“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”” — Lewis Carroll
Coming across this quote was very timely. I had just received a message from a young artist that I coached. I met her at an Artists Who THRIVE seminar in Berkeley sponsored by the Small Business Development Center.
She was struggling. She had artistic talent and drive but she had no direction. My counsel to her was that she must know what she wants so that she could decide what direction to take her life.
We had to start with where she was. She knew she wanted to celebrate her culture and that she wanted to express and refine her artistic talent. But that knowing was too vague to provide her with direction. She had to commit to a SMART goal and take action. She did. And here was her message to me. But it may be a message to you.
Dear Ann,
I’d like to thank you for helping me create one of the best years of my adult life.
If you recall, you coached me for six months at the beginning of this year in which I went through ups and downs, I learned to create a dream map, a SMART goal, and an action plan….
Well the action plan didn’t fully happen as planned, and my SMART goal changed, but I stayed true to myself and did what I could to realize my ambitions.
I just returned from a five-month journey through Eastern Europe, (mostly Ukraine) and brought back a new set of skills, amazing experiences, new relationships, inspiration, and my best work yet!
I can honestly say that I had the best time on my life!
Not only because I got to travel and paint for 9 to 16 hrs a day, but also because some of the images on my dream map actually came to life.
Yet perhaps the biggest reward is the feeling of freedom and empowerment after I learned to pursue art projects that were true to me and yet at the same time they were beyond myself, projects that would bring value not only to me, but to my potential clients, my community, and my cultures.
Thank you for teaching me to dream big and for warning me that failure is inevitable.
I failed many times toward and during this journey, but now as I reflect back, lessons from failures and disappointment led to new opportunities and pathways.
I am excited to be back, to continue to clarify my dreams and goals, to fail and to continue creating my own path of creative freedom while inspiring others to live fully and pursue their own dreams.
Below are a few photos from my journey. Thank you again and I look forward to staying in touch with you in the upcoming years.
All the very best!
Nataliya Tyaglo
Independent Artist
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