I really enjoyed my time at ALT, and came away feeling simultaneously inspired and overwhelmed about projects I've been either working on or dreaming about. I feel like there are so many things that I want to start and do, but I have a hard time thinking about going out on my own (entrepreneur-ily speaking) and I'm not always sure where to focus my energies.
One of our keynote speakers was Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest, and he showed this slide to illustrate what it felt like to be involved in a start-up:
This was my biggest takeaway from the conference - that "chasing your dreams" doesn't always feel safe, but that the rewards of working on projects that you're genuinely excited about are priceless. It was especially poignant because I was there, surrounded by talented, accomplished folks who were out there really making things happen. Ben's story about how he quit being an accountant to start Pinterest instead was the kick in the pants I needed to remind myself to stop THINKING about things I want and to go DO something about them instead.
It was also reconfirmed that I don't post enough on this blog. I think part of my "2 posts a month" MO is me not always having a clear idea of what to post here...so I'm going to try to just start posting more often and you'll have to tell me what you actually like seeing here and what makes you wish that you had a time machine to give you the minutes you spent reading back.
I'll tell you what I DO know belongs on this blog - photos of me with my famous new best friend Anya (you know, from Project Runway), seen here on the left telling me that the dress design that I submitted during ALT was "on trend" and on the right, standing close enough to totally show me up in the hair department.
That's right, Anya generously called my scribble of a dress "on trend." Maybe this encouragement will be all I need to move "fashion designer" to the top of my project list.
3 comments:
mmmm i don't know that i've ever seen something truer than that slide. i've sidled away from my normal writing, which is picture books, to work on a novel, and it's so absolutely terrifying but i also know i must do it, or else. sorry for the run on sentence... :O)
Or else! I know the feeling : )
yes, more posts. :)
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