damn fine writing and dreaming big

My new writing hero is Erin Loechner of Design For Mankind. Her writing is clear like the light in this photo, like the light on the beach last week. I don't skim her essays. I read every well-chosen, jewel-like word.

And damn fine tunes: I'm getting groovy to "Good Kisser" by Usher on repeat, baby.

And just feeling: damn fine these days. A good, clear, lit-up life is totally possible. Today is the "someday" of several years ago, someone said to me the other day, so it's time to stop saying "Someday I will make slowing down a priority". Someday is today.

Other things I've said: "Someday I'll go after my dreams."

"Someday I'll make time to chill with Adam a priority."

"Someday I'll appreciate being in the moment."

"Someday I'll be more honest with my partner about my vulnerable, goofy self."

"Someday I'll take more risks."

Someday is now, yo. Dance to your beat, seek out the silky-fine light and writing that lights you up inside, and do what you gotta do to do the stuff you always said you would do...

Someday.

Day 26: Just Five More Days!

If you've been thinking you'd like to work with me as a designer, or snag one of the sweet perks like a print or a bumper sticker, now's the time! At the end of the day on April 21st, my IndieGogo campaign will be done. And, I should just tell you, I won't be taking on any new clients until September 2015, due to (a) all the work I've just generated for myself with this campaign and (b) wanting to have some time off over the summer.

So if you've been thinking you'd like to work with me on a project, just purchase some Design Credit over on the IndieGogo page and we'll get to work!

You guys rock and I hope you're having an excellent Friday.

xo Leah

Day 25: Who I Want To Become

I read a blog post that I get by email newsletter, quickly, in my inbox this morning, but the words stuck with me all day:

"You may think you need to get all your ducks in a row—a perfect business vision, business model, business brand, personal brand… all neatly lined up and packaged up, before you start sharing content with anyone else... But your head and heart and all it wants to say are always going to be two steps ahead of the business or brand or dream you’ve already been able to create. So just say it."

We share online not just who we are right now, but in order to become who we want to become. This truth struck me today like a cold wind on the face. Because I fall for that all the time, for that little voice in my head that says, "Well, until it's perfect, you can't share it." So I don't.

I call BS on that.

"Say it if it’s not perfect, write it if it’s not 100% fully-formed, share it if it’s still just sharing the journey along the way."

This week in the It's Business Time program we're outlining our lifestyle goals, and thinking about what we want our ideal days to be like. For me what comes up again and again is the word "Freedom." Yesterday after I got off work, the light was so gorgeous, and the air so brisk and cool. I was glad that I hadn't booked any Skype calls or committed to any work or any meetings in my evening time, because when I got home I was free to go to Florence Beach and walk its length.

I was free to spy on its icebergs, lie on its sand to take a picture of the sun through dried seaweed. I was free to ponder just who I want to become.

Also, just FYI, there are just six days left to contribute to my IndieGogo campaign, and score a sweet perk like a print of "Bloom and The Island Blooms," or working with me as a designer. (After this, I likely won't take new clients on for a few months, as I'll be pretty busy.)

xo! Leah

day 23: on giving yourself permission to stop or slow down

It's taken me 31 years to get to this point. It will likely take several more years to really, truly get it. Or maybe, my whole life! Or maybe I never will really truly get it. Who knows. Regardless: I feel like this last month has been a huge lesson for me in the simple fact that I have permission for myself to stop or slow down something, whenever I want.

I started the crowdfunding campaign and thought "I will do whatever it takes, I will squeeze every drop of productivity out of each day of the next month!" That was in one of my moments of E&E, or Enthusiasm and Exuberance. When I'm in that zone, I say yes to everything. It's all possible! I don't know how! But I'll figure it out!

Then a week later I felt overwhelmed, burnt out and tired.

Then I remembered: t's up to me to slow down.

It's up to me to set my schedule, whatever it's going to be. If I want to start a project to write 100 poems in 100 days, and then on day 6 I'm bored of it, and I don't want to do it anymore, that's OK. 

If I want to not plan a dance party for the whole community, and not look for partnerships, and instead get a line of credit to cover whatever I don't raise through crowdfunding, that's OK.

If I want to make napping on the couch after work with my boyfriend a priority, that's OK.

That's how I'll build the business that will work for me. That's how I'll avoid burnout. That's what it takes.

It's Business Time: Week 1

How was your weekend? I hope it was lovely. Mine was glorious. I think it was so because last week I "weeded" a bit, although not in my garden, which is still under a foot of snow!  

No, "weeding" is the term I've decided to use for what I do when I feel overwhelmed by my to-do list, as I did last week. It's when I go through my planner and take out things that I said "yes" to when I was in a state of exuberance and enthusiasm, believing that time would stretch to accommodate All the Things. This post by Elise Blaha Cripe has been super influential to me in terms of (a) remembering it is totally OK to say No to things and (b) figuring out what I want to say No to and what I want to keep on my plate. It's brilliant, definitely read it if you're struggling too!

Anyway, this weekend past was really lovely, I think, because I allowed myself free time and down time. I slept in, I read a book, I hung out with my buddy (Adam), I took some long walks and poked around in the one bed that is not under snow. And feeling the fresh air, and seeing a bit of growth, felt so amazing! I didn't realize just how long this winter has been until I felt a bit of spring again.

  ****

So the "It's Business Time" program has started! This is the program that I thought I couldn't afford, then crowdfunded based on some encouragement from friends. And, it started last week. I am still pinching myself, as it's hard to believe it's really happening and that I'm really in it!! Thank you, for your support!

I thought I would share a bit with you each week as I go through the program. Here's how it works: on Mondays, the teachers send out a lesson and a worksheet. Then on Friday we meet via UberConference for an hour and talk about the lessons. In between Monday and Friday, and on the weekends, there is a private Facebook group for the participants to chat and share things.

The first week the lesson was about fears. What are the fears we feel that keep us from going after what we want? What do the voices in our heads -- what Michelle calls the Vampire Voices -- say to us that stop us from doing the work?

Last week, I learned that my biggest fear is that starting my own business will overwhelm me, overtake my life, and ruin my relationships. That it will be a whole lot of hard work that will totally swamp me and won't be worth it in the end.

Last week, I learned that I need to let go of the story that I cannot build a business that suits me and my family, and gives us what we need.

And here's what I'm going to do with this learning: I'm going to come up with rebuttals to those fears, to those "Vampire Voices". And I'm going to say to them, "Thanks for trying to protect me from harm, but I'm OK. I've got this. I can trust Michelle and Tiffany to help me figure out how to both build a good business, and still have a happy and balanced life."

Stay tuned! And have a lovely Monday.

xo Leah

On Blogging

My friend Tracy H. is a teacher who lives in England. We met ten years ago when I was a first-year university student in STU in Fredericton, New Brunswick and she was studying education at UNB. (Where does the time go?!) Anyway, she wrote to me the other day:

Hi Leah,

Hope all is well on the tropical island!  

I'm currently working on a scheme of work for grade 7 English students and we are looking at blogging as a form/ format of writing.  

As I happen to know that you are a very talented blogger, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind writing a few words about why you like blogging, what makes it effective and anything else you can think of- ie: special considerations for writing for a blog as opposed to an email, letter, website, etc.  

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Love,

Tracy

As I was getting ready to type up my answer to her in a private email, I realized, hey! I can make this a blog post! And kill two birds with one stone. And, how meta is that...

(Also, let me just point out that flattery will get you everywhere.)

So, here are my thoughts on her questions:

Why I Like Blogging: I had to stop and think about this. I've been blogging since 2002. (This is my first blog and this is my second. The one you're currently reading is my third and hopefully last. I want to stay here for a good long time!)

I started blogging when I was 18, and I'm about to turn 31. I've continued blogging, more or less, with a few breaks that each never lasted more than a few months, for all that time. So there has got to be something about it I like! But I don't know if I ever really stopped to think about what that is.

So here's what I've come up with:

• It's conversational. I can write how I talk, and I know there are readers reading it, so it's like having a convo with them.
• It's pretty easy to just start blogging. You sign up for a blog with a free provider, and away you go. You don't need a course or a certification!
• You're in control of what goes up when. There isn't another editor I'm dealing with, it's just me. I set my own schedule and if I want to post six times a day, I can!
• There are loads of other bloggers! So there is a real community to tap into, talk to, share with, and support.
• It's good plain fun. This one is subjective... I suppose you either like blogging or you don't! I happen to like it a lot.

What Makes It Effective: I'm drawn to personal stories. I like immediate, real, down-to-Earth language. I want to know how something felt. What you saw. What you learned, what you ate, what you dreamed for yourself. That's how I tend to learn anything: history, or geography, or political events, or cooking, or whatever! By being drawn in first by a personal story.

Special Considerations for Writing a Blog (as opposed to a letter, for example): I would recommend you read a few blogs to get a sense of the style of a blog post as a media type. You'll quickly realize that they are all pretty different styles! That's because a good blog post feels like it's written by a real person (because it is), but you still want to pay attention to your grammar and spelling. At least, I do.

I also try to keep my blog posts fairly short, while still having some good "meat," or content. It's not an academic essay; unless that's your niche and that's what you do well, and why people come to your site to read your stuff. If that were the case, though, I'd recommend posting once a week instead of daily, to let people "digest" the material.

I hope this helps, Tracy and anyone else reading it! Let me know if you have other questions. Just leave a comment on this post, or email me: leahcnoble@gmail.com

xo!

Day 18: Bloom and the Island Blooms

Today I wanted to share some behind-the-scenes shots from a graphic I made last year, a printed version of which is one of the perks for my crowdfunding campaign. 

This is the graphic:

It originally appeared on a Facebook Page that myself and my classmate/friend Jacquie Blanchard created, called Share That You Care - Cape Breton. The Facebook Page was for a class project we did that was all about using design for social good, and you can check it out and see all 12 graphics we did, at that link above.

I made the island out of lupin flowers in June of 2014. I went out into my backyard and picked a bowlful of lupins from the little patch in my garden.

Then I printed off a version of the Cape Breton vector I use in all my products (bumper stickers, etc) and started laying the petals on top.

When it was done how I liked, I got out my DSLR camera and took some photos of it from above. Then I used Photoshop to lay in the text and prepare it for the web.

And that's it! It was a fun day, and looking back at these photos this snowy spring has been a nice reminder that one day, the flowers will bloom again.

For the perk, I'll be getting this graphic printed at 8"X10" from a Cape Breton business on a beautiful stock, ready to be framed.

To see more about my crowdfunding campaign, click here!