I Did a Manifestation Exercise Called 'Ocean of Abundance.' Then I Went to the Beach, and This Happened. I was jolted awake, and it set my company on a different path.
By Kate Flynn Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the January 2025 issue of BIZ Experiences. Subscribe »
As I built my snack-food brand, Sun & Swell Foods, I kept hearing the same advice: Hustle for your customers. Never turn down business. Obsessively focus on ROI. So that's what I did — and although my company grew, it wasn't profitable. This began affecting me emotionally. I love my brand and care deeply about its success. Its challenges started to feel like my own.
By 2023, I needed a way to snap out of it. So I found a manifestation exercise called "Ocean of Abundance." It goes like this: Imagine yourself by a magical ocean. Its waves are made of gold coins, and its wealth keeps washing ashore at your feet. I know this might sound silly, but I committed to it anyway. Its goal is to help you feel a sense of abundance — as if anything is possible, and opportunity is infinite.
About a month later, the craziest thing happened when my nanny was sick and I took my son to the beach: As we played in the sand, I found a $20 bill buried near the water — as if my ocean of abundance became real!
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I felt jolted awake. Finally, I understood what I was doing wrong in my business. All that advice — never turn down business, obsessively focus on ROI, etc. — meant that I was playing things safe. I was operating out of scarcity. Because I was too afraid of losing things, I wasn't playing to win.
Then I started to make changes. I once worked with customers who treated us poorly, because I was too afraid of losing revenue. Now I'm more selective, and only work with customers that treat us like true partners. I used to keep a broad SKU assortment, because I felt like we couldn't cut off any revenue streams — even though it created an overly complex organization. Now we have a narrower assortment, and we let go of smaller SKUs to focus on growing bigger ones. I used to deprioritize organic social media because we couldn't see a clear ROI, even though I love making content. Now I give myself permission to create what I want — because if I love it, my joy will come through.
Today, Sun & Swell Foods is on a path to real profitability, and our strategy is grounded in authenticity and purpose instead of fear. I feel like I'm finally standing on the shore of that ocean of abundance — not chasing every wave, but letting the right opportunities wash ashore.
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