We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carli Abiuso a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Carli, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Let’s talk about my latest offering (an artistic, physical product) which is quite the pivot from what I was previously known for: online manifestation and Hero’s Journey coaching.
I knew I wanted to return to my roots as an artist, and I felt a clear pull to bring medieval fantasy to the forefront of my work. If I’m being honest, the idea had first come to me about a year prior, but it wasn’t time yet. When it resurfaced, I knew instantly: now.
The vision was to loosely transform my former group program, Legendary, into a tangible quest. One that unfolds monthly, aligned with the Celtic Wheel of the Year, arriving directly in your mailbox. Almost like a real-life RPG, where the recipient becomes the main character of their own story. I wanted to create a world people could truly hold, experience, step into, and feel transformation through.
That vision became The Avalon Post: a magical snail mail club. Its very first envelope was sent to founding members at the end of March! From the moment the idea returned, I moved quickly. I wrote the first letter for the Spring Equinox and designed it to resemble an enchanted medieval illuminated manuscript or page from an ancient fairytale book. From there, I mapped out the contents of each delivery: a seasonal ritual card, a quest map, a quest log, and an original art print.
In the past, I might have created something like this intuitively and hoped it would resonate; but this time, I paired creativity with strategy. I drew on what I was learning in a business mastermind, a process for success if you will. Included was conducting market research, validating the idea, speaking about it openly, and pre-selling it before it fully existed.
From there, it became a dance between magick and logistics. The creative process flowed with ease; crafting the experience, designing each element, and making it feel as immersive as possible felt like play. The more unexpected challenge? Figuring out the industrial printer (which, to my surprise, took the most time… many hours of tweaking, testing, formatting, jams, and retrying). Along the way, I sourced materials, experimented with paper types and formats, and even set up a P.O. box to bring the physical side of the vision to life. I had a master task-list that was keeping me in order and felt good to check off as I went.
In less than a month, I had gone from initial idea and vision to my first sale. Those weeks were a full, head-down immersion and juggling of hats — creating, producing, ordering, marketing, promoting, and then packing and sending!
More than anything, this process required me to release my old identity and fully step into who I’ve always been: an artist.
By the time the first letters were sent out, it didn’t feel like I had simply launched a product. It felt like I had opened a portal. One built not only on inspiration, but on devotion, ancient whispers, and the willingness to bring my most authentic self and creativity forward.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’m Carli Abiuso: artist, mythic guide, and founder of Your Hero’s Quest, a world devoted to helping people step into the most expansive, magical version of themselves.
I actually arrived here by way of the performing arts. I trained and worked as a professional dancer and actor for over a decade, living inside stories, characters, and worlds. I was always drawn to the epic — the kind of tales that resonate at a soul level. I grew up captivated by fantasy and art; from Labyrinth to Lord of the Rings to King Arthur and his Round Table, where destiny, magick, and transformation were woven into every moment. I didn’t view the world as most people did. And as the rejection pile started adding up in my performing career, I began to realize that my destiny was hinged on someone booking me for a role; on someone else’s opinion; on a being or not being the right “type.” I wanted autonomy. I felt that my Excalibur awaited me elsewhere. That realization led me into entrepreneurship and creating Your Hero’s Quest (which started as a podcast and YouTube channel).
Alongside this, I also was training deeply in spiritual and feminine arts, studying ritual, embodiment, tarot, herbalism, and sacred and ancient practices. I devoured books on the Arthurian legends and the esoteric wisdom of the Grail quest; on manifestation, universal laws, and healing.
Yet, I initially built my business in the more traditional personal development and manifestation space, guiding others to their dream lives using the lens of the Hero’s Journey. That work was deeply impactful, both for my clients and for me.
Over time, however, my soul spoke again: something was missing. A rather intrinsic part of myself. So my work was not fulfilling me the way I thought it would, nor was it landing on the level I wanted it to. I was being called back to art, to storytelling, to beauty, to something immersive and experiential. That was it — I wasn’t meant to be a coach; I didn’t want to teach transformation or hold space for people’s past. I was and have always been an artist. I am here to create worlds for people to step into, and like an enchanted mirror, see themselves as they truly are. And play. And create who and what they want to be. I wanted my work to be a conduit of bringing magick, whimsy, and romance back into everyday modern life.
Now, everything I create lives at the intersection of fantasy, art, and mythology. My current offering is a physical mail club, The Avalon Post — a monthly, enchanted, living quest aligned with the Wheel of the Year and guided by a Priestess of Avalon. Each envelope is designed to help seekers move from observing their life to actively creating it. From feeling disconnected to restoring harmony to their inner and outer landscapes. From feeling stuck to finding the courage to fully express themselves and become visible to the world in all their glory. From being in a mundane grind to drawing power from the cycles of the seasons like our ancestors did.
At its core, the problem I solve isn’t a traditional one. It’s: how do I bring the feeling I get when reading a fantasy novel into my real life? That quest, that dynamism, that romance, that sense of deep purpose. Many people feel stuck in stories they didn’t consciously choose, wandering away from their creativity, their power, and their sense of wonder. My work helps them remember that they are not just participants in life. They are the authors, the main characters, the ones who get to choose what comes next. And those fantasy worlds you loved as a child? You don’t have to abandon them as an adult. You can actually use them as a powerful bridge to your dream life.
What sets my work apart is exactly that. It doesn’t separate transformation from imagination. I don’t believe growth has to feel heavy or linear. You’ve done years of shadow work. It’s time to LIVE!
What I’m most proud of is my willingness to follow the evolution of my own path, even when it didn’t make sense on paper or to anyone else. Transitioning from performer to coach, and then from coach back to artist, wasn’t just a business decision, but an act of self-trust and following the guidance of my highest self and intuition. It required me to release identities, people, and places and step into my greatest truth and who I have always been.
If there’s one thing I want people to know about me and my work, it’s this: you are allowed to live an extraordinary life. Not someday, not in theory, but now. The magick you’re searching for isn’t separate from you. It’s something you remember, reclaim, and choose to embody now.
And once you do, your journey truly begins.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
There was a period last year (actually, for most of the year) where it felt like I was meeting one threshold after another. From the outside, things looked like they were working, but behind the scenes, I was navigating moments where nothing was landing the way I expected. Launches that didn’t convert the way I thought they would. Plans that seemed solid on paper, but met resistance in reality.
There were moments where it felt like I was pressing up against invisible brick walls, doing everything “right,” yet not seeing the results I knew were possible. Financially, it required me to be incredibly resourceful. To stretch, to recalibrate, to find side gigs, to ask for help. and keep going even when things felt very uncertain. It was, to be honest, incredibly uncomfortable and required more trust in the unseen than I had ever known.
Looking back, I don’t see that time as failure, but as initiation. It stripped away the parts of me that were still creating from pressure, from proving, from trying to force outcomes. From who or what I “thought” I needed to be to succeed. It asked me to deepen my faith, refine my voice, and get radically honest about what I actually wanted to build and where I was still hiding, dimming, and playing small.
And now I am actually so thankful for that period, as difficult as it was. Had I “succeeded” as a coach, I would be in a far worse position because that chapter was only meant to be a side path to my true path. Those challenges led me to ask some really tough questions about where I was in my life. They led to the evolution of my work: the shift from coaching into artistry, and ultimately the creation of The Avalon Post. They taught me that when something isn’t working, it’s not always a sign to push harder. Sometimes it’s a sign that something new is trying to be born.
So while there were definitely “close call” moments, I now see them as the exact turning points that led me into a more aligned, sustainable, and creatively fulfilling chapter of my business and personal brand.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients for me has been social media, without a doubt. It’s the most powerful way for me to share my work, connect with my audience, and attract like-minded people into my world. I personally post on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and YouTube almost daily.
But it’s not just about posting for the sake of posting. What’s made the biggest difference is showing up consistently and authentically, and creating about what I genuinely love, what I believe in, and what I’m currently making or moving through. That’s what builds trust and resonance.
I’ve found that the more I lean into my true voice: my love of myth, magick, historical fashion and costuming, medieval vibes, storytelling, and transformation, the more the right people naturally find me. It becomes less about “trying to get clients” and more about sharing a frequency that others can feel and opt into. It’s tapping into your natural “it” factor and letting others witness you and join you on the quest.
In terms of growth, consistency is key, but so is having fun, trying new things, and genuinely connecting with other creators! Over time, that builds not just an audience, but a community of people who are loyal patrons of the realm!
For me, social media is an extension of the world I’m building. And when people resonate with that world, they naturally want to step inside it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/yourherosquest
- Instagram: @yourherosquest
- Youtube: @yourherosquest
- Other: TikTok: @yourherosquest
