What If?

What If?

What if? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself almost daily these last few months since quarantine started back in March. Besides the health, financial, and economic implications this pandemic has many people facing, the forced isolation has also been forcing many of us to ask that question: What if? I posed the question on my Instagram feed several weeks ago and found that others were facing the same questions. 2020 has been full of twists and turns for all of us. But as an artist and creative entrepreneur,  the question has taken on a life of it’s own, causing me to question my entire creative practice, my offerings, and how I want to show up in the world as a creative. 

With all of this extra time on our hands so many of us have fallen down the social media black hole(myself included). We look to others for inspiration on everything under the sun from how we decorate our homes,the meals we cook, to how we run our creative businesses. I found so many other artists and creative entrepreneurs who churned out amazing work, new workshops, new classes, new memberships, etc. all designed to help other artists and creatives thrive in their practices and businesses. And don’t get me wrong, I am THRILLED for them! To be able to create new offerings to help others is a truly beautiful thing to see. To see the artistic community come together to help other artists and creatives who may be struggling in their practices offer ways to help and encourage is a blessing. I myself am part of a few communities just like this. The knowledge, inspiration, and feeling part of a community of other like minded people is priceless. And YET… I find myself surrounded and many times overwhelmed by so much knowledge at times. Everyone seems to be offering the best new workshop, class, formula on how to run a creative business. Everyone has THE BEST way to do something. And while that business model may work for them, and in fact, may work for many others. But what if it doesn’t work for YOU? What if you spend your hard earned money; or worse, you used up all of your priceless energy setting up your creative business that someone else told you (or guaranteed) would work. And maybe it does. For a little bit. But you still feel unfulfilled. Unsatisfied. Where does that leave you? Back to square one with maybe a little more knowledge on how to set up sales funnels.

But what if there is ANOTHER way? Now bare with me, it’s starting to sound like a sales pitch, right? Wrong. What if the other way was by NOT buying into someone else’s strategy and doing what someone else has done. What if there was a simpler way? Simple doesn’t equal easy so let’s be clear on that. We as humans make everything in life too hard and complicated- am I right?!  What if the way was to actually stop. Stop and listen to your own intuition. Your own inner voice.  What if you already have all of the answers you need? You just can’t hear yourself because your brain is so bogged down with the insistent noise and chatter you hear and see on a daily basis. In your news and social media feeds, while you browse the internet, the shows you watch.

What if you just trust yourself? What if it really is that simple? Yes, it helps to know how to use the latest technology to help spread the word about your amazing new art work, ceramic piece, new furniture design, latest design print available, latest skillshare class, ________ (fill in your blank). What if the answer you have been looking for all of these years already lives inside. You already know what to do, you just have to learn to trust yourself. I know, it’s a strange concept. We are so conditioned in society to turn to others for the answer. And many times, we can get wonderful advice from others. Many times in order to learn a new skill or new trade, we HAVE to turn to others to get the answers, to gain the knowledge.

But at some point, we have to learn to trust and listen to ourselves.  

So my advice to you creative- is to gain the knowledge you need and then learn to let go. Let go, be free, and learn to trust yourself. Listen to your own inner guidance system for your next move. Learn to trust your gut; trust the feelings you get from new opportunities that come to you on a daily basis. Do you really need to learn a new sales funnel or to set up another email sequence? What if what you really needed to do was to stop and listen to what your inner artist/creative needed. What if what you really needed was rest? To read that book that’s been sitting on your nightstand for months (guilty!) or to take a walk in nature. What if you really need to connect more to your existing audience rather than create a new opt in hoping it will bring in more followers?

What if you STOPPED forcing and STARTED allowing? What if you stopped HUSTLING, STRIVING, GRINDING it out day after day on tasks that don’t make you happy, don’t light you up, and honestly?- you don’t REALLY want to be doing them in the first place. You’d rather be painting, or sitting at the potter's wheel, or carving wood, or designing your next collection, or dancing. But here you are forcing this task that you are only doing because SOMEONE ELSE TOLD YOU YOU SHOULD. 

So just stop. Stop doing what others tell you is the next ‘it’ marketing thing. 

Stop doing what others tell you you SHOULD be doing.

Stop trying to figure out the ‘how’ and start doing what you love. 

Start doing things because you are EXCITED to do them. Because, you know what? If you are excited to do something, then you will bring that excitement to your audience. They will feel that energy radiating off you, and that will make them excited. And when you get excited about something the ‘how’ will naturally fall into place. Rest when you need to. Work when you are inspired to.  

If you are forcing something, ask yourself: What if I didn’t do this? What would happen? 

Depending on your answer, you may be able to trash the task and move on to something you’d rather be doing. Something that may push your business even further than you ever imagined. Why? Because you listened to your inner voice, your gut, your intuition, your inner guidance system.  The energy behind doing something you are excited about will show through and will always payoff.  

So stop listening to others on what you should be doing, and start listening to yourself.

What a radical act of rebellion it can be to listen to yourself

*Art can be found in the Digital Download shop under My Mantra. $1 per download, for personal use only. Click HERE to download.