Creating Success
We can not reach new goals with old plans. I am learning that being a real creative does not just mean creating in a studio or in the Adobe Suite or on some canvas. It’s also about crafting the life that you want to live. It’s about designing everything from where you live to how you make a living. Being a creative is a gift. Sometimes we get stuck where we are. But I hear that means that things on the other side of the hurdle are going to be greater than we could ever hope. The best way to get out of feeling stuck is to write everything down; someone once told me that dreams turn into goals once you write them down. Each year, I gather with women I love for a vision board session led by Jocelyn Malone from JSM Therapeutic Options LLC in Baltimore. She guides us through writing down our goals for the coming year, we discuss them as a group, and then we use our creative skills to make a physical poster to hang in our space. The posters are often covered in magazine clippings, photos, and drawings of what we envision for ourselves in the coming year. I keep my vision boards on my wall to remind me of what I’ve accomplished. In 2012 one of the goals on my vision board was to have my own bedroom. After foreclosure on my family’s home during my freshman year of high school, my sister and I shared whatever space we were offered. We started renting our own space after graduating from high school. My room was in the unfinished basement of a previously condemned home. I hung curtains to section my space off from the laundry area and the old oil tank. I painted the bleak cement floor. I lit candles & burned incense to make the space feel more relaxing. But I knew that I wanted more so I reflected that on my vision board. Positive energy and guidance awarded me exactly what I asked for. So now, my bedroom is a space for forward thinking and encouragement. I have decorated the walls in my room to remind me of ways to be successful. Tibetan prayer flags hang above a working list of “500 Things I Want.” Drawing paper hangs on the adjacent wall, sprinkled with song and theme ideas for future music projects. Vision boards from 2012, 2015, and 2016 display my triumphs, fear, and struggles. A True Laurels zine hangs open on a page that reads “Music is Like a Kaleidoscope.” And of course, my wall of “20 Successful Habits” from Paul C. Brunson Brunson wrote a list of practices called “20 Successful Habits I Learned Working for Two Billionaires.” He worked for Enver Yucel and Oprah Winfrey for 6 years! Having spent so much time around them, Brunson compiled this list of habits. “Over communicate your message.” “Take enormous risks.” “Take responsibility for your losses.” I glance at these messages on my wall during times of struggle. Like Brunson, I have been an assistant for the last 6 years. From hairstylists to program managers to directors, my work experience has involved assisting masters at their craft. I have learned so much from these experiences. I have learned so much from the people with whom I have gotten to work. They try new things, troubleshoot, and create new goals based on what they learn and experience. The most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to trust yourself to overcome your greatest struggle. A willingness to learn and make mistakes is an essential part of success.