yellow brick road

Yesterday a fur seal had an adventure on tar-seal in Dunedin. Fred was on exploration. The humans had a bit of a kafuffle guiding him back to the water whereas Fred was just happy lying on the nice warm grass between the 4 lanes having a snooze. (He loves to eat fresh fish and the occasional muffin. He enjoys playing with humans. Just don't prod him, he has sensitive skin.)

Sometimes other people think we are lost, have no idea what we are doing or doubt our abilities, mostly they just want to do "the right thing" and try and drag us back to that thing they call "reality". Naturally this can be sensible, as let's face it all of us have the occasional blond moment or fly into fairyland. But what if we just want to play? What if we did think about it?


We simply may enjoy having a little adventure, like Fred. Maybe it would be nice if people let us do silly things and pretend we are in charge of our own lives. If we inadvertently hold up traffic, like Fred, then the cops can be called upon. Just don't panic too early when you see someone venturing off into the unknown. It could very well be just the thing for them. Some people call it "going bush", "gone fishing", "painting in nature", "meditating" or "going to a retreat" or even "tree hugging". 


"When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne"


Seeing people do certain things maybe don't make sense, but it can be useful. If you feel the urge yourself, simply do it by yourself and try not to bother anyone else once you're doing it. And when someone does track you down just be nice to them and thank them for caring.

asking hard questions

Whether you're in business or not: do you ask the hard questions? I find I'm doing this more and more across the board on all sorts of topics. I was having a chat with my dad the other day on the phone about this. What matters really? And what doesn't? This past year I've changed quite a bit. Asking the hard questions is part of my (learning) process. Having fun is one thing, doing something great with a more long term scenario in mind is better. I'm reading an excellent book at the moment by Tony Hsieh: delivering happiness.



So starting something is one thing, carrying it out and finishing things is important to actually get somewhere. This I'm finding more and more and it's exciting to see my focus come into action and create tangible results as well.
Tony's advice to building anything sensibly is this:

1. Decide. What do you want to do?
2. Culture & Values. What is it about?
3. Commit to transparency. Build your Story, be genuine.
4. Chase vision not $. Big bikkies are nice, but that's not why the game is played.
5. Build relationships. Meet and treat :)
6. Build your Team. (Find co-conspirators.)
7. Think long term!

One of the hard questions I'm wanting to answer today is: why would my designs and creations matter to others? What benefits do they really bring? And do I really want to become a goat-cheese maker in the future?

When we have focus, and are driven, and learn to not spend fluff time on all sorts of projects that get out of hand, we have fun and grow. Ask the hard questions, you will be surprised by the answers.

young ones

I was at a birthday bash a week or so ago. There was talk about "those young ones these days"... "the cane should be brought back at school".... "no manners nowadays".... "too many teenage mothers".... "we need to give them discipline". As is my nature I couldn't help but interject that ACTUALLY there are a lot of young people out there who make big life changes, who do not follow their parents, who choose a different life for themselves and who do incredible and very many positive things, for others as well as for themselves. I was greeted back with dumbfound expressions. What was I talking about?


It's so easy to generalize, to blame, to pinpoint failure. Too easy in my opinion.


When was the last time you did something wondrous? Something entirely not profitable for someone else? Something selfless just to help out? Have you or haven't you? Did you never make a mistake in your life? Do you know everything? Of course not. 


I came across a young lady's story today and was reminded of the birthday party's mutterings regarding the inadequacies of young folk's behaviour. Isn't it up to adults to set better examples perhaps? To guide in a non preachy way? To be encouraging? Or can we really just have more confidence in younger generations? Why would that be so hard?

From Fastcompany: "Maggie Doyne left on a post-high school trip to Nepal and never came back. After seeing the way kids--many orphans--were living, she called her parents and asked them to send over her life savings, with that money she founded The Kopila Valley Children's Home in 2006. Four years later, she is the legal guardian for 30 orphans and just completed building a school for them. Doyne talked to Fast Company about her remarkable journey, starting as a girl in Mendham New Jersey and ending up a leader for social change in rural Surkhet, Nepal."


Read the whole blogpost here. I'd say that most definitely generalizations aren't very helpful, positive individuals are.
Maggie's website: http://blinknow.org/

I'm doing it

Vision. Mission. Ingrained belief. Results. Wrap it up in one word: Joy.


I have been fluffing around with a few topics in the last few weeks. I kept putting a few things off. Mulling options over. Then several things happened:

1. I made the decision I want to pursue working with my goats on a more full time basis in the near future. I already had made the decision I wanted to study for vet nursing part-time. Then I saw an episode by TVNZ's Country Calendar about the Aroha cheesemaking enterprise, set up -coincidentally- by 2 Dutch emigrants. I was smitten! It wasn't a surprise as Nic and I had pondered this but to see it in action was so wonderful. In that episode there was another Dutch lady that advises the couple on Homeopathy as they are an organic farm. For me this was another 'aha' as I have contemplated studying Naturopathy years ago but put it aside because I work in retail. Last week I received information from an organic certifying business so Nico and I can start application as we decided years ago this is what we would like to do. We had soil tests done by a friend last week who sells organic fertilizer and we are waiting for the results now to determine what is being put on. So in a nutshell: the goat gig is going ahead. I need to find a milking plant, a separator, a storage tank and start discussing w/ Nico on how to modify the woodshed.

2. My design work is getting support. More and more. Someone I met on twitter who lives in LA is now  happy for me to design for him and I receive commission on what is sold. Hemptech the textile company in Auckland is continuing to do very well, selling my Cows and Couches fabric along with the Pukekos and the cows are gaining momentum as an upholstery fabric. One store is getting a furniture piece in it again as it works tremendously well as a talking point. It looks like there will be further expansion for Hemptech in the near future too. One local gallery is waiting to receive a high end new settee by Simon James in Auckland which has large cows and couches back cushions. An online store has also expressed to be interested to sell my accessory products. I have done new designs for Hemptech and the plan is to do something with these later this year. I like the idea very much of doing more freelance design work. I'm working on a drape design with geometric qualities for them now, having already done a cushion design they liked very much involving horses and swanndri.

3. Inspiration and meeting people. Several people I have gotten to know well through social media, as I work in retail and can't dash off all the time. Personal stories are shared, moral support is given. It's lovely to have these online contacts develop in a real fun bond and something more sustainable. I feel my design work is global, and I focus on global contacts opposed to many local tweeters, whereas the future goat set up is local based. 
Having both the micro and the macro aspect in my life is majorly appealing, and also rewarding. I enjoy communicating with these inspiring and lovely people a lot.

4. Online store. At the moment I have an online presence that to me is more like an online portfolio and a modest one at best. I have decided that I'm going to turn it into an actual online store to sell my cushions, tea towels, jewelry in and the to be made Wooties. Not next year but, like SOON. The 'wooties' product will be both a cushion, carry bag and soft toy rolled into one. So, to that effect I need to get moving as there is plenty to be done! And I haven't even told you about a farming product I am still working on that will make life easier for break fencing and I have got the domain names already. Even Nico admits it's a great idea. Someone asked me today: and HOW on earth do you get all these things done?

5. Take responsibility: using the Law of Attraction. I find it has really helped me to focus on the direction I want to go, without focusing overly on the details. Things seems to be slotting into place more and more and I trust that process. Naturally I also have to be sensible in that I don't spread myself thin, prioritize and leave old distractions behind. It's an exciting time and I feel really happy about how things are going. I also know I had to get mature about all our financials as I had the habit of cramming incoming paperwork in a folder and pay the bills but not fully understand the actual process.
In realizing that I have taken responsibility for the way I feel and what happens every day I am actually being far more effective then ever before. It's sounds fuzzy, and it's a biggie, but I'm happy about it.


To summarize: if you want to go forward and expand, it is good to know what you want, and to then keep working towards that goal in an appreciative fashion of what already is. 
That sounds jeeps-deep but really: why wait? Why be so depressing 'realistic'? Groovy brands and happy entrepreneurs didn't get out of that garage by embracing the status quo: they went with their guts and worked hard and happily. That is what I am doing. And it's no longer 'work', it's fun.

vision or ideas

(image courtesey of xkcd.com)


Having a Vision and having Ideas are very different things. Going off on tangents (ideas) can be fun, possibly useful for brainstorming, but most of us would like to see some sort of result, or progress at least.


A Vision gives us the landscape, strategic planners love models or written plans as that way the Vision becomes matter. There's 2 sides to this coin. 


Naturally only having ideas doesn't lead to much. Over the years I have toughened up in that regard. Once upon a time when little Miryam was in ArtSchool having tons of fun for 5 years there was room for exploring and fluffing. The thing I regret about becoming older is that inherently it becomes more realistic and usually therefor less fun. Darn! But it shouldn't have to be. That's why it's important to keep the balance of having fun as well as knowing what you're really up against. Pink glasses are so yesterday.


So making the transition from ideas, to dream, to Vision, takes time, and both creativity and sensibility are needed. Just trying and seeing how it goes usually falters. Or the steam runs out if the Vision isn't strong enough (been there done that). Entrepreneurs or Artists that are most successful seem to possess the blend of several aspects that are necessary:


1. Talent: creativity
2. Vision: knows goals
3. Determination and conviction
4. Connector/net-worker: knows many people
5. Has financials in order
6. Web-savvy and use social media
7. Produce results


From what I can see online and observe in the real world; the ones that are "clued in" are savvy. They do their homework, take chances and go all the way. They stick their necks out, they pursue that which they believe in. Of course they have doubts about some aspects, as they are human, but generally they stick to their guns and ride the waves. They also are very good at building tribes (Seth Godin) which means they have a loyal fan-base and peers in their industry.


On this topic also read an excellent post by Roberto Verganti for Harvard here.


People that have done very well by following their Vision (imho):
Hugh Macleod: Gapingvoid art/wine/writing
Gary Vaynerchuk: wine 
Chris Guillebeau: writer and traveler
Boh Runga: NZ musician and jewellery designer
Lucy : TheDesignFiles: interior decor blog


The future consists of adapting to new media, but to keep continuing 'the story' as that is vital to building the personable brand. Business has become personal, with communication becoming intimate. This also means transparency, ethics and being genuine are on the top of the list.

Hunger for growth

Aren’t we funny. We strive, we work, we have this hunger for growth, for development, for excitement, for joy. The experience, amigo, is everything.

Right. Groovy. But. Why?
Well, if we don’t we get stuck, we get bored, we get unsettled, we get stunted, we forget why we do what we do, we wonder about our purpose, about our value, the getting out of bed thing could become very challenging. Better to have enjoyment and satisfaction, it’s more fun really. How hard do we work at it though?

The need for expansion can be questionable or a battle. For growth and expansion there has to be space to expand into, but also a NEED for it in the first place. This is where it gets interesting. Who decides there’s a need for ANYTHING? We do, other people do. The market does, the ‘out there’. The feedbackus magnificus. There has to be a thing called demand, if you want it to be fulfilling. So, the thing to do:

Research
Whack on the head to make sure there’s 200% motivation aka reality check
Plan-plan-plan again
Get results supporting the growth
Continue to build

Most of all the hunger for growth is about self experiencing and development. It’s in the fun, the learning, the whole 9 yards. Sometimes it can be wise to pull the plug on something we have done for a while and call it a day. That too, can be part of a growing experience, be it in a different way than expected. I guess the only thing that matters is:
Do you know what you want and why? That in itself can take years to work out.

My feeling is that it’s better to do something and explore a new subject then to sit on our hands and save ourselves from learning opportunities. They say it’s better to have loved and lost then to not have loved at all. I think the same applies to business or work choices. It’s better to have tried and learned, then not to have done a damn thing. Reading my own words again is amusing as I have written this post above many months ago. It is more apt today then it probably was earlier on. It can be challenging to work out what to do when. The timing is both crucial and natural. It's essential to work hard but also to be wise and decide to be patient to let things unfold. Ideally we should be looking back thinking: good thing it all happened the way it did because the whole process was perfect from start to finish. That way there are no regrets or red faces. Even creating duds from time to time can be helpful to explore our potential.

A toast to dashing attempts I say and here here to those that boldly continue on when the outcome is uncertain, but the vision is clear. Oh, and just do some homework, that sorta helps.