156: Sharpen Your Skills: Mastering Continuous Improvement In Your Creative Journey

See the show notes for this Episode here.

This transcript has been automatically generated.

Bonnie Christine:
Hello, my friends. Welcome back to the Professional Creative Podcast. I'm Bonnie Christine. And today, we're diving into a topic that is close to my heart, and that is one of continuous improvement in our skills, in what we know, and in our creativity. The goal here is that I want to unlock a new level of creativity and expertise every single day. And so today, we're gonna explore how you can join me in doing just that. I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business, and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains running a multi 7 figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life.

Bonnie Christine:
But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today, I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

Bonnie Christine:
I think as creatives, we can so easily feel stuck. We have seasons, right, of immense clarity and productivity, and then we have seasons of immense, like, feelings of being stuck in a rut. So when that happens, I feel like we start to question everything. We get unsure of how to advance our skills and how to grow. We might have feelings of, you know, our peers passing us by and growing without us. We all hit that wall where our progress stalls, and it's so easy to just sit and get discouraged. It can be frustrating to see how our work plateaus even despite, you know, us still loving it. So I've hit this wall so many times myself.

Bonnie Christine:
I have learned to identify it early now and and not feel as discouraged, but it's only been through hitting it over and over and over again that I've even gotten to that place. So sometimes I feel like my skills haven't progressed. Maybe I haven't learned and applied anything new in too long, or maybe I feel like my creativity or my inspiration has run dry. I'm just not feeling inspired. But every time that I've hit this wall and I've felt these feelings, there has been one common denominator. Can you guess what it is? I wasn't consistently creating. So stay with me until the end because I have a special free download designed for you to help you track your learning and your progress in doing so so that you can take steps to implement it and stay on top of it. This tracker will be your companion, your buddy on this journey, helping you stay organized and motivated.

Bonnie Christine:
And using it is one of my, I feel like, life hacks is tracking these little things. So I'll tell you more about it at the end of today's episode. Now let's envision a place where our skills continually evolve, leading to more impactful work and more fulfilling creative work. And so by continuously creating, you will sharpen your skills. You'll transform your creativity and your process. You'll see real tangible growth and find so much joy in your work. Imagine waking up every day excited about the new thing that you're learning, the new thing that you're mastering, the maybe innovative project that you're working on or the unique voice that you're developing. It just picture yourself confident in your abilities, knowing that you're always improving and that the best work is in your fingertips.

Bonnie Christine:
I call this being the best kind of obsessed. It's a healthy obsession, but it is an obsession. It is love for your work in a way that gets your feet on the floor early in the morning because you're so excited about what you're doing. And for me, when this happens, it's typically always when I'm expanding a skill. I'm expanding my knowledge base. So you've probably heard me talk about my journey in learning Adobe Illustrator. I go more into that story in episode number 4, your path to success. So we can link that in today's show notes as well.

Bonnie Christine:
So by now, I'm a seasoned expert. In creating patterns with the program and using the program, I feel like I know Adobe Illustrator like the back of my hand. Right? But just because I've mastered and fine tuned it for my own workflow for the last decade, doesn't mean I'm done learning. In fact, every single time I'm working in the program, let's say, for more than 20 minutes, I learn something new. I incorporate a new workflow, or I use a tool in a different way. Something this makes me think about is the very first iPad that I bought. I can't even remember when this was because back in, like, 2010 or 11, they were new. Don't check my dates, but they were, like, new.

Bonnie Christine:
And I remember thinking, this is such a mega fail. Like, no one will ever want one of those. And that's so funny because now I think, you know, we all probably have an iPad of some sort. And I remember using a new program, Procreate, for the very first time. And by this time, I'm well versed in my process. I don't really wanna change my process, but I'm intrigued with how people are incorporating the iPad Pro in their work so that you can have more flexibility. Right? You can work on it in the car, on the airplane, or maybe on the sofa. So you're not necessarily tethered to your computer workstation, and that was just appealing enough for me to really want to dive in.

Bonnie Christine:
So I think, every time we stand at the threshold of learning a new piece of technology, it feels kind of overwhelming. Right? If it's a new social media platform or a new app or a new software or a new device, it always feels like, ugh, can I do this? But I remember thinking, of course, I can. I can do hard things. And so you know what I did? Out of all the different classes and options and YouTube that exist, I went to the Procreate handbook, and I simply read the handbook from top to bottom. And I came out understanding and learning the program. It's so funny. We forget that things like DSLR cameras come with manuals that will teach you exactly how to use every single feature. And so I just relied on that for Procreate as well, and I was determined to just expand my skill set.

Bonnie Christine:
So at first, I was overwhelmed. I wasn't familiar with what I was doing, felt like I was starting over, but I just dedicated time every day to practice. And so some days, it was just a few minutes. Other days, it was for a few hours. But the key was consistently creating. And slowly but surely, I began to get comfortable in the program, understand how to utilize it in my workflow, and feel more and more confident. So my workflow became smoother, and I started creating work that I was able to incorporate into my Adobe Illustrator work, and I loved it. So as we dive into this concept of continuous improvement, I have some steps that I want you to follow.

Bonnie Christine:
I have 5 steps. But before I get there, I have to use this as a moment to tell you about something that I'm so incredibly excited about because it pertains to continuous improvement so perfectly, and it's crucial, I think, to have the right resources at your fingertips. So before I get to those 5 steps of sharpening your skills, I'm gonna use this time to introduce something so incredibly exciting. We've been working on what we call the Ultimate Licensing Handbook for months months, and we're so excited to finally share it with you. This project has been a labor of love. It is designed to do the heavy lifting of researching and finding art licensing partners for you. It's a task that is often the most difficult and the most overwhelming part for artists and designers looking to get their work licensed. This is the part that often feels the most difficult and the most time consuming.

Bonnie Christine:
So this ebook is a treasure trove of insights that we've designed to help you navigate. We have meticulously handpicked over 400 licensing partners across 14 different industries and also included a ton of exclusive resources and pitch templates that make reaching out a breeze. So we're estimating that this handbook will save you around 463 hours worth of work. That, my friends, is equivalent to 11 and a half full time weeks, and that's how much of the heavy lifting we've done for you. So to celebrate this launch, we're offering the handbook at a incredible introductory price until August 20th. So I'm telling you about it here. I want you to go tell all of your friends we've made it insanely affordable because I understand that finding reliable licensing partners is just such a significant pain point. And my goal is to get this insanely valuable resource into as many hands as possible.

Bonnie Christine:
So we wanna help you focus on what you do best, and that is creating artwork. One of the most important parts to continuous improvement is really understanding how to monetize your skills effectively and sustainably. So by leveraging the strategies that we have in the Ultimate Licensing Handbook, you can open doors for your artwork from wallpaper and fabric to fashion and home decor, and ensure that your work doesn't just bring joy, but it also returns financial benefits. So this handbook is priced normally at $197. And until August 20th, we are I can't believe this. We're offering it at $49. $49, and you get all of this work at your fingertips. So we're so excited to tell you about it.

Bonnie Christine:
Go dive in and check it out atbonniechristine.com/handbook. That's bonniechristine.com/handbook. Okay. So the best way to sharpen your skills as a creative and continue learning while also implementing is, I think, to follow a structured approach. So I wanna break that down into actionable steps. The first one is to start by sourcing your own inspiration and also chasing your inspiration. So actively seeking out inspiration from the world around you and really understanding what inspires you, rather than waiting for that inspiration to strike, I want you to know how to strike it, know how to find what lights you up. This is gonna help you develop your style.

Bonnie Christine:
It's gonna help you set the foundation for your work, and it'll help you just train yourself to see the world in your own unique perspective. And so for instance, when I'm out in my garden, I am not just kind of walking through. I have these inspiration goggles that I put on, and I find new patterns and colors and textures and shapes that inspire all of my designs, and you can do this too. It is just a way of seeing. And by being an artist, by being a creative, we are called to see differently. Your inspiration will naturally just lend ideas and and things that you want to accomplish, and you'll find yourself identifying those skills required to bring your ideas to life more easily. Now the second one is to choose the skill that you need or want to excel in next. In other words, you could identify the goal that you want to accomplish, and then ask yourself, what would have to be true in order for me to accomplish that? What skill would I need to have in order to accomplish the goal that I have? So you can kind of reverse engineer it.

Bonnie Christine:
And so I want you to select one skill that you want to become an expert in, and then healthily obsess over it. Focus on developing it. Obsessing over honing your abilities in that area and striving for excellence, this is when real tangible growth happens, and it's also when you feel more alive in the work at hand than ever before. Now number 3 is to share what you learn. I am such a big believer in passing on the knowledge and skills that you have to others and, honestly, pretty much as quickly as possible. I think that teaching and serving others that are coming up behind you, well, it not only adds another layer to your creative practice, but it also helps you solidify your own understanding of purpose. In other words, the best way to learn something is to teach it. And doing so will help raise up another generation of people who are dedicated to creativity.

Bonnie Christine:
So you'll learn your craft better than anyone on on the planet if you just begin to teach it. It's almost like this trick to self development, and at the same time, it gives back and really makes a huge impact. So if you wanna learn something and learn it really, really, really well, commit to teaching it. Number 4 is to create every day. This, again, is the common denominator for me when I feel stagnant is that I stopped creating every day. I got busy with whatever else it is, and I stopped just really flexing and practicing that creative muscle. And when I do it on a consistent basis, it's like the whole world opens up. So create every day, commit to it at minimum 15 minutes.

Bonnie Christine:
Now number 5 is to start again. After gaining that expertise in one skill, depending on the skill, this could take you anywhere from a week to a month to 6 months to 12 months. And it really, based on the skill, took could take you years. Right? But as soon as you're done really becoming an expert in the expert in the skill at hand, then choose another one. This is that continual learning. It's the continuously challenging yourself to learn and grow. And so don't be afraid of, or don't even hesitate to begin anew, just practice it as if, of course, you would begin anew as soon as you've accomplished one thing. So by staying disciplined and pushing yourself, you'll find confidence and success in your creativity.

Bonnie Christine:
The best way to create confidence is to tell yourself that you're gonna do something and then do it. So you are going to love just developing, sharing your knowledge, and impacting those along the way. Each new skill builds on the previous one, and that just creates the super rich, diverse set of abilities that will enhance your creative practice. You know, I also believe it's so important to invest in learning and your professional development alongside your creative development so that you can enhance your business efforts as well. So a couple of ways that I love to incorporate continual learning from a business perspective are things like attending conferences. Oh my goodness. I love a business conference. I walk away with so many new ideas and clarity and techniques and just my head wrapped around things that could have never happened with me at home in my studio.

Bonnie Christine:
So I attend several conferences a year. I love them. Immersion Live is our industry annual industry conference for surface pattern designers. We just had it a couple of months ago, and so we're about a year away from having it again. But it is a great example of a way to really enhance and continually learn. Then I also take courses. I love to enroll in courses. I love the power of being able to learn really almost anything that we want to right at our fingertips.

Bonnie Christine:
I use courses when I want to do a deep dive into a specific skill and receive guidance. Surface design immersion was born out of that need for something like this in my industry, and it's a great example of what it means to kind of turn around and teach what you know. But courses provide a structured learning path and opportunity to learn from experts all over the world. I mean, what an incredible time to live. Right? And then I also am a part of a couple of memberships and group programs, group coaching programs. And I think being a member of kind of a professional organization where you've got an online community, where you can go to to ask questions and get ongoing support and resources, it's really one of the most impactful ways to grow. We also offer this with Flourish, my membership for surface designers, and then our coaching program, the professional creative business coaching program for creative entrepreneurs. These communities provide just an incredible network of like minded people who are in it together.

Bonnie Christine:
And they can help you, give you insights, and answer questions, and then celebrate your successes with you. They're so incredibly valuable. So whenever I'm ready to learn a new skill, I immediately try to use it in a real world situation. It helps me kind of solidify what it is that I'm trying to learn. And then I like to set a dedicated schedule, so a time each day or a time each week to dedicate to kind of learning the thing, whatever it is. If it's a course, or a book, or a new skill that I'm practicing, it's gotta go on the calendar. Otherwise, it never happens. So again, I wanna invite you to come over to professionalcreative.com and download the tracker that we have designed for you.

Bonnie Christine:
This is gonna help you track your progress, build your confidence, and just be a way for you to see how much progress that you make. So today, we explored how important it is to continually develop your skills. And then we worked through sourcing your own inspiration, choosing that skill to focus in, sharing what you know, creating every day, and then starting again and again and again. This is how you can achieve ongoing growth and success in your journey. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. Don't forget to download the freebie. That's over at professionalcreative.com.

Bonnie Christine:
Until next time, my friends. Create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world, and remember, there's room for you.