Final 2009 Word-of-the-Year Post! ADVENTURE

Note: December (and a little bit of January) 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 Tammy Vitale.

In December 2008, I chose the word “Adventure” for my 2009 Word-of-the-Year.

Note to self: Be careful when you set these wild word choices into motion!

A little background:

2008 began in excitement as I prepared to participate in my first Art Buyer’s Market in February.  Even though I did fairly well at the market, I was aware that the economy was on a spiraling descent:  the number of buyers at the market was abysmal for such a prestigious venue, and many were on limited budgets.

I spent much of 2008 in a funk.  I watched myself be in a funk.  I was reading all my inspirational folks, saying my gratitudes and in the back of my head the voice, right after gratitude and affirmation:  “Yeah.  Right.”  I couldn’t find the self-resource or a community resource that could make a space to get out.

So I wallowed.

Nevertheless, I figured I needed a word for 2009 just in case – and “Adventure” seemed the best one.

Shortly into 2009, art sales started dropping in from nowhere.  In the spirit of Adventure, I paid attention.  They kept coming!

But there was something else.

My word was Adventure – and it was time to take one.  As I rebuilt my art business,  I wanted a good, strong foundation – not one that would leave me frazzled and working 24/7.  I wanted something different (adventurous, if you will).  So I started looking around at what was available.

I thought about going back to my wild and wooly MA venue, Goddard College, for an MFA.  But that didn’t feel right.  I started reaching out in my art community to see if I could find others who felt a similar stirring and were ready to move into a different space business wise.  Made some great contacts, but wasn’t able to pull together a community.

So I thought back to attending Christine Kane’s retreat in 07 – my birthday gift to me – and decided that would be a good place to burrow in and reflect.  When I looked it up, I found out that Christine was about to launch something called Uplevel Your Business at a price that was a bit, um, adventuresome for me at that time.  But my gut said “yes!” and so did I.  This time there would be no Plan B; this time I would stand up and meet what came, and be wildly adventurous.

And Uplevel Your Business has been an amazing adventure.  I now think of myself as a person who can do technical work on her computer.  It’s still not easy, but I do it with a sense of (here’s the word again) adventure and excitement instead of dread and pulling my hair out.  I have changed my blog to Wordpress for it’s better platform and have placed my first ever ad for my art work with the Buyer’s Guide with WholeSaleCrafts.com.

I decided that investing in myself is the best investment I could make in my business.

I have decided to re-energize my skills from 20 years of community- based organizing to create a space for other women who are where I was last year, a space where they can be safely adventuresome themselves, take time to experiment, and begin to discovery all the possibilities right in front of them.

The icing on the cake for my own “what’s next” was knowing that, without a doubt, it is joining Christine’s Platinum Level Coaching and Mastermind, watching all the things that were so recently adventure become so 2009, because 2010’s word is:  Extraordinary – me and my business both.

What a ride THIS is going to be!

—————-

Tammy Vitale – www.TammyVitale.com

Note: You can Uplevel Your Business, too, on Christine’s free teleseminar on January 20! Space is limited! Click here to register!

Tagged as: Being an Artist, christine kane, new years resolutions, tammy vitale, word-of-the-year

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