Motivation Monday

Use Your Wisdom

Wisdom is the ability to use experiences to gain perspective.

We all have unique experiences.

The trick is to use the knowledge we gain from it:

to see the relationship between things.

Allow yourself to use your experiences.

Now Is the Time by Patrick Lindsay

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Music Break

Music can calm the soul, and transport you into a peaceful frame of mind.

For a little me time this weekend, create a playlist of relaxing music. Play it when you need a break at home or out running errands to help you relax and enjoy what you are doing.

When creating your list be mindful of the songs you choose, organize the songs from fastest tempo to slowest, and consider starting with lyric songs and ending with classical. The natural progression will assist you in slowing down.

Play this list of music anytime you need a break, or to relax your mind. The more you do it, every time you choose that playlist your mind will automatically start to relax.

What is your favorite song to relax too?

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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.

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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?

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Motivation Monday

Make The First Move

Winners have plans.

Losers have excuses.

Take the initiative.

Set the guidelines.

If you wait for someone else to move...

you're playing by their rules.

Be Bold

The risks are higher.

But so are the rewards.

It's Never Too Late by Patrick Lindsay

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Your Etsy Shop Reinspired for the Holiday - Bonus Day Rework Your Space

Today's post is full of Inspiration for reworking your creative space to keep you organized and inspired.

Inspiring Spaces

Studio / Office Organization

DIY Organization Ideas

Organization screen

Mail Organizer 

Organizer 

Repurposed Organizer Ideas

Your creative space should reflect your personal style. You want to fill your space with things that inspire you and keep you motivated.

I hope these spaces and ideas got you thinking of ways to rework your studio/office space.

What kind of changes are you going to make to your creative space for the busy holiday season?

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Your Etsy Shop Reinspired for the Holidays - Day 5 Reinspired

It has been a full week of critiquing your Etsy shop and products, and creating an action plan. Today we're going to have a little fun as we look at adding holiday elements to our shop.

Etsy Shop Banners by BestBanners

There are simple ways you can add a holiday look to your online shop
• Create a holiday banner and avatar for your shop
• Purchase a holiday banner and avatar for your shop via the many talented artists on Etsy
• Add a holiday statement to your shop announcements
• Put a holiday message on your policies page
• Add a holiday statement in your message to buyers
• Don't forget your about page, a holiday messages will be a nice touch. You can even add holiday related photos.
• Add holiday elements to your photos, such as greenery, ornaments, or a mini tree.
• Offer Holiday packaging and Gift Certificates 

DIY instructions

During this time of year you do as much offline marketing for your business as you do with your online shop. Here are a few offline ideas to add a holiday touch to your business.

Offline ideas
• Do holiday themed packaging
• Add a holiday card
• Share a special treat (candy, samples, pens, buttons...)
• Decorate your packaging
If you do art/craft show
• Add holiday lights to your display
• Offer a special treat
• Decorate your booth to reflect the holidays
• Create holiday handouts with your Etsy shop info

Adding holiday touches is simple and really makes your shop stand out.

Christmas Tags by AcarrdianCards

Once your shop is all set for the holidays, it's time to start thinking about marketing. So I want to end the week with a few ideas to think about when creating your holiday marketing plan.

• Create a advertising plan - find blogs and websites you would like to advertise on and start contacting them for holiday rates.
• Get into Holiday Gift Guides - they are a great way to get your products out to a variety of people
Online Craft Fairs - check out the variety of sites that have online craft fairs during the holidays.
• Start promoting on your social networks - create a daily plan for posting on social networks.
• Plan your sales and special offers - if you plan ahead you can start marketing early.
• Start a Newsletter - to keep your customers informed about sales and promotions
• Pass out your business cards and promote your shop offline too.

Here is a short list of links to get you started on your holiday marketing plan.
Plan your holiday blog posts
Start a newsletter
Create a holiday ad campaign 
Considering advertising on Everyday Inspired - Special deal through the end of the year
Create a social media plan - where you want to post and start a list of ideas for posting
Plan your Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Want more holiday prep ideas for your Etsy shop, register for Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp starting October 7.

Christmas Tags by MarleyDesign

Now that our week is over and your Etsy shop is all ready for the holidays, I wish you one of your best holiday seasons ever! 

Tomorrow I have a bonus day post filled with ways to Rework your creative space. Lots of photos, ideas for organization, and a couple of DIY projects to inspire you.

What was your favorite part of Your Etsy Shop Reinspired for the Holidays?

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Your Etsy Shop Reinspired for the Holidays - Day 4 Refresh

It has been a busy week on Everyday Inspired.

You should have gone through your shop and listed all the relevant changes you want to make, took a serious look at your items, titles, descriptions, and tags, and got inspired by Lisa Jacobs from Energy shop as she shared some easy to do tips for getting your shop ready for the holidays. Today you should be ready to use all that information to create your plan.

The hard part of going through your shop is over, now it's time to set your priorities and action steps and get your shop ready for a busy holiday season.

Start by downloading and printing out as many objective (goals) forms that you will need.

Click here to download

Go through your lists and start listing the strategies you need to work on and then create a list of action steps for each items.

Try creating your list in the order you want to work on each item and give yourself dates of completion. Group like items together. So if you are working on your products, list everything you need to do related to your product listings.

Once you have everything you need to work on listed, download and print out a to-do list so you can create a daily plan.

Click here to download

Work on your shop in large chunks of time. You don't want it becoming a chore, you want want it to be a quick and easy process.

If you have any challenges on a specific area of your shop go back to Mondays post with ideas about your shop, or Tuesdays post for suggestions for your items, titles, descriptions, or tags.

Once you are done with all the updates and changes you want to make, you will be ready to re-inspire your shop for the holidays. Tomorrow is all about adding holiday elements and creating your marketing calendar. Now Get To Work!

Do you have a lot of changes you want to make to your Etsy shop?

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