3 tips on how to stay Creatively Energized from gussy sews on Vimeo.
Today’s question: What tip do you think you could benefit from the most? Please feel free to elaborate below with a comment :]
PS. The winner of our sponsor group giveaway is Abby from Graduate “Extraordinaire” ~ yeow! Abby, check your email :]
Thank you for these tips, very applicable!
Your #1 tip about “turning off the computer” definitely helps me because starting a new photography business has been encouraging for me and also discouraging. I see pros pictures and think WOW, I think have far to go! and then I see Facebook posts and blogs on how to be successful in your photography business and things like that and I get discouraged sometimes, because I am just starting out, I am part-time, and I live in a rural community where I cannot charge the outrageous prices that pro-photographers charge. So I have to pick and choose what advice I cling to and what most relates to me in my circumstance. Sometimes there is just TOO much advice out there and it’s hard to know how to decipher all of it. So yeah, I need to limit my time on the computer and get out there and practice, practice, practice and find my own style and not try to match or copy someone else’s, but to be inspired by them and enjoy what I do and for the reason that I love to do it and not for the money.
Thank you for a great vlog Gussy! I love you Biz 411 posts anyways, but this was especially great. I have been struggling with the online part lately. I love the community I’ve built and friends I’ve made but it can be hard on the self esteem when you see tweets or posts about numbers of sales or followers or any other successes. It’s a natural reaction to think “why haven’t I gotten there with my business?” I also have found the online part to be a huge distraction as well. I create my products on the computer so I’ll sit down to create something and then find that it’s been an hour and I’m still on Twitter.
So anyways…after I’ve written you a novel! :) I think tip #1 is definitely my fav. Thanks!
Get off the computer would be the best tip for me. – I know it’s ironic since I’m on one right now making this comment! – Sometimes I get inspiration or great how-to’s on the internet, but other times I get bogged down and am left feeling insecure. My time would be better spent in my little studio painting away or sketching an idea out while hanging with my Hubs. ;o)
Thanks for posting your vlog!
Getting off the computer for sure! Even though I don’t have a business (sort of, I do sell cloth diapers for fun), I find that I get more discouraged, the more I’m online. I compare myself to others and want the life they have. I certainly won’t find contentment through that!
Thanks for the encouragement today!
TURN OFF THE COMPUTER. Love that. I am *so* easily discouraged in my creative pursuits…I’m constantly comparing myself to other women I admire, but honestly, I can never be them. Thanks for the reminder to be my own person & live creatively!
LOVE your 411 business tips girl! This vlog was super helpful! And with just starting my own business it helped so much to hear all of these tips!
Definitely #1 is what I can benefit more from. You are absolutely right about comparing yourself to others. I find myself doing that a lot. I also need to make it happen instead of sitting on the sideline. I will definitely check out the blogs you mentioned. Thanx for all your awesomely informative blogs!!!
OK first off – you are so adorable! :) Great idea with the video post – its fun to get to know my favorite bloggers more and this is a neat medium outside of just typing up answers.
Back to your question – I think a combination of all 3 is what keeps me motivated. Having blogs that motivate me, show neat ideas, tutorials, tips, etc. get my brain going on my lunch break at work and get me excited to go home and create. I work at an office job, updating a database and working on projects – not so exciting or stimulating but it pays the bills. That is why I daydream all day long about quilting and creating, use my whole lunch break looking at patterns, fabric, blogs, etc. – this is my outlet from boring work life, the thing that gets me excited to work when I get home on something I love instead of vegging in front of the tv.
Your tip about getting off the internet kind of applies a little differently for me – I don’t feel inadequate, I just waste so much time looking at what everyone else is creating! That is why I started using my lunch break for this, because it does get me excited and give me new ideas (and supplies… way too many supplies haha) but I don’t want to waste my whole evening in this way or I’ll never create anything and that is just disappointing.
Thanks for the great post – gets me thinking about how inline I am with the above and how I need to improve so that I can create, be myself, stay motivated and enjoy the things I love the most!
I like the tip to get off the computer. I waste so much time browsing, tweeting, and comparing myself to others that I have no time to create!
definitely tip #1. i totally find myself in that rut of comparing myself to others, and letting that discourage me. this is one of my favorite quotes, “never compare yourself to anyone; you are only comparing your worst to their best.” i have no idea where i heard that, but i have it written on my inspiration in my studio as a daily reminder. this is a great post! its so easy to get caught up what everybody else is doing and not focus and our own successes. thanks for your honesty!
I honestly think this was my FAVORITE blog post you have ever done! Congrats, it was perfect! I loved tip #1, because it is so true, and even if you aren’t comparing yourself, you end up wasting time, a lot of time! Thanks for the tips, I love them!
Wonderful tips, Gussy! I definitely relate to #1- wasting time seeing what everyone else is up to and comparing myself…. *sigh*. Sometimes I think the internet is the downfall of society, but there are a lot of great things about it too. I will definitely check out those two blogs (not that I need more blogs to read, haha! but they sound really good!) I love to cook, too!! :) And garden! :)
YOU my dear totally INSPIRE me!
Bauer inspires DOOGAN! ;o)
Your #1 tip was dead~on!
When I DREAM about learning to SEW…and creating an online business…I KNOW and BELIEVE with all my HEART that I CAN do this!
I’ve been CREATIVE all my life!
I have a funky eye for FUN~unique fabric!
I have an eye for the HIP and HAPPENING!
I’ve traveled all over the WORLD!
My CREATIVE juices have been flowing for years!
But at your age…I was teaching. And I’ve been teaching for 20 years. But now I’m READY!
Ready to GO FOR a DREAM that I have always had.
A DREAM of marketing ME!
A DREAM of creating and marketing all things CUTE! All the things I’ve always LOVED and adored! ;o)
So I do BELIEVE in ME…and what I anticipate CREATING {when I get my machine ;o) }.
The problem is…when I get on the computer…and find link after link after link show~casing all of these fabulous products…I begin to sink.
Even though it is all very inspiring…AND…I allow myself to click on link after link…I’m not sure it’s productive.
I begin to QUESTION my capabilities.
I begin to QUESTION my age…and whether or not someone of my age should even try to CREATE and market a product in the midst of all these younger~hip~FUN girls.
I allow myself to feel like “it can’t happen to me…”
“It’s already HAPPEN to so many other creative souls out there….there’s no way it can happen to me too.”
This is not PRODUCTIVE thinking.
And this happens to me sometimes when I COMPARE what I might CREATE to what others are already creating.
Does this make sense?
Thank you for inspiring me GUSSY!
YOU MAKE a DIFFERENCE in my LIFE!
On SEW~SEW many levels!
You really do!
ANd even though I am older…you and I share so much of the same SPUNK and SPIRIT!
Oh…and we share our fur~boys too.
Thank you sweet~girl.
Thank you for sharing the LOVE!
I am sending you oooooooodles and oooooooodles of HUGS!
You make a difference…always remember that!
And don’t ever~ever~ever doubt your product!
I know a SPECIAL product when I see it…and YOURS is SPECIAL!
It’s got YOU written and sewn all over it!
That’s what makes it stand~out as something UNIQUE and SPECIAL!
xo
I love this. Thanks Maggie!
great post.. I so agree with comparing.. it can kill your creativity. Truly.. I make a point of playing in my art studio ea and every day.. and u know what?? I sure feel great when I have!!! I grow more, I experiment more, and I feel great when I hv made something new or mastered a new skill! hugs.. great great post! hugs xo
I also find that some ppl out there really aren’t FOR YOU. Some genuinely are, but others.. are just basement ppl.. no thanks… I will focus on me and learning more and focusing on my strengths.. and getting better and more inspiring!
hugs again
Awesome tips, girl – especially get off the computer!
I definitely the tip about getting off the computer is the best one. My tip would be to start an idea journal that you can take with you anywhere. Then when you get a creative idea or project idea…. you can write
This is something I will be starting to do and as I have time I will be able to cross them off one by one.
i could really really REALLY benefit from your first tip — i think everyone could, whether you are feeling in a slump creatively or with your family/friends/work mode. the computer can be so tricky :] i love being inspired by others, but just like you said, you can become trapped in a cloud of defeat and doubt.
thanks so much for a lovely vlog! three very well thought out tips!
Honestly, I think all of them! Boy do I need to get off the computer and separate myself from the business of online! I also need to stop saying I’m not good enough. I know not having confidence in myself and comparing myself to other is why I personally have so many doubts about my ability to ever have my own Etsy shop!
Such a great post, Thank you! : )
All good tips! Like your first suggestion I too can let what I’m looking at influence me in the wrong way. You are right it’s good to turn it off and go do what you do best.
This has nothing to do with your post but I saw it on etsy and totally thought of you!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71270581/new-design-your-own-i-heart-sewing?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_search_query=coffee+cozy&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
I just love you!
congrats to Abby!!
I agree with those above that getting away from the computer is a good one. I am always comparing myself and feeling discouraged about what I can do. I like the’get out and do something you love’ tip as well. In my past… I was a Chef/Pastry Chef and competed and won multiple awards. Over the last five years I haven’t cooked much but I have recently taken a new interest. I have a goal of finding one product each week that I haven’t worked with or worked very little with and turning it into a culinary masterpiece. I will be blogging this process on my http://tundrarunners.blogspot.com/ page and will upload photos as I go! Thanks for the tips and I am ‘getting off the computer’!
Yes you are totally right! The computer sucks you in! I tell myself I’m just going to do this real quick. Nope, here I am 30 mins later & 5 blogs deep of clicking! I have a super busy life of 4 girls, a hubby, soccer academy, vol in class, medical issues, 2 surgeries in a month span, house & elderly mom to take care of plus our two boys! (shelties) My days seem to blend into the next & I have so many ideas I want to put in my shop, it’s just a matter of time. Yes I love the Mac but it’s true, just step away & be inspired. I love Elsie too! *since way back when she was huge in the scrapbkg world! Happy wkend! =)
Oh, get off the computer. That is BY far my problem because I do EXACTLY what you said–I compare myself and I get down and think I’m not good enough…I love your Biz posts!
Thanks for this encouragement. Your post gave me the little push I needed to get out and explore our new area. Lo and behold, I came back with new ideas and renewed energy.
All great tips – #1 is most needed for me! Thanks for the reminder! Logging off to sew!