Work hard and watch it happen

Today I launched a dream... the beginning of my kickstarter.com campaign to support and fund our PaintonCanvas Project. The first time I exchanged emails with my paint kit supplier was about a year ago. You can basically say that this is a dream that is a year old and is just starting to come alive.

The reality behind today is hundreds and hundreds of emails and photos exchanged back and forth between me and my supplier. The reality behind the video is countless hours contributed mostly by my video creator Gregg and a few days of repeating what I wanted to convey in the video over, and over again.

I can honestly say it was a lot of work. I invested time (mostly at night because of the time change difference in communicating with my supplier), money (I had to purposely make efforts to get the money together to begin the process) and emotions (excitement, stress, happiness, and exhaustion!)

The truth is- it was a lot of hard work. The conclusion is- work hard and watch it happen.

It's your boat...

I often find myself telling people "whatever floats your boat" as a response to a choice they have to make. Many times it is at my art studio, where apprehensive guests are asking questions about their paintings and I say "whatever floats your boat" as a care free way to lead them to make a decision based on what they like or want of their painting.

While listening to Dwayne Dyer's audio seminars I heard him mention how he uses a boat to relate to his teachings. He used the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as a metaphor of how we should live our lives. The boat is our own, and symbolizes our life. The rowing is the work we put into our lives and goals. The song states to row your boat "gently" which encourages us to go be gentle and kind to ourselves and to others as we "row" through life, and finally, the direction you are going with your boat should be "down the stream", rather than against the current.

The most important thing that stuck with me about this metaphor is that Dwayne Dyer emphasizes that fact that you should row YOUR boat- not mine, not anybody else's, but yours. Wouldn't life be so easy if we all just worried about our own boats? Wouldn't be be fabulous if we all took responsibility and ownership of the direction and pace that our boat was going in? Ultimately, it is your boat, and if this boat sinks, floats, moves, gets through the storm, sails beautiful oceans or stays in anchored in one place it is YOUR decision.

Who did it?

I am responsible for my actions and my reactions to other's actions. Basically, when it comes to how things affect you and how you live your life, you are truly the boss. Any emotional or behavioral reaction that you make is ultimately your responsibility, no one else's. We tend to blame circumstances and people for our successes and troubles, when really, we are the ones that created the outcome.

There will always be environmental factors that will prompt you to react in a negative or positive manner- those can be family, friends, coworkers, the weather or your health. It is up to you entirely how you will receive the environmental factor and how it will affect your behavior.

Next time something negative happens that would normally ruin your complete day, change your reaction. Take whatever happened, think about it for a few minutes and figure out what you could have done differently to avoid the situation or make it better.

Once you take responsibility for your contribution to the negative event, turn it around into a positive and go about the rest of your day as if you had accomplished something. You are the boss of what you do, what you say, and how you react to other people's behavior- no one else.

Get off your comfy couch!

We all know that change is good. Change is also scary. Putting yourself out there to change habits, reach goals or achieve anything can be very scary. The truth is that we don't really succeed or change until we put ourselves out of our own comfort zone.

The reason why we are comfortable where are is because it comes easy to us to follow the same behavior patterns we've already developed.

What is it going to take for you to change that habit or achieve that goal that your heart desires? It is going to take you feeling uncomfortable and doing things different for a while until you achieve your desired outcome.

Imagine that right now you are sitting on your favorite couch, in your favorite spot, that you've sat in for X amount of years (your age) and all of a sudden you have to stand up and sit on the floor for a while. The first thing you'd probably do is say "heck no!, I'm not sitting on the floor", or you might sit on the floor for a while and then get back up and sit on the comfy spot again.

If you want to truly change and achieve, you have to sit on the hard, not so comfy floor until that floor becomes your norm.

Try on their pair of shoes...

The other day I was helping one of my clients on job searching and finding creative ways to supplement his income. His disability doesn't allow him to concentrate or maintain focus for a long time. He always comes up with really interesting topics and asks random questions while we are working together. Our conversation that afternoon went a little like this...

Client- I have a question and it is a random question.
Me- Ok, What is it?
Client- You know how in the cartoon Scooby Doo they are going after ghosts and everyone is scared of the ghosts?
Me- Yes
Client- Well I always wonder why no one makes a big deal about a talking dog!
Me- You're right, that is funny.

Then he goes on to say what truly stood out to me as an interesting observation coming from someone who is probably judged and viewed differently by people around him.

Client- I mean, I just would love to see an episode where the ghost screams back at the dog and says "Ahhhhhh! A talking dog!"

See, the truth is that everyone perceives their surroundings differently. What seems normal and sound to one person could be completely absurd to another. We should, at least, try to imagine what other people are going through that are causing their actions. It can be hard, and we are all guilty of passing judgements, but the next time we are presented with an opportunity to judge a person's actions or behavior, let's try to wear their shoes for a minute and perceive the world from where they're standing.

Today is the day...

I've had a few aspiring entrepreneurs ask me about how to get going with their business. There is a long list of things to be done including business licenses, ordering supplies, marketing, etc. This, of course, is a concept that can be applied to anything in life that you are trying to achieve whether it be school, personal, or work related goals.

When and where do you start? The answer is... You start today with the first thing you can think of! Start somewhere. There is not defined order as to how we should go about achieving our goals. Some things do come before others, but they won't come unless you start doing something today.

When I started Corks & Colors Studio I started looking at wholesale suppliers of the materials I needed. I would email myself the link to their website when I found a good one so I would have it saved. Then, one day I googled "classroom space, Gainesville, FL" and one of the search results was the Santa Fe CIED, which later became our location to teach classes out of. I had decided that I would find a place that would rent space to me per hour and then I would have 1 class, and I would schedule subsequent classes based on the results of my first class. In fact, when I had my first class I didn't have a date picked out for the next class. I was literally taking it one step at a time.


At that time, thinking of having the money to pay for a retail space was beyond what I could afford and I just decided that I would start somewhere, have a class, and make bigger decisions after that.

The next month we had 2 classes. The next month we had 4. Now we have 16 classes scheduled per month, not counting private parties. We don't always get a huge crowd for every single class, but that is just part of the process of being a growing business.

Start somewhere and anywhere. Everything else will fall into place.

Be kind to yourselves

When I stand in front of a group of our guests before we start a class I see a bunch of of eager, nervous, excited and apprehensive faces. Some of our guests have painted at our studio before, and some haven't painted since kindergarten- so we've got a mix of all comfort levels possible.

I like to say "be kind to yourselves, be kind to your friends, be kind to your paintings" before we begin each class. Some of our guests look at eachother funny as I say this, but there is a lot of simple truth to what I'm asking them to do. Doing something new is unkown territory, and we tend to be critical of ourselves. The worst part is when we use the negative energy and hurt people around us because of our own insecurities.

We can be so mean about the things we are doing. We are literally mean to ourselves. This sounds funny but it is true! Shouldn't we be our own #1 fans? Shouldn't we think that we are capable of doing beautiful things without having to depend on others to think this for us?

In the audio seminar "Born to Win" by Zig Ziglar,he asks the audience how many people would trade losing the ability to use their legs for 1 million dollars.

No one, in their right mind, would choose money over the ability to use their body. He uses this example to show self worth and explains that already we are worth 1 million dollars because we've placed that value on our legs.

So, next time you do something new, give yourself a break and be kind to yourself. You're already worth a million bucks just on your legs! Imagine your Retail Price if you start seeing value in all of the pieces that are part of you. You're a pricey item!

Have a little faith...

What would we do if we didn't believe in something greater than us? I would have probably lost my mind by now. Having faith has allowed me to get through the most difficult moments of my life. I'm not sure that it really matters who you believe in or what you call your faith, but just have a little faith.

There have been times when I have completely poured out my heart to God and just knowing that I believe in something higher, something greater and divine, gives me a sense of peace beyond words. The idea that you are not doing this alone, and that through struggles and happiness you can give a "thank you" or a "help me" allows for a sense of fluidness to your life.

You don't have to handle it all on your own, you've got faith that someone or something is watching out for you. In a way, it brings in a sense of responsibility for your behavior. Call it Karma or blessings, there are consequences to your thoughts and actions, and having faith puts these into perspective.

Be a Suncatcher

According to wikipedia,the definition is: A suncatcher or light catcher is a small, reflective glass or mother of pearl piece that is hung indoors, so that it "catches the light" from a nearby source, usually hung at windows.

It is meant to catch the light around it, and it is see-through, although it usually has a certain shape or colors that make it beautiful and unique. The light intensifies the colors the sun-catcher already has.

A lot of us are not see-through. We've got colors and unique qualities about us, but we block the light from shining through us because we are afraid to show "our true colors." By doing so, you are literally blocking your beauty from shinning through. It is absolutely, positively, and definitely hard to show who you truly are and show your weaknesses at times. Mainly because of appearances, we don't want people to see how quirky, silly, or scatterbrained we really are.

Personally, it is really hard for me to hide the above mentioned qualities about myself. In most places, being quirky or scatterbrained, free spirited or somewhat hippie would probably not be the way to go, but I honestly can't help but do silly things.

I chose to let the sun shine right through me when just a few weeks ago I wore flip flops to work (to my day job working as a job coach)- I wore dress pants, make up and the full on work day deal, but I forgot to change my shoes and wore flip flops. The first thing I did was tell someone when I got to work. It took all the weight off my shoulders of feeling like I had messed up. It wasn't a secret, so I could laught about it. This isn't the first time I wear different shoes, by the way- the problem dates back to when I was in first grade and I literally wore two different shoes that day.

Not to mention the wall that got taken down from my studio to open up some space. The wall had light switches for the two corner lights in my studio. I was so excited to open up the space that I didn't think to tell the guys working on it that we needed to re-wire the lights. I didn't even think about the lights or light switches. So, we have a dark corner in our studio and everytime I think about it I just want to laugh at myself for being so scatter brained.

But here's the catch- if I were not the scatterbrained, free spirited, henna tattooish kinda girl that I know I am, I wouldn't own an art studio that welcomes quirkiness, silliness, free spirits and uplifiting to our guests. I've let the sun shine through my colors, and I like them.

Not so perfect

I've stood in line at the grocery store and I've seen what seem to be close to physically perfect beings with the most organized shopping carts, organized wallets, and super healthy foods in their carts. As I stand there, with receipts falling out as I grab my debit card, rainy day frizzy hair, and frozen pizza flowing out of my cart I reconsider my thoughts and think-

Nobody's Perfect. It doesn't matter how put together someone might seem, we all have times when we are seriously on the verge of losing our minds. We don't all look our best every day, we don't all make the best decisions every day, and we don't all have it together every day.

I've had days when I get home, cook dinner, get my girls ready for bed and I literally want to collapse right after and I've asked my honey "is this really what is supposed to happen or are we the only ones that do this every night?" And, the reality is, that EVERYONE has those days.

Fight your battles

Everyone, at almost every instant of their lives, has a battle. It could be a situation at work, a sour relationship with a family member, overwhelming debts, or illness. Battles are common, and you can almost consider them a given.

No one said anything would be easy. It could be that everything else in your life is awesomely amazing, but that one battle stays standing. It just so happens that there are resources around you, at your reach, for you to fight your battles. Consider them your weapons. For an illness, your weapon is your medicine or some sort of spiritual healing. For debts, your weapon could is money. For difficulties at work and for sour relationships your weapons are communication, patience and acceptance. If you take a second to think about your battles, and then think further as to what the solution would be and what resources you have at your reach to use to fight these battles, you'll find a clarity that will bring you peace.

Go ahead and fight your battles. Strap your ammo on and go head to head with the things that are bugging you- but, do it with peace in your heart. Use the weapons that life has given you to deal with these situations.

Everyone has them, but not everyone fights them. Don't let them get the best of you, or allow them to interfere with your awesomely amazing life.