Episode 2: What If I'm Alone In This? 

This transcript has been automatically generated.

It's just about being intentional about what rooms we put ourselves in, because some of them we're in no matter what, like family, right? But some of them we get to choose and it just takes our intention. 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 Smokey Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I 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 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. I recently sent out a survey to all of you to hear more about what you wanted to hear from me, and it's always so fun to see what reoccurring themes there are, because honestly, at the end of the day, we all struggle with so many of the same things, yet a lot of times we really feel alone, right? So this podcast is gonna be about what if you do feel alone, and what if you maybe don't have a lot of support in your life for what you want to do?

A couple of examples of questions that came in on this survey were what would you say to someone who didn't really have anyone around to support their dreams and goals? Someone else said, How can I help my husband and other family members understand that the starving artist notion is a mindset rather than a fact? Someone else said, How to convince my husband to support me in a career change?

These things are really hard, and you know, having a big dream or a big goal, it's, it's scary. It's intimidating to start talking about because the fear sets in, What if I don't accomplish it? What if I fail? Or what if, you know, people just think that it's silly. I remember when I first set out to become a fabric designer, I felt like, who was I to even say such a thing? And I very slowly, you know, picked and choose who I wanted to tell that to because I was afraid that they would think I was ridiculous. And so, especially when you think that sharing your big dream might not be met with the support that you really need, it can make it feel even more vulnerable.

In this episode, I'm gonna outline seven different ways that you can encourage those around you to support you. Really, no matter what you're doing, whether it's a small goal, a huge goal, you're quitting your day job, or you're starting something yet again, doesn't really matter what it is, but we are capable of empowering those around us to better support us and encourage us.

Are you ready to dive in? Let's start with number one. This is simply to share your goal. You probably have something on your heart right now that you need to just say out loud. Something unique happens when you put words to your big dream or your big goal. You know, things start to be put in emotion. You feel a little boost of momentum and you start to hold yourself more accountable, but you're also inviting others to check in on you and maybe hold you accountable as well. So choose someone who you know is going to meet you with some encouragement and go ahead and share your goal. Now I'm going to push you to yes, just first tell one person, but slowly to start telling more and more people. So maybe you tell your entire family, maybe you tell an entire room full of friends and eventually maybe you share it publicly, like with strangers. Maybe you make an announcement on your website or on Instagram or in your email list, but something happens, you start to take yourself more seriously and that boosts your own confidence, and others will start to take you more seriously as well as you begin to just get comfortable saying your goal out loud.

Now number two is try to explain the outcome that you think is possible. Sometimes it's really easy to forget that part. You tell someone that you wanna do something really big and well, it's not their dream or goal, and so they don't know what it is even going to look like. And what is the possible outcome? Do you think that you can really replace your income?

Or do you think that you can really do it as a side hustle? Or do you think that you'll really be able to land certain deals within your industry? Go ahead and explain not only what your goal is, but what you think the outcome is going to be to that's gonna help kind of bring them into the full circle. Do you ever go to a conference by yourself and you come back and you're on fire and you're trying to like catch everybody up to speed and let them know how incredible it was?

And you're like, There's just no way for you to understand. I wish you had just gone with me. I feel like as entrepreneurs, every new big goal we have can kind of be this way because we have really marinated in it. We've thought about it, it's kept us up at night, We're thinking about it all the time. And so when we start to talk about it to other people, it's important to try to talk about the full circle, try to talk about every part of it to really, you know, help them understand where it is that you're going. Now, the next one, number three is to create a rough outline and a timeframe for accomplishing it. This will actually help someone who may not be a natural supporter understand how to support you more and see that you've been thoughtful about the timeframe for accomplishing it.

Now, the best goals are time bound, which means that they're not just kind of thrown up in the air, but that you have created an outline, a plan of attack, if you will, for accomplishing it. Now, it doesn't have to be quick, right? Like your timeframe can be 18 months or two years or a year, but it can be put onto paper so that you can really show like I've mapped this out.

So that's all I'll say for now. But if this is something that you haven't done before, stay tuned because in episode number four, I'm gonna outline how to map out your own path to success. I'm gonna give you one that you can download and fill out yourself, and it would be the perfect way to do just this. Are you ready to use your creative skills?

And in all new way, I'm thrilled to share with you my free mini class called Start Simple in Surface Design. It's called Start Simple because well, we're gonna do just that. I'll guide you through every step you need to take in order to get started and just five lessons that are under 20 minutes each. You'll learn how to take a simple sketch or painting and turn it into a repeating pattern using Adobe Illustrator.

Now why is that so cool? Because repeating patterns can be used to order your own fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap, or even tape. Now, don't worry, even if you've never used this program, Adobe Illustrator, I'll teach you everything you need to know to get up and running as simply as possible. I'll even show you how to scan in found objects like leaves and strings.

So you don't even have to draw if you don't want to. I'll teach you how to create a custom color palette, design your very own repeating pattern and export your work like a pro. Do you have an hour to learn an entirely new skill for free? If so, let's get started. Head on over to [email protected] slash start simple. Again, that's surface pattern designers.com/start.

Simple. I can't wait to see what you create. I'll meet you there. The next one is number four, and I think that if you're feeling vulnerable and like you could actually really use some support to communicate that, so many times the people in our lives don't actually know what we need, and sometimes it's up to us to simply communicate it. You know, let someone know I have something really big to share with you, but before I share it with you, I'd love for you to know that it would mean a lot to me if it was met with some encouragement and support, because honestly, I'm feeling really vulnerable right now. You know, just that little simple introduction to a big idea can really frame it up and help set someone up for success and coming alongside you and encouraging you along the way.

Now number five is to start taking visible action. I think that when I first started to share my dream, I felt all of these things, I felt kind of silly. I felt very vulnerable. I felt like what will they think of me if I fail? And it was hard, but support, it was met with encouragement, but support came after they saw me work really hard. And so working really hard helps people believe in you. And so at first I feel like, you know, my husband was off to his nine to five job and I was sitting at home learning, you know, illustrator and, and paint and art, and he was so supportive, but I know probably somewhere he was like, Okay, you know,

have fun today at home being crafty or whatever you call it. And it wasn't until he really saw me dedicate myself and, you know, make some sacrifices and really, really obsess over developing the skills that the true support, like the belief in me came. So it, it went from encouragement to support, to like full on belief. And that's what you want.

And I think that really starting to take visible action and showing someone that you're dedicated and you are disciplined and you're prioritizing and you're obsessing over developing what you need in order to accomplish your dream. How can someone not support that, right? Like you're doing the work, you're showing up, you're proving them wrong right now. Number six is to act like the future successful version of yourself.

Now, I wanna talk about this one for a second because the first time that I asked myself this, Hey Bonnie, are you acting like the six figure or a seven figure version of yourself? Like, are you acting like the licensing artist that you dreamed to be? Honestly, the answer was no. I was, you know, kind of having lazy mornings and sleeping in a little bit.

I wasn't getting ready in the morning. So I totally remember having days where someone would bring mail to my door at noon and I would meet them still in my PJs or you know, un unkept. And I would also say yes to way too many things. So my friends would call me up for lunch and I would absolutely go and and that kind of thing.

And so when I started to think about, well, what would it look like if I was as successful as I dreamed to be? Oh boy. Then I started to get my act together. I got up to an alarm clock, I took care of myself. I got, you know, this seems so silly, but you know, I brushed my teeth and got dressed every day because I was taking myself seriously and I was acting like the future more successful version of myself, which really just expands and like makes room for us to be able to step into that future person. So I also began to set work hours for myself and I had to tell my friends and family to respect them. And so this was also part of the support generating thing that I did because when you are always answering the phone or changing your schedule or really having a loosey-goosey, you know, tossed with the waves kind of schedule, then why would someone take you very seriously? Instead, even though you're likely working from home and you are setting your own schedule, it's important to respect the schedule and the hours that you've set for yourself. So I began having to turn down those lunch dates and say, Oh, you know, mom,

I'm working right now. I'll call you back as soon as I'm done with this project, or whatever it may be. And so seeing me really work to a schedule also encouraged support from others, it helped them take me more seriously. In other words, for other people to take you seriously, you have to take yourself seriously first. So are you acting like the entrepreneur you envision your future self to be?

I use this to this day all the time because I'm always setting bigger goals and bigger sites, right? And so if I find myself acting like a less successful version of my future self than I try to identify what do I need to do to take care of myself better or be more efficient in my work, right? Okay. So number seven is the last one.

And this is to make sure that you're in the right room. I'm gonna talk about this a little bit because I like to think about my different sets of people like rooms. You might also think about them, like buckets of people or groups of people. You know, you have your family, you have your friends, you might have your workout buddies, you might have your children's friends, parents, and then you likely have your entrepreneurial friends or your business friends who really get you and understand what you're doing. So I want to share with you one of the most pivotal aha moments in my life. And the concept is pretty simple. It's just about being intentional about what rooms we put ourselves in, because some of them we're in no matter what, like family, right? But some of them we get to choose and it just takes our intention. Jim Rhone says, You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. And so I don't actually know if that's true for you or not, but I would urge you to think about your five closest friends or the five people that you spend the most time with.

Are they pushing you? Are they supporting you? Are they encouraging you, or are they holding you back or just doing things that you don't want to do in your life? The goals and dreams that you have might be bigger than the room that you're currently in, and you may need to step out of that room and into a different one to fully realize your dream.

Now, make sure you hear me. We have more than one room. So I'm not telling you to leave your closest friends or your family, but just that you are really intentional about having at least one room of people who normalize success, who meet your big goals and dreams with the support that you need, and know how to encourage you.

Honestly, the people that we surround ourselves with, they matter so much. Perhaps you have people in your life who talk you down or think you're silly or encourage you to get a real job. If that's true, you need a new room. I am incredibly intentional about the environments that I surround myself with. Stepping into rooms, filled with people who are wiser than me and doing things that I aspire to do has honestly been a game changer for me.

This looks like joining memberships or taking courses that have communities with them, and most of all, participating in a mastermind. In fact, I believe in this so much that every single year I spend more on my own education than the year before, because I know that curiosity and knowledge fuels success. Finding people who are dreamers and doers and who are finding success at what you want to do is key.

That is what you want to put yourself around, people who can understand and support your goals. Now, this doesn't happen by accident. It has to be an intentional shift. The mastermind that I'm in is called Impact with Stu McLaren. And I'll never forget, the first year I joined was 2019, and for the first time I walked into a room that blew me away.

It expanded what I even thought was possible. And when I shared my big goal, rather than being met with, you know, sideways looks and, and Jaws dropped, everyone was like, Yes, you can absolutely do that. Let me help you. Or here's a tip, or here's a trigger. This is how I did this, and oh my goodness, it sets you on fire to just be in a group of people who understand what you're doing, what you're going for. They speak your same language and they know how to support you. Let's revisit the question. What if you do feel alone in this? I know how lonely it can be to be an entrepreneur. Honestly, we build up this life of entrepreneurship to be amazing, and it is, but we often don't talk about the hard parts, how hard it is to set your schedule and act like a boss and you know, act like the future more successful person that you wanna be. And it can also honestly be tricky to have relationships, and sometimes it will cost friendships or really just be hard for other people to understand how you work.

But I always know that even if it's hard, it is absolutely worth it. And we can actually take an active part in helping others understand that we need encouragement and that we need support. And if you're not finding it in the current rooms that you're in, that's okay. Maybe you use those rooms to, you know, fulfill different things in your life that you need and maybe you need to actively seek out at least one room that really, really knows how to support you. 

So as a recap, number one is to share your goal, say it out loud. Number two is to explain the outcome that you think is possible. Number three is to create an outline and a time frame. And don't forget, I have one already outlined for you coming up in episode number four. Number four is to explain that you might be feeling vulnerable and that you could actually use some encouragement and support.

Number five is to start taking visible action. Number six is to act like the future more successful version of yourself. And number seven is to take a look at the rooms that you're currently in and make sure that you've got at least one that knows how to support and encourage you. That's all for this episode. I want you to know that if you do feel alone right now, you're not. There are so many creative entrepreneurs around the world looking to connect, and so just dive in, dive into an online community if you need to find your people and know that you are never alone. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'll see you next time on the Professional Creative Podcast.