1.18.2011

do it yourself


 being self employed is no small feat.  in fact, when you first start out it's kind of like standing at the edge of a cliff wearing only a parachute: scary.  you just don't know what's going to happen.  i've had many a sleepless worried night wondering just how we were going to cover the nut.  but now, looking back seven years of self-employment, i don't regret a single minute of it.  today i was just as thankful as ever to be able to make my own way in this crazy money-driven world.  but it does still come with it's share of struggles.

with nobody telling you what to do or when to do it, with no accountability except to yourself, sometimes it's damn near impossible to make a schedule, keep to it, or even remember what the hell you were supposed to be doing with your day in the first place.  sometimes i'll find myself juggling five or ten things all at once, barely pushing each one along like boulders up a hill.  and without a list, i can easily get distracted by a tempting trip to the thrift store or my neverending list of chores.  but inevitably, every task must get accomplished. yes, because otherwise you'd be s.o.l., and have to get a jobby-job.  the only way to be gainfully self-employed is to produce work like a machine, to make that work accessible and affordable, to make yourself love it, and to be versatile and flexible.  for money, i do a lot of things:  i design and illustrate and oil paint and make crafts, i paint signs and sew clothing and work in the store selling others work, i hang art professionally and make corporate art.  and sometimes still, the ends barely meet.  but you stretch them.  you make it work.  and because you trust the universe to take care of you, money magically appears when it needs to.  the harder you work, the more it will continue to appear, and you will trust yourself to make the right decisions, more and more.  the more you trust yourself, the more likely you are to be successful.  and success, in my eyes, is not wealth or fame.  it's doing what you want to do, doing what you love, doing what you were designed for...every day. and never giving money the power to control you, bog you down, or be your motivation.  because joy is power, freedom is wealth, and money.....well it's just money.  it is what you make of it.

that's my recipe for self-employment.

4 comments:

  1. my dear girl. how did you know i needed to hear EXACTLY that this day. cheers to being brave. you are the leader of the revolution of my heart.

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  2. i want to do this so bad. i don't even know where to start.

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