2009 Word-of-the-Year: BOLD & INTENT

Note: December is Word-of-the-Year Month at Christine’s Blog. As we roll into another New Year, each day will feature a new guest author who chose one word as a way of setting intention for her whole year. Today’s guest is Laure Ferlita. More about Laure below.

After seven years of high-octane stress positions in Corporate America, my last job was outsourced. In the months that followed, I came to the conclusion that my next “job” wasn’t going to materialize after a fruitless search. It was time to go after my dream of supporting myself as a full-time, professional artist.

Most of December 2008 was spent mulling over my goals for 2009 and ALL that I wanted to accomplish.  It was shaping up to be a tall order!  I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, but I knew I had a real chance at a lifestyle I had dreamed of for years, and I wanted to make the very most of the opportunity.

This meant I had to be willing to take more risks, produce more work, create an online presence, put myself “out there,” overcome personal demons of low self confidence/esteem, ignore naysayers, harness technology to work for me–the list went on and on….

My word(s) of the year became Bold and Intent. The boldness helped me to step past myself when my rational mind was screaming “Wait! What are you doing?! You don’t know how to do that! You can’t do this! You’ve never done that before! Are you crazy??!! You’ll fail!!”

I needed intent to keep me going when I floundered because of a “perceived” setback or because I paused to listen to that “rational voice” in my mind telling me I’d fail. Of course, listening to that voice almost always caused my fragile belief in myself to go crashing to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces.

It turns out that my belief in myself was not nearly so fragile as I’d imagined. When I look back on the year, I can see that Bold and Intent have served me well.

As to my art, I created a solid body of work and entered several competitions. I was over-the-moon-excited when I won Best of Show at the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society’s 2009 Open Aqueous Show. I also won awards in two other shows. These wins were proof positive that I was heading in the right direction!

I also started a new company, Imaginary Trips, that hosts “virtual trips” to exotic locales (like Paris) to develop artistic skills for painting-on-location. Boldness helped me to move forward with teaching online, learning to video myself painting, editing that video, as well as how to upload it for the students. (I’d never even owned a video camera until this summer!)

I’ve now completed two “imaginary trips” despite a complete computer meltdown 4 days before the launch of my first class (with ALL of my work on it and a faulty backup system)! My “student travelers” have been very receptive and enthusiastic about the classes and several are signing up for the new classes already on the books for 2010!

The year came equipped with its share of challenges and dark moments – fried hard drives, failed paintings, faulty backup systems, false business starts, financial issues – that I am so thankful for as they helped to prove to me (yet again) that I could accomplish what I set out to do regardless of the circumstances.

It is what‘s inside me that really counts and that’s what made the difference. I’ve strengthened my belief in myself–by doing what I set out to do and soooooo much more! I believe this hard won knowledge will serve me well in the opportunities and challenges to come.

One of the best things to come out of following my dreams is that I’ve created a healthier lifestyle by taking better care of myself, developing new friendships, renewing old ones, building my self-esteem, and proving to myself that once and for all, I can do “it,” whatever “it” may be!

These are just a few of the highlights of a super, fantastic year. It is astounding to see all that I’ve accomplished! I can hardly wait for 2010 to get started! What new and fun things will I accomplish in this new year?!

Wherever they are, you can bet I’ll have my word of the year to guide me!

____________________

Laure Ferlita is an accomplished (full-time!) watercolorist residing in sunny Florida, with her husband, Chris, 3 cats and 3 dogs. Watercolors, painting on location, sketching for the fun of it, and most especially, color, are her passions! She has recently discovered a second passion for helping others to develop their artistic abilities, to grow as artists and individuals. Please visit Laure at her blog, Painted Thoughts or her website.

Tagged as: christine kane, laure ferlita, new years resolutions, word-of-the-year

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