Have you ever wished you would make it big? That sales would go through the roof? That your designs would end up on a celebrity in a magazine? Do you sit home waiting for a magazine to contact you to do a profile on you and your work?
What’s stopping you?
It is a fantasy to think that someone is going to show up on your doorstep with a camera crew and make you the next big thing. You gotta get out there and work it.
Here’s an interesting exercise: Sit down with a pad of paper and make a list of everything you would want to accomplish in your business if you had no limitations. No money limitations, no personal issues, no family issues, no equipment restrictions, etc. Let the sky be the limit. Write it all down.
Do this as long as you can. Until you run out of ideas or until you feel done.
Then look at your list. What is stopping you from at least starting towards those dreams? Which ones are really do-able if you would just try it? Which ones do you hold yourself back from and there is really no reason to do so?
If you do this simple exercise, I’d love to hear what happens. I’ll do it myself (again) and come back and let you know my process!
If you are currently not experiencing burn out, start taking measures now so you can avoid it in the future and continue to do the work you love.
Burnout is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It can occur when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly hopeless, powerless, cynical, and resentful. The unhappiness burnout causes can eventually threaten your job, your relationships, and your health. Taken from Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms and Strategies to Avoid it.
If you are a self-sufficient, self-employed artist and are striving to make a real go in your business, chances are, you will experience burnout at some point. Unless you prepare for it now.
You might be thinking, “Who me? That will never happen to me…I love my work…all aspects of it. I could never be burned out on this.”
When we do what we love, we want to do more of it. When we turn what we love into a business, it will turn into work. Work that we highly enjoy, but nonetheless, it brings on stress that wasn’t there when it was purely a hobby.
Signs of Burnout
- Physical and mental fatigue
- Headaches and digestive issues
- Weight loss or gain
- Apathy/Boredom
- Cynicism
- Irritability/Frustration
- Feelings of being everything to everyone
- Loss of charisma
- Withdrawal/decreased communication
- Poor concentration
- Shortness of breath/chest pains
- You feel like you’re spinning your wheels
And the list goes on.
What can you do to prevent burn out and come out of it?
- Recognize the signs and know that burn out is real. It can happen to you.
- Ask for help if you need it. Talk to a counselor.
- Revive your social contacts and take time to ‘unplug’ from work regularly.
- Eat right.
- Exercise.
- Get enough rest.
- Work on balancing work and play. Play? What’s that? Rediscover how to not work.
- When setting goals, be realistic.
- Set boundaries with friends, family, customers, etc. You can’t do it all and it’s ok to say no.
- Change the way you do things. Eliminate those tasks, customers, accounts, product lines, etc. that no longer give you joy, or that you had taken on before you learned you can say ‘no’.
Those are just some tips to get started. Diet, exercise and sleep are very important, as those seem to be the things that go first when we start to feel stress. Of course, if you feel you cannot pull yourself out of it or if you are experiencing deeper depression, be sure to seek the help of a counselor. You can get your joy back.
For more information on burnout, read the article I reference above: Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms and Strategies to Avoid it.
by Lori Greenberg on January 11, 2008
in marketing
Do you want more exposure for your blog and bead/jewelry business? Why not join a blog carnival?
Blog carnivals are postings that consolidate the best of the best links that are submitted and then advertised around the internet. It’s a great way to be seen and you might just pick up some regular readers or customers that didn’t know you were out there.
Here’s a great one to get started with:
Carnival of Art Beads and Jewelry. Hosted this month by Fay Katherine.
Theme: From the Heart.
Submit your posts that have to do with hearts, Valentines Day, etc.
The submission deadline is January 15, even though it’s indicated as Jan 5 at that link. Ignore it and submit your post!
Would you like to know about more opportunities for exposure? Make sure you subscribe to the Bead Nerd Blog so you don’t miss one. Maybe even sign up to receive it by email.
