Return to Radiance with Danielle Venables

095. Control Freaks Anonymous: Why My 3-Year Deck Delay Was Actually Perfect

• Danielle Venables • Episode 95

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True power lies in knowing when to surrender the timeline. After three years of creating my oracle deck—a journey filled with delays, doubts, and pivotal redirections—I've discovered the profound wisdom in letting divine timing lead the way.

What started as the "Quantum Priestess Oracle" in late 2022 transformed into the "Seeds of Light Oracle Deck," evolving far beyond my initial vision. The manuscript sat incomplete while I wrestled with perfectionism. My fears of inadequacy caused procrastination. Then, when I finally felt ready to self-publish, the universe presented a traditional publishing opportunity—extending the timeline by another year.

Each apparent "setback" revealed itself as divine intervention. I needed to grow into becoming the woman who could authentically author this deck. Cards I'd written before fully embodying their wisdom were rewritten through new perspectives after I'd integrated their teachings. The extended timeline allowed both me and the project to breathe, mature, and transform into something transcendent.

This lesson now informs every aspect of my life, including our potential cross-country move. Rather than forcing pieces to fit my preferred schedule, I've learned to set clear intentions while remaining open to the universe's perfect timing. The result? A relationship with manifestation that feels collaborative rather than controlling.

Whether you're creating something meaningful, awaiting a significant change, or feeling stuck between your timeline and the universe's plan—this episode invites you to release your grip on when things "should" happen and trust that divine timing delivers exactly what's needed, exactly when it's needed.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Return to Radiance, the podcast with one core purpose to remind you of your innate power and essence. I'm your host, danielle Venables, an Akashic guide and soul coach, here to activate, heal and empower the new wave of soulful CEOs to become radically aligned and unapologetic. In these episodes, we will be diving into all things mystic, soul level transformation, the new paradigm of leadership, business, energetics, awakening, healing and more, as well as holding potent conversations around connecting deeply to your personal power and owning your truth. If you are here for it all, be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. While I'm confident the discussions in this podcast have the power to change your life, these episodes are for information only and are in no way a substitute for individual medical, legal or mental health advice. Have you ever felt like your life is on your timeline, like you are in control? You can manipulate the timeline to fit your needs. If you work really hard, you can achieve something within a set window of time. If that's you, then this episode is for you. Hello and welcome back to the Return to Radiance podcast. If you're a returning listener, if you are brand new here, welcome.

Speaker 1:

I am Danielle Venables. I'm an Akashic Guide, spiritual midwife, author of an amazing oracle deck that is coming out so so soon. So stay tuned for that. And today I want to talk to you about this idea through society that if you work hard, you can achieve goals right, like this hyper masculine way of addressing goals and objectives and, most importantly, timelines feeling like you are in control of a timeline. Now, I want to preface this conversation by saying control of a timeline. Now I want to preface this conversation by saying, of course, if you do not take accountability for the timeline and you do not hold yourself to a standard or a deadline or you know some expectation, then chances are you probably won't get super far. And that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm not talking about self accountability and self leadership. What I'm really talking about is swinging too far into that and becoming rigid with your timelines and becoming like controlling of when something happens, when something shows up and, you know, kind of forcing pieces into place.

Speaker 1:

Now, this has been a theme that's been alive for me for a long time. Um, I am one of those people that you know, growing up and stuff. I was a high achiever. I was somebody who, if I set my mind to something, I could make it happen. Um, and I learned that there, learned that there was value in stepping into that, in, you know, really leaning in and sort of forcing life to bend with me. You know, doing that got me places, you know. It got me through college, it moved me up north, it got me a dream job, or so I thought, and you know I achieved a lot of things from that place, from that mindset, and it's something that I've had to dismantle over the years as I've realized, becoming more in touch and in tune with my feminine, that controlling the outcome, controlling the timeline, trying to, you know, condense things into what I think they should look like, isn't always the best option. And I'm going to give you sort of a prime example of this, as well as a teaser for what is coming up in my life and what I'm going to be sharing with you very, very, very soon in talking about the Seeds of Light Oracle Deck.

Speaker 1:

Now, for those of you who are new here, who do not know, the Seeds of Light Oracle Deck is a deck that I have written, designed by Stephanie Wicker Campbell and being published by Muse Oracle Press. It is a phenomenal, beautiful, spiritual tool that I absolutely cannot wait to share with you, but what I will say about it is it wasn't always that. So this is what I'm talking about when I'm talking about timelines. When I first signed up with Stephanie to have this deck designed originally it was supposed to be a self-published project and it was end of 2022, I believe when I, you know, sent her the deposit and was like I'm in, and throughout that time, you know, I figured within the next year, I would be self-publishing this deck. It would be amazing and you know, all of my, my hopes and dreams would come true.

Speaker 1:

Right, and there were pieces of that timeline falling apart that were definitely on me a lack of accountability, a lack of, you know, for me, there was a fear of like, oh, this is like, very permanent, and so I want to make sure that this is good enough, and so anytime that I would bump into not feeling good enough, I would sort of drop into avoidance and things like that. So there's definitely a part of the timeline that I will take accountability for. And now, with that said, I also knew that if and when I decided I want this out now, I had control and the power to get that manuscript ready, send it off to Steph and get it designed, you know, within the year. And I'm almost grateful, like, reflecting back on it, I'm almost grateful for the fact that I did not do that and I didn't push through as much as it was like my own inner stuff that was kind of preventing me from pushing through in that moment. Um, I'm kind of glad that the timeline that I thought that deck would be on did not pan out. Um, and since then, I mean there's been some other delays and things which I'll probably go into as as we go through this episode here.

Speaker 1:

But when I went to her with a partially finished manuscript, what I had was the Quantum Priestess Oracle. That was the title of the deck. There was a card in the deck. There still is a card in the deck with that title, um, and it was very much about like bridging timelines, heaven on earth, like rooting into the planet, um, but also being very like mystical. And you know, at first she was kind of like well, what does that mean? You know, like she was kind of like challenging me, like what quantum priestess, what's that mean? Are people going to know what it means? You know, you want something viable. And she was like really mentoring me and has been this whole time mentoring me through this process to make sure that I was really ready to bring this forward.

Speaker 1:

Now, as I worked towards completing the manuscript, it wasn't done until early 2024 was when all of the cards were written. For the most part it was finalized. I I've done some tweaks since then, but you know I was like ready to send it to editing in early 2024. Um, and that is when Stephanie came to me and she was like, hey, how do you feel about traditionally publishing this deck? Do you want to, like? I just I love it so much. Do you want it to go into like bookstores and be distributed globally and all of this stuff? Or like, do you want to stay self-published? She's like the choice is yours, um, but I wanted to bring that to you because this is an option for you if you would like it.

Speaker 1:

And yeah, with that, then we started to collaborate a little bit more, right, and, and me in my mind I was like, oh my gosh, again this perfection of I don't know if this is good enough to traditionally publish, like all of a sudden, all these doubts came in. And it's so funny because it was um, or I wouldn't have had this opportunity. But every doubt in in my mind and in my subconscious was like, oh, is this good enough? Like, are you sure? And you know, we, we, we reworked some of the cards. We reworked the title it actually took quite a while to land on, like the title Seeds of Light, um, and we sort of went through and that whole process, you know, start to finish. We just finished, we're about to go into editing with this manuscript now, and it is March 2025. So this was three years in the making of, maybe two years in the making of, you know, working on this manuscript, working through it, rewriting cards, looking at them again, rewriting them again, adding cards, shifting cards, changing titles and subtitles and all of those things.

Speaker 1:

And what I can say with certainty and this is where this ties back to timeline is that if I had pushed to have it published last year, or if I had pushed to self-publish the year before, it would have been a completely different deck. It would not have been the incredible, nourishing, grounding, just organic feeling, but spiritual and mystical deck that it is today. It might not have even been called the seeds of light oracle, because what that required of me was to become the woman that I am, I had to grow into becoming the author of that deck, and I would not have been able to do that if I hadn't had the space to let it breathe. And so a little bit of backstory. Um, you know the the first deadline or the first delay with this deck was definitely on me, for you know my own fears and my own insecurities about will this be good enough? I wanted it to be so, so good for you guys, and I got in my head about it, um, but then after that, when it did get picked up for publishing, then it's like okay, like your manuscript's done, we could start designing it and you could self publish, like in a month or two. But the timeline for traditional publishing is like a year, year and a half, two years out, and that's fast tracked because you know bigger, bigger publishers like Hay House and stuff. They're even further out, like they already have their catalogs set for like the next two plus years. So I'm learning all of this as I go. So I'm sharing this with you, um, because that caused more delays and at first that was like a big downside for me. I was like, ah, like I felt like the manuscript was done and I just wanted to see it in print, I just wanted to hold it in my hands. It had already been a couple of years in the making. I was like, ah, I just want it and um with that.

Speaker 1:

As soon as I came to terms with that timeline and I let the project breathe and I just like sort of put it on the back burner, right, my part was, for all intents and purposes, done at the time and just let the things approach. I just let it simmer. I focused on other things. I focused on my home, I focused on my kids, I focused on what parts of my business I'm continuing with and growing, and you know, youtube channel, podcasts, those kinds of things, and I've really let the deck breathe.

Speaker 1:

And in that time there were moments where Steph would pick it up. She'd go into the Google drive and she'd pick it up and she'd, you know, design a couple of cards or say what about this, or what do you think about that? Or you know we would have touch points. And through that by by taking unintentionally because again, as someone who formerly would have just like pushed the timeline um, that was not like a comfortable thing for me I was like I want it now, like let's do it, um.

Speaker 1:

But by having that extended timeline it allowed all of the changes, all of the activations that this deck created within me, that becoming an author created within me, to really just sit and marinate. And you know, I sat with the wisdom and the teachings of the deck. What came through me? Some of these cards? They came through me before I was even fully embodied in them, and then I grew into the cards and then I went back and rewrote them through a new lens, with a new perspective, right, like. It was a huge, like stretching journey for me, um and so that allowed space for the integration to come into place.

Speaker 1:

And I can honestly say that now I have more clarity, more faith, more just conviction in how incredible this deck is going to be. You know, when I show up and I market it and I will market it as, like, the only Oracle deck you'll ever need, whether it's your first one, whether it's your hundredth one, it'll be your daily go-to, it'll be the one when you just need that quick hit of wisdom. It'll be the one for more elaborate spreads. You know, it is diverse enough, it is layered enough, it is just so grounded that it will be the go-to on the shelf, and that's exactly what I wanted for it. That's, that's the expectation that I held for it, and that's part of why I hesitated when it was time to, you know, finish the manuscript and stuff originally was because I wanted it.

Speaker 1:

I had these, this vision and this knowing in my heart of like what this deck was supposed to be, and I wasn't there yet. I wasn't ready to create that yet. As much as like it was created, it just it wasn't elevated enough at that point to really move forward. And so I think you know it's a blend of the fear that held me back, but it's also that deep knowing that, like every project has its own gestation period, every project has the time that it takes, and every project is a catalyst for the creator of the project. I'm a firm believer in that, and so it all had to sort of catch up. I had to catch up, the energy of the deck had to catch up, even Stephanie with her designs and the way that the deck was speaking to her. Like it all had to catch up to hit this point where we are now both like getting on these calls and we're like, holy shit, this is the most amazing deck we've ever seen.

Speaker 1:

And so, all of that to say, I am so glad that I did not force the timeline. I am so grateful that it did get picked up for publishing, of course, but also that that pushed the timeline back, even if, at the time, it felt like such a downside or such a you know, disappointment of like, oh, I was really hoping it would be out in 2024. And now it's getting pushed to like fall 2025. Like, why is it taking so long? Now it's getting pushed to like fall 2025. Like, why is it taking so long? But now that I'm here, now that I'm on the brink of sharing it with you guys and opening pre-orders and stuff which is coming so just watch this space, stay tuned. I can't wait to share it with you.

Speaker 1:

But now that I'm in this place, looking back, I can say with certainty and conviction that it was all in divine timing, that I am exactly where I need to be. This deck is exactly where it needs to be, and all of the pieces, all of the stars, are aligning. And I could have forced it into place. I could have continued with the self-publishing route. I could have pumped it out, I could have been on deck number two or three at this point, or written a book or, you know, done any number of things. And it's not that I'm not working on those things behind the scenes, don't worry. But I'm not publishing a book this year because this project took so much of me. It took my heart and soul and evolution and embodiment and really catapulted me and itself right, because this project took on an energy of its own into exactly where we needed to be.

Speaker 1:

So all of that to say if you are someone who is struggling with timelines, who is wishing that something could be here sooner, whether that's a manifestation or a project or, um, an opportunity or a job or a home, um, you know, don't force the pieces together, because you're doing yourself a disservice and you're not allowing the universe to do its half and provide right, like you don't need to take control of the entire situation. Another prime example of this is right now we are looking at potentially moving like 12 hours away from where we're currently living, and with this move there are a lot of moving parts, you know selling our home, buying a new home. Do we want a house? Do we want an acreage? What are. What are we looking for? What's the budget? Do we like? Talk to the mortgage broker, talk to the realtor, all these things right? What are we going to move? What are we going to get rid of? Should we start packing? Should we not? Is it even going to happen?

Speaker 1:

Like there's so much uncertainty with all of it that I have just had to let go. And so I know my ideal timeline, and if it works out in that timeline, then I trust that it was exactly meant to be exactly how it is. And if it doesn't work with this timeline and we don't move this year, I'm okay with that too. But that is one of the teachings that the deck has brought forward for me, right Like that's something that was activated and grounded within me through this process of the deck.

Speaker 1:

Through not just like gripping sorry, my baby just woke up, I'm going to have to go but through not just like gripping onto the timeline and gripping onto the outcome that I want and forcing the pieces into place and instead just being more open, more surrendered to. This is my intention, this is what I want. Now, what can the universe throw my way to make it happen? So that is what I've got for you today. I'm so sorry about the crying in the background, if you can hear that, and I will talk to you next week. Bye for now. Thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this podcast, it would mean the world if you'd take a moment to download a couple episodes and rate the show to help it reach more like-minded leaders. If you loved today's discussion and decide to share it, be sure to tag me on Instagram at Radiant Soul Coach to help expand the ripple effect of this podcast.