The Worst Mistake is Being Too Afraid to Make One

OK so now I'm going to spill some of the beans and let you guys in on a little secret of excitement I mentioned this morning on FB. 


As many of you know I recently took a webinar by the wonderful Michelle Ward - the When I Grow Up Coach about my Effective Escape (AKA effectively preparing to leave the lifestyle I have now to follow my real dreams of running Innov8ive Knits full time). Having a solid plan gave me some serious courage! The courage to do a lot of things I would have never imagined I could do!


One of the things I've recently gotten the juice to do is spread the Innov8ive Knits love BEYOND Etsy. I am officially starting to apply for local craft shows right here in southern Alabama!!! A goal of mine this year is to participate in at LEAST one craft/art fair although 2-3 would be even better. It all depends on how the cookie crumbles, and who accepts my applications. I've never done one before and am filled with enthusiasm (and a healthy helping of fear to be honest) about it!

Little Chunk of My Application

 To subdue the fears I will say that my Etsy community and close friends have been beyond words helpful and encouraging about it. More so than I ever expected and it has given me the much appreciated ammo that I needed to go through with it. No one likes being told "No" which is definitely a possibility, but "the worst mistake is being too afraid to make one" (That's not my quote BTW I found it floating around online so I'm officially not taking credit for it LOL) and I'm not going to let that hold me and my blossoming business back. 


I'm cramming for application deadlines as I type because the season is fast approaching. And if accepted (fingers mucho crossed) I'll have to start knitting in my sleep in addition of just before I go to work, when I get off, on my lunch break, and in my car before work starts haha! I'm not announcing which ones I'm applying for yet because I have a couple on the table but I will of course make a humongo announcement if/when I get accepted. I'd love the chance to really put my stuff out there here locally where people can see & touch my hard work; meet customers face to face; and get some real time feedback.


Well there she is- my special surprise. The possibility of great new things, a leap of faith, and hopes that I hear back from good prospects. Here's to sucking it up and going for the gold! Keep your prayers, hopes, wishes, and all other good juju flowing my way through this new adventure. There's so much to learn and so much work to be done if it's going to be a success! On that note I better get to it! ;-)

I Do It For Me

Last week has personally been a long and hard week between everything that life has to throw. I came through thanks to a great class held by Michelle Ward the "When I Grow Up Coach" about an Effective Escape to my dream ~ taking Innov8ive Knits as a full-time job. It couldn't have come to me at a better time! This is her website: www.whenIgrowUpCoach.com. She holds classes, writes helpful blogs and does all things amazing. I follow her religiously and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.


I'll share more about my new found Escapee goals but I wanted to give her a special shout out for being so "AMAZEBALLS" as she would say and putting a light at the end of the tunnel. Life doesn't have to be all about  8-5 desk jockeying if you don't want it to. 


One thing that I have decided to do as a result is wake up in the mornings for me. So now instead of getting up, getting dressed and going to work for someone else, I'm getting up earlier, getting dressed and doing whatever the heck I want until I go to work. Whether that be knit, blog, yoga, or catch up on some TiVo I start the day knowing that I started it for myself and no one else.  You may not be a morning person like I am but when you roll out of bed knowing good and well that you're doing it just because YOU want to and not because you have to does a world of difference to your attitude. 


It's been a wonderful, healthy change that I've made just last week. It has improved my morning, it's improved my self esteem, it's improved my entire day. 


If you have too much on your plate and dread the day or wake up with a sad face because you don't want to hit the daily grind this makes a huge difference and you should definitely try it.


Go visit my mentor!! :) Trust me you'll love her! www.WhenIGrowUpCoach.com

Inspiration Spreads Like Wildfire ~ "There's Always Room" for Michelle Ward

http://whenigrowupcoach.com/



Welcome to the second portion of "Inspiration Spreads Like Wildfire" !! This article is going to focus on someone who inspires me, rocks the house, and is full of wonderful information for newbie business starters like myself (and maybe you too)!

When I decided to open up my own Etsy store, I signed up for their helpful newsletter. In one of these newsletters they did an interview with one of my newest favorite people and bloggers Michelle Ward. She's a certified life coach with a pretty cool background. She originally started her carreer with a major in musical theater from NYU. She even made an appearance on "Saturday Night Live"! After realizing that's not what she wanted anymore, re-invented herself to become what her heart desired - to be a life coach. Read more of her story HERE!

 Not only is she a life coach, she coaches people through figuring out what they want to do when they "grow up". Now I'm 23 and consider myself pretty "grown up", but that's the point! I'm 23 and totally not doing what I wanted to do when I grow up(or wasn't until now at least).

Watching that interview and reading her blog has set a fire of "I THINK I CAN" under my hiney and has gotten me more organized and confident in my business. In fact her post There's Always Room (seriously for real read this if you are considering doing your own thing. It's my FAVORITE) inspired me to write the first edition of Inspiration Spreads Like Wildfire. Not only did I start that, but found it so wonderful I have turned it into a series! It will come out periodically to share what or who inspires me. This girl is where is starts my friends.

If you are interested in truly finding or doing what you want to do when you grow up, Michelle should be your second hand lady! Her words are fresh (like who says "Amazeballs"), and seasoned (she has experience and is licensed in coaching people like us). Also, every post that I have read since I've began to follow her has been interesting and/or informative. There are no dud posts with this one.

It's so incredible how a total stranger can change your outlook, attitude, or life just by a few posts. She certainly has done that for me and I highly encourage you to check her out; Let her Inspiration Spread Like Wildfire to your neck of the woods. You may be surprised what you find out about yourself, what you want, and unleash what you are totally capable of!