forbes – Rebekka Lien

Growing up, I always considered myself unique and different.

My mother nurtured the creative gift in me and brought my brother and I to sketch at museums. We were well-cultured, attending classical concerts and also learning the gift of independent-thinking. I knew I was different and even more so when I moved to different countries where I didn’t know the language and had to learn to “be cool”.

One thing I am extremely grateful for was the MENTORS in my life that nurtured the WEIRD in me. They believed in me and thought my crazy dreams were special and needed to be protected. Of course, sometimes mentors don’t stay mentors forever and seasons in life brings them to stop believing in you or to be busy with their personal lives, these are all understandable situations.

I started working when I was just 14. Now, not many people were selling makeup at school, but I learned to find a way to make my own money. Fast forward, I am living my dreams with bamboos and orchids on my desk, typing away this blog post on my Mac. Has it been easy? Nope.

Sacrifice IS a must for entrepreneurs.

If we teach our youth that they have to sacrifice their dreams for security, what are we really doing?

We are destroying their hearts.

Not every youth has a strong heart and is able to protect their dreams from their parents, peers, friends. Especially if the overriding message is – “BE SECURE AND STABLE”.

Pursuing your DREAMS is not a secure and stable path.

The sacrifices might include…..over the years of being self-employed, the beginning consisted of:

1. Sacrificing going out with friends and instead forcing myself to eat at home, and at times even being hungry

2. Using second best office supplies, sometimes found at yard sales

3. Bearing the judgements and rebukes of family and friends alike, even people you thought you trusted.

And the list goes on….Though…

The Benefits:

1. Creating exactly and however you want your dream life and career to look like

2. Creating your life based on your top values such as freedom, love, flexibility

3. Leaving town and working at the same time – being completely MOBILE.

4. In the beginning it can be difficult, but if you persevere, the results are amazing!

5. Taking naps when you feel like it.

6. Working from cafes and libraries, choosing beautiful environments to work in versus a cold ACed room with neon lights (ew).

If you would like to hear more, I invite you to join me as I help you map out your dreams to reality in just 2 DAYS here in Los Angeles: Register here: http://modestflyartgallery.com/workshops-seminars/ and see you August 4 at 10-12 noon.

flyer

Now, I’m starting to see why this year had to happen. Nothing seems to phase me now. I’m surrounded by nature, hummingbirds, sun, I have my own yard, I live alone. I have personal space.

Every adversity is a stepping stone to who you want to be. And what you want.

Guess what? They are not stumbling blocks or even obstacles to your dreams. The adversities, the discouragements are only stepping stones. You step on them to get to the next stair steps. When you feel discouraged, you focus on your goal, you focus on the goodness of life.

I did not want to sit on my butt for 8 hours aday, so I had to create something mobile. I had to quit, I traveled, I saw the world, I started selling jewelry and clothes. After going to South America, I was stumped again. I was broke again, I had to reinvent the wheel. I started posting my private lessons on Craigslist, I started building my clientale. I started to hone my skills, now I teach sewing, mandarin, piano…

The great thing about being a creative entrepreneur, 2 days I can be on the road teaching. Today, I get to wake up and sit in nature, work on my online business, and write. Tonight, my friend and I are hosting our first meeting of Fashion Shares, a community of women for the purpose of empowering each other!

Question of the Day: How do you find out what you want to do in life?

Answer: You don’t, you live and learn. You try and learn from mistakes, but you can always have a big vision. For me, I always wanted to empower people, so I delved into things that allowed me to be with people. I also love managing my own time, and I didn’t know this until someone else started managing my time. That’s when I knew I couldn’t continue being controlled. There are very strategic ways to weed out options- if you have questions comment below! 🙂

Remember: The difficult path IS messy, you will cry many times, you will be frustrated even more, but the pay off is….after the messiness of trying things out, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, you’ll come out of it wiser and you’ll know MORE of what you’re good at and want to do.