As a creative person I am constantly putting pieces of myself into my work, my family (relationships) and my friendships. It’s how I have been made. It’s what makes me strong. It’s also what makes me vulnerable. And I would not have it any other way …
Henry David Thoreau said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” My mom said, “Don’t allow other people to tell you who you are.”
In other words we choose what we exchange our time and our ‘life’ for and with whom. We choose what or who to make important in our lives. We make space, we make time and we make a plan for those we care about and what we care about, or we do not. I am a very family centred person with a small ‘inner circle’ aka my amazing group of friends. I surround myself with strong, true, inspiring humans who I love and adore each in their own way.
After my little girl was born, I was struck with the revelation that I was going to crumble if I didn’t realign my business with my new mentality. Sadly, along with the family centred axis of my life I did lose a few clients (*and friends) along the way as they didn’t respect or appreciate my change of circumstances and shift of focus, however I was determined to build a happy business around a happy family. BUT God blessed me with many, many more amazing clients who DID continue to see and appreciate my value and how my expanded way of looking at things actually worked for them!
That said I continue to invest in the people who invest in me, both personally and professionally. I will continue to put pieces of myself into my work because without those pieces invested in all aspects of my life I have completely lost my authenticity. I will always try to choose love.
“But I find that for myself, without exception, the more I deal with the work as something that is my own, as something that is personal, the more successful it is.” – Marian Bantjes
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