For my readers in the United States, Happy Independence Day! For those elsewhere, Happy Monday! To all, welcome to today’s blog. More importantly, welcome to the official second half of 2022. We’ve made it this far. It’s time to assess where we are by doing {read more}
How often do you get up in the morning, and with each step feel delighted? Putting your feet on the floor, fixing the bed head, and smiling at yourself. Putting your house slippers on and greeting your dog, perhaps with a song. Turning the hot {read more}
In the last post, we discussed creating a vision. Starting out with the question, “Are your thoughts in harmony with your vision?” Which was a question asked by host Joseph Rodríguez from the podcast, “Insights & Perspectives”. The idea being that when you are clear about your dreams and bold enough to believe in them, they will unfold.
This single sentence make it all seem so easy. Almost like a check list:
If it were this simple – all of us would be living our exact lives. We know it is not this simple. We know that daily life takes over. Our traumas and fears pop-up when least expected and push us off our center. Someone makes a decision unexpectedly or we find out a shocking piece of information. Our physical body fails us, or the stock market doesn’t go our way. Sometimes it seems as though we aren’t even on the right planet, let alone the right path. Even with a clear vision and a strong, firm belief in it; if our thoughts are not in harmony with that vision, we will not see it come to fruition. Our perspective is ever changing, either for the better or for worse; and it is fueled by our thoughts.
So, lets add two items to our check list:
Because we are human and life is life, realigning to our vision, adjusting it and coming back to ourselves must be done deliberately and consistently. While this is straightforward when we do monthly reflections or quarterly check-ins, and especially end of year look-backs; in my experience, it is the day to day that can either propel us forward, or hold us back.
It is an everyday commitment to honor your vision, honor yourself and stay true to your feelings. Allows things to unfold and stay true to your vision. Yes, even when there are setbacks, or an angry driver cuts you off, or you get the fourth rejection from a future employer. Give yourself grace when you find your thoughts spiraling in the wrong direction. Ask for help from loved ones you can trust. Select a role model who is living the life close to what you want for yourself.
Cultivate an uncommon appreciation for the things that are going well. Embody a sense of wonder for things not yet uncovered, and keep the flame of belief going from moment to moment. With this, your dreams will come true.
As an illustration of the above mention concepts, please consider the below chalkboards. This specific example is for someone who is wanting to know they make a difference at their company and in their position. Potentially hoping to be recognized through promotion.
Remember being in grammar school and being taught “STOP. DROP. and ROLL.”? This was a safety technique taught to us in the case of our clothes catching on fire. It calls for us to stop (basically don’t panic), drop to the ground, and roll so {read more}
This post is a story time post! It contains the top 3 goals I’ve achieved through the reflection discussed in the last post. Throughout my journey, the most helpful articles and pieces of advice always came with actual examples of where it worked. Therefore, I’ve {read more}
Recently, I shared a link to my blog with an acquaintance. At first this was just a passing, “Oh I wrote a blog post about that.” Meaning, I didn’t think to worry about being judged. However, within a few days anxiety started to creep in. Thoughts such as, “I hope I’ve fixed all the punctuation.” or, “Is my personality coming across as too much?” all the way to, “Should I change the style all together and be more serious?”
Keep in mind this was a passing exchange. If you too, have these types of thoughts, you can imagine when I shared my blog on LinkedIn. Over the years, building a career during the 2000’s required a multitude of personality traits, including tenacity within myself. But also, smiling just enough but not too much. Perhaps this only applies to some of us (and I’d love to hear your personal experiences down below). During my early career days, influencers, as we now know them, weren’t yet a thing. “Content Creator” is a new-ish job title that still isn’t taken seriously. Even the title of Entrepreneur doesn’t yet glean the same respect as working for another, at least in main stream.
This reminds me of the first and only conversation I had about wanting to be a YouTuber with a member of my family. They thought I had lost my mind. This particular person, didn’t know I had a business plan and financial analysis complete before even considering buying a camera. On the other side, I realized their perspective was one most people have. Meaning, how could anyone dream of giving up a stable secure job with benefits to risk it on a platform like YouTube?! Or, even more common is disrespect toward those who make a living from their content. I have heard people discussing YouTubers as though their work isn’t ‘real’ enough. Or that they didn’t work ‘hard’ enough to be making millions.
Interestingly enough, those creators I know (some which I work with at my day job) are pouring their heart out in their content. Even a well established content creator or entrepreneur is working intensely. It isn’t always about the amount of hours. Instead, it is about emotional stamina. In addition to the idea generation, production of new content and any editing; there isn’t yet a true science behind all of this. Therefore, one piece of content you don’t think twice about could take off and produce far better results than one that is toiled over. Over and over, the mentality of ‘feel fear and do it anyway’ is what keeps most creators going. The empowerment which comes from overcoming the fear also keeps us going.
No matter the type of creation, a blog, a book, a video, music or any other creation; there is an element of the creator that must be present. The creator is putting themselves ‘out there’ and, in my experience, most creators are hyper critical of themselves. Before clicking the ‘publish’ button, their work has been through many different versions. Potentially starting in one place and thrown away and started completely over.
All this to say, it takes a special person to publish their work. It takes someone who can finally put the pen down and say, ‘good enough’ to publish. (I will say I am fortunate. After I write my blogs I can easily go back and update them. This isn’t something most creators are able to do.)
It takes COURAGE to create. Even being able to believe in oneself enough to sit down and start creating. It takes courage. Once the work is ‘good enough’, it takes courage to put it out there. Knowing there may be mistakes here and there or something you’ve looked at or reviewed so many times you’ve missed something obvious. It takes courage to truly listen to feedback and shift. And, it takes courage to stay TRUE to yourself instead of chasing the mainstream (what in the 90’s we used to call selling out).
The last thing I’ll mention here is that any type of creation is a process. I am fortunate to have so many creative people in my life, some with Etsy Stores (DesignatedGrapes), some who create music (VH x RR), some who create YouTubes and many more! No matter the type of content, or the overall vibe, the courage to create and keep going MUST be present. Some days it feels so simple and easy and some days it seems silly to keep going. It is all apart of the process, being true to yourself and continuing on until it isn’t fun anymore.
For those that read this and aren’t creators – keep your creator friends in mind. When you think something good, tell them. Even if the style isn’t something you are naturally drawn to, it helps to know you are supportive.
A dear friend and role model, Kelly Walk has completed a number of books. Soon I will be interviewing her on my blog about her book, “Memoirs of an Invisible Child.” Deeply personal and extremely hopeful, this book is an account of her life as a child.
A positive and euphoric dive into the topic discussed in today’s blog from a psychologist’s perspective. Rollo May writes:
“That’s why I say the courage to create. Creation does not come out of simply what you’re born with. That must be united with your courage, both of which cause anxiety, but also great joy.”
Before we get started with today’s post: yes, I’m an extrovert :). I can also be a little extra. And lastly, in the past 15 years, I’ve never met a stranger 🙂 Let’s GOOOOO Have you seen the famous quote by Maya Angelou: People will {read more}