Play/Work

After a heady weekend decision to start my own business, making up business cards and a name with excitement, and spending more than my husband probably realizes on supplies, I began to have second thoughts. Doubts crept in, and amidst the tumble of the Other Things Going On In My Life, it just seemed too intimidating.

Last night I was talking to my sister. She is an exceptional person. Since she has graduated high school, she has moved to four entirely new cities, on her own, and created a successful life for herself. Most recently she decided to move to New York to pursue her interest in design. Her talent was recognized in school, and now she is doing very important work for one of the biggest labels in the accessories design space. She dreams, she jumps, she flies.

My sister gave me a little pep talk, and as we talked, I felt again how excited I am about this idea. If it works, this business would allow me to spend my time doing what I love to do, and hopefully making some money at it. 

My sister helped me realize that I need to practice talking about what I do, what my product it, and what I'm selling, with confidence. If someone asks for something that is beyond my scope or scale, no worries, I just clarify exactly what it is I have to offer. 

I firmly believe that the thing we dream about, is the thing we should pursue. If I fall asleep at night with certain visions and ideas, and wake up excited to pursue them, that is what I should be doing.

I recently came across this fantastic piece by Peter Gray arguing that children need More Play, not more extracurriculars. He talks about how play is the way children's minds learn to solve problems, and if we withhold unstructured play time from children, we rob them of that necessary skill set that will later enable them to solve the world's problems. I'll write about it more later, I hope, but I was thinking about the concept in regards to myself.

It is important to do work that we find pleasure in. We grow as people when we engage our creative minds. I don't want to shy away from this opportunity because I am afraid of excel spreadsheets.

I spent the whole morning working on this little business of mine, and enjoyed every single moment. I'll reveal what it is soon, and I hope you'll think it is as fun as I do.

Comments

[Andromeda]

Yay for you! I can't wait to hear what you are doing!