A Covid Life - The Avocado Timing

I FEEL OVERWHELMED. Growing or evolving my business daily during this digitally explosive time has been overwhelming. 

Every lead ad in my social feeds makes me think I am missing something, leaving cash on the table, or worse than that just a failure in general because I am not doing 'all the things'. 

As a seasoned freelance artist, my client roster is healthy. I am gradually taking on the opportunities while I navigate the workflow increase. As a creature of habit, learning new ways to absorb and delegate is challenging for me. Thankfully, I find support because I seek it. Education has been a part of that process as well which is a blessing but also eats up a good chunk of my work time. So overall, my brain is overwhelmed by what-ifs, am I doing this right, and OMG!

For some reason, all this leads me to think about the ripening stages of avocados and comparing them to my business opportunities. Avocados specifically take time to mature and do it at varying stages which is beneficial because they become a daily gift to us in our diets. I have a friend who owns a ranch, which contains lemon, orange, and avocado groves. I regularly go to her ranch and get avocados because, during a COVID life, I continue to support my local businesses.  Part of my daily routine is to test the avocados for ripeness. The day avocado is ripe is the best time for it to do its job. Nourish you and make you feel satisfied that its life has become part of yours. Enhancing my life in ways that I have yet to realize.

So what avocados do you have lined up? Are you paying attention to which ones are ripe now and which may take time? You don't need to focus on all the avocados at once, just take each opportunity with patience and wait for the perfect time to assimilate it into your business flow. Then digest these opportunities at the time that they fit perfectly with your progress. Yum Yum! 

There is only one way to eat an elephant, 

a bite at a time.

Desmond Tutu

Ok, now I am hungry for more. Happy WEEKEND!! Let's get to picking!

A COVID Life - Obstacles by Choice

This has become a question I ask before saying yes to any new project. Away from the old regime of handling business and heading into the new has been my primary focus since lockdown in March 2020.

Methods? Wake up, see the wall, dismantle the wall sounds simple. A black and white methodology for accomplishing business. Right? But then your mind gets distracted by emotions, and choices start presenting themselves in a combination that adds a LOT of greys. Time to restructure and explore.

During COVID 19 being in lockdown, this life inside walls has reduced our free-range human wanderings. It has also presented to us silver linings... Confinement, Confusion = Creation. My pure creativity is something I have neglected when distracted by my preCOVID life. Last on the list by choice. 

We have an increased amount of screen time, internet, and social media, I began to notice a rise in images of personal creations by friends and strangers. Choosing to find creative ways to pass the time, ie; the food they made, or clothes, paintings, beauty tips, intuitive, churches, engineers, woodworkers, local artisans, et.al. I became inspired!

As a professional (cough cough) artist, I  felt a surge of the need to update my skillset and now was the time to accomplish it! A few years ago, I began watching Behance (Adobes Learning platform). This choice was to observe work by other designers, also to gather intel. How far behind was I? I chose not to focus on that. 

As we went into shutdown, the choice was removed. The majority of business has relocated to a digital platform. I am in that world, time to beef up. YIKES!! My requirements to educate and assimilate escalated quickly. Thankfully this obstacle was capable of being circumvented!

In I went, accessing LinkedIn, Behance, YouTubers, and the list of my online webinars and is deep. BUT is this a distraction? or an asset? Most often I feel like I go down the rabbit hole of information and gather data that is just put in storage, but is that a good use of my time? What was that choice assisting me with?

I had an epiphany moment in one of my ramblings with my current business coach. I realized how many obstacles I present myself in order to keep from accomplishing things in life. Presented with a nifty planner, and my trusty graph paper moleskin made this transition easier to choose because I was armed with tools that made me smile when I held them. 

One of my first entries during my new business model is to remind myself that I can choose which task is next! Suggestions from the coaches in my life;
• Schedule it out, know when you are available mind and heart for whatever choice you are making
• Live your life by your personal rhythm which will only enhance the use of your skills in your business.
• Opportunites are everywhere, be open to what you may not think possible.

All the choices we have made in this life are leading us to opportunity or in a direction that may distract you!!!