follow your heart

sorry i haven’t written for so long, but i’ve been a bit busy setting up my booth at crafted and then sloooowly getting my life back in order, doing the things i put aside {vacuuming anyone?} in the mad dash before the grand opening. i finally took pictures of my booth and some of my favorites in my little neighborhood, and i can’t wait to share those with you, but today i wanted to share this simple idea: following your heart is scary.

so many times over the past month, people have told me how brave i am or how lucky i am to have the chance to have a teeny little store to sell my jewelry. but i want you to know that at no point have i felt brave {though i do feel lucky at every turn}. i have felt nervous, anxious, afraid, worried, and downright scared. i have felt despair that i would never get it all done. i have felt a deep-down bone-chilling fear that no one would like my stuff, no one would buy anything. i have been unable to sleep because what-if-i-can’t-pay-my-rent? what-if-this-is-a-total-flop? {i feel comfortable sharing this with you because my worries vanished the moment the doors opened on our first weekend. i have been successful beyond my wildest dreams–replacing my old worries with new ones–and i have been extremely lucky to have this opportunity.}

but it’s been hard work, risk-taking, and believing in a crazy idea that’s gotten me this far. perfect timing then that this should arrive in my inbox today: a video from tara sophia mohr about how to identify your calling. about not having it all before you start down your own path. about making it up as you go along. {can i tell you how much of that i’ve been doing?!}

oh there have been more times than i can count that i’ve thought that i couldn’t or shouldn’t do this. there have been financial risks and personal ones. and then there’s the vulnerability of it all. i don’t think you can know–until you look back–that you’re for sure doing the right thing. but you for sure can’t look back until you’ve done it. so go for it, follow your heart, and let me know how it turns out.

images found here and here.