It is about time I posted again. All the reasons I haven’t – that’s about time too. I’m 45 years old and I am still confronting the lesson that I can’t do everything I want to do and I can’t be all things to all people all any of the time. That’s the negative side of the lesson. The positive side of the lesson is that I can be true to myself, revise my boundaries, and constantly re-invent the wheel of my own life. I have that power. And you do too. We all do.

Since I began this blog (formerly known as The Art of Dramatic Living) and began teaching again, I have been forced to learn what it means to sustain myself, my family and my work while building a creative business. It ain’t easy! But it’s worth it because I am building something that I believe will add beauty to this world. I thought I would have to learn businessy kinds of things in order to succeed. Not really. I do need to develop business skills and make decisions about how to implement them. But, the lessons I have learned go so much deeper than that. Building a business you love is about knowing who you are and loving that person. Because without that love in place, we have very little to share.

What I have learned from my acting students:

• They want to learn.
• They trust me even when they may not understand me.
• They have big dreams and missions.
• Their dreams are unique to them.
• They deserve to know and be reminded that they are artists.
• They, like me, are juggling every other thing in their lives so we can spend two hours together every week.
• They show me that I take too much of what I know for granted.
• They give me more joy than they know.

What I have learned from the creative entrepreneurs and teachers I’ve connected with online:

• Focus is necessary. (“Creativity loves limits.”)
• Constantly readjusting focus when things get fuzzy is at least a twice daily exercise (in faith).
• Articulation is everything.
• You can make six figures and have zero profit.
• You have to know who you are, what you have to offer and why other people would care.
• Your audience is bigger than you know.
• If you aren’t true to yourself, your value diminishes.
• If you are true to yourself, your value expands.
• Truth is everything.
• Love is everything.
• Generosity is everything.
• Relationship is everything.
• Creative people can build a beautiful business when they give themselves permission to do it their way.
• The left-brain wants to help the right-brain rule.
• Your story is unique even though you’ve heard it before and it has value.
• Self-care is vital.
• If you wear multiple hats, schedule time to wear them one at a time. You only have one head.

There’s so much more. Thanks to Jennifer Lee of Artizen Coaching for the Right-Brain Business Plan and Video Summit and to all of her wonderful guest speakers. All of this learning is still soaking in and finding ways to express itself. I feel more encouraged and more connected than I have ever before.