Day 104: Motivation Realization

Today, I got hit by a few awesome realizations after going for coffee with my old friend from high school, Ambar.  In fact those realizations have catapulted my idea of motivation into the next level.  Ambar and I sipped, reminisced, imagined and laughed.  We got into all sorts of topics and laughed some more.  Which wonderfully, led the central theme of our 3 hour long conversation into the idea of connecting our dreams to our levels of motivation.  

Motivation has kind of been the bane of my existence recently.  I know how much I have to do and what that work entails, and yet sometimes I still find myself stuck, and surfing Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and my email, relentlessly looking for some sort of distraction, because I’m afraid to get down to work.  On a very conscious level I know that I’m not doing myself any favours, and yet I still feel stuck and unable to stop myself from continuing.  

SUPER frustrating to say the least…

However (thank goodness), my conversation today, with my good friend did get me thinking about all of the progress that I’ve been making in my business and in my life and why it’s so important to remind myself of what I’m really working for.

And so without further ado, here are the two best parts of that conversation…

The first tidbit is that we all must at some point drill down until we hit the bedrock of our dreams.  This is the process through which you find out who you are, what you want and why you’re going for it.  A process also known as figuring your shit out.

Check.

I think that a lot of us post-grad kids go through this phase (and people of all ages regardless of schooling too.)  It’s because we’ve come out of an intense period of study and work and feel burned out and lost about where we want to take our knowledge and expertise.  I did.  I know Ambar is now.  And that’s really a great thing.  

Why? Well essentially, that phase gives you the opportunity to explore.  Through the process of exploration, you start to get experiences coming your way and you begin to feel a direction forming.  I know this last part to be true because I have been presented with so many new opportunities that I never would have been privy to had I not moved forward with my dream, Urban Minerals.

The second tidbit builds on the first.  Think about this for a second.  Imagine you’re standing in a huge library, surrounded by a bazillion books (yes, bazillion) and inside those bazillion books are the bazillion directions your life could go.  The process by which you come to self-realization and finding what you’re looking for, is by picking up one book after the other until you come across a title that piques your interest.  Once you pick up that book, and start to read it, and then start to wish that it would never end, well then you know you’ve hit gold.  And seeing as how you’re standing in a library, you might as well cross-reference that sh*t, because lord knows that if you have one interest, there’s always more where that came from.

Once you figure out what your path is in life (and legitimately it can take as long as you want it to) and have almost what one could consider a niche (especially in terms of starting your own business), then you can start to move towards making your dreams a reality.  This goes for start ups of all kinds and finding a job that really speaks to you and fulfills you.

Check.

But for me this is also where I’ve been getting tripped up recently. 

I think the reason why I’ve been feeling so unmotivated is because I have been spending so much time on Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest and email, just social media-ing up a storm and kind of neglecting the actual business side of things.  I have obviously come a far way, but as my boyfriend Jess pointed out to me, I get so caught up in the physicality of drilling down into what I want, ie. Focusing on the social media so much in this instance, that I tend to forget that I have a business and a product that needs producing.  Not a good feeling, but a legitimate one that I need to deal with.

But on the upside, I know that I am on the right track and that I am staying aware of what needs to get done albeit at a slow pace for right now. 

All of these ideas just go to show that in life sometimes it’s OK to take your time, to wait, to falter and to think you’re at your final destination only to be confronted with a new one.  I love looking at it in the context of a library because there really are a bazillion options out there, you just have to be ready and willing to look. Take your time out, look around, ride the ebbs and flows of motivation and then when your ready, come back to it on your A game.  No harm done.

So, with all of that in mind, is there anything that you can admit that is holding you back from feeling fully motivated?  Any realizations that you`ve had about your own motivation levels?  I would love to hear about it either here, on twitter or anywhere else your heart desires!

Day 61: Me, the Guinea Pig

Last night I attended a very fun wedding that had a wonderful party vibe to it.  There was tons of good food, drinks and dancing and everyone there seemed to be in great spirits.  It was also my first full test run day of my new foundation.

I will openly and gladly admit that I am my very own guinea pig.  This means that every time I mix a new foundation, or as is the process for now, remix one to perfect the formula, I am using myself as the model along the way.  By doing this, I can really go to the lengths needed to make sure that I am meeting my own high standards (and let’s just say I have SUPER high standards)

So with that in mind, I took my foundation out on the town.  And boy did we have a good time.  

So far, I am happy with the colour that I’ve mixed.  It meets all of my tan, summer tone needs which is great.  It looks flawless on, in both indoor and outdoor lighting, and under direct sunlight, which is pretty cool too.  

But there’s one problem.  It’s too shiny.

So far I’ve gone back and adjusted my original formula once to try and correct the shiny outcome and I think I may not have adjusted enough for it.  Paraphrasing from something I’ve said before, I do believe shine to be a no-no.  It makes no difference if the product is perfectly colour-matched if you can’t remove the shine from it, by using a blotting paper.  

So back to the drawing board I go.  I go in full acknowledgment that this is a great way to go about my process and I would like to correct my mistakes as much as possible, wherever I may find them.  Like all women, I want to feel beautiful too.

So here’s to another day off soon, to remix and work it out.  It’s not a failure, it’s just a greater opportunity for success!  (Don’t give up!)

Day 58: A Day Off to Work It Out!

I am so ready for my day off tomorrow.  After being on my feet and on the go for the past week, my day off will be devoted to what I love - Urban Minerals.  I can’t wait to get out my mixing equipment, rework my formula again, and try to make some more progress on my final product.  

The next steps, once I get my formula down pat, are to replicate it over and over in as many shades as I can fathom, with as many people as I can get to sit for me.  I want my product to be a reflection of who I am and how I do business, stylish and conscious with a dash of thoughtfulness and responsibility.  I also would like to start working on my repertoire because practice makes perfect and I find that the less time I give to Urban Minerals, the more my subconscious rebels and starts sending me scary, anxiety ridden nightmares of things left undone…

In the fine tuning stage, I get to think about how to ensure my product is as healthful as possible while still keeping Local and Organic in mind along the way.  I say health benefits, because as life woud have it, Whole Foods has sparked and set fire to my love of alternative health practices, and that is something I want to remain conscious of.

There are obviously many questions I’ve started to answer, what with my work done with some Vauxhall Gardens Calendula Infused Sweet Almond oil, but there is so much yet to come, so many things to consider, so many things I want to incorporate, and so many things that I have no damn clue about, that I need to do my homework on, but that is just the fun of the journey yet to come.

In life I often find myself thinking, “I can’t wait until X is done”, which is actually a pretty dangerous state of mind.  I think in allowing myself to think this way, I neglect my potential to feel amazing about the things that I’m doing right now, and that’s a shame because I think I’m going to look back on the right now and think wow, I was doing so much…

But alas…

On this particular day off, I will take my day to do what I want to do, what I’m happy doing and that makes me fall in love with life all over again.  

So here’s a question for you - what do you do on your days off?  Are they technically days that you spend “working”?  Or do you kick back and really get your relax on?  I don’t even look at my day tomorrow as if it were work - because I know I’ll have my music going, my energy up and I can take breaks whenever I want…

Wish me luck!

Day 49: Personal Testimony

So today, I had another full, very informative and productive day at work.  Everyday I feel as though my brain is expanding in its capacity to retain knowledge.  I learn about new mineral supplements and vitamins and all sorts of probiotics and protein powders, most of which I have access to - to try for free.  

Which rocks. 

In my pursuit of the perfect loose mineral foundation, one of the things that I value the most is that I can, for all intents and purposes, give out my own personal testimony because I’ve been using myself as the guinea pig for my product.  The same thing applies in a big store such as WF, because people are looking for the best of the best and want to know what you’ve tried, and if not tried, what you’ve heard seen and know.

Personal testimony is a great way to increase your sales in my opinion because it gets you on a different level with your customer and allows you to relate, in a personable way, how the product has made you feel.  Only proceed if it’s been a good experience.  And if it hasn’t, then gauge whether your customer can handle it.  Some can’t.

With that, I sign off for the night.  I can’t wait for my first day off so I can get back to work on my love, Urban Minerals!

Day 37: Deadlines

Sometimes in life you can’t always plan out how your day is going to go.  There will always be circumstances that just come up, things you can’t work around and obligations that just appear.  That’s why this is coming to you at 2 minutes to midnight.

I would like to always have control over the things that happen in my life, but I don’t. 

So please forgive this short post.  I endeavour to be better.  

Day 36: Decide

So now that I have a wicked new job I have come to a clear decision point.  In my willingness to try anything new and to seek out adventure in my life and business I have to rectify my own feelings about needing a job.  If you head back a week or so here, you will see that I don’t believe that I can launch a business on my own dime therefore meaning that I am going to be upfront about wanting and needing a job more in line with my own morals and ethics.  Check.  Now that that’s done, what’s next? In others words, now that I have the job, i.e. the funds for this operation, how do I keep going from here? 

I’m truthfully really excited to be starting this full time job because I’ll be doing something I love - helping guide people to make conscientious decisions without compromising on who they are and looking fabulous.  I love the dual nature of guidance and teaching because it’s where I think my personal strengths come out to play.  

But with the full time aspect of course , comes the changes in how I can theoretically and practically split up my time and spend it.  I don’t have nearly as much time as I did before, but that is a good thing because isn’t all of life one big time management test?  

I guess what I’m trying to get at belatedly here is why do I feel some trepidation?  I guess I can answer that question with another.  Don’t we all feel afraid when we come upon some brand new, never experienced, utterly outside of ourselves thing that asks us to challenge ourselves over and over?  I’m not afraid of learning new material or expanding my conceptions of green beauty.  What I’m afraid of, I guess is losing my focus and allowing myself to run aground, or take time away from Urban Minerals.

I guess by writing those words turns that statement into more of a promise.  A promise to you that I won’t do those things.  I will learn and grow along with the job and that will in turn help me to learn and grow and further develop my product knowledge and skills.   And like I said before, and I will say it again, this bad boy is evolving ten-fold and that’s a wonderful process, something that I want to ride the wave right along with.  Maybe I should take up surfing.

So, here’s to taking the steps now that the decision has been made. I can’t let myself get caught up in the fear of the new, because truthfully I relish the new.  I’m frightened only in the same way that we’re all just a little bit afraid of the dark or not knowing whats behind us.  A silly, irrational fear that goes away once you shine some light on it…

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“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

- Napoleon Hill, was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature.

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Day 30: Patience, Persistence and Perspiration

Today I had an interview at an awesome company that I admire very much and It went extremely well.  The best it could have in fact.  I don’t have the final word yet, because there are still contenders left, but I am still very excited.  I was given a lot of affirmation from my potential new manager, and I have a strong gut feeling that all is going to work out well in the long run!

This experience today just goes to show me that I do possess lots of patience and that the persistence in my life will ultimately allow me to succeed, especially because I’ve put in a ton of elbow grease and perspiration in preparation for this moment.

I hope to move forward joyfully and bring love into the lives of others through this job so that I can better do that for myself and in my work here at Urban Minerals.  

YAY!

Day 29: Don’t Stop Believing…

So yesterday I thought I had settled on a good logo and had started to get really excited about it too.  And then I spoke to my boyfriend, who didn’t share my enthusiasm.  Which kind of sucked… For something that I’ve been working hard on, it’s not a great feeling to not have it be mirrored back to you.

So, I took myself for a walk, hoping to clear my head.  I was walking for maybe 2 minutes when I had a cat walk up to me and basically beg to be pet.  When I bent down to pet him I realized that there was also a small piece of pink chalk sitting on the ground next to him.  And so, I figured I’d give back to the world a little bit, if for no other reason than to feel better. 

So, I kept on walking, and every once in a while I would write a message on a lone piece of sidewalk and then keep going.  I ended up leaving 3 messages in total plus one with just my website (shameless promo) and then went about my business.  Well wouldn’t you guess it, but I did feel better after this long walk because it gave me a chance to re-evaluate and to consider new options.

I know that every time I feel down, and kind of stuck, the easiest thing to do is to wallow in it and allow myself to stay in that energy.  OR, I can take the other road and just get outta my house, walk for a while and wait to see what the universe presents to me.  Not only did I get the chance to leave some nice messages for others to find - an act that I won’t ever get to see the outcome of, but that nevertheless intrigues me and brings me happiness - but I also got to see some great nature.  I came across the cat, and then a bunny rabbit,  2 robbins and an Opossum! In my own backyard too!  I felt re-energized by being in such close proximity to nature, and that was just the push I needed to get myself out of my head space and back into a mind frame where I could re-evaluate my logo and consider new possibilities as well as give back to humanity, even in a small way.

So please, if you get knocked a bit, and you don’t have as thick a skin as you wished, take yourself for a walk.  Don’t stop believing that you can bounce back.  That way you can think more about how to improve and keep moving forward.  And that’s what matter in the end.  And hey, if all else fails, just remember that you have the power to put happiness and joy into the lives of others, and that is a wonderful thing.

Day 24: Learners are Earners

Today was a day for some professional development.  I will be the first to admit that I did not pursue Business in University, that the idea actually kind of repelled me.  Instead, I followed my heart and went for a specialized Environmental studies program called Environment and Culture: Philosophy, Arts, Technology and Education.  And, I loved every minute of it. 

In University, I continuously met people who were taking programs at their parents’ behest or who seemed pretty unhappy in their chosen vocations, people who felt stuck and unable to change things themselves.  And, I’ll also admit that I was almost one of those people too. 

My first year was spent in Sociology, and while I LOVE being social, I couldn’t for the life of me stand sitting in boring, dry lectures, week after week.  I just knew that it wasn’t for me.  So when I walked into my first Environmental studies class, which I had taken on a whim for my second semester because I needed another 3 credits, I was startled and happily surprised to love every minute of it.  The class was called Taking Action: Engaging People and The Environment, and it changed the entire course of my life.  Not only was it my kind of people, but more importantly the content of this course REALLY struck a chord within me.  I loved talking about all aspects of nature and people’s interactions with it, how we can learn to work with it and work towards healing our past mistakes by taking action now.  It was meant to be, I guess.

The only thing that I didn’t get out of Environmental Studies, was that there was quite literally no practical application.  I’m not a Conservationist, Urban Planner, or into Environmental Politics so knowing how to go forward with the skills I had was challenging. 

Business and the art of selling was something I had to come to all on my own.  I love talking to people and thankfully have always had the gift of gab, but to know how to apply that in an actual business is frankly, well, frightening.  I have the knowledge and integrity to back up my words but the business savvy and knowhow, the financing of money and structuring, those things are all pretty foreign to me. 

So, today I spent a little time with my favourite online guru, Marie Forleo, a self-made Life coach, online marketing maven and Business Woman extraordinaire.  She has to be one of my biggest business inspirations, and every time I watch a free video she’s made or learn a new technique, I honestly feel better and better about my environmental hippie roots.  She acknowledges that we all have different backgrounds and that we all come to business for the same reasons – to satisfy a need to make a difference in the world – which if you have been following along, totally rings true to my tree hugging, organic loving self.  She allows you to recognize that you have every opportunity to achieve success.  Annnd, I feel as though she actually cares about the community of women entrepreneurs around her. 

Which brings me finally to a little quote that I wanted to share with you.  As Ms. Forleo puts it,

“Learners are Earners”

That’s right people.  If you have the drive and commitment to making yourself a success and you recognize that constant learning and continuing education are essential to making that success a reality than you have everything you will need to get there.  Environmental Studies didn’t exactly translate into big business for me in the beginning either, it just took some time and patience to hone it into a worthwhile dream.  So just know that It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you think you don’t know, because all that truly counts is your ability to take all the resilience you’ve got and to apply that to your business in the smartest ways possible. 

I hope this helps you, it certainly did for me.

Day 23: Get your Head Straight

Today was a day to get my head straight.  From time to time, as we all do, I get anxious.  Anxious about what’s next, what I have to do and potential outcomes for any number of scenarios.  So today, when things got back into this familiar track and my head started spinning, I did the smart thing and put an end to it.

In the time it took to burn a stick of incense, I meditated, played a little guitar and just chilled out.  For all intents and purposes this was meant to get me out of my head and into a greater life perspective.  And it worked.  I was able to think in bigger terms and actually felt much better.

Afterwards I had to drive my sister to work in Port Credit, and on the way home, while deciding to take the more scenic route, I stopped at Jack Darling Park and did some writing, planning and reviewing.  What a wonderful place to get good quality work done.  It’s not like I can do that every day (or maybe I can ;) but I do believe that breaking from routine every now and again is healthy and worthwhile. 

After my writing sojourn I climbed the rocks down to the beach and walked across the surf bare foot.  It was kind of idyllic.  Down on the beach I found a rockin’ piece of driftwood, which I grabbed, because I got a good feeling about it, and am thinking of having it engraved (once it dries out), to become my new office sign.  It just goes to show that you never know what you’ll see, or what you’ll find, and more importantly stressing about it won’t make it any better or come any sooner.

So whenever you get a chance to take some time out and get your head straight, DO IT.  I think we can all recognize what’s really worth the stress and the small stuff just doesn’t matter in the end.

Head comfortably on straight now…

Day 21: Lightning and Thunder, oh my!

Right now I’m sitting in my office trying to write this post for the day and all I can think about is what is going on outside of my windows – torrential downpour and the loudest, most violent lightning and thunder I’ve ever seen and heard.

It’s not often that I get scared by simple storms, and in fact when I was a kid I loved them so much I would try to get outside and run around in the rain. But today, I took a quick break and went to sit out on my front porch and was actually physically frightened by the sheer ferocity of the thunder.

Like KAAAAABOOOOOOOOMSHABANGABANGAAAAAA!!!

I kind of enjoyed it though. I think sometimes in life you do need a shock to the system as a means to reset yourself. I did my thing this morning in full-on work mode, researching, planning and strategizing and then the rain tore through da place and now here I am. I don’t feel overworked, because I was given a break and quite the show and now feel like I can get back to workin’ it out.

So thanks Mother Nature, as always, for snapping me out of my head in the most perfect way.

PS. Check out the video I took while I was sitting outside trying to keep my cool lol

Day 20: Passion and Commitment

Today I did a bit of pavement pounding to find a new job…Yes, that’s right, I went and handed out resumes.  Even as an entrepreneur, I recognize that I still need a job, and that that job is a life line that will keep me afloat while I actively work towards my own goals.  So with much determination I went out and worked it.  In the act of doing so I came to a few conclusions.

Firstly, I came to the realization that I need to work in an atmosphere that is in line with my own morals and ethics and that no longer can I work just for the sake of a pay cheque.  Where I work has everything to do with my own personal success, because I want to feel energized when I go to work, not drained and defeated.  If I feel good about what I’ve spent 8 hours of my day doing, then I know that I will continue in that same energy with my own work.  It’s a Win-Win situation.  

Secondly, I’m not so naive as to believe that I can do this on what I have saved or borrowed without feeling some regret.  Yes, I am working towards applications for grants and financing, but those are not options that I want to exhaust before I feel stable myself.  And there ain’t no shame in sayin’ it either.

And thirdly, there is nothing wrong with not having everything figured out right now.  If I’m honest with you and myself, than I have to admit that I’m not perfect and I don’t have all my ducks in a row.  There are tons of things that I’ve done wrong, and lots of what I want to do can’t be done yet because I don’t have the means.  But that definitely won’t be stopping me.  It’s called Perseverance. 

When I first embarked on this journey seriously, I called a meeting with a fellow business owner to pick his brain a bit about this whole entrepreneur thing.  And, through that I got the best possible piece of advice I could have been given.  He said,

“To be a successful entrepreneur you need two things, Passion and Commitment”

I’ve got Passion in droves.  I could talk about Minerals and Makeup and Green Beauty all day and night and not get bored, I can research for hours and just feel inspired to act and I love just browsing health food aisles and Green Beauty sections of my favourite stores forever, just gaining more and more love and appreciation for all the good that others are doing.

I’ve also found that I have the commitment too.  It’s just a matter of tapping into it and recognizing what that means for me in my own life.  It’s never going to look like what other people call commitment because it’s a personal journey and you’re never going to feel like you’re normal because that doesn’t exist either.

So the next time you feel judged because you don’t feel like you match up to others your age or you don’t know if you’re doing things right, or hell you’re like me and you want to start your own business but you don’t have the money right now to do it, just remind yourself of what really matters.

Passion and Commitment   

Also have a look at the infographic below, to see a bit more of what I mean.

source: http://blog.intuit.com/trends/how-small-business-gets-started-and-keeps-running-infographic/