“All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
The difference between success and failure as a creative is often as simple as perseverance.
- Greta Gerwig was rejected by every grad program she applied to, so she studied independent film on her own and made the award-winning film Lady Bird, before directing the smash hit Barbie.
- The manager of the Grand Ol’ Opry told Elvis he was going nowhere.
- Oprah Winfrey came up with the idea of a daytime talk show after being fired from her journalist job.
- Walt Disney went to over 300 banks before someone loaned him the money to make the first ever animated film, Snow White.
- Stephen King kept a nail on his wall where he tacked rejection letters. It was almost full with over 30 rejections before he finally sold his first novel, Carrie, which was then turned into a cult classic horror film.
- Lauren Marie Fleming (founder of School for Writers and creator of 33 Asks!) faced decades of rejections from agents and publishers until she finally had her breakout hit novel, Because Fat Girl.
33 Asks™ is a way to build up resilience to rejection so you don’t quit before your big break.
But how do you put yourself out there again and again, facing rejection and heartbreak?
Rejection never gets easy, but you can learn to be less afraid of it if you do these three things:
Make it creative, colorful and fun.
Build in rewards along the way.
Get a hype squad to cheer you on.
That’s what 33 Asks is all about.
Does this sound all too familiar?
You’re frustrated with algorithms and disingenuous marketing techniques.
33 Asks starts and ends with a mutually beneficial situation that’s full of heart, abundance, and gratitude – ditching all those sleazy marketing techniques that make every feel gross.
You’re tired of feeling broke no matter how much money you make.
Capitalism tries to make you believe that you’ll never have enough money to make your dreams come true, but 33 Asks™ will remind you that you’re connected to a community full of abundance – all you have to do is ask.
You’re afraid to put yourself and your work out there and be rejected.
At it’s core, 33 Asks is about building resilience. It reminds us that it’s okay to be vulnerable, to put yourself out there and ask for what you want. In fact, that’s where all great adventures in life start.
I used to be paralyzed by my fear of rejection.
Every time I had to promote my courses or books, I would get overwhelmed, anxious, and pessimistic. I’ve never been shy, but I found myself unwilling to talk at all about the things that mattered to me.
My business and personal life suffered because I was so paralyzed by my fear of rejection. I wasn’t dating, I wasn’t making money in my business, and I wasn’t publishing my books.
How has a fear of rejection held you back?
We’ve all had our tipping points, and mine came in 2021 when I found my perfect home and realized if I wanted to buy it I would need to 10x my income.
That felt impossible. But instead of letting fear stop me, I let it propel me forward.
I threw out everything I thought I knew about marketing and sales and created my own system – one that was simple, repeatable, and full of colorful pens and stickers.
That’s when 33 Asks was born.
I have used the 33 Asks™ technique to:
Go from $1500 a month in my business to consistent $15,000 months – making over $200,000 in 3 years directly from my asks.
Get multiple agents interested in my novel and doubled my book advance with publishers.
Overcome my fear of rejection, boost my confidence, and build resilience as a writer, human, and business owner.
Connect with authors, influencers, and humans I admire (and was too nervous to talk to before!).
Get featured in prominent media, including a segment on Good Morning America about 33 Asks™!
It’s not just me. Participants have used 33 Asks™ to completely transform the way they make money, put themselves out there, and exist as creatives.
Lauren’s 33 Asks Challenge has revolutionized the way I run my business and live my life!!
Seriously, this is life changing stuff. It’s all about putting yourself out there, asking for what you want and watching as the universe ushers it into your arms.
Lauren is an INCREDIBLE coach and human being who will have your back in all the scary moments before you hit send on your asks — because it will be scary and a little out of your comfort zone (in a good way!).
Whether you’re applying it to scaling your business, finding your next client, job-hunting or your dating life (yes it all applies), you’re going to find just what you need in this workshop.
If you’re ready to change your life, your business and how you see the world, 33 Asks is FOR YOU.
My win is incorporating the 33 ask model in my sales activity. Normally I get away with “sell on social” but because I got a big list together to ask, I can go for direct asks every week!
It’s fun to do this together and see other people go through the ups and downs with you. 💜
33 Asks has empowered me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
I’ve loved the process of linking my legacy to what I want and need and then coming up with asks that support those.
I realized in 33 Asks that so much of my approach to business has been focused on what my clients will pay for instead of what really excited and energizes me. These are different energies!!
I also loved the creativity of adding stickers and colorful charts to track and celebrate momentum. I needed more fun infused into my sales and marketing process and this it it!
Thank you for bringing such a compassionate, creative, wonderful group of diverse people together for this experience, Lauren!!
All because of stickers. Yes, stickers!
33 ASKS™: BUILDING RESILIENCE FOR CREATIVES
The power of perseverance.
Use a simple sticker chart to help you create a goal, put yourself out there, and get rewarded for it.
PART 1: CREATE A GOAL
Tap into your dreams
When was the last time you felt truly excited about promoting yourself and your creative projects?
It’s hard to put yourself out there and face rejection over and over again, especially when your work feels personal. (And, let’s face it, creative work always feels so personal!)
That’s why we start with WHY.
In 33 Asks™ you will define the legacy you want to leave in this world and connect your goal directly to it.
Whether you want to make it on the New York Time’s Bestseller’s List or make an extra $3000 to take a much needed vacation this summer, knowing why your goal matters to you on a deeper level will help you continue to work towards it, even in the face of rejection.
Plus, knowing your why and setting a concrete and definable goal around it will help you set boundaries and stop letting menial tasks keep you from what you value most.
What you’ll gain from 33 Asks:
- Life-changing process of declaring your 3-Pillar Legacy™
- Worksheets to help you create a concrete, definable goal for yourself
- Help creating a reasonable timeline to reach that goal
- BONUS: Live coaching plus community support to help you remember your why and keep going towards your goal
PART 2: PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE
Ask for what you want
Nobody likes rejection. It’s embarrassing, depressing, and even painful.
It’s also a fact of life.
There is no way to avoid rejection, but 33 Asks™ will teach you how to appreciate rejection as proof you put yourself out there and went for your goal.
By making the ask the win, you’ll let go of your attachment to the final outcome and embrace the empowering process of asking for what you want in life.
Participants have used 33 Asks™ to start a new business, get a literary agent, boost sales of their art, start a book club, and yes, even have better sex!
At it’s core, 33 Asks™ is about building resilience. After taking this course you will have the confidence to persevere through rejection and ask for what you want–professionally and personally.
What you’ll gain from 33 Asks:
- Research-backed understanding of why building resilience is key to satisfaction and joy in life.
- A simple and fun way to track and celebrate your perseverance.
- Reminders to keep it simple so you don’t feel overwhelmed and stop.
- BONUS: Live coaching and a community to cheer you on and help you persevere while you make your asks!
PART 3: GET REWARDED FOR YOUR PERSEVERANCE
Build in rewards to keep you going
Before you even begin to put yourself out there and make those asks, you’re going to build it rewards for yourself along the way. Think of them as dopamine hits training your brain to enjoy asking!
Just like your dog won’t roll over without a treat, your nervous system needs to know it will be rewarded for its hard work as well.
Not only will you build your own prizes in, but the live group coaching component will have prizes as well, including Biggest Cheerleader and Most Resilient – rewarding you for supporting others and overcoming obstacles.
Because perseverance is easier with prizes!
What you’ll gain from 33 Asks:
- Built in dopamine hits to make the process fun and exciting.
- Worksheets to help you find the reward that’s right for you.
- Reminders to actually give yourself the rewards when you hit your goal (you’d be surprised how hard that part is and how many people want to skip it!).
- BONUS: Prizes during the live coaching component that will reward you for perseverance!
33 Asks™ gives you more …
FUN
Stop letting capitalism suck all of the joy out of being a creative! 33 Asks™ has joy built into the process, including colorful pens, stickers, and rewards. Marketing doesn’t have to be boring.
MONEY
It’s time to ditch that starving artist cliché and thrive! 33 Asks™ is a simple, easy, and repeatable way to market your creative projects and get your dream clients.
SUPPORT
You’re 92% more likely to achieve a goal if you have accountability from others. That’s why we have coaching from Lauren and a robust community to help you persevere.
Ready for more?
Enroll in 33 Asks™: Building Resilience
for Creatives
ONE TIME PAYMENT OF
$333
3 MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF
$121
WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU ENROLL
CLASSROOM
You’ll get immediate access to the COURSEWORK as soon as you enroll, which will break down the exact process into easy to follow steps.
The course is designed to prevent overwhelm and fit easily into your life.
Plan about 15 minutes a day to take the coursework, or about 2 hours total of core content.
Want to dive deeper? We have mulitple recorded coaching calls and bonus videos to support you along your journey.
COMMUNITY
It’s hard to put yourself out there all alone, which is why the 33 Asks community is one of the greatest assests of this program!
With over sixty active members and counting, the 33 Asks Facebook group is a wonderful place to get feedback on your sticker chart, support making your offers, and encouragement in putting yourself out there.
Plus, Lauren and her team are in there to answer your questions and cheer you on.
CONTINUOS SUPPORT
Once you’re a 33er, you’re a 33er for life! You’ll have access to the classroom, community, and coaching calls for as long as we offer this program.
About twice a year, Lauren and team run challenges with live coaching and support in making your asks – and prizes to be won along the way!
But even between live sessions, you have loads of support in the classroom and community.
Best of all, you get LIFETIME ACCESS to the classroom, Facebook community, and akk future live coaching calls!
33 Asks™ is life changing:
My biggest win is connecting with new, inspired and engaged community! The people here are so wonderful! Practicing more safety in being visible and in asking more than giving all the time; building stronger community ties through my asks!
I feel great and am grateful for the depth of coaching and community care in this program. This was the most diverse group I’ve been part of on a “marketing” call.
33 Asks™ dramatically changed how I view my sales process!
I was struggling with profits and sign ups, and Lauren coached me on the strategy. I used it for a webinar and had a huge turn out! I made over $1,500!
I still use the structure of 33 Asks™ for sales and swear by it!
I found clarity in how to approach two big goals I have been wanting to pursue, how they connect with and support my overall desire to grow as a working artist(my legacy), and the momentum in how to pursue these goals with joy and delight.
The group support was so beautiful to experience – I felt very connected to everyone on the calls, and it helped me to open myself to new possibilities and insights.
The process itself was fun and full of joy, I can see myself implementing this process in many aspects of my life in the future. Loved it.
Make it fun and they will come!
Making my 33 Asks sticker chart brought me even more joy than I was expecting. I’ve connected with a few people in the group and that’s been enriching. I also feel more connected and clearer with my own goals and timeline and am enjoying the playful momentum this program brings.
Asking is less scary, and the freedom of focusing on the ask instead of the financial goal has lead to less urgency and scarcity energy and more abundant, excited energy. I think that has drawn more success my way.
It’s motivated me to really think hard about who I am reaching out to and who I am following up with. They say the cash is in the followup, and it seems to be true!
My win was showing up. Getting expansive about how I think about asks. STICKERS 😍. Stretching myself beyond my comfort zone and asking, directly, for what I want.
Lauren is an incredible guide in learning a new process. I love her real, raw, vulnerability and invitation into imperfection. I was inspired, encouraged, and motivated by her coaching, her prompts, and her teaching.
Love Love Love and 100% Team Lauren from here on out! And OMG the stickers!!
It’s been great connecting with other folks who are running or starting retreats, and being able to organize and manage my thoughts regarding the path forward.
The 3 questions and 33 asks approach is very grounding and doable, a more approachable format than the linear “baby steps” approach for my chaos brain.
[33 Asks] has given me a way to work towards these goals while still working my day job (which is a part of my career and my passion), while also giving me measurable goals and steps to be able to visualize what success looks like for myself creatively, financially, and with how I use my precious time on earth.
I feel connected back to my why and it’s helping me remember WHY I am asking, why I need what I need, and why I am doing what I am doing.
This group is FIRE!
WORK WITH WORLD-RENOWNED STORY COACH
Lauren Marie Fleming
Through her programs, coaching, and podcast, Lauren Marie Fleming has helped thousands of people transform their lives through writing and storytelling.
A farmer’s daughter with a law degree and witchy intuition, Lauren noticed at a young age that there weren’t enough queer stories like hers out in the world, so she started writing them herself. A born leader, she realized her stories weren’t enough and began helping her friends tell theirs as well.
For over three decades, Lauren has worked with some of the world’s most distinguished celebrities, presenters and authors, including two years directly supporting Tony Robbins on his content and coaching the speakers on his stage.
Lauren and her work have been featured in prominent media outlets including Good Morning America, Glamour, xoJane, Autostraddle, and Cosmo, and she has had recurring columns for Curve Magazine, Vice Magazine, and the Huffington Post.
She is a highly sought after public speaker and has presented at prestigious conferences and colleges including Yale, Brown, Wordstock, BinderCon, and BlogHer.
Lauren is an avid reader, has lived all over the world, and will try anything once, as long as it’s gluten free. When not traveling, Lauren can be found walking her dog on the beach in San Diego listening to a good audiobook.
Lauren is one of the brilliant maestros. She knows how to direct you to your most powerful story. How to lead you to bringing out the magic in every aspect of your work. I am so grateful for Lauren’s support and guidance … She helped to beautifully weave things together to have the most profound impact. Lauren is incredible at truly stretching us to reach that higher level of performance. Thank you Lauren, so grateful for your guidance.
Lauren is a master in helping you feel comfortable and confident telling your story. With patience and kindness she listened to me talk and then helped me draw out the most impactful and powerful parts of my story.
In everything she does, you can feel Lauren’s passion and love for helping people tell their stories, especially people who are often silenced in our world. I’m so glad I met Lauren and so grateful that she is my story coach and friend.
I’ve had the honor of working alongside Lauren creating different speeches for various topics around the world. One of her super powers is being able to bring out the creative genius in others so that they can express themselves to their fullest!
Spend time with, listen to, or read the words of Lauren Marie Fleming and she’ll do one thing – serve you the permission you’ve been looking for on a decadent golden platter. Her work allows all of us to be unapologetically ourselves, no matter what size, shape, color or flavor we come in. The world needs more Lauren Marie Fleming.
Lauren is one of the most beautifully sincere people I have ever had the gift of meeting. Her experience runs deep, her perseverance is inspiring. Whether dancing in the sunshine or weathering the storm of life, she is a friend and a mentor – her words are music to my soul.
She ignites a tiny spark inside me to fan the flames into the seldom reached corners of my mind rife with insecurity and doubt, making my uncertainties vanish as my self confidence reemerges and I begin to realize my individual potential and accept myself as I am. I am grateful to her!
I’ve gained so much from my coaching sessions with Lauren. She has helped me move from feeling stuck to finding a way forward by offering a wealth of knowledge, actionable steps, and encouragement. Her thoughtful yet direct feedback is refreshing and it has made a world of difference in my life!
I was fortunate enough to participate in coaching sessions with Lauren. Her advice and insight are invaluable. I cannot recommend her enough. If you need direction, an action plan, or encouragement—look no further!
Coaching with Lauren gives me the same feeling I get after spending a weekend with my best friend, building one another up with unconditional love. In just half an hour, I can go from feeling worthless to feeling like I can take on the world.
Empathic and unwavering, with her trademark wisdom, wit and winsome personality, Lauren’s philosophy and tools for healing self-hatred shepherds us into a new mental paradigm.
FAQs
Is this workshop for me? What if I’m not *really* a creative person?
Every human is a creative person! Creativity is quite literally what defines our humanity and sets us apart from other animals.
Did you play make believe as a kid?
Did you finger paint?
Did you tell stories or write poems or come up with elaborate ideas for weird new worlds?
We are born creative, and then school and society teaches us to “behave” and “grow up”. We’re told following the rules and solving formulas will bring us success, but the reality is that all great inventions, discoveries, businesses, social movements, and works of art all require creativity, joy, and yes – fun!
If you want to try to put yourself out there, market your creative projects, and make money in a way that feels colorful and fun, then this workshop is for you!
Who is this workshop *NOT* for?
- You’re an a$$hole, mansplainer, pride yourself in being argumentative or are constantly “playing devil’s advocate.” We’re a group of kind, supportive, and open humans and we expect you to be as well.
- You’re the kind of person who would show up to protest a Gay Pride parade wearing a MAGA hat. We’re unabashedly queer, anti-racist, pro-choice, and liberal AF around here.
- You’re looking for a quick fix, easy solution, or promise of making a certain kind of money. 33 Asks™ makes no guarantees you’ll make money or that the process will work for you, since each individual situation is different. We do promise that you will have fun, though!
- You’re going to come in here and fat shame or talk about weight loss. This is a no-diet-talk or fat-shaming zone.
How long will the workshop take me to complete?
Let’s break down the time commitment:
- 6 videos that are 10-15 minutes each
- 5 one hour coaching calls to help you learn the process
- 10 five minute check-ins on Facebook when you’re implementing to hold you accountable
- 1 one hour coaching call at the end to assess how it went and set yourself up for success again in the future
Your total time commitment is about 6-8 hours during the whole month we host it live. Plus, time to cheer on your fellow participants in the Facebook group.
Remember: all calls are recorded and you have lifetime access to the material and Facebook group, so you can go at your own pace.
How long do I have access to the program material?
You get instant access to the classroom and Facebook group as soon as you enroll. Plus, you get LIFETIME ACCESS to both, so you can watch the videos again and get support from your new network of friends anytime you need it.
Plus, when you enroll now you also get to join us for all future live coaching calls!
As long as we are offering 33 Asks™, you get to join in as an alum. Pretty great, right?!
Do you offer refunds?
If you join 33 Asks™, take all the coursework, join the community, ask for help, and still hate it, we’ll refund you your tuition. All requests for refunds must be made within 2 weeks of purchase. After that, we will not offer any refunds.
Do you offer scholarships?
While the price of 33 Asks™ is a GREAT deal for this high-end program, we’ve been broke artists before and understand that many creatives lack access to resources, especially those who come from historically marginalized and systemically oppressed communities.
Which is why we offer 10% of spots in all our programs as scholarships to people who would otherwise not be able to afford it.
On top of that 10% of spots saved for people who would otherwise not be able to afford the program, this workshop is always free to refugees, people seeking asylum, people experiencing homelessness, anyone on permanent disability, or members of any indigienous tribe, including the Kumeyaay, who are the original inhabitants of the stolen land on which Lauren lives and School for Writers operates.
To apply for a scholarship, fill out this application.
Please note: we have found that people who invest a bit of money in a program are more likely to show up and invest their time as well. The scholarships for 33 Asks are $33 for partial and $3.33 for full.