The inability of connecting to the Internet the last week has been a great opportunity first to create without distractions but also at the same time appreciate the progress of technology that allows all of us to be connected.
As my time here in Portugal has come to an end, I felt the need to reflect and kind of making a point of where this journey has taken me so far and what has been achieved.
Although my initial intention was to re-connect with my creativity by painting on T-Shirts and learn to sell them online, I did not have a real plan or any throughout knowledge on how anything really worked. But like the cobweb of the internet works, I would be jumping from Google search to a blog than a podcast and another blog, discovering worlds, experiences, people, learn and most of all take the courage to ACT, APPLY what learned and become a participant, a giver and not only a receiver of knowledge.
I was going through a lot of stress and deep depression and my inner being kept filling my head with flashbacks of those days when I used to be only busy painting.
Thus a dream formed.
A single idea became the rope lifting me out of the hole. Thanks to the internet that idea became a possibility. I cannot thank enough all the people discovered through their blogs who have given me the courage, the push and the support I needed to transform that idea into ACTION and start the process.
To name a few that have been significant I would start from Pat Flynn , from where I discovered The Abundant Artist and Cory Huff, thanks to whom I learnt about WordPress and Zazzle and so many other things, Kerry Petsinger , her email would always pop up at the time when I was most fearful or doubtful, Erin Matlock about neuroscience and how to understand the brain and master your mind, Jessica Abel on how to manage your priority project and much more, Ash Ambirge and The Middle Finger Project, she really makes me laugh while giving such truthful and useful tips to build your confidence, so many great articles from James Clear , plus all the ones I follow here on WordPress and keep discovering more. Sometimes I wish I had more time to read, but I have learned to balance the pleasure of reading and learning with the joy of working on the projects which are taking most of the time at the moment. My heart really goes to each one of them, a mention is the least I can do to be grateful for their help, wishing one day I may be able to help them financially too.
But my heart also goes to you who are taking the time to read this post, wishing you enjoy it and maybe receive help in some way, it encourages me to continue to share this experience and become better at it.
So looking at my journey in the overall I have realized that up to now, everything has been working towards setting the pillars that will hold the base of that idea.
ENVIRONMENT, ORDER, SELF –MOTIVATION, LEARNING, SCHEDULE
First the realization of the importance of the environment as a fundamental part of achieving “the goal”, the hidden structure supporting the process. I have read recently an interesting article from James Clear through this link. The power of environment
An order is related to the environment but if it does not come naturally then it needs a little bit of effort on our part.
When I was much younger I thought I loved chaos as a way of rebellion. When I left my parents’ home and started living on my own, I was so happy I could do as I pleased and order was not much of a concern except when receiving visits. Eventually, I realized that in my job I was extremely organized and successful but my personal life was, in fact, a complete disaster.
Then you become a free rider and you think freedom to be is all that matters and that harmony and order will come by itself. You plunge in your creativity momentum giving it complete freedom but then when results are not as expected, you decide to leave, without understanding.
I have learnt about order when I started living in a motorhome. There were many places to keep things but if you did not follow an order and put those things where they belong every time, it could take you days to find it again or sometimes never. So order made life become easier. The mind could then be free to focus on creating than finding the tools with which to create, and unconsciously reflect such order in the work.
I found that just like in Nature, the elements present in such a space had to reflect a certain harmony between each other, sometimes you are not even conscious of what kind of harmony, things have to be like this for no other reason just because the mind works better that way. It is not for beauty but as a mirror for the mind to be reflected upon and follow through. The quality of the work that came out following this practice was completely different than anything I had done before, much easier and stress less.
The real understanding of our true motivation and the connection to our creativity. When we want to run our own business or make a living with our creativity, self-motivation is the only way forward as you do not have anyone else obliging you to do anything. You could just listen to that inner voice telling you to ignore it all and lie in bed or just do nothing because it is easier. But you have been there and you know where it took you. So you have to fight and ride the wave because it makes you feel good about yourself because, without it, your life is meaningless. And that moment of rest that you will eventually take will feel like paradise well earned.
Each action of creating a new design, every bit of painting is a joy in itself and I would not stop until I am in love with what I see, until what I am looking at produces a positive emotion in me. My wish is that when others see that creation they could also feel that same emotion, and when that has happened sometimes, the joy is expanded even further.
The importance of planning a schedule which works, it is fundamental for me. I could not at the beginning understand how I could limit my time to the creation of something. There were many projects that needed to be looked at and they were interconnected to each other.
Opening my virtual Zazzle Shop was linked to making the actual design, to take pictures and edit them and eventually make the products. That then needed to be known, so learning about social media and marketing. But each project needed time, and I could not understand how to restrict it. So I just decided to let it be and concentrate on the most important one each day. And a pattern emerged which could then be turned into a timetable.
If the schedule is clear I am much more productive as the mind is focused. If I have not set anything, then I will be working in a chaotic state when at the end of the day I would be exhausted but have really achieved very little.
The joy when you have followed the schedule to the letter and this has produced the result you wanted is indescribable. Another great lesson learned. It is like creating a path in the brain, that the more you walk through it, the easier and automatic it becomes. And the next time that little voice tells you to give up, that beautiful sensation of achievement is remembered and you want to continue and make it better. So what I have understood is to create the schedule according to one’s own rhythm, it is not imposed, it is a natural occurrence in line with ourselves, it becomes part of us and thus easy to follow because one step at the time, the mind associates it with joy and not with stress. It can tire you physically and that has a quick solution but you are a happy chap.
Wow, this has become a really long post, hope you have not got bored halfway!
SunFreeStar 