I have been in a bit of a funk lately, so much on my plate and not a ton of time to get it all done and sometimes not even time to make a dent in anything. For my type A personality (that is wound a little too tightly), this has been a very difficult realization. Speaking of realization, I am realizing that this is my life right now and besides my beautiful little family and my friends, it’s not exactly how I had envisioned it. Part of this funk has been because of a heavy dose of comparison a.k.a the thief of joy. In the last six months I found out randomly that two of my former clients had become multi-millionaires-MULTI and that two of my former business partners have achieved that as well although one married into it so I am not counting that, too much, (I jest). My former assistant has surpassed me professionally and has gone above and beyond anything I could have dreamed of. What have all these people done that I have not? They FOCUSED. I am not a focuser I am a explorer, I am insatiably curious, I am a dabbler and I am infinitely interested in uhm, what seems like EVERYTHING. Michelle and I have made a concentrated effort lately on what we call the ‘F’ word (focus). It has not been easy, but guess what? When we have focused we have gotten a ton of ‘s’ done. Very gratifying for someone that likes to check things off her list! I’d love to hear from anyone that went from being freewheelin’ to focused and if that dramatically changed their lives or if you know of someone that did? So, what does this have to do with Yan Palmer?
I accidentally discovered Yan Palmer because our client, friend and all together awesome human Val Spring follows her. I started to read her Insta feed (yes, it’s so much more than just images) and got hooked. I then listened to this podcast and my heart soared. What I loved about it was her honesty, her unabashed ability to just be herself not worrying if she was going to be judged. I think a lot of people don’t take leaps not just because of potential failure but what others may think. Yan has created a life that she loves and she also shares via her workshops what she has learned, she is an open book. One of my very favorite things she said was, “Anyone can do what I do, I am not special, anyone can do anything if they really want to do it.” I know that may seem like it deserves an eye roll by some, but if you hear Yan say it, it actually feels like the truth and even better–a possibility. I am big on possibility, I am big on change, I am big on people (including myself) achieving their dreams. It is one of our biggest hopes around here, that you pursue your dreams, follow your heart and of course become wildly successful (and not forget us).
P.S. I am well aware that money isn’t the only barometer of success, but it is one gauge and after I started a family it has become a subject that seems to be in the forefront of my mind and how to make a living from what I love. It’s a life lesson I would love to impart to my daughter.
Miss Tristan B. is the co-creator of the world’s best + easiest product photography editing tool-Foto Rx | Shopkeeper’s Helper and the fastest way to clean + digitize your lettering and line art –Lettering Rx | Paper to pixel and one of the writer’s of this delightful blog. Her lofty goal here is to make this a creative resource repository to inspire you to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with your life.
I completely understand how you feel. I am a perpetual dabbler myself and have been as long as I can remember. However, I feel that it robs you of the opportunity to dive deeply into any one thing and really own any one activity and make it truly yours. It leaves you dissatisfied. I just finished reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown and I feel like my entire perspective has changed. You can still be a dabbler but by getting rid of all that is non-essential to your ultimate clear goal, you can truly focus (without too much pain) and enjoy the journey and ultimately end up to where you feel like your entire life is exactly where you wanted it to be….in time.
Sirisha, I am very happy that you chimed in, were honest AND left a book recommendation to boot! I will definitely take a look at the book. I am pretty determined to trying a new approach:)
I totally get it. In mY professional life , I am faced with the same dilemma. I angst about it frequently. But whichever way I choose, I give something up. So far each time I have debated this, I have decided I prefer the pleasures of exploration to the pleasures of focused mastery. There may come a time where my answer changes. But that day is not today :-)
Ah, yes, it is not easy, but it seems for me that I will need to make a decision if I want to have a modicum of success (and I really do!) What you wrote is what I am worried about not pursuing what I get excited about, how that will effect me, but since I haven’t really tried it any other way, I think I will at least give this focus thing a go and see where it takes me. Now my big dilemma is what to focus on exactly, hmmm? Some soul searching is in order…
This is my absolute favorite blog, so I hope you know people like me think you are absolutely amazing! But thank you for sharing your honest feelings – it is comforting to hear in a world where we usually only see other people’s highlights. I too struggle with focusing (I want to do every tutorial you’ve ever shared!), but this post had me sitting down this morning over breakfast crossing things off my list so I can do my absolute best with a just few things at a time. xo
Thank you Kate for your kind words, you are very talented! Michelle and I are blushing from the compliment;) From an outsider looking in, it looks like you have a focus and are excelling at it!
There is so much that I loved, appreciated, and related to in this post! I, too, lack focus, and am interested in EVERYTHING! I struggle with this part of myself sometimes, and then other times I find it easier to accept. I guess it just depends on where I am at the moment. One of my favorite parts of the post is when you said you were an explorer. I think that is an awesome way to look at this! Exploring sounds cool and fun and exciting! I’m going to start describing myself this way. Thank you for a new way to think about what I usually see as a problem. Also, I can’t wait for a quiet moment to listen to the podcast!