"Intuit and do it."
I have a few mottos that I find over and over again to be true, ones that remind me to keep going and believe in myself and my dreams. I thought I would share them here so maybe you, too, will find them useful.
I’ve always been a dreamer. Ideas are my meat and potatoes. They nourish me and thrill me. Ideas can come from anywhere, so I pay attention everywhere. I get plenty of ideas, but they are not all viable. I’ve always relied on my intuition to tell me which ideas to pursue. My intuition works a lot better than my sense of logic, and always gives me a strong nudge in the right direction. It feels so sure to me that it is often all I need to strike out with a new direction or project. I never do much research to support my plans, I just "intuit and do it." I’ve learned to rely on my intuition and trust those urges. It’s a big part of my success.
"Perseverance pays off."
This I learned during the early years of trying to get R.Wood Studio off the ground. It’s a rare idea that succeeds on the first try. Most things take repeated effort. The more you try, the more you learn, and the better your chances of success become. If it’s a project or a plan you believe in and want, keep trying! Just like in the early years of R.Wood Studio, when every year, exhausted by the stress of growing a financially struggling business, I would ask myself, “Can I keep doing this?” The answer was always the same. “I’ve put in so many years of work to make this business a success. If I quit now, I’ll never know if we could have made it! Who knows but that the next year will see the tide turn." And so I would keep going.
I don’t know who wrote the next quote, but it is so true!
"Optimism increases your options."
If you’re a pessimist, don’t go into business! A pessimist says, right off the bat, these options will never work. An optimist says, I’ll try it and see. An optimist sees a wide horizon beckoning and goes toward it. A pessimist prefers to stay put. Who do you think will find the most unexpected opportunities? The one who is going out looking.
Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!” This is one of the truest things ever written!
This goes back to being an optimist. If you think you cannot do something, no amount of convincing is likely to change your mind. But if you are confident you can do something, there is no one in the world who can convince you that you can’t. Confidence in your own insights, ideas, and abilities will pave the way for your success, encouraging and inspiring others along the way. If you don’t think you will accomplish a certain thing, you will never even try, and you will never set foot on the path of learning and growing that might get you where you want to go. Being a pessimist doesn’t even get you out of the starting gate. I’m thankful I was born an optimist and a dreamer, and even more thankful for my trusty intuition to guide me right along.
