Transformation Station

Do you have a plan for 2019? You know, a forward-thinking plan that capitalizes on the good things which may have happened in 2018, or a plan which recognizes a need to do something different to achieve your goals and make 2019 success? What is your success story anyway?

Is it artistic growth, income growth, a better understanding of your life as an artist? Is there something you want or more importantly, that you need? It’s still January and in eleven and a half months we’ll be saying Happy New Year again.

If your current plan is that you have no plan or that the plan you have from last year is a keeper, well then, I tip my hat to you! It would appear you’re happy and that is 100% important. You are happy, aren’t you?

If not, it’s time to head into the transformation station, and board the train to change. First stop is completely understanding what needs changing. There is no sense in delaying the train with things you are happy with. Get it out of your head and on paper. You are visual, you need to see this outside of your head. The second stop is knowing what is or might be wrong, or in need of fixing. Again, write it down. The third stop is picking one to three things that will really make the biggest difference in obtaining your goals. Now choose which is best for you. Will you be best going after one big thing or three small things. The point is victory and you can’t have a victory if you choose one big thing and don’t follow through, any more than you can with choosing several small things then doing nothing. A small win is far better than getting halfway through a big thing and stopping. You need wins!

The change train is now pulling into stop number four, and you should have only had weeks go by and felt a win or two. The most important thing to understand at this stop is what might blow up the bridge ahead. Is it clutter? Is it paling value on a bunch of stuff you say you’ll use or get to and you know damn well you never will? Is there a piece of unfinished art that you keep saying you’ll fix one day, but won’t. I’ll take a break here to tell you a little story. We’ve all been down a road and seen an old crappy car sitting in a driveway that doesn’t run. It may have a tarp over part of it, you know the ones. There’s usually a guy that lives there that keeps saying, “one day I’ll get to it. One day I’m going to restore it.” Well, let me just share as a car guy, that the only thing in need of restoration is the owner of the car.

Okay, the train is past the bridge and choo-choo-ing along! Little or even big victories have fed its engine, and chug, chug, chug, chug, comes a hill. Ooh, this is going to be hard to get up, but remember, you are no longer carrying that heavy load of clutter. You have a plan and your assets are in order. Wow, look at the train to change go!

All aboard!

Live an artful life,

Tom