Going down the rabbit hole …

And ending up with a NUGGET

If you are anything like me, then you have those days when you sit at the computer, or with your phone or tablet in your hand, and down the rabbit hole you go … watching video and reel after video and reel in an endless string. Scroll down and watch another one; doesn’t really matter what it is … cooking videos, dancing dogs, prancing cats, people doing ridiculous feats, Korean street food, bread making, X-factor, AGT, singing … mindlessly … some you skip, most you watch, because … why not? After all, you may learn how to make bread without an oven, or crispy tofu with hot spicy chili sauce – even if you don’t like tofu.

I found myself late on Friday doing just that. I had been answering people’s comments on Facebook, and clicked on the Video button because it showed there was something new JUST for me. BIG mistake!!! I was tired, and had had a long day; taking care of business, finishing the quilting on a piece – lots of measuring and taping – a bit more business, moving furniture, squirrelling …

And then, the video watching started and I found myself about an hour later still sitting here … watching. No purpose, no good reason, not really interested at all. Scrolling down, skipping most, watching some, fast forwarding. After all, do I really care about making keto friendly, dairy free, no flour healthy breakfast that has ingredients I do not like? NO!!! But still I watch …

Until I found the nugget.

The one that all of a sudden was there. I sat up and took notice. And watched it again. And really, really listened.

This video I am talking about was a commencement speech given by CPT Deshauna Barber, a captain in the US Army Reserves, a former Miss USA, a motivational speaker and the CEO of SWAN – Service Women’s Action Network. She is talking about a pair of shoes four sizes too big her mother bought her when she made the track team in high school. They didn’t have a lot of spare money so Deshauna’s mother purchased shoes that she “would grow into”. Here’s her story. I quote:

“I fell … I couldn’t run at the speed I wanted to because I didn’t fit the shoes I was wearing at the time. Now, many of us have goals we are trying to achieve. but the person we are right now is not the person we need to be when we cross the finish line to our dreams. So we must walk and pace ourselves on this journey to our goals because we haven’t grown enough in ourselves to fit the shoes that we need to achieve our aspirations. … Many of us are not ready to walk the race, but understand that as we walk the race we grow, and as we grow, our foot gets bigger, and as our foot gets bigger, our shoes begin to fill, and as our shoes begin to fill, we can now run a little bit faster and as we pick up the pace, we get to the finish line at the exact time we are destined to cross it… Do not be afraid of the word no but be afraid of the possibility of a yes that you have prematurely destroyed because you decided to quit before the clock strikes 12 … There are a lot of questions that are going to keep you up at night. But I guarantee there isn’t one question that will keep you up longer at night than the question: What if I didn’t give up? I am here to tell you in a nutshell that it is OK to walk sometimes. We can dream, we can be ambitious; that is a must when it comes to succeed. But we must also be realistic with where we are in correlation with the person that we need to be to properly execute the goals that we have set in front of us.”

“We will get to the finish line at the exact time we are destined to cross it . . . But we must also be realistic with where we are in correlation with the person that we need to be to properly execute the goals that we have set in front of us.”

And here, at the core of the nugget I found, I saw myself today. “”At times our purpose drops in our laps as if the heavens threw it by accident. I ask only one thing of you today. Do not fear failure, but please, be terrified of regret.” (Deshauna Barber).

I have been working diligently and very hard to bring to you this new program I’ve been talking about these past few weeks: Create2Flourish. A membership and a community. Do I fear failure? I do not, because I fear REGRET more. And I don’t want to regret not doing this when I had the chance.

The reason why this passage above resonated so much with me is because I have worn the large shoes, and have walked a very long way to grow into those shoes to the point that I could cross the finish line into Create2Flourish. And with this program, my goal is to help you grow into your own shoes and help you cross the finish line into the artist you are meant to be. I want to challenge you and help you change the way you see things; switch perspectives.

This membership is not about more tools, more lists, more things to do that you are not already doing: I want to lead you on your path to transformation. I want to help you change the way you look at your own work, so your work will change. When you have clarity and certainty, you get results.

I want to be not just a teacher, but a Clarifier and a Simplifier.

Help you simplify things and put yourself in a receptive mode. I am here to help you on your journey to your own art by answering questions from my own perspective, using my own experience and giving you answers only I can answer. I want to help you get out of your comfort zone and into a learning zone where you are – maybe – uncomfortable and doubting; through all those moments, I will be there, helping you have the resilience and the courage to keep going to achieve the transformation you want to see.

Will you join me?

Save the date: February 23rd. That’s the Founding Members Launch date when I’ll open registration to Create2Flourish Membership and Community.

Thank you for your support. Thanks for reading. Keep creating,

Ana