More thinking...

I don't quite know why... but I THINK a heck of a lot...

I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing... perhaps a bit of both.

Right now I am reading the book: "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown - which is engaging me a lot. It is about changing your mindset to live a life that eliminates the unneccessary, and focuses on the few necessary items for a sense of personal wellbeing and happiness.

Definitely good stuff in there. A lot of it sounding like the sort of thinking that I already do... and I am hoping to find some 'major signposts' that make me go 'Aha!' so that I can find a way to 'simplify' my life and make the 'best possible choices' for my own directions... but I'm already thinking that the answers won't be obviously there. The answers are inside of me... I just have to get them out somehow...

Recently I wrote a detailed plan of my business goals for now and 2015. When I read them to Ben his first reaction was: 'That sounds like too much"... and combined with now reading this book, I am wanting to re-evaluate... see if I can figure out how to simplify things...

Mary Oliver once wrote: "Tell me what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - so throwing the list and logic aside, let me see if I can answer it....

Right now I am pretty darn happy. I love the location that I live in, I love my home and my family. I want my life to be about being a great mum and sharing fabulous moments with my children - helping them to learn and grow and be the best they can be. Creativity is a huge part of my own life and passions. I love my art studio, and getting to work teaching children art. I want more and more time to spend doing art and being creative.. and I want to somehow earn a justifiable living through my work too.... Already I'm rambling... justifying... looking for problems and solutions that perhaps aren't there?

What do I want to do with my life??

I want to live my life and ENJOY it. I want to be creative, happy, engaged... and at other times still. Being a mum is fabulous. Love and my family, and everyday joys and experiences mean everything. I want to fill my lifetime and my children's with happy memories: of the REAL stuff. Making things, building things, being outdoors, being in nature, exploring life, etc. I want to travel the world a little - to be the one to show my children different cities, cultures, historic buildings, and more of the fabulous things on this planet.
I want to be good to others. I want to live my life with some meaning, and making a positive difference in some way. Art and design, and perhaps  writing and teaching are my calling... I want to create art that shares my values, my feelings, my sensibilities and passions.
I don't want to have a 'name' in the art and design world just for the sake of having a name. I want to follow my own creative passions and inspire others to as well. I don't want to focus too much on the commercial side of the creative world... but I want to earn a good income and prove that you can earn money doing what you love.
I want to reach the end of my life, knowing that I tried hard. That I took risks, I learned, I shared what I knew and loved with others... I failed and I succeeded. I don't ever want to 'give up' or 'give in' or just become a person that doesn't care too much about anything other than my own little world and interests.
Family, nature, art, and the simple things in life are what matter to me most.

Yep. That's it. Love what I have just written... But HOW is the best way to do that?? How does that translate to my goals and priorities for now??

I think my 2015 ALC focus should be:
* developing online-course content...
* producing art packs and kits to accompany the courses.
* adjust the focus of the website, and focus more on the BLOG and building a more popular following and audience via that.. (but keep it all SIMPLE rather than complicated!)
* the 'deluxe-box' can be a collaboration with Ben... and ideally may be ready to launch in good timing for Christmas... but is not on it's own a #1 focus of the business... just a top-end product.