Lessons from the School of Life

get-out-there

This contributor post was written by Tiffany Han.

In creative business, we spend a great deal of time looking to other people to tell us what to do. We take courses, seek out gurus and watch to see if we can figure out everyone else’s secret weapons.

What if there is no secret weapon?

What if the actual secret to success is hard work? And relationships? And that little bit of luck (that will come from perseverance) that your products show up at the right place at the right time?

What if you already have all of the information you need to move forward?

Hint: you do. Right now.

Because, no matter where you are or where you’re headed, you were trained at the School of Life. We all were.

And while our How to be a Successful Human Being degree may not be quite as impressive as your friend’s shiny MFA, it means something. It means a whole lot of somethings.

Life will teach you more than you could ever learn sitting in a classroom.

Remember in high school when that boy broke your heart and you said, “hmmm…next time I’m going to listen to my gut.” I knew he was trouble.

Bingo. School of Life.

Now this isn’t to say that you never made boy mistakes again (I’m speaking for myself here), but if you were to look back at all the lessons you’ve learned throughout the course of all of your relationships (romantic or otherwise), you could write a book. A smart one. A compelling one.

And yet we are so quick to discount what we’ve learned from our everyday experiences. No more of that!

In the comments, I’d love to hear what you’ve learned (and applied to your creative business) from the School of Life. We can teach each other!

Tiffany Han, CPCC is a life & business coach for highly-creative people who arent living the highly-creative lives they want. Just yet. With provocative questions & hard-edged encouragement, Tiffany helps skittish someday-ers become fiercely focused creators “” and proves that dreams do come true. But only when you demand it.

19 comments | Click here to reply

“@TheJoannaDee: I think I needed to hear this today & @ashlealanier you probably do too. http://t.co/gVyDBkqOhl†Definitely needed this!

@ashlealanier

I stumbled across this post tonight. I think I needed to hear this today & @ashlealanier you probably do too. http://t.co/VYKhNprK8I

@TheJoannaDee

Lessons from the School of Life http://t.co/3G8wNMVsNX via @sharethis

@tamdoll

Yes! I love learning and watching others that are successful (or at least my definition of it). And seeing how that relates to what I am doing. Great POST!

Vicki

I agree that we each have value and gifts/talents even though it may not feel like it every day.

Used to hate the Nike slogan, but now I totally agree with it with a modifier. Plan it and Just Do It!

Linda B

Oh, sometimes that kick in the pants is the best medicine. The School of Life has taught me that the only thing scarier than taking a leap of faith is staying in the same place. I have the confidence within. I know what I’m talking about. Now I need to let other people see that.

Nike is on to something with Just Do It 🙂

Kerry

Secret to success? There is no secret! Great article from Paper n Stitch – http://t.co/C2ogDuKyUe via @sharethis

@Honizukle

From the School of life…
http://t.co/s2gySxD2Mn

Nicoletta - Fanchimp (@fanchimp)

Really great article. I have to admin that lately I have fallen prey to all the “self guided” trainings out there and now they are starting to repeat themselves. A clear sign that I have over educated myself instead of getting off my butt and putting that information to use.

Angee Robertson

Great post! Important thing to keep in mind.

xx Kaisa

Kaisa

What lessons have you learned from the school of life? http://t.co/Jvo7MoVB0e

IndieMade (@IndieMade)

Very motivating, thank you for sharing your thoughts! I’m still making mistakes and trying to learn! Starting to really realize it is a lifelong process but bottom line, hard work pays off!

www.andwithlovea.blogspot.com

Amanda Perry

Love this, I can completely relate!
I am all about the lessons from the school of life but even so it is so easy to get caught up in thinking others know more and have some secret information that I don’t.

But it’s not true, it’s all about perseverance and a little bit of luck but that luck will never happen if you don’t persevere. 🙂

Shayla

Love this, I can completely relate!
I am all about the lessons from the school of life but even so it is so easy to get caught up in thinking others know more and have some secret information that I don’t.

But it’s not true, it’s all about perseverance and a little bit of luck but that luck will never happen if you don’t persevere. 🙂

Shayla

la la… L e s s o n s from the S c h o o l o f L I F E ->

best School we’ve all ever enroled ourselves… http://t.co/6qxG4bQhyp

@ivystyle33

I wrote something very similar last week. That’s the biggest secret to success, putting in a lot of hard work! I was working 50 hours at the day job and 20+ on a side job before I became self-employed.

Hm…the biggest thing I’ve learned from the school of life? I think I’ve learned about my self-worth the hard way. That my services and merchandise are worth more and I deserve to charge accordingly. That by my own unique experiences I offer skills no one else can. It’s so easy to under-price yourself when you’re starting because you want to get your foot in the door.

Van

Glad to hear it Tif. That’s what we’re always going for with these types of posts. Have a good one!

papernstitch

Thanks for this. Over my cup of coffee, it felt like a good kick in the pants.

tif smith

Lessons from the School of Life: This contributor post was written by Tiffany Han. In… http://t.co/OisCnNOQkJ

Brittni Mehlhoff (@papernstitch)
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