Anything worth doing takes time, effort, and hard work. I’m the mom who creates my family’s Halloween costumes, designs logos for the boys’ birthday party invitations, and encourages my kids to hand make their Valentines. Yes, I am happy doing my ‘thing’– cheering on, cleaning up after, and carpooling my 3 boys (well, maybe not the cleaning-up-after part), but I always had a desire to CREATE something for myself. After 18 months of R&D (research and development), my new patent-pending product is now in manufacturing. Yes, it’s been challenging trying to balance it all– between cooking and constantly wiping up, homework, and my laundry hill– I sketched, sewed, tweaked, re-sewed, repeated.
When I’m at a place where I’m overwhelmed with what to do next, one of my motivators comes from my husband from his college days, “What’s your next glass of tea?”: “Wing night in a crowded restaurant…as in ‘all you can eat’ buffalo wings, complete with $5 pitchers of beer. That combo brought out the uncivilized in droves. The place was a madhouse. Servers screaming at kitchen staff, kitchen staff screaming at managers. Borderline chaos. In those moments when I was so far in the weeds I couldn’t think straight, I would tell myself, “Just get the next glass of tea.” Focusing on a series of absolute next steps would eventually bring me out of the weeds and back into a manageable work flow. That advice has served me well through the years.” says Rutland.
Here are some other constructive quotes that push me along:
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” ~Mary Lou Cook
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” ~Albert Einstein
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” ~Walt Disney
“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I’m with you kid. Let’s go.” ~Maya Angelou
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
“Lord, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” ~Psalm 61:2
What motivates you to keep moving forward?
Susan Bee Goods 