This week has been wonderful in many ways. One thing that happened was I didn’t get a job that I thought I would get (short, pretty boring story), and surprisingly this left me feeling relieved. And it highlighted a few things that are important to me, and so I decided to write them down. A few reminders to myself:
A longer, more elaborate list would go something like this:
You will get work based on your portfolio. It’s not an abstract thing. If you have a lot of dogs in your portfolio you’ll get asked to do illustration work involving dogs. If you’re not really interested in dogs, work on other things. My partner put it like this the other day: If you don’t like death metal, don’t play in a death metal band. Just avoid it. If you’re lucky enough to know where you want to go, go straight in that direction. If you don’t know, put some time into making a wish-list. Do your dreamwork.
Speak your mind. You probably worry you’ll be punished in some way if you do. You think for example that it’ll cost you work opportunities. That’s okay. It’s okay to worry. Here’s a thing to consider though, remember this Ghandi quote? Be the change you want to see in the world. You dream about a world where more people speak from their hearts. So here’s a chance to start with yourself. Also, when you speak out about what’s important to you and what your dreams are, you’ll catch opportunities that would’ve never landed in your lap otherwise. And when you speak your mind you’re more likely to connect with other people. Those things are probably worth the risk of missing out on a job offer that wouldn’t have done you much good anyway.
Trust your process. If you just feed your mind the bate, it’ll calculate, experiment and deliver solutions in no time. It’s like this, every time, and you know it.
The mind likes bates and is not likely to stop working on things just on it’s own. Keep your meditation practice going. Move your body. Dance. Go for walks. Half an hour can change your world-view altogether.
Keep taking time to work-out. A lot of computer time requires proper exercise.
Those people that you admire for their integrity and dedication, like Björk and Keri Smith and Betty Dodson, all in their different fields – they started out focusing on what made their hearts sing and they kept going. There’s no other route in sight, right? Except keep going and do what you love.
You’re blessed for having a passion, ideas, intellect and dedication.