This tree is deliciously symbolic. It represents an analogy for life, for how to seize it with both hands and manifest your biggest dreams. It twinkles with all that is possible when we plug into our authentic selves, instinctively follow our hearts and tap into a universal flow that feels higher purpose aligned and, well, flowy…

Here are my Six Steps to Creating the Tree (& Life) of Your Dreams:-

1. Follow your joy
2. Think big
3. Strategise
4. Create. Do. Produce.
5. Enjoy the process
6. Receive

1. Follow your joy and do what you love

This was total frippery. Non-essential indulgence just for me. 2020 has been a whopper year not just with the pandemic and it’s abrupt losses – closeness to family and friends, work devoid of the joyful aspects which energise me so – people, events, travel, variety, etc, but also the divorce and the end of 26 years of partnership – singledom, single parenting, single-handedly running a home, who am I without him, etc? I decided to do something utterly frivolous and whole heartedly just to make me tingle with bliss and excitement (don’t judge me, things like this actually do make me glisten with joy!!). My thinking was a total sense of if not now when? When in life am I going to have a roof high enough to have a 9ft tree again? When in life am I going to have the time and space to create like this? When in life am I going to be alone in ability to choose what goes where and how in my home? When else can I totally indulge feminine, pink flamboyance? If not now, then when god damn? And so I decided the time was NOW!

2. Think big and be epically visionary

In the year of no hosting, thus no keeping up with The Jones’, splurging on interior pizzazz is somewhat ironic but evidence this sincerely was a private indulgence. I oscillated between the safe option of sticking with the usual tree, usual place, usual gold and red scheme, same, same, no new expense, familiarity, all perfectly adequate, and the bolder, fresher, braver option of foraying into something totally different and unknown. I wanted something in stark contrast to yesteryear. Something to push me out of my comfort zone. Something to remind me that a new chapter is afoot and it is mine to own and direct as I choose. That now marks a moment not for other’s entertainment, judgement, nor necessarily pleasure, but for me and me alone. So I stepped into a new realm of visioning. I browsed Pinterest for glossy inspiration, interior blogs, magazines and so on. Mostly though I reconnected with little girl me with big dreams, hopes and wishes and decided now would be a good moment to fulfil a perhaps silly Christmas tree fantasy.

3. Strategise how to realise the dream

I originally ordered a smaller, more sensible tree which was ludicrously expensive and I did lose sleep over my initial extravagance I must admit. The universe played a kind hand however and the tree was lost in shipping so I had a full refund. Despondent yet grateful, just before I resigned myself to the old red and gold madame, I found my tree on sale @christmastreeworld, half the price of the original one I’d ordered but 2 feet taller, snow tipped, pre-lit and with next day delivery (as opposed to 3 week lead time then non-delivery). Too tempting to resist I invested again, now twitchy with glee and anticipation at the majesty of this new order and then spent the saving I’d made on ridiculously opulent decorations. My vision necessitated an abundance of pinks and whites, feathers and pearls, birds and butterflies, femininity and fantasy, glitter and glam, ostentation all the way. I shopped for 6 of everything that tickled my fancy from baubles to flowers to fairies and cherubs galore. Boxes and boxes and boxes arrived and within days my kitchen was awash with tissue wrapped goodies and a giant tree box. My emotional state was giddy excitement and nervous trepidation daunted at the magnitude of the task ahead.

4. Create. Do. Produce.

I had 200 rose gold baubles to thread. A tree so tall my 5ft 2 self needed a step ladder to reach the entire top section. Meanwhile I had work work to fulfil, children to feed, a home to run and a mountain of boxes, no guidebook to follow, simply a hodge podge of pretty things and a fierce ambition. What to do when you’re overwhelmed but committed to manifesting a vision you believe deep in your heart will be worth it? Start at the very beginning with the smallest task and inch forwards gently, tentatively, bit by bit, trusting in the flow and see where it takes you… Commit to the graft, put the work in, and start creating. As Lao Tzu famously taught “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

5. Enjoy the process

And so I began. Before work I erected and bouffed the artificial frosted tree fronds, children stabilising me atop my ladder. On work video calls I threaded whilst speaking. Once the working day was done, the children fed, domestic chores completed and the weekend initiated with the clink of an iced Baileys, I surrendered to the task at hand in earnest. With Bing Crosby soothing me onwards, fairy lights a’ twinkling and lots of excited participatory children (the joy of 5 small people in our locked-down home), the magic started to unfurl. We unwrapped delicate parcels of glass butterflies, crystal emblazoned candy pink feathers, pearl encrusted ivory baubles, glittery icicle cascades, exquisite pink metallic dangly pinecone pairs, colossal rose gold baubles and a flock of dainty doves. And oh the flowers. The flowers! Dazzling giant iridescent dahlias, rusty-pink envelopping amaryllis, plush purple petals with sparkling silver stamen, white glitter embellished hydrangea blooms, an abundance of roses in pink, white and lilac rich with obligatory sprinkles of fairy-dust, oh this was botanical heaven! Amidst the floral flamboyance there was so much joy in our home that evening as we co-created together, united towards a shared purpose, excited and anticipatory, present and truly enjoying the journey en route to Destination Christmas Tree 2020.

6. Receive – The yield

9 hours later with squeals of delight and evident joy from all, our tree was finished, finessed and flourished to perfection. None of us could (nor still can) supress our smiles. This was and is a most magnificent manifestation of a dream realised and the power of positive intention. This tree evokes everything life can deliver when we embrace it the right way. With Michael Bubble crooning away and recognition that it was indeed beginning to look like Christmas, the teens got busy Snapping their tribes with selfies afront the tree. The twins clambered all over the adjacent furniture making Tik Toks from different angles. Rex, the dalmatian, sniffed disappointingly uninteresting boughs wagging his tail enthusiastically regardless. I popped champagne and glowed with a glimmer of glee, pride and awe. This tree symbolised something momentous for me. That with focus, attention, big dreams, effort and devotion, the rewards do indeed come, and that those rewards need only be emotional for true fulfilment. This tree represented yes a new pink and twinkly corner in the orangery, but more meaningfully a new way of doing things, a new breath, a new dawn, not just Christmas anew in The Best Household, but life anew. Life yielding a bounty of emotional connection, collective accomplishment, shared happiness with love and fun found in a simple, homely kitchen in a covid-19 locked-down winter. This tree shimmered with the big magic life holds.

Bianca Best Christmas Tree Analogy for Life Fully Lived
Bianca Best’s Christmas Tree Analogy for Life Fully Lived

PS 30th December 2020 – I won a Christmas Tree competition! So big thanks to the Universe for expanding those rewards beyond the emotional to the material :-). Thank you for the unintended bounty! This is what flow is all about…!

Author(s)

  • Bianca Best

    Flourish with Bianca Best – writer, entrepreneur and manifestor dedicated to ensuring your life glistens with the work, love and vitality you desire.

    Flourish

    Hey! I'm Bianca! A writer, entrepreneur, mother and unshakeable optimist passionately devoted to ensuring your life glistens with the work, love and vitality you desire. Born with big dreams, a strong work ethic and fervent belief that life holds no limits, I’ve discovered how to unlock human potential.  Through my transformational ESCAPE™ programme, coaching, books, online courses, BB-TV, workshops, keynotes and retreats, I stratospherically catapult gifted individuals like you into the place you’re meant to be. I’m honoured to be a best-selling author and to work with leaders from Amazon to Snapchat, and to have personally learned wisdom first-hand from gurus such as Arianna Huffington. Blessed with abundance, I cherish 4 rapidly growing children, 3 businesses, and 1 English country home which is my creative and spiritual sanctuary. My life’s work represents a chronology of passions explored. From writing, to entrepreneurialism, to corporate leadership, to tech firsts, I’ve experimented, learned, grafted and always savoured the journey as much as the destination. Practice what you want to grow I’m fascinated by neuroplasticity and our ability to build skills that progressively enable us to achieve goals faster and easier. When we respect that life is about choices and consequences and choose concentrated cognitive focus, dreams become reality pretty quickly. Blend awareness of limiting beliefs, value systems, habits and behaviours with a personal definition of success, and you’ll strike gold.  The moment I clarify a goal (and I mean intricately define that tantalising something which has stimulated every cell in my body), and organise my habits, attitude and behaviour to thrust onwards towards it, giving it my unwavering attention, then life clicks into beautiful flow. I want this for you too! First Entrepreneurial Forays Coincided with 4 Baby Bests! After simultaneously blending a freelance writing career with exploratory post-grad advertising agency roles and stints as a presenter, I launched my first business in 2004 taking my creativity and resilience to new heights as I served global customers with a pioneering digital personalised gift company. I enjoyed an exhilarating decade learning that with the right focus, energy and vision anything and everything is possible. By the time I sold this business I’d welcomed 4 mini Bests confidently into the world too, including baby twins. What an unexpected (and time-management!) twist they gave to entrepreneurialism! I definitely live by the mantra “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” (and ironically still reflect on that first year juggling 4 children under 7 whilst expanding my company into an omni-channel franchise one of my most purposeful and joyful ever!)! Corporate Leadership Rigour I see life as a great big, fun experiment and every experience a moment of potential growth. With ‘intra-preneurialism’ now being invited into traditional business realms, I couldn’t resist a global leadership role in a large-scale corporate behemoth fusing my entrepreneurial passions with a legacy world. A truly invigorating opportunity! I’ve thus since set up a third millennium consultancy within WPP partnering with global brands such as Mars, CocaCola, Sony and Uber to accelerate digital transformation agendas amidst the volatility of today’s marketing landscapes. To say I love this work is an understatement, plus the output agendas and relationship dynamics all simultaneously add brilliant new depths to my coaching practice. Escaping the Whirlwind Decades back I suffered immune collapse repeatedly along my undulating, endlessly busy path and in June 2019 the World Health Organisation classified Burnout as a global epidemic. Too many of us have been, or are being, buffeted by life’s whirlwind at the expense of our mental and physical wellbeing. I created my science-based ESCAPE™ programme to combat exactly this. Through six powerful pillars I blend my certifications in coaching, hypnotherapy and NLP with my life experiences to empower ambitious individuals like you to thrive. It is possible to maximise impact without burnout and I show you how to respect your individuality and flourish. Which Brings Me To You Whether you feel stuck in a corporate rut, trapped in an unhappy relationship, constantly exhausted, overwhelmed by the sheer pace of modern life, frustrated by slow business growth, or beguiled by which way to turn next, I can get you moving, shining and smiling again. I’ll share every one of the mistakes I’ve made as I’ve fumbled and grappled and tripped my way through this game called life. Equally, I’ll share the ways I’ve succeeded in realising my own dreams and solving my own problems. It would be my honour to hold your hand through your next chapter and make that vibrant vision I know you hold in your heart a sparkly reality. I’ll give you the confidence to make decisions that are utterly transformational. You will up-level your life and become exactly who you’re meant to be. Let’s have fun together and make now the time you unleash your very best self!! Here’s to your future filled with the love, work and vitality you absolutely deserve! Lovingly yours, Bianca x