Secrets to Success: Rule #2

Its not always easy to start a business, build a blog readership, or quit your desk job to pursue your hand sewn line of womens clothing full-time. In fact, its almost always quite challenging at times. So, I started a series that tells it like it is”¦the good, the bad, and the completely “˜Girl, I cant believe you went there.” Secrets to success that have been learned along the way. Today, Tiffany will pick up where we left off last week…

This contributor post was written by Tiffany (Moore) Han.

Have you ever looked at someone’s life through the lens of facebook or a blog and thought, “Ooh, look how much fun she is having. If only I was a (mixed media artist/life coach/writer/jewelry designer), my life might be that amazing too.”

I’ve been there, been that person. I started reading blogs back when I had my day job and was convinced that if only I could become a food blogger (thanks, Smitten Kitchen!),I would have a dream life. Never mind that I’d never taken a serious photograph in my life – food blogging was the path for me.

Until I started following Kendi Everyday and realized that I should be a fashion blogger. Never mind that I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, and that my collection of solid-colored cardigans would likely not cut in in the scope of fashion bloggers. So I kept looking.

But I knew that there was something, something out there for me that didn’t involve sitting at a desk at some office every day, doing work that wasn’t self-directed. I knew that I was destined for something else, something bigger than what I could comprehend. And I knew that it involved creativity of some sort – being creative was what made me come alive.

So I started blogging. And took a risk and left my day job (with a healthy savings account) to work retail and figure out what I wanted for myself. At first, I blogged about anything and everything: clothes, furniture, style, inspiration, cooking. I included my terrible photographs. I wrote things that were silly and things that were thoughtful. And I kept showing up on the blog, writing about what interested me in the moment.

As time went on, I refined my writing. I started painting and making stationery. I opened an art studio. I went through training and certification to become a life coach. The refinement continued throughout. I stopped making cards and focused on my coaching.

Throughout all of the experimentation, something else happened: I found my voice. And I found the work that makes me feel most alive…at least, for now.

This is a secret that most people don’t realize: when you’re starting out, you don’t need to know the specific outcome that you’re working towards. You only need to know what the very next step will be. Yes, a vision is helpful. A picture of what you want your life to look like doesn’t hurt. But being attached to a specific outcome can become a limitation.

Secrets to Success Rule #2:

Find the kind of work that resonates with you and do more of it. Let joy dictate how you spend your time, and if the idea of doing something leaves you paralyzed with fear, maybe it’s not the right thing for you. Just be sure that you don’t stop looking. You will get there – trust that.

New to this series? Read Secrets to Success Rule #1 right here.

Tiffany (Moore) 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.

*image by Ian Coyle