketing Blueprint By Design™ offer.

But back to feeling inadequate in your business. The worst time that triggers the deepest insecurities is always the launch times. And if you have never felt stressed, worried, overwhelmed and deeply insecure, and sacred during your launches, you are definitely a rare find.

Where you’re undefined in your chart is typically where you’re going to feel this not-enoughness amplified, especially during a launch. But even if you’re defined, you can still fall into a non-self theme.

Human Design Deconditining Practice During Launches

Here are some simple daily affirmations you could use to get yourself grounded and centered every day as you prepare for and throughout your launch. I recommend journalling around one that stands out the most each time your journal and do it daily as your launch is approaching.

You can also download these as a print out.

Head Center – searching for proof and the answers.

There is a sense of fear and pressure when you do not know the answer.

Let’s “flip the script”:

I can allow to draw inspiration in my sales processes and by my launches and their impact instead of allowing it to be a source of stress and anxiety.

Ajna – searching for certainty in outcomes.

The pressure to have an opinion is heightened by the fear of not having one or being challenged in having one.

Let’s “flip the script”:

I release the need to convince people during my launch and use my beliefs and opinions to guide the right clients to me.

Throat – searching for attention and recognition.

Feeling not being “heard”. A fear of not being seen, heard, or noticed by others; a pressure to draw attention to yourself. 

Let’s “flip the script”

My offer speaks for itself as I lean into my natural magnetism. I am supported through referrals and testimonials of those who know my value. By expressing what I feel passionately about I speak out when the timing is correct and release the need to “be heard”. The right people will recognise my value when I focus on the quality of what I am saying. 

G Centre – searching for direction and purpose.

Being afraid of never finding out who you are or where you are going; feeling pressure to always know who you are.

Let’s “flip the script”:

The outcome of my launch is in no way connected to my lovability as a person. I release the need to allow this launch to define me and my worth.

Will Centre – searching for worthiness and needing to prove or improve yourself.

You’re constantly under pressure to prove that you’re enough; you’re scared you’ll never be good enough.

Let’s “flip the script”:

By releasing my need to prove myself or micromanage my launch, I am free to focus on growing and improving. It does not define if I am worthy – it is only an activity to get clients at this moment. I allow it to be imperfect. I allow it to flow. I let go of “getting” clients, and I focus on “receiving” abundance. No matter the outcome, this does not define if I am worthy of prosperity.

Solar Plexus – searching for a way to avoid confrontation and truth.

You’re afraid of upsetting someone; you want to keep the peace.

Let’s “flip the script”:

Client attraction can be a fulfilling experience during which I can experience and process my emotions. It can be fun, and it is ok to have emotional waves during this process.

Sacral Centre – searching for a way to get more done.

There is a sense of a lack of action; pressure to DO even more and more.

Let’s “flip the script”:

There is no direct correlation between doing more and receiving more. In my sales activities, I am most valuable for my authenticity and mindset.

Splenic Centre – holding onto what is no longer serving you.

Holding on too tightly and refusing to let go of fear of change.

Let’s “flip the script”:

Even though I feel fear and resistance, I do the hard things anyway. As I release my fears and negative thought patterns, I will be able to move forward.

Root Centre – searching for a way to feel free of the pressure.

Stress about not finishing everything; fear you won’t be able to finish it all.

Let’s “flip the script”:

In the lead-up to my launch, my productivity is not dependent on how much work I put in and how much stress I am under. When I am feeling stressed or pressured in my body, I allow myself to rest and do what I love.

These are just some suggestions, but trust me when you start working on reframing your thoughts, your energy follows and you get to actually allow yourself to be in the flow and not resist whatever is coming up – and it will! A few helpful resources are:

– Order your Marketing Blueprint By Design™ report now and let’s meet on Zoom to discuss the most aligned marketing strategies that you can lean into.

Let’s summarise what Alexandra suggests in her post:

• Gate 14 Guiding or inspiring others
• Gate 29 Collaborating with others
• Gate 59 Having deep, meaningful conversations
• Gate 9 Being able to focus
• Gate 3 Innovating
• Gate 42 Having time to think things through
• Gate 27 Serving Others
• Gate 34 Doing what you love
• Gate 5 Operating on YOUR timeline

 Let’s have a look at how it works in action – I will use myself as an example. 

I am a Projector, so my Sacral is not defined – and as I work from home, I ran connection charts to see if my family members (also all Projectors) activate it. Unfortunately, they do not, which means that all three of us lack consistent access to creativity and the ability to get things done. Which honestly sometimes can be an issue. 

For example, I can physically sense when my husband or my daughter is in what I call a “limbo,” feeling not creative or productive, and this feeling is like a swamp. It drags me down too. If only one of them comes within 3 meters of me – enters my aura, this feeling is so powerful it can affect me even if I am having a more or less productive day. 

When I looked deeper into the active gates on my Sacral, I realized that indeed when I create an environment that allows me to focus (gate 9) – for example, a clean desk, no one in my space, staying hydrated, sometimes listening to my favorite music or switching off the sound on my phone and desktop messenger to work in a distraction-free zone, I definitely tap into my creativity and can create something energetically aligned. What’s important for me as a Projector, I feel great about it. Gate 9 is active on my personality side (black), which means I am consciously aware of the energy it brings. 

The next Gate – also on my Personality Side as it is black, is Gate 27 – serving others. This is an interesting one because when some of my clients ask me to do something for them (even if that doing is guidance), I feel that I activate immediately. I used to think it came from being a people pleaser, but as I observed how it made me feel, I realized that it is not about being used or doing something so “they like me.” I am so fast responding to others because, in this act, I am serving them – exactly what the energy of Gate 27 brings. When I serve others, I get to activate the flow, even if I feel zero motivation to do something for myself at this moment. Actually, after helping others, I often feel lots of energy to create for myself too!

How do I tap into this energy even deeper? When I sit down to create my content, I hold an intention to serve others as I condense a massive amount of research they would have needed to do to discover some good insights and a-ha moments that can completely shift their perspective and make their direction clearer and their attitude towards showing up lighter, feeling safer, feeling inspired. This also explains why my best posts, articles, and trainings are always motivated by a question or a block one of my clients or someone who confided in me has. 

Lastly, the final active Gate in my Sacral center is unconscious- showing in red on the Design side of my chart. It is Gate 5, which is about the rhythms of your life, and this is not conscious energy, not something I actively identify with or feel – but the more I look at what helps me get into the zone and show up in my full authentic power, I realize that indeed the routines and rhythms are important for me, but they cannot be dictated by anyone else. I truly need to take action on my own timeline. 

This is why I could never follow some sort of schedule created by someone else, like the 5 AM Club or anything to determine what I should be doing and when. 

Interestingly, when I try to create a timeline like this and a schedule to fill, I fail miserably every time. It may have something to do with my Splenic Authority which always tells me if it is safe (or beneficial) for me to do or engage in an activity at every single moment of my life. Splenic Authority is truly living in the NOW. There is no way to schedule your life ahead because when that time comes – the Spleen may clearly tell me not to enter that commitment or activity. It will just feel off. And if I overwrite this with my mind, whatever and however logical the reasoning may be – it always ends up exhausting my energy instead of tapping into the zone. 

This encourages me to learn to trust my own patterns and rhythms. On the days when my mind is not trying to take over my life, I see the evidence of how magical the ability is to trust that my rhythms are the correct ones for me. Invitations miraculously come into my life, or inspiration arrives, and I have the vitality to create from that inspiration.

This article came to life just like that. Trusting my own rhythm, not pressurizing myself into doing what I should, but more about listening to my body, creating an environment to focus, and getting into the rhythm to serve others with my insights.

And this is truly the key to showing up consistently. It is not always a lack of inspiration that stops us, but most of the time, the lack of energy to execute it, the lack of light within to get it done. 

I hope you can look at this image and your chart and see what Gates and what energies you have available to tap into. Even if your Sacral center is not defined – these are the energies you can rely on.

And if you are a Generator and Manifesting Generator, this means you literally have the list of things that will “light you up” – just make sure that whatever you are creating comes from you RESPONDING to something on the outside and not your ideas and internal inspirations. Your strategy to relax into waiting to respond to external cues, like a beautiful dance with the Universe – is key to activating correct energy for your activities, and then you can always tap into the power of your Gates for specific things you can focus on to make the most of it. But when you listen to your reasoning and your mind without responding, it will only cause you to push and get frustrated more and more. Following your strategy is a beautiful secret to a more aligned, enjoyable life.

Before I finish, if you have a completely open Sacral (no Gates), I would advise watching daily transits for activations of the Gates. Then you can use this article to reference what energies are at play and how you can tap into them. It is kind of fun to think that it offers you more versatility too!

And, of course, there could still be so many questions around showing up and your marketing, but if you want to dive deeper, you are welcome to order your Marketing Blueprint By Design™ here, and we can figure these things out together.