The Declaration of You! Find Meaning in Success.

 I am excited and proud to write another blog post for The Declaration of You! BlogLovin' tour. I wrote this post in honor of Michelle Ward and Jessica Swift who were able to successfully give me a kick in the butt a few years ago with the amazing Declaration of You e-course. Now they have written and illustrated this amazing brand new book based on their life changing course. Thanks Michelle & Jessica, your success inspires mine!

This week's topic? Success.

The big question...What does success mean to you? I have been fighting with this question since I quit my dead end job three years ago. Was I more "successful" then when I had a pretty good salary and benefits but was miserable or now when I am barely scrapping by money wise but get really excited about what I am doing and hope to do in the future? I know what my heart feels about my success, I'm happier with my career now than ever before. Of course, society (and my dad) thinks I am a bit nuts. I've been trying to ignore them.

The truth is I always wanted to be a artist. I can't remember ever wanted to do anything else. I started painting when I was 12 an I never turned back. Subconsciously, I suppose, I designed my life/career with doing illustration in the back of my head. But some times years went by and I just worked and hardly made any dent as an artist.  My day jobs were alright, I tried to surround myself in the arts working in galleries and museums but they weren't really the types of jobs that pushed me up the ladder of creative success.

Finding my own ladder of success to climb...

Now I'm building out my own ladder of success, one little step at a time. It is not always easy and I think my ladder is a bit wonky but it still works. I'm trying to figure it out for myself. That's the freedom of working for yourself. As for success and stable income, I'm going to get there eventually, it might just take some time. You know, what one of my favorite truths about business and success, sometimes it takes years for success to happen. We live in a world where we expect things to happen so quickly, sometimes they don't, and that's OK. I'm not planning on giving up just yet, are you?

I must also say, I've been so lucky in my life, that I have been able to take the opportunities to work on this crazy dream of mine. I am also so thankful for an amazing husband that has been helping me out while I build this new world for myself. Damon you are the best!

 Day to day, it has been very hard road. There are days when I want to quit and just start looking for a more stable job. But I always go back and think maybe this one thing, this one thing I do today, that right person may notice. I just can't stop believing that this illustration thing will just happen. Am I crazy?

Here's a few of the rules that have made my strive for success easier:

1. The more I try things the more the Universe seems to open up. Learn to say yes to the world.
2. Surround yourself with positive people that support you and your work.
3. Find your art heroes. Try to understand how they do what they do.
4. Allow yourself to get a bit obsessed by what you love. It allows you to magically create new ideas.
5. Get out of the house! Like a lot of creative folks, I work from home, and sometimes you just need to move around, maybe even talk to a few people to get the ideas flowing again. 

Hopefully some of these might help you out. I have to remind myself of my little rules sometimes but I'm learning new things everyday and taking chances. I'm also gaining much more confidence than I once had. Which as they say, confidence is key. It is so true. Confidence, a bit of talent, some hard work and a splash of good luck, and we can move mountains...

Oh, Ms. Success, we are so close to being friends. We just need to get to know each other a bit better. I could make you laugh, I could make you cry...and you can teach me about money. We could be good friends...BFF's. Just give me a chance.

As, I said earlier, I highly recommend checking out, "The Declaration of You" book. It will help you find your way to success. I helped me find my path. As for my own success, in the last few years, I finally opened my first Etsy shop, I am working on my first book and I even got in a gallery show or two. There is so much more is in the works too. Thank you all for being part of my journey. I wish you all much SUCCESS!

A few questions for you all: What are you doing to get closer to success? What is holding you back from feeling successful? Do really believe that your creative dreams are possible or just dreams? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.