My whole life, I've struggled to set goals, and goals are impossible to reach if you don't have any. I started Spun Dreamz with a simple dream, to make money using my passion for fiber arts. My dream is a great dream, but unlike goals, it's not tangible, it's not measurable, so should I be happy with one single sale, or do I want more? Of course I want more, I want a consistent income from this. That is where goals come in.
No matter what you are doing for money, a dollar goal is essential, whether it is to replace a current income or supplement it. So with a number in mind, and a time frame, my husband wants to see something come of this by the time our youngest starts school, I needed to break it down into something bite sized. Some people can do this alone, other's, like me, need a sounding board, that is where a best friend who won't judge, no matter what, like Lisa, is a great asset.
I picked out five goals, some are short term, setting up working systems to make the most of my resources, and others are longer term, that I need to build habits to complete, and be consistent about it all.
By knowing where you want to be, and breaking it down, it opens doors you might not see. My ultimate goal seemed huge, until Lisa and I sat down and broke that down into numbers of sales. Even those numbers seemed like mount Everest, so we broke it down further, from monthly, to weekly, still to big? break it down further, you are not going to reach your goal overnight.
The sky is the limit, but it's going to take time to get there, baby steps and stepping stones are the only way you will get to where you want to be.
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
Friday, 12 June 2015
Musing - Fiery Passion (Lisa)
We say that passion burns like fire. We accept this statement easily without ever looking deeper. Passion is like fire. If we let it burn unchecked, it can consume everything. If we tend it, it will warm us no matter the storms that hit. If we ignore it, if we refuse to feed our passion, it will die to embers. Yet like the hot coals left after a fire has gone out, our passion can be reignited by adding the simplest of fuels.
When you build a fire, you start small, or you risk smothering the flames before they have a chance to catch. So to when you follow the path your passion leads, it can be too easy to bury yourself in it so completely that you forget to breathe. you smother yourself and burn yourself out. Follow your passion. This is vital to your life, but just as the fire needs fuel, it also need oxygen, air. Without that it dies. You too need balance. You need to feed your passion, to fuel it, yet your passion also needs room to breathe, and you need room to stretch.
Passion burns like fire. Passion fades like fire. But long after the flames are gone, the coals remain hot. The stronger your passion, the hotter your flame, the longer your coals glow. And just a little fuel will cause your passion to flare up, as eager, and as hot, as it first was.
Friday, 22 May 2015
Future of Flames - Sale! (Lisa)
His darkness is the one thing that could save her. Her fire could destroy everything. Will shadow and flame be enough to heal them both?
The Spark: Free http://amzn.com/B00NE3C75G
The Ember: .99 http://amzn.com/B00R6P8FE0
Wildfire: http://amzn.com/B00V8PIUSA
Friday, 17 April 2015
Chaos of Sound (Lisa)
Chaos in Sound
The world spins around me. Chaos and noise erupt. The clamor of every day life is deafening. It's as though the vibrations of the sound are trying to shake me apart, as though the volume of the world has been turned up for me alone. It's deafening.
I feel uncertain. There is so much around me. The voices, the footsteps, the laughter, the screams, the sobs, and the machines. The machines shriek at me. They beep. They hum. They buzz. It swirls around me in an endless cyclone of noise. It pulls at me, wrapping me in a fog of sound.
I cannot focus. I cannot hear past the turbulence. I cannot think past the unrelenting roar around me.. It permeates me, affecting every part of me. My lungs feel heavy, weighted, as if it's harder to breathe, even when it isn't. I fight to keep from gasping. My stomach clenches, flooding with butterflies and cramping in pain all at once. My head aches, making it impossible to focus. My legs tremble as if I have run for hours, yet I've barely taken a step. I feel hollow, as if someone has scooped out all that makes me...me.
So I sit here, huddled in a corner, hoping no one sees how close I am to tears, how close I am to falling apart. The world trembles beneath me, yet none around me feel the tremors. The air is thick, choking me, yet no one else struggles to breathe. The lights are too bright, yet I am the only one squinting in the brightness. The volume on everything increases ten fold, yet the others only talk louder to compensate. No one else feels any change.
I long for shadows to hide me, to muffle the noise. The chaos melts away in the darkness of night. Evening comes, and the world falls silent, and for a moment, just for a moment, I can breathe. I can remember that I am me. I can remember that there is peace in this world of noise. I can remember.
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Finishing (Danielle)
I ended up very sick today, but have finished so much in the last little while, I sent out two packages to their new homes last week, I feel like it took way to long to do the spinning contract, I wanted to be done by the end of January, but I find stress slows me down, and finishing gives me that boost I need, which is why I often finish two or three things right after each other. Everyone enjoys a finish, as I write this, Lisa has just finished writing Wildfire, I have not one but two Finished projects winging their way across the US to their final destinations. We are both proud of our accomplishments, and why not? It is a big deal after all, and leaves us open to do even more, further our crafts, and grow as people.
Thursday, 26 February 2015
Cover Reveal - Wildfire
⋰⋱★⋰COVER REVEAL⋰⋱★⋰⋱
Title: Wildfire
Author: Lisa Messier
Release Date: March, 2015
Series: Future of Flames #3
Published by Entertwine Publishing
Author: Lisa Messier
Release Date: March, 2015
Series: Future of Flames #3
Published by Entertwine Publishing
Synopsis:
Shadowed flames dance on a winter's breeze, drawing Kateraina into the world of the Dreamers. Her fate rests in the hands of the one who Guards her. Dinan NightWalker must show her the strength of the darkness she holds. Wrapped in his arms, she must stand firm against the nightmares she endures. Shadowed secrets lie buried in a long forgotten shrine. Sweet winds whisper twisted truths, turning friend into foe. Searching for answers will test the bounds of their loyalty. Will betrayal tear them apart, or will a fate cloaked in prophecy guide them through their Future of Flames?
About Lisa Messier:
Someone once asked me why I write. I write for the same reason I breathe; it's necessary for my survival (and sanity). I use my writing as a way to express myself and learn who I am. Words make me into the person I want to become. I've been writing since I was a young girl. Now I'm a stay at home mother of my own three girls. I was born and raised in rural Alberta, but moved to the 'big city' three years ago with my husband. In the last year I've finally admitted that I am indeed a geek. I've fallen in love with corsetry and can spend hours researching corsets and their applications. Perhaps one day corsetry will find its way into my writing.
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Musing - Who Are You? (Lisa)
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In times past, families were represented by a coat of arms. Heraldry was used to depict who a family was, what they stood for, what they fought for. Signet rings were used by royals to show that documents were legit, that what was written were truly the words of the king. Wax seals were used to seal letters. they also indicated who the sender was.
I recently faced the challenge of creating my own such symbol. Something that represents who I am. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, then such a symbol should truly be able to tell you who I am. I struggled for days trying to come up with something. No matter what I saw, it didn't quite fit my idea of me. I spoke with others about it, and finally my husband shared a concept that just felt right.
I spent the better part of two days trying to sketch out what he had envisioned. It includes the first letter of my first name, fire, and a quill. For those who know me, fire makes sense. I am slightly obsessed. I have a pyromaniac tendency or two....kept under tight control. Usually enjoyed in the form of candles and campfires. Fire also represents passion. I'm rediscovering mine, and I see passion as vital to life and health. The quill is my passion. Writing is my life. It's who I am. It's what I need.
While this isn't representative of all I am, it is true to who I am. I holds the most sacred part of who I am as a person, what drives me as a mother, a wife, an artist. This symbol is me, and it truly is worth a thousand words. I've since had that symbol made into a stamp, stickers and it's on a pen. Seeing it surrounding me, I'm starting to feel confidence building in myself. I look around and I see this symbol, this representation of me, and I like what I see. I want to become what this crest is saying with its thousand words.
What picture is worth a thousand words to you? If you had to choose a symbol to represent yourself, what would it be? Think about it for a while. You may find you learn something about yourself. You may gain confidence in who you are.
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