Make Something

Truth: I've watched/listened to this video three times tonight.

I find this talk by Adam Savage at the Maker Fair to be so very inspirational - and I don't even know what he's talking about half the time. I mean, all of the techy/sci-fi references. I do not make these types of things. (I think the best thing I made as a kid was a replica of Garth's car from Wayne's World out of a cardboard box, complete with a rooftop licorice dispenser.)

However, it seems like anybody who makes anything can have a very similar experience, whether it's hats, space ships, quilts or businesses... yes, I've always thought of myself as a "business artist" and this talk confirms my feelings about this.

Every. Single. Thing. Adam talks about here is so relatable to me right now with regards to my business. For instance, I feel like the fact that I own a business and it is what it is has almost come from somewhere beyond myself. It was just something that I had to do. I don't really remember making a conscious decision to own a business, I've known from a very young age that this is what I was meant to do and I never really questioned it.

For instance, when I was in second grade I started planning events at my house where I would invite my friends over to have a snack and work on a craft project together. Apparently the Girl Scouts weren't cutting it for me. Anyway, now I do that for real and get paid for it. Boom.

I also love that he talks about creating things based on a desire. The reason I'm drawn to entreprenuership is because it gives me the opportunity to create the things I wish existed. My desires keep me going when things get tough. I've never been one to sit around and wait for somebody to do something about [instert whining here]. If something isn't meeting my expectations, I start seeking out a way to fix the problem. Some of these things I desire may never even happen, but at least I'll know I spent my time working toward something instead of wasting time complaining.

And I'm so happy he brought up the point about knowing that 70% of the way through a project he starts to become unsure of the whole thing but that through awareness of this fact about himself, he can power through. I go through the exact same thing with nearly everything in life, but especially when I'm working on huge projects. I always hit a point where I'm like "WTF am I doing?" and I want to just walk away from it and get a "normal" job. Then I have a moment where I remember that I've felt exactly this way before and that I should stick it out for at least another week and see how I feel then. Turns out, I usually get my mojo back.

This is especially inspirational to me right now because I was starting to forget how or why I ended up where I am. Luckily, despite all of the stress of my business, I had a really great and refreshing week and this talk really capped it off. I'm hoping that my desire to make things in my community will inspire others to do the same.