“Love you. Mean It.” was the title on an email that arrived in my inbox, sent by a dear friend, on a Monday morning after an especially challenging weekend. A weekend of coming to terms with uncertainty, with some doors closing and others opening. Uncertainty may especially be felt in the moment when an expectation is not met, when a goal or resolution fails, when a family member moves, or when you learn a person you care about is sick. Uncertainty may linger in your thoughts leaving you with a profound sense of being knocked off course, no matter how much you may have prepared for that exact moment.

“When our lives are knocked off course we imagine everything in them is lost but it is only the start of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal, a great deal still to come.” - War & Peace Mini-Series

It's the middle of February, many of us may be coming to terms with the fact that some patterns we had hoped to break, have been repeated and habits we so proudly kickstarted, are sputtering out. Let’s try to not be too hard on ourselves, because trust me that is not how change comes about. In light of this great BIG world, these are only minor failures. Examine them, so as to not make the same mistakes in the future and then LET GO. Choose instead to lean into love. Lean into the positive words you have received from others, the dreams you have written down, those things which resonate with your heart and who you know deep within that you are. Surround yourself with the people who will lift you up - who remind you of who you are, even if you have forgotten. As my friend Zian says "Who are the people you love yourself most with"?

“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”

A friend texted me “steadfast and secure heart”. It’s one of my favorite mantras, I state it over and over to myself in the midst of the whirlwind that this crazy world can feel like at times. Whenever things don’t go as planned, whenever I am not as strong or as creative as I would like to be - do I go negative or do I speak to who I know I am? Examine your thoughts, what are you speaking over yourself and those who are in your life? Your words have incredible power. One of my clients recently shared with me a movie called “HappyThankYouMorePlease” the premise is the idea of telling the universe I am happy, thank you for the good stuff you have sent me and send more please. Tiffany Pratt, says when she is having a tough day she gets into her car and yells out things she is grateful for, the things that make her happy. You gotta do whatever it is that works for you (try not to hurt other people in the process).

“I know the only cure, which is to make one’s center of life inside of one’s self, not selfishly or excludingly but with a kind of unassailable serenity.” - Edith Wharton

The world is waiting for what we have to contribute. Each of us have a very unique DNA and no one but you can instill into this world what you were meant to. When life throws us off course, we must dust ourselves off, we cannot allow ourselves to stop making, dreaming and doing. Monday morning I woke up telling myself “you are brave + strong”. Today, I tell each of us to love YOU and mean it. There are already too many negative words spoken in the atmosphere, don’t let your thoughts take you out. You have something that you are meant to give to the world today.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

brave + strong,

Esther

Ps: I'm sorry for any typos just trying to get the work out there - even if it's imperfect. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and encouraged me to keep creating, your words mean the world. the moment an expectation is not met, when a goal or resolution fails, when a family member moves, or when you learn a person you care about is sick. Uncertainty may linger in your thoughts leaving you with a profound sense of being knocked off course, no matter how much you may have prepared for that exact moment.

It’s the last week of December, which for many of us is a season of year when we set aside time for personal reflection and goal setting. I would encourage you to begin with a mindset of G R A T I T U D E, think on or write down what you accomplished in 2015. Then as you move to critically assessing the successes and failures of your 2015, allow yourself to go deep - be honest and vulnerable. I have found that only when we are vulnerable are we able to truly move forward.

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. - Brene Brown

Then if for some reason you have any regrets, as one of my favorite movie quotes states “You have five minutes to wallow in the delicious misery. Enjoy it, embrace it, discard ...and proceed.” 2016 is a new year. 2016 is about M O M E N T S. Take courage in the fact that you can begin to prepare now for pivotal moments. Where in the past you have found yourself discouraged or frustrated at not being able to break through in areas of your personal life or business, know that if you are I N T E N T I O N A L and surround yourself with a community* who believes in you and that has hope for your success - then you can absolutely create new patterns, and G R O W.

I firmly believe that our individual well-being is absolutely tied to our success as innovators, entrepreneurs, artists and business owners (and any other title you may wear). Make it a priority to invest in and set aside time for Y O U. Start today putting patterns in place that will help you to be successful in 2016. This past year, I discovered that when I do the following three things, I am the happiest and most successful:

Morning Ritual - Identify a morning routine that makes you the feel the happiest and most productive. Routines vary depending on personality, responsibilities, etc. For some people this may look like kickstarting their day with exercise, for others its a cup of coffee or tea in a quiet place and mentally reviewing what the day ahead may hold, for me I have found that if I allot 20 - 30 minutes to research and feed my curiosity then I am inspired and motivated for the day. I usually start at this website, then who knows where the rabbit trail may lead.
Top Three - Write down your three most important things (MIT’s) to accomplish during the day. At least one of your most important things should be tied to your overall 2016 goals.
Gratitude - Consider spending a couple of minutes every morning thinking on the people, places and things that you are most grateful for. The more you practice gratitude, then more your eyes will be open to things to be grateful for.

Much more that could be said but my hope is to provide you with a couple of thoughts to kickstart your 2016. It's going to be a year of great M O M E N T S and I cannot wait to hear your stories.

*Seeking to discover individuals with a similar career or passion for G R O W T H? Send me an email and I will work to connect you with individuals or groups in your area that I know personally. Ex. In Seattle, Tiarra Sorte has launched the Artist4Artists group which is an inspiring group of creative entrepreneurs and artists who seek to collaborate with the intention of helping each other grow.

Check out our blog to read more about: Tools, Feeding Your Curiosity and Thought Leaders.

Tools

Gallup Strengths Finder: Beginning a new year strategically is important. Gallup Strengths Finder ($15) allows you to identify your top 5 strengths and provides specific action items to help you grow your strengths.
The Passion Planner: Purchase or Download PDF
- Please provide my email (esther@uncommoncartography.com) as a reference at time of purchase, this causes a “referral credit” to go to my account, and I will be able to provide Passion Planners for those I coach who may not be able to afford the purchase on their own.
Google Inbox: Inbox by Gmail is open to everyone with a Gmail address. Inbox was built by the Gmail team to give you a new way to stay organized and get back to what matters. All your Gmail messages stay synced, and you can always go back to Gmail if you want to.

Feed Your Soul

Creative Mornings - Tiffany Pratt: Colorful + motivating podcast by self described fairy godmother. Believes in the importance of gratitude, and not just doing “one thing” if you are in an artistic industry.
Brain Pickings: If you are have the goal of learning or reading more in 2016, check out Maria Popova’s best books of 2015.

Thought Leader

Earlier this year I signed up for several newsletters by creatives who are doing inspiring things, and Tobias van Schneider’s newsletter has quickly proven to be a great source of weekly inspiration. He is a fellow creative entrepreneur, who after experiencing some serious panic attacks, underwent a season of reflection that led him to quit his cushy job at Spotify and begin forging a path outside of the 9-5.

An excerpt from one of his most recent emails, to think on as you are compiling your 2016 goals:

I believe that in most cases when we talk about "risk taking" that these risks aren't as big as they seem. In our head things often look bigger than they actually are. Visualizing our worst case scenarios & fears often help us more than visualizing our goals. Visualizing our goals is common and powerful, but often it comes with defining safety as well. And the moment we think about our safety we reinforce our fears. The amount of suffering we go through by not taking risks often exceeds the suffering we imagine our worst case scenario would bring.