Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

The other night my husband and I decided to explore in our own town. We drove about 20 minutes south and felt like we were in the mountains. The curving roads were lined with pine trees and it felt like a mini-vacation.

We stopped at The Village at Castle Pines to see if there was a restaurant we’d like to try.

It was evening and most of the shops were closed. One of them caught my eye that looked intriguing called The Garden Path.

The sign still said open and we went in to have a look.

It turns out they really were closed but hadn’t changed the sign yet. We were about to leave but they were very nice and insisted we could look around.

It was a lovely floral and gift shop with beautiful things, and of course gorgeous flowers. One thing we noticed was there was an easel in the corner of the shop.

We asked the owner if she was the artist.

It turns out that the artist is a long time friend of the owners and when they moved their shop to a bigger space, she asked (or they asked her) if she would like to set up her art in the corner.

It is a wonderful win-win situation for the artist, Cheris Liedel, and the shop owner. Along with their beautiful flowers and gifts, they can offer her pastel paintings and cards.

It gives the artist exposure and a place to work. And she also helps them when they need an extra hand, like when they get a big order for corsages.

Is there a complimentary space or place that would be a great fit for your work?

This is from a Dear Sally column in my ezine answering questions from clients and subscribers.

Dear Sally,

How can I stay excited about my dreams when my family and friends don’t believe in me?

Signed,

Why can’t they believe?

Dear why can’t they believe?,

Dreams can be fragile, especially at the beginning and need to be handled with care. Sometimes, it’s really best to keep them to yourself or only share them with someone you know that won’t shoot them down.

There can be a variety of reasons that family and friends don’t share your vision.
Sometimes they think they are protecting you from getting hurt if things don’t work out the way you hoped.

Sometimes they are jealous that they don’t have a similar passion.

Sometimes they are afraid of how your dream will affect them and their relationship with you. Maybe they feel you won’t have time for them.

It may seem they don’t believe in you, when in reality it’s their own concerns and worries that get in the way of them supporting you in the way you’d like.

You might have to build your “dream muscles” and allow them to get stronger before you share them. Here are a few ideas to do that.

Know why you want that dream. Write about it, think about it, and daydream. Does it resonate with your core values and the things you hold dear?

Find images, create drawings, or doodles that help you to get clear about what you want.

Read and listen to things that keep you inspired.

Find support along the way. You may need to find artists, entrepreneurs, friends, a coach, or others who understand and encourage you.

The more you feel a deep connection with your dream that stirs your soul, you will believe that you can do it, and be willing to meet the challenges along the way.

In the long run, as you believe in yourself, and take small steps and actions toward your dream, no one will be able to take that away from you.

Usually your family and friends will come around once they see your dream is happening. For them, sometimes they have to see it before they can believe it. For you, you need to believe it before you see it!

Your creativity thrives on curiosity, making new connections, and looking at things differently.

Our brains love to learn new things.  The more diverse your experiences and knowledge, the more you have to draw from.

Everything you take in, from the books you read to your awareness of your surroundings, gives your brain a chance to take two seemingly different things and create a new idea.

Let me give you some examples of making connections from things that may not appear to go together at first.

A Swedish company called T-Post created a t-shirt subscription based on news stories.  Every six weeks, they design and send a t-shirt based on a news story to their subscribers, with the story printed inside the neck like an elaborate tag.

One of their designs was called “like Love on Demand” that was inspired by a documentary photographer who said the thing he likes about dogs is that they give love on demand.

Another innovative company created Bus Bike in Rio de Janeiro.  It’s a mobile gym that is equipped with stationary bikes.  It has a few stops and picks up its passengers who are able to watch the changing view while working out with an instructor.  They even equipped the bus with a dressing room, fridge, sound system, and GPS to avoid traffic jams.

Think about ways you might combine things to create new connections and come up with innovative solutions.  You may want to read about 12 Ways to Be More Creative.