That kismet moment

So you might be asking what caused me to come to a decision to take a new direction in my life.  It was a kismet moment.

Last weekend I met an old friend in Asheville, NC.  We had worked together in Atlanta in a law firm - she was an attorney and I was a paralegal.  She left the legal field before I did and started to raise animals whose fur could be used to spin yarn.  She moved from Atlanta to the Greensboro, NC area.  I moved from Atlanta to Louisville, KY.  She was at my wedding in 2006, but we had not really seen each other for several years.  Years ago we had gone from Atlanta to Asheville for the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair.  Dru suggested that we go to the fiber fair again this year, so that we could catch up with each other.  http://drucillapettibone.blogspot.com  She signed up for a couple of workshops, but the one I wanted to take was full.  That was fine with me because I could just shop the vendors while she was in a workshop and we would explore Asheville together after that.  When I was there I checked to make sure the class I wanted was still full.  The coordinator decided to let me into the workshop since I had come all the way from Kentucky.  As I was signing up and paying for the workshop, a lady came up to say she was going to miss her workshop the next day and wanted them to know in case someone else wanted to take the workshop.  It was the workshop I was signing up to take.  It was kismet that I was to be in that workshop.

The workshop was Crafty Marketing for the Small Business Artist presented by Pat Riesenburger  www,UrbanStitchStudio.com http://thecraftyretailer.blogspot.com.  Pat talked about how important it was to market yourself when you are trying to sell your crafts.  She said that you really needed an Internet presence through Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and a blog.  The more you can get your name and work out there, the better you crafts will be seen and therefore sell.  I listened and took lots of notes.  Later at lunch when I was telling Dru about the workshop, what Pat had said started to sink in.  The more we talked, the more my mind was reeling with all sorts of thoughts of what I could do.  As I said before, I always wanted to be able to do crafts for a living.  What Pat had said made me think maybe I really could do that.

I decided that night that I would try this and see if I could make it work.  I actually started to write my first post in the hotel that night because I could not turn my mind off.  When I got home, I signed up for Facebook - yes I have been a holdout to Facebook because I just did not see why it mattered. 

I also decided to start the blog that would chronicle my journey down this new path.  At first I thought how could I write a blog.  I never was one to journal.  As a child I had a diary, but never really knew what to write in it, so really did not.  I had never even read other blogs.  But when Pat talked about it, I thought maybe I can do that.  It feels like we are just sitting talking over a Grande Skinny Hazelnut Latte at 140 degrees (yes that is my usual order). 

So now where do I go from here?  I need to decide what craft I want to promote.  Pat suggested that you pick something to be an expert at doing.  Teach classes and be a go-to person for that craft.  She said it was not good to be a jack of all trades and master of none.  Pat also said that you needed to have a name that explained or connected to what you did.

So that is the next thing I need to figure out about this new road - my craft and a good name.

Stay tuned to see what I decide.

Well world, here goes.

I find myself at a crossroads in life.  The last three years have dealt me many changes.  The path I thought my life was going disappeared.  So it is time to reinvent myself.  I guess we all do that several times in our lives.  When we move from high school to college or out into the work force, we become a new person.  When we commit to a relationship, we find a different person inside ourselves.  If we change our career path, a new self emerges.  If children come into our lives, that causes us to think differently of ourselves. 

How do you define yourself?  Do you describe yourself as the job you do?  Do you think of yourself by your martial status - check the appropriate box is what the form usually says.  Does your religion or beliefs define you?  If you had to write a short bio of yourself, what would you include?  Where you grew up; who your parents were; what job you do; or what organizations you belong to?  Think about it - how do you define yourself?  Is it your physical characteristics that first come to your mind - tall or short, fat or skinny, straight or curly hair.  Now how would you like to describe yourself?  What do you want other people to say about you if they were describing you?

Being at this crossroads in life, I have golden opportunity to redefine myself into someone I want to be.  I have always liked working with my hands and creating things.  My lament has been 'if only I could make a living at this instead of having to work in an office'.  So as crazy as it may sound in this economy, I am going to take the leap into the creative world and make it my new job. 

So I invite you to take this journey with me as I reinvent myself and find a new path for my life.  Ride shotgun with me as I travel down this new road to a creative outlet that hopefully will produce some income.  I hope that besides income, I will also find personal satisfaction and accomplishment in the work that I do.