If you read last week's rant on my former blog about the nervousness and frustration I periodically have with my life as an interior designer, you had to have recognized how passionate I am about this beautiful craft I'm so fortunate to actually make a living off of.
Unfortunately though, for my sanity's sake, simply "making a living" in this business doesn't completely fulfill me. What I really want is a particular feeling of satisfaction a steady income can't buy. And I want it NOW.
It's Been a Long Road
You see, I’ve been feeling this way a long time, It's like I've been treading water or running in place...not getting anywhere fast.....and I like to arrive...on time! I love what I do, but I know there's got to be a way to accomplish and achieve my goals faster.
Not only that, but the bad thing about creativity is that if you’re not constantly feeding it, letting it grow, producing...it can gnaw at you. It feels like a blanket is wrapped around the left side of your brain, suffocating your drive, your spirit, your joy. It wants to be nurtured, allowed to grow, to bloom, and to produce fruit that can be shared and enjoyed. (Creative-types ... Can you relate to that?)
The Dream
The way I envisioned getting to that profitable, successful place that would allow me to exploit my creativity was through the route so many other interior designers take: working for clients in the luxury market, having high-end, high-dollar projects that would help me become the designer I want to be. I'd have opportunities to design furniture, lighting, textiles, etc. After all, I’ve designed custom pieces all my work-life, so why not get into product design at the manufacturing level? Not only that, but I'd also love to write more, sharing my love for design, and visual and functional aesthetics.
But to do that, you have to have a "name." You have to have already “made it." A manufacturer wants someone to design something for them whose name can bring them clout and recognition. And noone wants to read something written by a "nobody." ...At least I hope not.
At the drawing-board
After looking at the timeline that is my life, and recognizing how I'm a very goal-oriented person, I realized the route I had been traveling for such a long time was driving me towards a dead end.
First of all...I'm not in my 20's anymore. The time I spent getting to the point of having a recognizable name, while using the traditional route either: A. Just wasn't working; or B. Was taking too long to manifest itself.
I needed to get there FASTER...
Because I'm an optimist who never believes anything is impossible, I decided to change the direction of the course I'd been on. After all...I do have LOTS of experience making budgets stretch, helping clients spend their money wisely, and deciding where the big investment should be in a project (and where it should not). So I asked myself...
How can I use my existing talents to get me to where I want to be?
My blueprint
I needed a plan, a method, a strategy. I needed to use every tool available to me to connect with people on an emotionally engaging and entertaining level, and feed my creativity that's been hungrily gnawing at me for so long.
This, right here, CarlaAston.com, as well as all of my social profiles I have scattered throughout my Lifecast, represents the new beginning I've been aching to have. And while my pains haven't yet subsided, I definitely sense that they're beginning to heal; and I believe it's because this new virtual life of mine has some sort of superhuman strength I've never experienced before, Now all I need to do is welcome it into my life with open arms, just like I'm welcoming you into this new digital home of mine in the exact same way.
Hopefully, in the end, we'll all get to where we feel we're destined to be...