Make a Commitment to Yourself

We make commitments to our significant other, our family, and our community, but rarely to ourselves.

When we set our goals for the year we create a plan of the things we want to achieve, but sometimes we get off track and lose sight of what we wanted to accomplish.

We are only a couple of weeks away from half the year being finished. This is the perfect time to pull out the list of goals you wrote at the beginning of the year and do a 6 month review. 

If you have gotten off track, this is the perfect time to regroup and start the second half of the year with a bang.

One way to get motivated and inspired to stay on track is to write down what you want and make a commitment to yourself.

Making a commitment to oneself is the foundation of success.

Download this simple contract of commitment. Its easy to fill out, just add your name, list your goal / goals, your action steps, and steps you can take to overcome and obstacles, sign and date it and then hang it up so you see it everyday.

Click here to download a copy

Are you ready to make a commitment to the next 6 months? Then download the form fill it out and keep it close to your workspace for motivation and to inspire you to achieve all your goals this year!

Are you on track with your 2014 goals?

Make Everyday A Perfect Day

Want to get your day off to a good start?

Creating a habit of introspection as you rise in the morning will give you insight into the day you want to create.

Start by asking yourself these three questions before you get out of bed:

What will I accomplish today that will make me successful?

What incredible memories do I want to create today?

What three things can I focus on today to move me in the direction of my dream life?

Let the energy of the question guide you to having a successful day.


Not a morning person, then incorporate these three evening questions into your night time routine to inspire your morning planning. 

Overall, what worked for me today and what did not?

In what ways could I better spend my time tomorrow?

What will I apply more earnestly tomorrow no matter what?

These questions will give you an understanding of yourself and your working reality. 

Whether you do the morning or evening questions, asking yourself these questions will give you insight into your true self, helping you discover what you want and need for success in your business and personal life.

Try asking your question everyday for a week, if it feels right go another week, and then another, until it is a habit and a useful part of your planning and success.

Do you do any type of introspection during your day?

Are You the Problem?

When you are running your creative business you may face many challenges. Did you know many of the challenges in our business and life can be overcome by simply changing your thought process.

When a problem in your business or everyday life makes your day challenging, it's time to admit to yourself that sometimes you are the problem.

Accepting that you are the problem, and taking yourself outside of your circumstances suddenly gives you the power over the challenges you face.

I am not talking about you thinking you're a victim, but about you taking those problems and doing something about them.

Taking control!

This process is not about your feelings it's about using your creative brain to come up with solutions. It's as simple as assuming responsibility, owning the problem, and using your power to make it disappear quickly.

Next time you have a problem ask yourself these questions...

• If I were transported a year into the future, looking back, what would I advise myself to do?

• Now that you have assumed the responsibility of the problem what changes can you make?

Step away from the situation, use your head not your heart, and be honest.

Now Act!!

Do you assume the responsibility of the challenges in your creative business? 

What If...

Excuses, excuses, excuses, we all have them, and most of the time they are part of our daily activities.  

I am guilty of letting excuses stop me from growing, expanding, or experimenting. I commonly tell myself I will start that when this happens, or I will try that when I have more.... Whatever the excuse is they are holding me back from achieving my goals.

What if we lived our life with zero tolerance for excuses?

Try a whole day with no excuses. Go through your master plan and your to-do list and start working on your action steps not letting any excuse stop you from finishing your task. If it goes well one day, try another, and another, soon it will be a habit.

Think of the sense of accomplishment you will feel after your day of no excuses, not to mention being closer to your goal.

Are your excuses stopping you from reaching your goals?

Why You Should Have a Failure Resume

Failure is a word we hate to hear. When we don't  accomplish our goals, or our creations don't turn out as expected, we lose a little bit of confidence in our ability to do what we do best.

How would things be different if we thought of Failure as an Experiment full of Valuable information?

Failure does not have to be a negative word. You can learn so much from the things we see as failures.

I experiment all the time with new ways to embellish, add texture, and color to my hardware jewelry collection. I have hundreds of pieces that I considered failures, but I learned to use those failed ideas to come up with ways that will work.

I was recently reading about ways to re-think our mistakes and Tina Seeling an entrepreneur, professor, and neuroscientist, teaches a class at Stanford University on innovation. One of the things she asks all her students to do is to create a failure resume.

Create your own failure resume, just create a list all the things you screwed-up on in your business, academic life, and personal life. For each failure describe what you learned from the experience. Even if you think it was the worst experience ever, you still learned something.

Creating this list through the lens of failure forces you to come to terms with your mistake, and gives you a lot of data about what works and what doesn't.

Share one thing you learned from something that went wrong with your creative business.

Ask Yourself...

I shared a couple of weeks ago that I am going to spend this year dedicated to building my jewelry business. I am working on getting more sales in my Etsy shop, and building my wholesale and show business.

I made a commitment to myself that I am going to spend my time and my energy to do something everyday that will generate income. So that means I may list new items in my Etsy shop, post in social media, email stores, contact blogs for features, or research show opportunities. My goal is to do something that will increase my visibility and sales opportunities.

Have you decided on an area of your business that you are going to work on this year? if so ask yourself this question:

How do I choose to spend my time and my energy to achieve my goal?

Knowing the answer to that question will make planning your day a whole lot easier. When I do my to-do list I always keep in mind what can I do to generate income that day.

I have found on the day's that I actually make an effort I get sales. On the day's I don't nothing is generated.

Make a plan. Decide how you want to spend your time and energy on you business.

Are you doing something every day for your creative business to achieve your goal?

Do One Thing Really Well

As I shared with you last week January was very challenging for me and my business. I have not been as motivated as I would like and I have felt like I have so many things I want to do that I didn't know where to start.

I decided earlier this week that I am going to stop stressing over all the things I had planned to do and concentrate on doing one thing really well. 

So this year I am going to spend most of my working time building my jewelry business. This means I will work on my Etsy shop and create a plan to double my sales this year, work with more stores to build my wholesale business, and add a few more art shows to my schedule.

Now that I know where I want to spend most of my time I will start working on ways to really make things happen. Knowing what I really want to do has really helped with my motivation, and now I am more enthusiastic about working each day.

Is there one area of your business that you plan to concrete on this year?

Limitless Funds

I have been struggling with my business this month. I am finding it challenging to get my day started, get motivated to work on any of my projects, and investing the time needed to finish up my everyday work.

There are so many things in my business that I wish I did not have to do. If I could get up each day and do a little blogging, creative projects, and design jewelry, I would be one happy lady.

What if you had limitless funds, how would you change your business?

I know I would hire people to do all those things I don't really enjoy, such as accounting, social media updates, and general business projects. This will leave me time to do what I enjoy, and knowing that my business will still keep growing and profiting.

For now I just have to keep myself motivated and put in the time necessary for my business to grow. I have decided to use this idea as motivation to get myself back on track. Tomorrow is a new month and its time to put my plan into action!

What about you, what would you do for your business with limitless funds?

Motivation Monday

Think about 12 months from now.

What do you want to boast about then 

that you can start working on now?

Great Work Provocations by Michael Bungay Stanier

Why are Your Letting Self-Doubt Get in the Way?

Last week I told you that anything is possible if you Believe in yourself. This week we are going to take that one step further and commit to letting go of unhealthy attachments that are holding us back.

For years I never applied to juried shows because I kept telling myself that my photos were not good enough. All I did was take pictures and more pictures, then I realized that I was not getting into shows because I was not applying to any.

One day I just sent in my photos and got in a juried show.  Besides being trilled to be in the show, I finally let go of my unhealthy attachment of not believing in my photos. I kept on working on my photos, and they got better and better, but I also kept applying to shows and getting into most of the shows I applies too.

I realized I was what was holding myself back from my own success.

Are you getting in the way of your own success with self-doubt?

You can't move forward because of the unhealthy attachment to self-doubt, and your need to stay comfortable, safe, and in control. In some cases your attachments to your self-doubt get in the way of making good decisions.

Check our these three links for ideas and suggestions to help you let go of your self-doubt

20 Ways to Overcome Doubts
How to Let Go of Doubt
5 Ways To Overcome Self-Doubt

Once you are willing to let go, in my case the need for everything to be perfect, you will be able to do the things you always dreamed about.

Share this post with your social network.

Discover a New Talent

I have always enjoyed teaching. As an owner of an art school in my community I had the opportunity to teach kids and adults the fun of making jewelry and exploring their creativity.

Before I started teaching I would have never considered myself a teacher. I really surprised myself when I discovered teaching was really a natural part of who I am.


What talents do you have that you are dismissing?

As artists and creative business owners you already share your talents with your customers, but what other things have you wished you could do or thought about doing, but decide you were to busy or did not have the skill required. These are the things you should be exploring. Don't let limited time or skill hold you back from exploring new talents. 

Create a list of all the things you would like to do, even if they are not related to what you are doing right now. Then choose one of those items to explore this year.

With the start of the new year, it's the prefect time to add to your to-do list the steps necessary to incorporate a new project into your art and business.

Are you fully utilizing your talents?

Fear Can Be Your Friend

As artists fear is a common part of our creative process and business.

Some common fears we have:
thinking our things are not good enough
sharing our story
speaking in public 
reaching out to retail store
seeking wholesale ventures
networking
self promotion

The big thing we fear is having other people judging us personally and creatively, and the really big one, the fear of failure.

An easy way to get past those fears is to know that you are not the only one that feels that way. It is common emotion for most creatives. You just have to take a deep breath and go for it, regardless of the results after making the first step each step after that will get a little easier.

Fear can be your friend.

Use your fears to know that you are learning.  Exploring those new territories, even scary ones, make you more alert to growing and learning.

Fear is also a sign that what you are doing is important. The stuff that is important to you usually has some fear around it, because you care about how it turn out.

When you are in a situation that scares you, accept the fear, take a deep breath, recite a positive affirmation, and go for it!

Fear is part of our process as creative business owners. Don't let it stop you from trying new things and growing your business.

What scares you about growing your business?

Help someone in you social community get past their fear, share this post on your social networks.

How to Ask For What You Want

As working artists, asking people to buy our items is an important part of our business.

We have to ask customers to make a purchase, ask bloggers to feature our work, ask stores to sell our items, and ask for support from friends and family. With so much asking, we have to make sure that when we ask we get the results we want.

There are five ways you can do the asking and get results:

1. Ask Clearly
Be precise. Think clearly about your idea, and take the time to prepare your question or questions. Words are powerful, so you want to choose them carefully. This is important when you are selling online, because you have to ask your customers to buy with the words that you write.

2. Ask with Confidence
Don't hesitate or act uncertain when you are doing your ask. Ask your questions with boldness and confidence. Remember if you don't get the results you want, it's not about how you asked, maybe who you asked is not be the right person. So try again.

3. Ask Consistently
The more you ask the easier it will get, and the better your results will be. If you are trying to get into retail stores, don't give up. If one says no, go to the next store and ask them.

4. Ask Creatively
With so many people asking the same questions, you have to get creative to stand out in the crowd. Brainstorm some fun ideas for getting your customers, bloggers, or retail stores interested in your product.

5. Ask Sincerely
In some cases you may need to be real with people and tell it like it is, flaws and all. This can be challenging especially with family and friends, but you may need to ask for their help and you want to ask from the heart.

Asking for what we want may sound like a simple idea, but in some cases it may be scary, or even challenging. Use these steps to help you get the results you want, because the more you ask the more you will receive.

Do you find it challenging to ask for what you want in your business?

Share this post with your social community.

4 Keys to Achieving Greater Creativity

Inspiration and creativity are the key to creating art that inspires and excites your customers.

As we all know sometimes it can be a challenge to get and stay inspired all the time, so we can create our best work.

There are many ways to boost your creativity, many discussed here on  Everyday Inspired, but there are four creativity traits that you can adapt to help you create more and stay inspired.

Creativity requires...

Curiosity - Curiosity and creativity are never far apart. You need to be curious to identify problems worth solving, and then to come up with creative solutions.

Risk - Taking - True creativity requires risk. Creativity and risk are intertwined, and to create something you are passionate about and has meaning for you, you have to go outside of the box.

Energy - Energy is about the ability to make something happen. Energy directed into a creative endeavor causes something new, unseen, and different to come into existence.

Patience - Patience helps us find balance. To gain that balance you need to have the patience to fail, the patience to practice, and the patience to perfect.

Are these traits part of your creative process? What is your biggest struggle?

Cultivating these traits will make your creativity soar. Nothing will be able to stop you from becoming a creative powerhouse.

Share these creativity traits with your social network!

Do You Compare Yourself with Others?

Source

It is human nature to compare what we have to what other people have. We just feel better when we have more then someone else, and when we don't, we feel as if we not doing anything right.

I admit it, I compare my work to what other people are doing. I look at Etsy shops and wonder why do they have more sales, why do other blogs get more comments, how come other people get more responses to there social media post, then I do.

I do it more often then I would like, and it's a bad habit that is very hard to change, but one that I am starting to work on.

We compare ourselves to others to gauge our progress and to see where to set the bar in the first place.

There are some easy steps you can take to stop comparing ourselves and our businesses to others:

Recognize that you are comparing yourself and that it's a bad habit you need to change. Once you recognize you are doing it, you can quickly stop and move on. We are all different and do things differently so embrace you methods as the right way.

Realize everyone is different. We all have a way of doing things, and changing what feels comfortable to you to the way someone else is doing something will not give you good results. Don't change because someone said their way is better, always do what works for you.

Don't be afraid to be yourself. Embrace all your quirks and nuances and let them shine. You can never go wrong being an original.

Change what needs to change, because you want to change it. Never let anyone else's ideas dictate how you do things and what makes you comfortable. If it feels right and needs to change go for it, and always strive for the best.

Habits don't change overnight. 

Give yourself time, and 

don't give up.

I have gotten better at accepting the direction my business is going. When I see someone with better results then myself, I just look to see if there is something I can learn from them, and move on.

Comparing ourselves with others is natural. It's what you do once your realize you are doing it that is important.

Do you compare business to other creative businesses?

Share this post with your social media network!

Are Your Habits Holding You Back?

Do you have any bad habits?  You may not think you do but many of our habits and quirks are invisible to us.

Your habits and belief systems are a product of your environment and the people who influence you. If you spend a lot of time around negative people, being negative becomes part of who you are. Without knowing it some of your bad habits may be holding you back from reaching true success.  

The first thing to recognizing what habits are not benefiting you is to create a list of all the habits that keep you from being productive. 

It may take some time to compile but it will become helpful with your future planning. Until you clearly understand what's holding you back it's difficult to create more productive habits. 

I did this exercise, and I realized that I spent a lot of my day not being productive. Even though I always felt busy, I was not accomplishing everything I needed to complete. Several of the items on the list were easy to change, and these few changes have really made a difference in how I currently spend my day.

Creating this list will give you a strong foundation for improving, and it's the perfect project to do before the busy holiday season. Being able to make a few small changes will make you more productive and bring you more success.

Remember - Your outward behavior is the truth, whereas your inner perception of your behavior is often an illusion. -Jack Canfield

What's one bad habit you would like to change?

Share this post with your social network.

2 Questions to Inspire You to Keep Your Commitments

Earlier this year things were moving and shaking in my Etsy shop. I had my best first quarter ever this year and few good shows.

As summer progressed I realized that things in my Etsy shop had really slacked off. Sales for the last couple of months have been  a lot slower than usual.

I decided that this month I was going to have to make a commitment to my Etsy shop again, and let this month be the start to a successful holiday selling season.

Making a commitment to yourself is easy, it's the follow through that is the challenge. When we make a commitment to other we tend to keep those commitments so not to let anyone down.

To achieve that commitment you make to yourself requires a little more work, and you really need to look inside yourself to find the courage you need to move forward and achieve your goals.

Here are a couple of questions to get you thinking about how you are going to keep those commitments to yourself and your business.

What would you have to believe about yourself to set commitments and consistently realize them?
and
What thoughts would empower you to always fulfill your commitments?

Once you realize the answer to these questions you will have the unlimited power to achieve all the commitments you create for yourself.

Do you find it challenging to keep commitments to yourself?

This commitment has inspired me to research new ideas to generate some buzz around my Etsy shop, and I am excited to share some of them with you during the week of September 23 - 27 for Your Etsy Shop Reinspired for the Holidays.

If this post inspired you share with your social networks. Thanks!

Are You Ready for Big Changes in Your Business?

Life is full of changes. As we become more knowledgeable in our artistic ability and our business we want to make changes in how we do things.

Sometimes big things happen that require us to make changes quickly and boldly. These changes can be challenging, and push you out of your comfort zone.

Today I have 5 step that will help you deal with those big changes, so you can easily put them to action.

Small steps will get you there with greater success. Usually change does not happen all at once, luckily giving us a chance to figure things out. Instead of looking at everything you need to change, approach it focusing on several small steps. Going at it in this process will put you in a better frame of mind and as you take things in stride.

Don't go it alone. Change can feel isolating, and make the process even harder. Sharing with another person or a group can help you process the situation and not feel so alone. Next time you have something big to change, talk through the situation with someone you trust. Ask What if...? Why not...? What about this...? This will help prepare you for the big change.

Get out of your comfort zone, failure is OK. The hardest part about making big changes is that it take effort, persistence, and action. Failure is part of this process, but if you don't try getting out of your comfort zone then nothing will ever change. When you are in a place of uncertainty your pushed into problem solving mode, you see things from a different perspective, and that allow you to see new possibilities.

Start your small steps right away. It is easy to create your list of steps, but putting them into actions is what is going to help you make those changes part of your life. Even if things don't go your way, you just have to reevaluate and start again.

Learn to accept challenges that make change difficult. It may seem devastating to have to start over, but you will know what not to do the next time getting you one step closer to the changes you need to make. Little setbacks will build your confidence, and you will know that you can handle anything that comes your way.

It's the perfect time of year to put all those big plans into action, make all those big changes you have been thinking about, and prepare yourself for success.

Let's help each other, what is one big thing you have been putting off?

If your found this post useful please share via your social networks. Thanks!

What Do You Struggle With?

I am always full of big ideas. Well they are always big ideas in my head. 

I have so many things I want to do, and I am obsessed with new ways to make money.

I struggle with sticking with my plan and using my time productivly. I spend a lot of time making lists and creating plans, but I really need to work on follow through and time management.

That is what I am going to spend my summer working on.

What do you struggle with? 
Do you have any thing you want to work on this summer?

Money Talk

Making money, is the ultimate goal. We may be creating and selling our creations as a hobby for extra pocket money, or we may be working our business to support ourselves. Whatever the reason, we set monetary goals to inspire us to keep moving forward and making money.

I know for myself, I always set goals with a plan to have an increase over the previous year. Sometimes I make the number and sometimes I don't. I know if I did a few things differently, or worked a little harder I could do better at meeting my goals.

Ask yourself this:
What has been stopping me from meeting my monetary goals?

Making a list of what is holding you back is a great way to see the areas you need to work on, and what needs to change.

While you are working on this list, it's also the perfect time of year to look over your goals and make sure you are on track to make your monetary goals. That way if you need to make some changes, now is a great time. There is still a lot of time for adjustments, for you to meet your yearly goal.

When was the last time you thought about your monetary goals?