Blacksburg Belle

Make Things More Enjoyable + Why I Almost Smashed My Video Camera

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Do you make videos for your website or blog? If not, you’re not allowed to judge.

If you do, don’t you hate it when something interrupts your taping over and over and over? This video took WAY too many takes, because:

1. A loud bird kept squawking in the background. It’s lucky I’m vegan and don’t hurt animals cause I had some not-so-nice thoughts.

2. The tiny dog from three houses away that has the highest, most horrific bark decided to escape and stand right outside our yard and bark like crazy.

3. My dogs got all stirred up by the little dog.

4. My husband thought this was all soooooooooooooo funny and kept poking fun at me. And, he kept making faces that would completely distract me.

So, I had a mini meltdown over a video. I know. I’m not proud of it, but it happened. So, I thought I would share my mini meltdown with you for this week’s entertainment time. You’ll have to watch to end to see it.

Want a recap of the video?

Make things that you don’t really enjoy but need to do anyways more fun by adding something to them. For example, indulge in a gourmet cup coffee if you get up early to work on your creative business or listen to a book on tape as you fold laundry. When you make things more enjoyable, you’re more likely to do them and you’ll feel more refreshed and energized.

Before you go, I’ve got two important reminders:

1. This is the last week that you can register for RoadMap, because there is a week long homework assignment that must be finished before you start the course on December 5th. So, if you want in, get on it!

2. I put together a FREE 4-Day Training on How to Make a Big Change that is only available until November 28th. If you want to make a big change for 2012, check it out.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you’re going to make something in your life more enjoyable in the comments below.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait for January to Set Your Business Goals

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Are you a New Year’s resolution person? Do you come up with things that you want to change at the start of each year?

How does that work for ya? Have you ever stuck with any of those goals long-term?

I’m not a New Year’s resolution person, but I am big on goal setting. I don’t think you should wait for a specific time of year to set goals and make changes.

You should make changes in your life and in your business whenever necessary, and you should always plan ahead. Without goals, what are you working towards?

In this week’s video, I’m encouraging you to think about what goals you’ve accomplished this year and what you want for your business for 2012. Start planning now. If you don’t, it’ll be March before you know it and you won’t have done anything different.

I want big things for you. Do you want big things for yourself?

I’ve put together a fun, downloadable worksheet to get you started!

Let me know in the comments below one goal you have for your biz in 2012. And, if you enjoyed this week’s bit of wisdom, please share it with others.

And, like I mentioned in the video, you can get more details on RoadMap right here. Registration ends November 28th.

Are You Lying to Yourself About How You Spend Your Time?

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How do you view your time? Do you consider every minute precious or do you waste away hours and wonder where the time went?

Have you ever spent time considering how you want to be spending your time? Do you plan out time with your spouse? Do you know what you’re going to do the next time you have an hour to spend with your kids? Do you make time for yourself and carve out time for exercise?

I know this is a lot to think about. And, usually it’s not a pretty picture.

Many of us get completely lost in the day-to-day shuffle and we don’t consider how much time we’re wasting every day on stuff that doesn’t really matter.

We also lie to ourselves about how much time we spend on certain things. We lie to ourselves about how much time we spend watching television. We lie to ourselves about how much quality time we spend with friends, family, and our children. We lie to ourselves about how much time we’re focused and seriously working as opposed to roaming the internet.

We also lie to ourselves about our lack of choice. We make the excuse that we’re too busy for stuff—too busy to read that novel you’ve been meaning to read, too busy to send out a weekly email newsletter, too busy to walk your dogs, too busy to finish that painting.

I get it—we’re all busy. But, we also all make choices about how we spend our time each and every day.

I want you to stop to lying to yourself today, and I want you to take charge of your time. I’ve just launched a new course, Roadmap: Spark Your Productivity to Get You There. If you’re ready to take charge of your time, stop procrastinating, and take action, check out the details of this new course. Registration closes on November 28th.

Does Practice Really Make Perfect?

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Does practice really make perfect? We’ve been told that we should do our math homework, because practice makes perfect. Writers should write every day, because practice makes perfect. Illustrators should draw every day, because practice makes perfect. What if I told you that this wasn’t the case? That doing the same thing over and over doesn’t make perfect. Check out my guest post over at Oh My Handmade Goodness to see what I mean.

Quick Reminder:

Today is the LAST day that you can purchase 3 of my digital programs: Inspired Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs, 10 Critical Factors That’ll Make Your Blog a Success or a Hot Mess, and How to Write Product Descriptions that Sell.

After today, these programs won’t be available for purchase. Just so you know, Inspired Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs is a 12-month program that I put together after years of blogging, experimenting, and learning as much as possible about blogging in the the creative niche. Not counting the years of experience, I put about 80+ into writing, making videos, uploading, putting together worksheets, and everything else that it took to put the program together. That would cost you over $12,000 if we were working together one-on-one–so it’s a great way to “work” with me without the huge price tag.

Top 10 Quotes & Messages from Poke the Box by Seth Godin

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I’m a Seth Godin junkie. His books are thought-provoking and fun to read. If you haven’t picked up and read a copy of Seth Godin’s last book, Poke the Box, then I want you to imagine me standing on a stage with a hot pink megaphone covered in glitter yelling, “You need this in your life.”

If that fun little picture didn’t convince you yet or if you want a reminder of the little gem that this book is, I’ve put together my favorite 10 quotes/messages from Poke the Box. Enjoy!

1. “The challenge, it turns out, isn’t in perfecting your ability to know when to start and when to stand by. The challenge is getting into the habit of starting.”

2. “Oprah has had failed shows, failed projects, failed predictions. She starts something every day, sometimes a few times a day, and there’s a long, long list of things that haven’t worked out. No one keeps track of that list, though, because the market {and our society} has such respect for the work she’s done that has succeeded.”

3. “In short: show up.”

4. “The connected economy of ideas demands that we contribute initiative. And yet we resist, because our lizard brain, the one that lives in fear, relentlessly exaggerates the cost of being wrong.”

5. “Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them.”

6. “Change is powerful, but change always comes with failure as its partner. ‘This might not work’ isn’t merely something to be tolerated; it’s something you should seek out.”

7. “Action is easy once you have a plan. Formulating a plan, however, is a rare and valuable skill.”

8. “When was the last time you set out to be promiscuous in your failures?”

9. “Instead of propositioning everyone within reach of your email box, invest some time and earn the right to ask. Do your homework. Build connections.”

10. “Forward motion is a defensible business asset.”

The One Thing You Must Know When Changing a Habit + My Break-Up with Cheese

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I’m vegan. I don’t eat any animal products—no butter, no eggs, and sadly, no cheese.

Would you believe me if I told you that just a little over a year ago cheese was one of my major food groups? No joke. I used to buy sliced American cheese from the deli and eat slices of it for a snack. Cheese and crackers with a glass of wine was my favorite Friday night treat.

When I got my wisdom teeth removed, I took painkillers for the first time. I stayed with my mom during my recovery and sat in front of the television like a zombie. The only thing I really remember about this time is that I ate an entire pound of sliced cheese in one day. I won’t tell you how that turned out, because it’s not pretty.

I was dependent on cheese—and even thinking about giving up cheese made me extremely nervous. What would I do without my pizza, cheese and crackers, grilled cheese, Greek salads with feta cheese?

After a lot of thinking about veganism, food choices, and where our food comes from, I knew that veganism was the lifestyle that I needed to live. Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to convert you, and I’m not going to take away your cheese.

I’m sharing this with you, because I want you to know that I fully understand how hard it is to change a habit or to form new habits.

If you want to be successful at changing a habit, you better have a damn good reason.

I would not have been able to give up cheese if I didn’t do a lot of research and learn a lot about how cheese is made, how cows are treated, and how factory farming affects the environment. If I didn’t have a damn good reason for changing my diet, I would not have been able to keep it up for this long.

Enough about my cheese addiction. Let’s talk creative biz habits.

Let’s say that you want to work on your creative business for one hour each evening after dinner. You’ve got big goals for turning your fledgling creative business into a successful, full-time venture. In order to do this, you have to give up an hour of television. This means saying goodbye to The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Seinfeld reruns.

At first glance, this might seem easy. But, we all know that habits are hard to change. You might make it through the first week, but when the second week rolls around and you catch a sneak peek of the next episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey where Teresa upturns a table and freaks out on her sister-in-law for stealing her hair stylist, you might find yourself back in front of the TV “just this once.”

Remember the reason. Repeat it over and over. Mount it on your wall. Stick it on your fridge.

One thing that can help you stick with your new routine is to remember the reason that you’re doing it. “The why” is so important when you’re trying to change a habit. When you aren’t feeling motivated, think about the reason that you’re building or changing this habit.

Think about the last time you changed a habit. Did you have a good reason? Did that help you push through the times when you just wanted to give up?

Want some more help changing your habits? Check out RoadMap: Sparking Your Productivity to Get You There.

Giveaway: 4 Copies of The War of Art

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It’s giveaway time!

Why? We’ve been discussing time management and goal setting and I wanted to help some of you overcome something big: resistance. This nasty little thing called resistance is something that keeps us from doing our amazing work and moving ahead. We’ve got to learn how to deal with resistance and overcome it.

I’m giving away 4 copies of The War of Art, and I’m making it super simple to enter. All you need to do is:

1. Leave a comment below before Friday, August 5th at 5pm EST that answers this question: What keeps you from doing your work?

I want to know what gets in your way and what form of resistance you encounter. Do you struggle with balancing family and work? Do you procrastinate all morning and realize that you’ve gotten nothing done by lunch? Do you have a full-time job that zaps your energy?

2. Use a valid email address when you leave your comment, so I can contact you for your address if you’re a winner.

I will announce the winners on Monday, August 8th.

I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield:

“Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

“The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. At this point, Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got.”

“There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny.”

Mr. Blacksburg Belle’s Top Time Management Tip

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I got Mr. Blacksburg Belle to share his top tip for time management. And, after the tip, he shares a quick story about our competitive nature. I hope you enjoy!

BTW, my mother-in-law is in the room working on products while we’re taping, because we’ve got our annual craft show coming up this Friday. So, that’s who I’m looking at when I’m looking off the side and laughing–she’s making faces!

Do The Damn Work {And Why I Envy My Husband}

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{Me and My Man}

Do you ever envy the people who make it look so easy?

I’m talking about the artist who spends most of her work time painting in her studio and sells more paintings than she can make or the jeweler who averages 10 sales per day on Etsy. If only you could figure out how they do it, then you could do it, too. Right?!?

I envy my husband.

He makes being a lawyer look easy. Within two years out of law school, he’s a pro. Most lawyers start off doing bitch work—the stuff the lawyers who’ve worked at the firm a long time don’t want to do. Not my husband {okay, he does some of it but…}. He’s already handled hundreds of cases, winning the majority of them. What I forget {because he makes it look so easy} is that he worked his butt off to get there. He worked at different firms all the way through law school, learning as much as possible. Even though we lived in the same apartment, we’d go days without seeing each other awake. That’s how hard he worked.

He didn’t get to this point by doing the minimum amount of work possible. He got there by working every chance he had. Now, we get to enjoy that hard work. Don’t get me wrong—he still works hard—but now we get to do stuff like exercise together in the mornings and cook and eat dinner together in the evenings.

There are lots of little pieces that go into making a business successful, but one of the biggest pieces of success is common sense: successful people do the damn work.

They don’t make excuses.

A lot of excuses are valid and true. You have children that need your attention. You have a full-time job to pay the bills. You get sick. But, for every excuse you make, I can give you examples of people who didn’t let those same excuses hold them back. J.K. Rowling wrote the best-selling series, Harry Potter, and she has 3 children.  Marie Forleo worked lots of “day jobs” while building her successful career. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times after surviving testicular cancer.

You’re not alone. Everybody has excuses.

I’ve got my own, but I’ll spare you, because I know that you don’t read my blog to hear me whine. The trick is to work with your limitations. If you have a day job, you’re going to have to wake up early to work on your creative biz and/or keep working in the evening instead of watching television. You might have to give up some of your weekends. If you have children, you have to use every spare minute that you can. Wasting time isn’t an option. If you get sick, you have to pay attention to your body and work when your body can handle it.

Lots of people come up with great ideas. It’s the people who actually do the work and put those ideas into action who succeed. It’s about putting in long hours, pushing yourself to work when your girlfriends are going out for dinner and wine for the second time in a week, and not letting your excuses keep you from doing the work.

Related Posts:

The Secret to {one of my least favorite phrases} Time Management

Stop Procrastinating: The 3-Step Solution

The Secret to {one of my least favorite phrases} Time Management

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I know you wanna know the secret.

You want to know the one thing you can do to finally prioritize your to-do list, manage all the things you need to do to keep your creative business running, and find time to relax and enjoy your friends and family. Sounds like a dream, right?

Are you ready for it? Seriously? It’s a big one. Okay, if you’re really ready, here it is:

Stop following everyone else’s rules. Do what works for you.

Don’t allow yourself to get boxed in by what other people do. I let people know what works for me and try to give them tips on how they can adapt it if they have different circumstances. But, what works for me isn’t always going to work for you.

If you have a full-time job and work on your Etsy shop at night and on weekends, you shouldn’t be comparing yourself to shop owners who work on their creative businesses full-time. Of course they can get more products made and listed. Unless you want to go without sleep, you probably can’t keep up with their 60-hour work weeks where they concentrate solely on their businesses.

Learn from others. Keep what works and throw out the rest.

When I give out business advice, I often include a caveat that there are always exceptions to the rule and what works for one person may not work for others. There are some things that you almost always need in order to succeed in the long-term such as outstanding customer service, but you have to pick and choose the advice you want to put into action.

I’m going to be talking about time management, to-do lists, and goal setting over the next couple months. During that time, I’m going to give you tips and advice. I think the best course of action is try it out, keep what works and throw out the rest.

If someone recommends that you spend an hour on social media everyday but you only have two hours to work on your business daily, you shouldn’t take that advice because it won’t work for your situation. You can get great ideas from others, and I definitely think you should. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but you shouldn’t try to force stuff that doesn’t work for you.

With that said, I want to mention that it takes time to build up new habits.

Don’t throw something out too soon. If you’re trying to get a handle on your to-do list and you take my advice of having a realistic to-do list of 2-6 items {depending on your situation}, it may feel uncomfortable at first. It might take you a week or two to really figure out what makes the cut and how to get all the important stuff done.

Research varies on how long it takes to turn something new into a habit, but it takes at least 21 days and up to 66 days according to research. Once you turn something into a habit, it’s much easier to do because you start to do it without thinking about it. You no longer have to make the decision to do that specific task–you just do it. So, if you start exercising, the first 21-66 days will probably be the toughest. After that, it’ll seem more natural and your body might even start craving it.

Here’s what it comes down to: 1. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Learn from others. 2. Try what you learn and give it time to work. 3. Don’t force something that doesn’t work for you. 4. Keep the stuff that works.

I know this sounds simple, but I’m pretty sure we’ve all fallen into the trap of trying to force something that just isn’t going to work for ourselves. There was a time that I tried to break things up by the day. For instance, I’d write blog posts on Mondays, make products on Tuesdays, work on marketing and the website on Wednesdays, etc. That didn’t work for me, because I crave variety. I tried to force it for a while and realized that I was getting less done.

I’d love to hear about what hasn’t worked for you. Have you tried out time management tips that just didn’t work for your situation? Please share in the comments below.