Switching gears = getting in the flow
My goal this year has been to take the year off from doing art fairs, and I'm secretly loving it. I've become more rooted and connected in my community of Nevada City. Faces are looking familiar; I've joined a lot of groups and consistently show up since I'm almost always in town. But you know what? A part of me feels left behind by the pack. All my fellow artists and clients are out there at art fairs, having fun, holding hands and skipping while I sit back feeling alone, completely forgetting about how my body was being abused by the travels, my mind slowly cracking over various stressful aspects -- one of which was hiding that stress from myself and everyone else.
In my studio I started feeling a bit isolated and less motivated since art fair demands aren't cracking that whip to make more, more, more. So I spent time thinking about how I want to feel. And then wondering how I could make that happen. The words that came to me were that I wanted to feel part of a team, where my efforts were contributing to a larger goal and we were creating momentum together. I put that message out to the universe, and you wouldn't believe the opportunities that came my way!
So, yes, I'm switching gears for a few months or as long as the switch isall around awesome! Yes, I'm still making jewelry & selling it (youcan order directly from my kathyfrey.comwebsite), working on my Beautiful Decay artist challenge, and finishingsome sculptures going to Singapore... and I'm also working part timewith Shawn Tuttle, Chief Navigator at The Natural Professional. It's a full plate (and I only shared part of it ;), which is making me happy as I head into Fall and hibernation time.
I'm sharing this with you now because, aside from supporting Shawn directly, I've benefitted from her consultations and classes over the last 2 years. I'm super excited because there's a 5 week class series starting October 1 called Walk Tall: How to Reign your Office like a Queen. Sweet!
I've experienced snippets of her mindset-shifting practices, implemented a few (that have been a game changer for me), and now I'm really ready to reign over my office. Did I tell you that I'm typing this in my dining room because my studio is so crazy that I can't even work in there right now? That's not good... I don't want my studio bossing me around in that way... I'm ready to take charge.
Here's my testimonial that's prompting me to take this 5-week class series (which is a bargain!).... last week I took her Annihilate Email Agony course, and my Inbox has 3 messages in it right now (and I know what to do with all 3 of them). More important than numbers is that I don't feel bullied by my email anymore... it's become a much more powerful tool that I feel confident to use rather than terrified to approach because somebody might need something from me right now while I'm working. She has tons of tips for time management as well. Here's just 1 blog post she has written on the subject of email.
Anyway, I don't mean this to sound like a sales pitch... I'm excited to take the classes and feel more on top of things (all while getting organized) before the holidays hit full force. I hope you'll join me... we can be accountability buddies if you want! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
A little aside here, I just hopped over to The Natural Professional to grab a link for you so you could meet Shawn and hear her talk about Walk Tall in her fun video... and lookie what I found! Our story right on her blog. Right while I'm writing this very post. Remember, I'm helping her with marketing... that means she kept this post a secret from me and now I'm all weepy happy and have chills about synchronicity. Thanks for being here to share that with me :,)