The Element, Stress and an Overhaul

Sometimes things get a little crazy and it's time for an overhaul. Here's the deal, I have been incredibly stressed lately -I won't go into all the details because I really hate it when I visit someone's blog and it's all bodily function stuff (yuk.) but let's suffice it to say that I get stressed when I feel like my "poop" (figuratively, not literally!) is not in order.

One main contributor to the stress (besides my figurative "poop" being all over the place) is that I (as well as my art and my businesses) am (are) suffering from a little bit of an identity crisis. I have been reading some great books about this very thing. The main one is The Element by Ken Robinson - I love this guy... period. He explores creativity and has some fabulous talks on TED.com and a truly great one on Fora.tv. Anyway, on Ken's website, The Element is described as:

"... the point at which natural talent meets personal passion.

When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves

and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels." 

This simple statement describes everything I want my life to be. I want to find my "Element" and dedicate myself to developing it. I want to become my highest self, to live to my greatest ability and do it with passion.

Here's the book:

Here's an interview where he talked about this. I know it's long but I hope you'll bookmark it to watch sometime and be inspired to watch some of his other talks on TED.com or Fora.tv. As a certified educator who became completely disillusioned and quit teaching, I think he really hits the nail on the head. Anyway, give it a watch:

**If the video doesn't load properly - find it at http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=6621568

In this attempt to find myself, "branding" has been on my mind. I don't (and never have) had a cohesive brand for my jewelry. I create large gallery pieces for shows and competitions but I also enjoy making nice, simple jewelry pieces for people to wear whenever and wherever they please. This makes me feel kind of "bipolar". My solution - to start a new business called "CC Bead Girl". This will be the place for the "everyday" jewelry creations as well as vintage beads, back-issue beading/craft magazines and tutorials. Here's the new logo (yes, a logo. I'm venturing into branding!):

It will also be the moniker I plan to use at craft fairs and such (which I am determined to venture into this year!). So, the Etsy shop - CCBeadGirl - is set up and ready for me to get items listed and the domain name - www.ccbeadgirl.com - is reserved and just waiting for some HTML to get it up and running. There's nothing on the website yet except a GoDaddy page holder - I'll let you know when there's something worth looking at!! :)

So, while it may seem like I'm adding stress to my life with these additions, I am actually starting to feel better! I'm on my way to finding my element.