Entrepreneur Mindset for the New Year
Why you do NOT have to achieve all your goals!
As we all do, when the year comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on my past success and failures. At first glance, my initial thoughts are clouded with the daunting images of rejected art ideas, unfinished collaborations and abandoned goals. One of which, was to “write blogs regularly.” A goal that I miserably failed. Before my blog post last week, I had not written anything in almost a year! I’d like to shed some light on why abandoning some of your 2016 goals is okay.
When I examine more closely, 2016 has been a year of so much surprising success and happiness. Around this time last year, I locked myself in my room for three days straight, to complete an obsession with the idea of having the Toronto Skyline drawn on my bedroom wall. The skyline was mapped out using PVC tape, a metal ruler and a thick, black, sharpie pen. I never imagined that this skyline design would ignite a desire to share my art with the world, and become the corner stone of a new art venture, and fundraising campaign.
Before Torontonians took notice of my design, before it even became a feasible artistic venture, the goals I had, was so different. What I didn’t realise was, they were goals that did not align with my passion. As the New Year looms, I encourage you to let go of what is holding you back. What are the projects, goals or to-do-lists that have been hanging around, that you have continued to abandon? Could it be you have no passion for these goals? What are you willing to let go of? Get rid of any goal that does not align with who you are right now, or who you want to be in the future.
What are you passionate about? Is the concept of passion over-rated? I believe passion is something you are already doing, or something you just need to re-discover. Once I recognised that my desire to create and share art, was larger than any other visions I had for 2016, many goals I had written, was abandoned. I begun to allow the life of my art to unfold. The success has grown from a spontaneous art project on my bedroom wall, to a growing fundraising campaign, and a dedicated Instagram following who love my designs. As my art is slowly gaining recognition with local artisans, travellers and art collectors in the community, I have created new goals aligning with my desire to share art.
As a child, I spent hours drawing. I would even fall asleep on the floor while colouring in a poster as large as my 7-year-old self. As a teen, I excelled in art class. As an adult, for a long time I abandoned art. I decided to dedicate my time to occupations that would, “pay the bills.” I am an Architectural Graduate, and I love and respect Architects. I will always have an awareness for beautiful, well designed spaces and buildings. This year, I re-discovered why I started Architecture studies to begin with; my love for art and the importance to create. It makes me happy, and sharing it gives me such a great sense of fulfilment. For this reason, I am unconcerned that some of my 2016 goals have been abandoned.
This is not to say you should abandon all your untouched goals! This year, I will be revisiting my goal to blog regularly! It just means you need to let go of the goals that are no longer working for you, or no longer integral to the person you want to become. This is especially true for a new entrepreneur or business owner. It is okay to experiment and find out what works for you. This way you can quickly abandon the goals that do not.
Still not convinced it is okay to abandoned some goals? Consider this. There is a quote that seems to show up in every single entrepreneur seminar, and self-help book. It says, “What would you do if you knew that you could not fail?” When I read Elizabeth, Gilbert’s book, “Big Magic,” about living a life of creativity, Gilbert states that she has always seen it differently. She believes that the fiercest question of all is:
If you can answer this, then I think you may know what is your true calling. What makes you excited? Makes you happy? Makes your heart beat faster?
For me, it is art and design. For as long as I live, whether it pays the bills or not, I will always create and share art. What would you do? If you could do something every single day, knowing you may fail, over and over again? But you loved it so much, you would continue to do it anyway? Don’t know? Perhaps it’s time to abandoned some of the goals that is gathering dust on your to-do-list. Make room for new, inspiring goals that make you excited to wake up every morning. Be curious. Act on your curiosity and find out what makes your heart sing.
Sincerely,
Ave