“It’s one thing to fall in love. It’s another to feel someone else falling in love with you.”
– David Levithan

 

I just attended a wedding this weekend.  Can you tell?

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This is a long overdue Weekly Findings, but this one is inspired by the start of Autumn.  The colder weather  makes me want to stay in bed  snuggled in my sheets, wear fluffy socks and sweaters, throw on big hoodies, and drink hot chocolate out of big mugs.

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Today marks my 1 year as a full time freelancer.  It’s really crazy to think that it’s been a full year that I’ve been working on my own (and I’m still here!).  A lot has happened and a lot more that I wish I accomplished, but I can say I did everything the best I knew how and took on things I never imagined I could’ve handled on my own.  I’ve had a great deal of guidance from friends and family that have gotten me through the emotional and the business end of things and I couldn’t be more grateful for their endless support and help.

I think what a lot of people don’t realize is how much work being a freelancer (or running your own business) entails.  Because I sure didn’t.   Before fully committing to freelancing I thought little ol’ me could never find clients and run things on my own and make my own money to pay off my loans and bills, but sure enough I somehow managed and exceeded my expectations by following my gut and drive to keep moving forward (even if that meant paying more taxes!).  Sure, freelancing has its perks (not having a boss to answer to, setting your own work schedule, working in your pjs, going out in the middle of day), but at the end of the day all of those things added together can’t even begin to amount to all of the hard work and worrying you go through trying to manage your projects and yourself.  For one, I still keep to a strict schedule of my “working hours” and try not to respond or read emails after “working hours” (I think it’s been harder for me to do this than when I was working an office job).   I’m also still trying to figure out the down time that comes with freelancing, you know when the work starts to run dry and you’re not entirely sure what to do with yourself besides worry.  I definitely need to learn to embrace the calm whenever and however long I can get it.

It’s always good to stop and see how far you’ve gone and how much you’ve accomplished and give yourself a pat on the back every once in a while.  The cherry on top for me is I’ve never felt more happy and fulfilled with my “job” and my life.  I would’ve loved if a few things worked out a bit better, but I’m learning  not to dwell on the failures and just keep pushing and creating.

Here’s a good quote to sum up what I’ve learned in my journey so far:

Don’t let success go to your head and failure to your heart.
Will Smith

I only recently started reading Seth Godin’s blog (this year, I know where have I been?) and everything he writes about is always relatable to different aspects of your life.  He’s such an amazing speaker (I had the privilege of attending his Creative Mornings talk in NY in May) and thinker.   Sorry for the vagueness, but that’s the best I can describe  as I write this in my 85 degree room in this humid, rainy, gross NY weather.

His latest post on money really got me thinking about the way I’ve been thinking about money lately, especially being a freelancer money doesn’t come in the form of a stable paycheck every month and feeling doubt and worry is a daily thing, especially when you’re new to freelancing.   Here are a few key points that really stood out to me:

2. Money spent on one thing is still the same as money spent on something else. A $500 needless fee on a million-dollar mortgage closing is just as much money as a $500 tip at McDonalds.

12. Don’t get caught confusing money with security. There are lots of ways to build a life that’s more secure, starting with the stories you tell yourself, the people you surround yourself with and the cost of living you embrace. Money is one way to feel more secure, but money alone won’t deliver this.

16. In the long run, doing work that’s important leads to more happiness than doing work that’s merely profitable.

Seth Godin on Thinking About Money

This article is a great reminder to put your ideas onto paper and not just let them sit in your head.  I continuously remind myself to do this every time I start on new projects or even day to day tasks when I feel stuck.

“McDonald’s Theory”, by Jon Bell.

Projects start in different ways. Sometimes you’re handed a formal brief. Sometimes you hear a rumor that something might be coming so you start thinking about it early. Other times you’ve been playing with an idea for months or years before sharing with your team. There’s no defined process for all creative work, but I’ve come to believe that all creative endeavors share one thing: the second step is easier than the first. Always.

Dive in. Do. Stop over-thinking it.

The next time you have an idea rolling around in your head, find the courage to quiet your inner critic just long enough to get a piece of paper and a pen, then just start sketching it.

Stop sabotaging yourself.

It takes a crazy kind of courage, of focus, of foolhardy perseverance to quiet all those doubts long enough to move forward. But it’s possible, you just have to start.

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.
– Ira Glass