đź§ Weekly MindSweep No. 178 | Curated Conversation | Discernment

June 2025

06/02/2025 - Week 178: Curated Conversation: Discernment

06/09/2025 - Week 179: Mind Your Business: Discernment

06/16/2025 - Week 180: Manage Your Mind: Discernment

06/23/2025 - No Curated Conversation, Weekly MindSweep, or Mindful Connections.

06/30/2025 - Week 181: What’s On My Mind: Discernment

Let’s sweep the brain…

🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!

👉 Click here to Listen

 

In the MindSweep this week:

  1. Curated Conversation with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).

  2. Jamie’s Second Brain Corner: Links to references. Need a map? I’ve got you!

  3. What’s I’m Reading - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

  4. Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce

  5. My face đź’ś and a link to schedule your free consultation.

 

When “I Don’t Know” Is the Smartest Answer in the Room

As creative entrepreneurs, we are flooded with opportunities to grow, scale, and “get visible.” Podcasts. Guest speaking. Panel events. Social Media. Collabs. Email list swaps.

All promising reach, growth, and most intoxicating of all, validation. [1]

But at some point, the swirl of opportunity starts to feel less like abundance and more like chaos in a glitter suit.

That’s where discernment steps in.

Or rather, it whispers in. Because discernment doesn’t shout.

  • That’s urgency.

  • That’s dopamine

  • That’s “Say yes before someone else takes it!” energy.

Discernment is the quiet voice behind all the noise, the one asking, “Is this actually mine to do?”

Discernment isn’t about who’s shouting. It’s about who’s aligned.

Let’s sweep the brain…

🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!

👉 Click here to Listen

đź§  What Is Discernment?

Discernment is the ability to judge well. It’s your brain’s way of helping you make aligned, wise, and values-driven choices, especially when the stakes are high. The options are good but different, and the noise is loud.

It’s a dance between:

  • Your prefrontal cortex, which asks, “Does this make sense?”

  • Your insula, which wonders, “Does this feel right?”

  • Your anterior cingulate cortex, which checks for “Is there a better way?”

Discernment isn’t “I always know what to do.” It’s

“I know how to pause long enough to listen before I decide.”

đź§  Why It Matters for Creative Entrepreneurs

You’re not just choosing between tasks. You’re choosing between versions of yourself. Every yes shapes your future work, partnerships, and well-being. And because creativity thrives on freedom and novelty, it’s easy to chase shiny objects.

Discernment is what separates the discerning visionary from the over committed idea chaser.

This week, let’s bring our awareness to discernment. See where you might be using your Default Mode Network to make decisions impulsively, when you pause for consideration, or where you decide from that inner knowing of what feels right for you and your business.

Try this before saying yes to anything new:

  • Step 1: Ask yourself: “Is this aligned with who I want to become?”

  • Step 2: Pause 90 seconds. Let your brain catch up with your body.

  • Step 3: Listen for whispers, not roars.

Discernment often hides in stillness.

đź§  Final Reflection: The Power of the Pause

If you take nothing else from this week’s MindSweep, let it be this:

You don’t owe anyone an immediate yes.

Not your inbox.
Not your ambition.
Not even your inner perfectionist dressed as productivity.

In a world that rewards speed, discernment asks you to slow down. To listen in. To trust that your wisest choices won’t come from pressure, but from presence.

Because “I don’t know yet” isn’t indecision. It’s the beginning of aligned clarity.

The next time opportunity knocks in sequins and urgency? Don’t rush to the door.


đź’ś Take a breath.
đź’ś Check your brain.
đź’ś Check your body.
đź’ś Check your heart.

And then—only then—decide what’s truly yours to say yes to.


My questions for you this week :

  • When was the last time you made a decision that looked good on paper but didn’t feel right?

  • Who or what disrupts your discernment the most? Urgency? Praise? Comparison?

Reply and share with me!

✨ Ready to Build a Business That Feels Like You?

🧠 If you’re tired of chasing every shiny opportunity and ready to start saying yes to what actually fits—
🧠 If you’re craving a business strategy that aligns with your brain, your bandwidth, and your bigger vision—
đź§  If you want more clarity, more confidence, and more you in your business...

That’s where I come in.

I’m a business consultant for creative, neurodivergent, and heart-centered entrepreneurs who are ready to trade hustle for harmony—and build something sustainable, spacious, and soul-aligned.

Through personalized strategy sessions, collaborative planning, and brain-based tools, I help you cut through the noise, organize what matters, and take bold, aligned action (without burning out).

Because discernment is a skill—and it gets stronger with the right support.

Ready to work together? Book a free consultation.


Or learn more about my MindSweep Mapping Process—your custom roadmap for getting unstuck and moving forward with clarity.


Are you a like-hearted entrepreneur ready for support? Let's connect.

Book a free consultation.


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Jamie’s Second Brain Corner:

[1] Did you miss our month on Validation?

[X] Did someone say MindSweep MAP?! Learn more about my Personalized MindSweep Mapping Process

[X] Follow Chickbook Creative on Substack!


MONDAY: 8 am - Curated Conversation - Zoom

Changing the world, one Monday Morning at a time. Learn more + Sign Up for a Monday morning reminder!


What I’m reading

Demon Copperhead

Author: Barbara Kingsolver

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival.

Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society.

Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story.

Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

Find it where you browse for books.


Collaborations!


Join us NEXT Friday, June 6th, at the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce for this two-hour interactive business community experience.

We'll discuss ways to cultivate business through Sales, Marketing, and Communication methods that support relationship building, showing up authentically, and connecting deeper with colleagues and the people you serve.

9-11 am - Open discussion, community support, brainstorming ideas

Join me in meeting business owners in our community. You'll leave with new tools to help you make connections and build your business!

Free; Registration is required: REGISTRATION.

Mindful Connections

Connecting like-hearted entrepreneurs to build relationships, offering support, understanding their passions, and sharing their names in rooms of opportunity.

Join us Thursdays, 12-1 pm EST.

12:00 - Take 5—a guided meditation with Terri Hamilton of Positively Terri to ground your week with peace and focus.

12:05-1 pm Round-table Share

  • Who you are

  • The gifts you bring to the world

  • Who you serve

  • The answer to a Curated question to spark conversation.

FYI: We will NOT meet Thursday, 06/26/2025


If you found this on the web, sign up to join us!

Sign up


In other news…

Feeling #FOMO about Curated Conversations? Join us!

Jamie Chapman

Oh, Hi! I’m Jamie Chapman


Self-proclaimed brain geek, relationship builder, and business consultant who helps heart-centered entrepreneurs and small businesses execute their big ideas.


I have always been a curious person who thrives on helping others succeed.


Finding solutions is what I do.


When my twin boys were diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school, I had to learn how to navigate a school system that wasn’t built for neurodiverse individuals. By helping my boys find ways to succeed in these spaces, I realized the importance of shining a light on the gifts we bring to the world.


In a society that tries to “fit a round peg into a square hole,” I am here to support entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to take a different path to success.


While supporting small businesses in various industries, I have a special place in my heart for neurodiverse entrepreneurs and ADHD business owners.


Relationships and a holistic, human view of your business needs is something I value.


I meet you where you’re at and support you in getting where you want to go.


With a multifaceted approach to problem-solving, and extensive knowledge of executive functioning, habit formation, and the neurodiverse and ADHD entrepreneur’s mind, I support small business owners to thrive and feel proud of what they’re building.


My background is in manufacturing and business operations. I use my decades of experience with developing systems and processes to make your business operations smoother and more efficient.


As a perspective integrator and big-picture thinker, I want to help you execute your vision, spot inefficiencies, and find effective ways to grow your business.


Think of me as your strategic C.O.O. and partner in business success and growth.  


Whether it’s 1:1 Consulting, MindSweep Mapping, or joining our Chickbook Creative community of business owners, I support idea generators in cultivating clarity and taking action to pursue their best ideas.


My purpose is to illuminate the gifts business owners and entrepreneurs bring to the world. I can’t wait to meet you and get started.


Time with me; Priceless.

https://www.chickbookcreative.com
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🧠Weekly MindSweep No. 177 | What’s On My Mind | Validation