Creating my way to Success

If you're a regular reader of my blog - you will know that I am always trying to grow and develop it and my ultimate goal ( success for me) would be to have this blog as my 'job' or 'business' - something that would provide an income for me so that I can continue to do what I enjoy and make a living from it.

My attitude is that lots of other people have made their blogs their business - so why can't I?

A few weeks ago, I came up with a plan to commit to time and effort consistently and persistently on my blog.  I launched myself into it, wrote lists and ideas, then once I'd got everything out of my head and down onto paper, I stopped, stepped back and realised that I still hadn't got there with a plan that was going to work.

You know that feeling when you know something isn't quite right, but you just don't know the answer yet - but it's hovering around just out of your reach?

Well - I eventually reached something and have decided on a way to refocus.

I've been inspired by other Bloggers - for example Danielle over at Blissful and Domestic who last year really settled into her 'niche' on her blog. I watched as the theme of her blog became clearer and more defined, and as it did so, her blog grew.  It's been inspiring to watch this progress in Danielle's blog.

So returning to my own blog - I've looked closely at defining 'what' my blog is about.

Sewing - is my craft and is what I show and tell on my blog - with lots of tutorials, which make use of my training as a teacher too.  However - I don't want my blog to be just a sewing blog.

Yes I do have an (ever growing) knowledge and skill with sewing, but the important part of that to me is to encourage others to give it a go too; to show that Anyone Can Sew.  I am a teacher, and to help others to learn and grow is what I really do enjoy.  

I looked at my blog title:

Creating my way to Success

And decided to break down my blog into areas defined by this title.

Creating - This is what I am all about - getting creative, with not just my craft of sewing, but with other crafts and indeed with my whole outlook on life - exploring creativity and finding my own way - indeed 'creating' my own business and job!

My Way - this part refers to my own creative outlet - mainly sewing. In the form of tutorials, clothes upcycling and also new crafts I'm learning - like crochet and quilting.

To Success - the building of all of this into a business, and form of income. Motivation and Inspiration being the foundation on which to build.

So having defined what my blog is - I've then looked at my posts and tried to keep a balance of these three subjects. So my overall plan turned out like this:

Monday – Round Tuit linky party– a chance for everyone to show off their creativity - I always get plenty of inspiration from this each week.

Tuesday – My tutorials, and my own creations

Wednesday – Exploring Creativity - sharing some creative things and ideas that I find that inspire and amaze me.

Thursday – My Creative Space – What I’m up to creatively - linking up and visiting others too

Friday – Success stories, my own learning

Saturday – Clothes Upcycling 

Sunday – Weekly motivation

I've started out this week, following this plan.

As I've said before - I believe that

Consistency and Persistence

are the key to success.

So putting this plan out here for all to see is my way of keeping myself accountable.

I really do believe that it's possible to create your own niche in the world - doing what you WANT to do. One of my favourite quotes is:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the 

world; the unreasonable one persists in trying 

to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all

 progress depends on the unreasonable 

man." 

 George Bernard Shaw

I want to be that unreasonable person that adapts my world to me. I want to show my kids that they should dream big and that they can achieve anything if they put their minds to it.

I want to finish this post with a poem that my Mum showed me recently and I just LOVE it!

Believe in yourself and don't let anyone tell you you can't!

It Couldn’t Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

    But, he with a chuckle replied

That "maybe it couldn’t," but he would be one

    Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

    On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that;

    At least no one has done it";

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,

    And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

    Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

    There are thousands to prophesy failure;

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

    The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,

    Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start to sing as you tackle the thing

    That "couldn’t be done," and you’ll do it.

What is Creativity and why do we need it?

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Edward de Bono

I've recently been re-reading a book that I enjoyed last year called A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

In this book, Daniel Pink talks about how the skills you need for top jobs are different now, compared to previous generations.
Here's what I've taken from this book:
Traditionally, you needed to study hard at school, get good grades in exams and tests and the best jobs were considered those that you needed to be academically good to get into - like doctors, lawyers, accountants etc.  Essentially 'left brain' jobs - those that use the logical and ordered left side of your brain.
However, Daniel Pink mentions the 3 factors that he believes have changed this: Abundance, Asia and Automation.
Abundance -  Just a trip to the shops shows you abundance - when you want to buy something - you are faced with a massive array of choices of style, size, price and brand for what you are looking for.  How do you choose?  It is no longer the best product we necessarily buy - but more likely to be the best marketed product! - the importance is no longer on the object -but how it is promoted and sold - how creative the company marketers are! Information is something else that is abundant - particularly on the internet - you can find the answer to anything. How many times have you self diagnosed 'illnesses' by Googling your symptoms rather than going to the doctor?  The abundance of free information available at the touch of a button is also reducing the need for some professions.
Asia - a huge amount of technical computer, and many other jobs are now outsourced from for example the USA, Australia or the UK to for example India, because living costs and so wages are lower for the same level of skilled worker. As a result there are fewer jobs like this available in more westernised countries.
Automation - this speaks for itself. Computers and machines can do  so much for us now that many jobs don't need actual people to do them.
What is happening now is that it's not the people who do well at  studying and learning facts, figures, academic subjects etc who are headed for the top jobs; it is those who are good at being creative. It is those who can offer something different, new and innovative that are headed for success now.  Those who use actively their 'right-brains'!

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” 

― Rumi, Essential Rumi

So if creativity is the key to success in this day and age - all of us creative, crafty souls are a step ahead in the game!  
If I am 
'Creating my way to Success'
Then I am going about aiming for my goal the right way! I knew it!

So what is creativity? Wikipedia defines it as:
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby something new is created which has some kind of subjective value (such as a joke, a literary work, a painting or musical composition, a solution, an invention etc.). It is also the impetus and motivational force behind any given act of creation, and it is generally perceived to be associated with intelligence and cognition.

Creativity then, is something to be nurtured. Ideas are the starting point of creativity - mix that with some inspiration, risk-taking, brain storming and you're on your way!   There are thousands of creative blogs out there, then there's sites like Pinterest, which for me at the moment is my favourite go to place for inspiration. The endless linky parties we all join in and host provide a breeding ground for creativity - with everyone sharing their own ideas and innovations.  Even when you follow someone else's ideas and tutorials, you inevitably put your own spin on in by choosing your own colours, designs, fabrics or adding or removing features.
If Creativity is the skill of the future - then it is to be nurtured and grown as much as possible.  Our kids should be encouraged to flex their creative muscles to help prepare them for the future, as much as, if not more than their school studies and textbooks will help them.
I have decided to make more of a conscious effort to explore creativity, and how we can encourage and develop it in ourselves and others even more.

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people”

Leo Burnett

When I see a great upcycle idea - I'm always so impressed that someone could look at something in a totally different way to that which it was intended.  Like someone who can look at a chair, and not just see a chair, but see the shape, construction and other possibilities - turning it into a shelf, or a storage rack. I think a large part of creativity is the ability to look at things in a different way - to think outside square so to speak. Are you good at doing this? I always feel that there must be something I could sew to solve a problem - do you feel the same way about your craft?

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.

Edwin Land

“You can't use up creativity. 

The more you use, the more you

 have.” 

Maya Angelou