I’m so excited to share with you that the lovely Whitney English and I are developing an amazing new product together. SAY WHAT? Yep, it’s true. Now we just need your opinion!
We’d be tickled hot pink if you filled out this survey, and to show our thanks, you’ll gain access to an exclusive FREE webinar with us. Yahoo!
So many people loved the quote I shared on Tuesday.
I’m obsessed with it, so I picked up a brush and ink, and made a fun printable out of it.
Just click on the images below to download it in either black or cobalt ink.
Happy dreaming!!
Need help with balancing your dream and the rest of your life? Need to customize your path and be really true to yourself? For a short time, I’m offering the Design Life Project as a self-study course, and you can take it at your own pace. We also have a Design Life Project alumni group that you can join (included in your registration) where you can connect with others who’ve taken the course. Not sure if it’s for you? Read more about WHO the course is for and HOW it can help. This self-study version of the course will only be offered for a limited time, so head over and register and you can take the course when you’re ready. We are excited to meet you!!
This week I’m back from maternity leave and I’ve been filled with emotions. One of them is doubt. I’ve been worried about getting back into the swing, now with 2 kids, a mortgage and employees, things just got REALLY real. For reals. So when I heard this quote, it made my jaw drop. I love this so much, that it hurts.
Doubt KILLS dreams.
That’s so very sobering and SO very true. In working closely with business owners who have followed their dreams, I can see where those dreams have taken them… and it’s unimaginable to wonder what life would look like for them, if they hadn’t. What if they’d been too afraid – too full of doubt – to pursue those dreams?
I get it, failure is very real. But honestly, I can’t really think of any one of my clients, colleagues or friends who I would consider to have “failed” at a dream. Instead – they adapted. If sales didn’t work out as planned, they sold something else. If a business didn’t do as expected, they did something else. I wouldn’t call adapting or changing FAILING. Right? When we learn from something, and adjust – it’s surviving and thriving. It’s NOT failing.
So really then, what are we afraid of? Having to adapt or change? No problem. I hear you – it’s not always fun to adapt or change, but it’s nothing to be AFRAID of. It’s definitely not reason enough to NOT follow up on a dream.
Because really – what happens when that dream succeeds? Wouldn’t that possibility be worth it?
What have you been dreaming about lately, that you haven’t moved on because of doubt?
Need help with balancing your dream and the rest of your life? Need to customize your path and be really true to yourself? For a short time, I’m offering the Design Life Project as a self-study course, and you can take it at your own pace. We also have a Design Life Project alumni group that you can join (included in your registration) where you can connect with others who’ve taken the course. Not sure if it’s for you? Read more about WHO the course is for and HOW it can help. This self-study version of the course will only be offered for a limited time, so head over and register and you can take the course when you’re ready. We are excited to meet you!!
Introducing the summer self-study edition of Design Life Project.
Design Life Project summer self-study edition is a five-week, self-study online course (that can be taken at your own pace) to help you custom-design your LIFE. This summer edition I decided to release for a limited time as a self-study version. Because summer time can be a busy time for a lot of us, I wanted to leave it open to be taken at your own pace, to allow for summer fun to happen in the meantime. Design Life Project will help you find your balance between work, play, life and love by identifying your core, discovering your strengths and weaknesses, and your natural rhythm. Design Life Project will help clarify and simplify your scheduling, help you to know what you should be working on when, get things out of your head and organized, and allow for maximum creativity to do the BEST DESIGN WORK you’ve done. Let’s make the REST OF YOUR LIFE, the BEST OF YOUR LIFE.
Are you a creative who is:
Perhaps you’re JUST starting out in a design business, and you want to start it right so that you develop the balance early on. You’ll learn what I’ve learned in YEARS of running a business, balancing a new family, and doing your best work, in just 5 weeks! I will be completely TRANSPARENT with you and tell you EXACTLY what did and didn’t work for me!
Would you like to:
Snag your spot now while it’s on sale for just $99! You can take the course at your own pace, but this self-study version of the course will only be for sale for an extremely limited time.
“When you work in any creative industry, or work for yourself, most likely you let that seep into every aspect of your being. As full filling as this kind of work can be, it can also be exhausting and overwhelming. It wasn’t until this course that I realized I was missing something. I am a designer by trade, and I wasn’t designing my life! The number one thing that I loved about this course was the confidence Cathy instilled in all us to take control. We truly have the power to design a life we love. There is a place where work and family coexist without guilt, and where we can do our best work free from burnout. I am so excited about the directions my life and business will take with this new found knowledge and support.”
“The Design Life Project encouraged me to really think about how I spend my time. I also took a long hard look at my business practices and the reasons behind why I do things a certain way and where improvements could be made. I walked away with a clear picture of what I need to implement in my business and a list of action items. More importantly, I feel encouraged and inspired to actually get those things done!”
“This course has helped me spend less time on the things that I don’t enjoy, while spending more time on my creative projects. I feel like my creativity has grown as I have gotten more inspired to spend time on the fun parts of what I do. During these weeks, I have given up some of my responsibilities to spend more time on fun projects. I am so happy that my work and quality has gotten better as I am zoning in on the type of work I do. I also started raising my prices on my cakes and will be raising prices on other things I offer as well. By raising my cake prices, I’ve been able to hire an assistant to make the process of baking and decorating go quicker and free up my time. I used to work 7 days a week, but I am now working 6 days a week and spending Sundays with my family. This is HUGE for me as I previously had no life/work balance and worked 24/7. I am making a conscious effort to stop working at a certain time each night and eat dinner and spend time with my family. It doesn’t happen every day, but at least it happens a few times a week and will start happening more as I keep working towards my goals. Thank you Cathy for all of your inspiration! I still have work to do, but I now know what needs to be done, what my priorities are, and have a clear vision for my businesses, know the type of clients I want to work with, and I see that I can’t say yes to everything, and I know I need to pay for help to make it all happen. I have learned SO much.”
“Being a business owner, wife, and mother of 3 little ones can be challenging at times. Last year, I was helping my kids with homework while answering emails on my phone, and ordered pizza for dinner far too many times. I took the Design Life Project last fall and it has made such a difference in the way I schedule my day! And Cathy is awesome!! If you want to design a new and better way of doing things, go get your spot!”
Week 1: Your Ideal Day, Motivations and Goals
In the first week, you will learn how to discover what fires you up, what you love to do, and how you’d like to do it. I will help you identify what brings you JOY and what ignites your best work. You will learn HOW to map out your ideal day, and what you’d like it to look like. In little, easy ways, you can start filling your days with JOY.
Week 2: Developing Boundaries and Implementing Them
In the second week, you will learn how to create boundaries, and I will teach you how to start implementing them RIGHT away to start clearing the clutter. I will help you choose which boundaries to put in place, for your desired results. You will be able to start clearing out some time and getting some time to yourself to do the things you love.
Week 3: Getting Help and Developing Your Team
In the third week, you will learn how to get help to clear off your plate, and how to afford it. You will learn tips and tricks to simplify your workflow so that YOU are doing less of the work you don’t love, and MORE of the work you do LOVE. You will develop a plan to work smarter and not harder, right away.
Week 4: Creating a Customized Schedule, Get Laser Focused and Be PRODUCTIVE
In the fourth week, you will learn how to custom-tailor a schedule to work WITH who you are, and how you like to work. You will learn that it’s okay to throw out the traditional ways of doing things and you will learn how to design it to work with your personality and style. You will finally develop a plan JUST FOR YOU, so that everything fits and everything flows. I will also help you get you laser focused, by following your schedule and allowing yourself to be FULLY present in what you are currently doing. You will learn the art of focusing on your project, on your family, on your friends – at the right place and time. You will start getting the MOST of your time so that you can stay productive and get more MEANINGFUL things done (in less time).
Week 5: Putting it All Together and Fine Tuning
In the fifth week, you will learn how to fine tune everything you’ve developed, and help you put it all together. You will start to master living out all of the pieces in balance, and you will be able to fine-tune the areas to work even better. This week we will be oiling the machine that has brought you to living your ideal day. It will all come together this week, and you will finish the course with a well-developed, customized plan to fit only you.
Design Life Project is taught by Graphic and Web Designer Cathy Olson, owner of the design studio Love-Inspired. She has over 13 years experience as a professional graphic designer, and has worked with a range of businesses – big ones like Disney, Costco, Best Buy and Walmart – to small ones like work-from-home moms, working from a desk and a laptop in the wee hours. Cathy started her own design business over 5 years ago, and in that time has helped hundreds of businesses find their authentic voice through exploration, social media, marketing, graphics, and web. She has dealt first-hand with the juggling a thriving business, being a mom to a growing family, and personal goals. She’s experienced overwhelm first hand, and has learned how to balance work AND life in a fun, personalized and EASY TO STICK WITH way. This class is perfect for designers, photographers, artists and creatives who want to have more free time, attract their dream clients, work smarter not harder, and truly start to LIVE the LIFE they want to.
Snag your spot now while it’s on sale for just $99! You can take the course at your own pace, but this self-study version of the course will only be for sale for an extremely limited time.
Let’s FINALLY develop some balance and peace in your design/life. In this course, you’ll learn about setting goals to make your heart SING, determining which boundaries are necessary and ACTUALLY how to STICK to them. You’ll learn how to create laser focus and to REALLY stay productive. You’ll learn how to really be present in what you’re doing and be the BEST at it that you can be. Instead of living someone else’s life/dream/way of scheduling, you will learn the skills to design YOUR ideal day, YOUR ideal week, YOUR ideal year.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I’m so busy and overwhelmed already. Will I have time for your course? Can I register, but start it later when I know things will have quietened down? The course is recommended to span over 5 weeks – but the self-study version can be done at your own pace. Each week we will have lessons and worksheets, and you can do them in your spare time. If you don’t have spare time, the course will HELP you FIND some. Honestly, the BEST time to do this program is WHEN you are overwhelmed, because you’ll start to clear it out RIGHT away. You will also have access to the private Facebook group to bounce your ideas off of. If you would still rather go at your own pace, you can. You will be able to download all the content and access the course site for three months after the program finishes.
What kind of teaching can I expect in the course? What’s included? The Design Life Project e-course is robust. Enrolling in Design Life Project includes full access to the online classroom, video tutorials, Q&A and worksheets to identify your ideal day, as well as access to a private Facebook group where you can connect and share with your classmates and get feedback directly from Cathy. You’ll create an actual working system that is customized to you, so you don’t have to waste another moment in overwhelm or frustration.
When does the class start? Self-study course is available NOW! It will be for sale for a limited time, so purchase now while it’s available and take it at your pace.
Does the course meet at a certain time? Does it matter what part of the world I’m in? Design Life Project is a virtual course, you can participate from anywhere at anytime! Lessons are online and are meant to be taken throughout the week, and you can log into the course at any time to view them.
How much time can I expect to spend on the course? You’ll get new content on the course site throughout the week, M-F. We’ll start with a lesson, then a worksheet, some observation and testing, and then end the week with an action step. You can expect to spend anywhere between 30 to 90 minutes reviewing the content and completing the exercises and work for the class each day, depending on the length of the lesson. Some people may work through the content more quickly, and others may want to spend more time. All the content will help you develop your personalized plan by the end of the Design Life Project course.
How are payments handled? Payment is securely processed via PayPal and can be made using your PayPal balance or credit card. Please note that all course correspondence will be sent to the email address associated with your PayPal account. To use a different email address, please forward your PayPal invoice to cathy@designlifeproject.com.
Other questions? Email me at cathy@designlifeproject.com.
Snag your spot now while it’s on sale for just $99! You can take the course at your own pace, but this self-study version of the course will only be for sale for an extremely limited time.
Create Passive Profits class starts on Monday! So excited!!
I recorded a welcome video for all the new students to know what to expect – and I’d like to share it with you all as well, in case you’re still on the fence, not sure if it’s a good fit for you, and would like to know what to expect during the course.
Click here to view this video on Vimeo.
Happy Weekend all!
I’d love to invite you to join us in the new 4-week long Create Passive Profits workshop, where I will teach you to take your ideas, talents and passions, and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream.
I was having a conversation with a friend who’s a wedding photographer – and she was saying as much as she loves her career and business, some days it feels so predictable, and sometimes it feels like she’s on auto-pilot. I know I’ve felt like this before. Goodness, I’ve been a graphic and web designer for over 14 years professionally, and over that time, even though some things have changed – a lot has also stayed the same.
So is it creative burnout? I don’t really think your creative tank is EMPTY. I think it’s creative auto-pilot – I think there’s lots of creativity still in there. Since I have been doing this for long, I’ve had to come up with new ways to make it fresh. Here’s some of my ideas for you, if you feel like you’re in a creative rut or that you’re burned out.
This is my favorite go-to for when I feel burned out. It’s almost like taking an old car out for a drive. I need a little recharge of my battery, and to push those challenging high speeds for a moment to remind myself that I can. Passion projects can be paid or not paid. Personally I prefer the paid kind (like passive income projects), but I don’t always go that route. Sometimes I just devote my time and energy into a side project. Maybe it’s planning an event, starting a community or group meet up, or maybe it’s planting a vegetable garden. Maybe it’s redesigning a room in your house, or maybe it’s taking up knitting. Whatever it is – it takes you mentally AWAY from your bread and butter and allows you to use some under-utilized creative muscles.
This another favorite go-to: learning. I love to digest new information. I love learning about new experiences, new people, or new things. I love expanding my knowledge and feeling that ah-ha moment about something totally foreign to me. This can be cross-promotional (meaning it helps your career) or not. It can be totally something that has nothing to do with what you do. All that matters is that you are passionate about it, and like learning it. This can be a simple as reading a book, or as elaborate as planning a trip to attend a workshop or seminar. I try to make it to at least one workshop or seminar a year. I love travel in theory, but executing it takes some work with a family. Last year we did a lot of traveling, in prep for this new baby coming. So this year I’m doing more from home learning – which is totally fun too! As long as you feel like you’re growing, that’s all that matters.
This can be the hardest of the three – but sometimes it’s most needed. Sometimes we need to EDIT. It may be time to prune your business or life. You could be burned out because you don’t like your offerings – or maybe you like some, but not all of them. Now is the time to see what you love about what you do – and what you could live without. I’m a huge fan of narrowing your market and also your offerings. I’m also a big fan of saying NO and getting rid of things. When you get rid of things – it also makes more room for new things. I’m currently working on launching a new design offering (something that isn’t out there right now but there is a huge need/market for) for Love-Inspired when I return from maternity leave – but it will mean me taking less business from another area. (To answer your question, I’m still not sure what I’m ditching – but rest assured I’ll have to ditch something.) Try getting rid of the things you don’t LOVE and filling that space with more that you do LOVE. Check out the YES list if you need a reminder of the things you LOVE.
Not sure if it’s the weather, or the time of year, or a mixture of the two, but I hear a lot of creative people struggling with burnout right now. I’d love to encourage you today to share this with a friend (share buttons at the end of this post) who you know may be struggling with this. Try one or all of these ideas, and let me know if it helped your burnout!
Reminder – Create Passive Profits starts NEXT WEEK! I’d love to invite you to join us in the new 4-week long Create Passive Profits workshop, where I will teach you to take your ideas, talents and passions, and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream.
Today I’d like to share a few SIMPLE steps that you can do RIGHT now – to get more done today. This will take you 5 minutes or less and might make a huge difference in your day. Why not give it a shot?
Take out 2 blank sheets of paper and your favorite pen. Grab the first blank sheet. Take 1 or 2 minutes to write out everything you could work on today, or need to work on today.
Pick 3 things – the top 3 things that HAVE to get done today, put a star next to them.
Pick 2 more things that COULD get done today if you have some more time, put an arrow next to them.
Grab the second blank sheet of paper, write down what time it is. Pick the easiest/quickest thing on your starred 3 list, write it down, and get started.
When you’ve finished that, physically check it off or cross it out. Then do the same thing with the 2nd starred thing on your list. Write down the time you get started, and get started.
Repeat this with your 3rd starred thing, and if you don’t get to anything else, pat yourself on the back for getting 3 top things done today. If you have extra time and/or you’re on a roll, take the next 2 arrowed things on your list and follow the above!
Easy peasy? Give it a shot, and let me know what you think!
Reminder – Create Passive Profits starts NEXT WEEK! I’d love to invite you to join us in the new 4-week long Create Passive Profits workshop, where I will teach you to take your ideas, talents and passions, and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream.
This is the fourth post in a series on new idea fear busting. In Create Passive Profits, we are going to start the course by pushing past the fears that have stopped us in the past. In this series, I’d like to dispel some fears here on the DLP blog, to encourage you to start those things you’ve been dreaming about.
Ah, the fear I hear most often that stops people from going after their dreams. There are many misconceptions about time, and I’d like to squash some of those here.
Who said you needed 40 hours a week to develop a company? Because you don’t. You only need little scraps of time here and there. Think about if you started today, just 10 minutes a day, to learn Spanish. Guess what would happen? You’d learn Spanish! It’s as simple as taking the time you can, and taking action towards it.
Chances are, there’s something you’re doing (or many things you’re doing) that are a waste of your time and your resources. You are probably just in a routine and you haven’t even thought about why you are continuing to do it. If you truly audit your day – you’ll find there’s a lot of things that YOU don’t really need to be doing. Feel free to quit things that are extra or are just there. Simplify and you’ll find a bunch of free time you didn’t even know existed.
An hour of work doesn’t have to be an hour of work. An hour of work can equal 100 hours of work. What do I mean? When you create passive or re-occuring income, one hour of your work can translate to countless hours of repeat business. If you set up a system that is automated or scalable – your time can be invested instead of just spent. See my blog about passive income for more explanation.
When you are doing what you love – where do you draw the line between a hobby/play and work? I love this quote by James Michener:
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide if he’s working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”
So perhaps your hobby/free time can cross over into work time. Maybe you can be making money while you’re having fun. We all have time for that, right?
If you haven’t already – read new idea fear busting #1 – it’s already been done, new idea fear busting #2 – I’m not {blank} enough and new idea fear busting #3 – someone will steal my idea. I’d also love to invite you to join us in the new Create Passive Profits workshop, where you can take these ideas and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream. Registration is now open – so snag your spot, class starts very soon!!
This is the third post in a series on new idea fear busting. In Create Passive Profits, we are going to start the course by pushing past the fears that have stopped us in the past. In this series, I’d like to dispel some fears here on the DLP blog, to encourage you to start those things you’ve been dreaming about.
I don’t take this fear lightly. It’s a very real fear – copying exists today more than ever. But we don’t need to fear it, or worry about it.
Ray Kroc – founder of McDonalds said this:
“We can invent faster than they can steal”.
How true is that. You will always be one step ahead – you will always be the innovator. You will always be able to tout being the “Original” and you will always be able to charge a premium for your quality. The good news, is they can not make it as good as you, because you will always be one step ahead of them.
It sucks, and it hurts to be copied. People say it’s the highest form of flattery – but I would beg to say it’s the highest form of a slap in the face! Haha. The good news is, they aren’t worth worrying about most of the time. Even if you decided to litigate – there are always those overseas companies that can skirt around the law. Don’t waste time going backwards – instead, send your C&D orders – and continue innovating.
Copycats never thrive. They are bottom feeders and will always be leeching off of someone else. Copying is a weak business model that’s built on quicksand. You know it and they know it. Be happy that you are on the winning end of the stick.
You make a great product – and knock it out of the park. Put your heart and soul in – and have a GREAT time doing it. They can never be you.
Don’t let copycats stop you from getting your dream. You deserve to produce your idea and get it recognized. Forget them and keep being amazing!
If you haven’t already – read new idea fear busting #1 – it’s already been done, and new idea fear busting #2 – I’m not {blank} enough. I’ll be posting more new idea fear busting this week. I’d also love to invite you to join us in the new Create Passive Profits workshop, where you can take these ideas and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream. Registration is now open – so snag your spot before it’s sold out!
This is the second post in a series on new idea fear busting. In Create Passive Profits, we are going to start the course by pushing past the fears that have stopped us in the past. In this series, I’d like to dispel some fears here on the DLP blog, to encourage you to start those things you’ve been dreaming about.
We really seem to psyche ourselves OUT of the good ideas, don’t we? There are lots of excuses we give ourselves about why we aren’t enough to pursue our idea. I’d love to debunk some of these now.
Why is it that we all think we need degrees in anything we do? Maybe it’s the old school way of doing things. It’s never been easier in history to learn how to do something. Hey, I even have a couple degrees in graphic design – but I know a LOT of my colleagues don’t. Since I worked very hard for it, I’m proud of it. But guess what? On the web – no one really cares. I don’t think people hire me because I have a degree – they hire me because they like what I produce, and they know that I can help them. No one cares about your background – they only care if and how you can help them. It’s really, really true.
This can be added on to the above – the web is the great equalizer, and nobody cares how old you are. The web is completely merit-based. Age just doesn’t matter anymore. And if for some reason, your ideal clients are looking for age – they are going to be your same age. So even if that is a factor (which it’s probably not) then there will be an audience and market just like you. Maybe that’s part of your niche – and that’s okay too! It’s just a selling point instead, and no reason to be afraid.
Simple software solutions are constantly being built for those who aren’t as technically inclined – as well learning programs for those who want to learn how. You can learn just about ANYTHING on the web these days. And even for free if you’re willing to dig. There’s no excuse any more – they are breaking down the tech barriers as we speak.
I have some REALLY great news for you. Remember how I said it’s never been easier in history to learn something? Well it’s also never been cheaper to sell something. Informational products especially are DIRT cheap to produce – and the profit margins are close to 100%. You can get a site started with everything you need for less than $100 these days. You absolutely do not need a lot of money to start your idea. Even sites like Kickstarter.com and Indigogo.com make it easy to gain funding if your project does need it.
So have I convinced you that you are enough? Well, of course you are. You are amazing and ONE of a kind!
If you haven’t already – read new idea fear busting #1 – it’s already been done. I’ll be posting more new idea fear busting this week and next week. I’d also love to invite you to join us in the new Create Passive Profits workshop, where you can take these ideas and monetize them to create a passive revenue stream. Early-bird Registration is now open – so snag your spot TODAY before the price goes up to the regular rate on Monday!
