Planning and Dreaming

This week, reading the speech "What is Your Calling in Life" affected me the most.  There were several things there that really felt like they were directed at me.  He says that we need to pray and fast to discover our calling.  Even though I have made my decisions to go back to school and major in web design prayerfully, as I read that I felt that I really need to fast and pray about my calling, specifically.  He also said, "If the world at present is not willing to pay you for what you can do, then donate your spiritual gifts to worthy causes—perhaps through public service or volunteering—until the value of those gifts becomes so evident that people want to pay you a fair wage for them."  That is exactly my plan, and reading it there felt like confirmation that it's a good plan.  The reading in "The Ministry of Business" talks about listening to promptings and following them decisively, and gives some examples from his own life where he made decisions that didn't actually lead to where he thought they would, but in retrospect look like a very neat plan.  Three years ago a friend who was on the board of LDSHE asked me to be on her vendor committee.  The responsibilities were not at all up my alley, but I felt prompted to tell her yes, and join her in serving LDSHE.  It wasn't my favorite thing, I had to call people and try to "sell" them on vendor packages.  It was very uncomfortable.  But I did it, and we had a good year.  As I worked on that committee, I got to know the organization better, and felt drawn to offer to help with the website.  I called the lady who was doing it and told her that I'd like to help, and I'd do whatever she needed me to do.  "Whatever the IT equivalent is of sweeping the floors, if that's what you need help with, I'll do it."  She was reluctant, because she felt like it would be more of a headache to train me then to do it herself.  But we got together a couple of times and she showed me some things, which I picked up quickly, and two months later she announced that she was burnt out and left me in charge of it all.  At the time, I hadn't even started the Pathway program, and wasn't majoring in web design and development.  But now I have the perfect real life "lab" to test and stretch my skills as I learn.  My plan is to eventually replace the graphic designer and IT guy that we currently pay (who both do work for us out of charity and really have better things to do, so it's not like I'm stealing their jobs).  That may be my first paying job, and I can use it as a showcase of my work, which will help me get other work.  

Randy Pausch

One reason I think he was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams is because his parents were obviously hugely supportive and encouraging- the math formulas on his bedroom wall being one proof.

Of course I feel that dreaming is important.  If we can't imagine a different life, how will we ever grow?

I don't remember having big, goal-oriented dreams as a child.  I was very dreamy, loved to play in the woods and lose myself in a good book.  I do remember dreaming about living on Pond Island some day.  I think I can manage living there in the summers- I can just picture myself living and working on the island all summer long.  By the time the children are graduated and I have my web design business going, my husband will be at the point in his career where he can just tell them that he's going to telecommute for the summer, and they'll probably let him do it rather than risk losing him.  I can just see us there, working side by side on the porch of the lighthouse, looking out over the surf.

Why An Art?

I wasn't sure what to expect of this class.  I never imagined myself in "business", it's never been a concept that appeals to me.  I love creative things, and also when I think "business" I automatically go to "corporate", which I equate with "soulless".  I decided to add a business cluster to my major in Web Design and Development almost as an afterthought, really I think it was a subtle nudge of inspiration from on high.  My plan is to work from home, independently, so it occurred to me that even on a small scale, that's "business".  So here I am.  I'm eager to learn, because I really do want to make a success of my business.  After carefully reading and watching the assigned material this week, and even taking notes, I've been both reassured that there is a place for me in business, and a little put off.  The talks by Elder Bednar and President Hinckley were, of course, excellent and inspiring.  The rest of it was inspiring, but after a point feels a little empty, like a lot of hot air blowing and not much substance.  I'm not really into the cheerleading tone and the pithy motivational slogans.  One thing I did figure out, though, is that entrepreneurship is more art than anything else.  Yes, there are rules, but all forms of art have rules, or the form would cease to exist.  So there are rules to follow, or be guided by, but rule following alone doesn't guarantee success.  Nothing guarantees success, there's always an element of luck, and creativity is definitely required.  I look forward to figuring out my entrepreneurship style.  Maybe some day I can write articles on how to succeed as an entrepreneur that are entirely pithy slogan free.

In other news, I got to work on a project this week that I really enjoyed.  I'm on the board of a non-profit that puts on conferences for homeschool families (Latter-Day Saint Home Educators) and I volunteered to develop some icons that we needed for our website.  It was such a great opportunity in many ways.  I got to sharpen my skills in Adobe Illustrator, and I gained confidence in my ability to figure out what was needed and produce it.  I love having REAL things to work on, that will be out there in the real world.  It's been my plan for this volunteer position as IT director to be a springboard for me.  I hope eventually to design and even code everything on the website myself- right now we have an IT professional and a graphic artist that we hire occasionally for the heavy lifting.  It makes me feel good that I was able to do this project and save the organization some money, but also that I've gained some experience and confidence, and produced something I can point to and say, "That's my work."