They Aren't Pipe Dreams

Last week I mentioned something while I shared my goals with you-- something that has been really bothering me the last few months. I mentioned the fact that a lot of people in my life (real world, not virtual world) don't seem to take my design business seriously. I'm not really sure what their reasoning is, but I get a lot of nods, blank stares, and laughs when I mention anything about my greeting cards and stationery. One person even stated, "Haha! You sell just ONE card to people?! Who buys just ONE card online?!"

I am a teacher now, but I always knew I wasn't meant to teach forever. I've always been a creative person and a free spirit and, quite honestly, teaching in a public school system doesn't cater to either of those qualities. I come from a family in which my mother and father are both artists and have their own businesses. They never had the office jobs or the standard professions that people in today's society seem to assume we must have in order to be taken seriously. This is not weird to me. It is normal. However, this is the only reasoning I can see as to why these people doubt me so much when I talk about my business.

I can tell I'm soon going to be ready to move on. That looks kind of scary when I see it in writing, but in reality I've told this to many people (including my assistant principal-- this isn't breaking news in case someone from school were to stumble upon this). I've just been feeling the itch.

I believe in myself. I know I can sustain myself (once I've paid off all of those pesky student loans). I just wish everyone around me would believe in me too. My parents, sister, and of course Andrew are behind me completely. Yet some days I still feel like the little kid that tells an adult that when they grow up they want to accomplish big things only to have the adult steer them in a different direction or suggest an alternate choice. I almost want to be that kid and yell back, "They aren't pipe dreams!"

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I decided to hang this print in my studio from Pen & Paint. It spoke to me for several reasons. 1) The vibrancy of the colors and the sketch itself is inspiring. 2) It reminds me that I AM going to do this. This is not some sort of silly pipe dream. Every day I tell Andrew, "I am going to have an awesome blog" or "I am going to sell ten of these cards in a week" or a general "I'm totally going to kick some ass today!"

And then I do it.

I do it because I know that I can. I've decided that it is going to happen and so it happens. And If I know I can make it happen, then friends, family, and other people around me, please encourage me. It's a rough road having only a few people on your side and sometimes you can use all of the extra motivation that you can get!

Does anyone else ever feel alone in their ambitions? Or feel as though they are not being taken seriously? What do you do to keep yourself motivated and on track to accomplish your dreams?