Who Are You Grateful For?
As we enter November, which is National Gratitude Month, who are you most grateful for? I’m truly blessed to have each of these individuals, groups or entities in my corner, supporting my journey as I continue to move forward towards my dreams. Here’s who I’m most grateful for.
My Family
I’m grateful for my wonderful family that always surrounds me with unconditional love and support. No matter what lows I might be experiencing, they are always my biggest fans. More than half of my extended family is of Irish descent. We embrace “can do” sayings that have passed down through each generation since we immigrated from Ireland during the potato famine.
Here are three of my favorites:
· Don’t let the bastards get you down
· When one door closes another one opens
· Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep moving forward
My Online Community
I’m grateful for the supportive online community in my life. I’ve had the chance to meet some in person. Others I only know through my website, blog and the courses I teach. No matter how near or how far away they are, they are always willing to give me a “like” on an Instagram post, join me live (online) for my weekly Wednesday art chats on Facebook, or provide support and positive re-enforcement with wonderful engagement in my online membership or in my online classes.
My Business
While it was initially a real struggle for me to leave my corporate identity behind after getting laid off, I’m now so very grateful for the new entrepreneurial career that I am building for myself. I wake up every morning energized to keep moving forward, building the business step by step and enjoying each stage of the journey. I’m blessed to have the level of family support around me to invest in my growth and bring my vision to life.
My Creative Team
I’ve had the amazing opportunity this year to work with two incredibly talented women:
· Kim Thompson Steel, of kimthompsonsteel.com, a brilliant visual storyteller, with a background in animation, who does nearly all of the photography for my website. I wrote about our most recent photoshoot last week.
· Monique Johnson, of designwithmojo.com, who re-imagined my website and perfectly captured how I’m structuring my business going forward. Next week I’ll do a deep dive into what it’s been like working with her on the website redesign.
My Mentors
Grace Kraaijvanger, CEO and Founder of The Hivery, the most beautiful, supportive and energizing co-working space in the Bay Area. It’s right down the street from me in downtown Mill Valley. Grace personally sets the tone of support, encouragement and discovery for women (and men) looking for the answer to “what’s next” in their lives. With a deep heart and soulful spirit, Grace provided the environment, the experiences and the personal support I needed to make my way through to pursuing my dreams.
Alicia Berberich, CEO and Founder of Women’s Marketing Luncheons and mentoring, networking events and masterminds. I’ve known Alicia since high school but we only reconnected a few years ago through The Hivery. I’ll save our backstory for another day. Alicia is the most amazing and powerful mix of positivity, optimism and action. She is both gifted and giving, always ready, willing and eager to provide advice or constructive feedback on any part of my business.
Amy Porterfield, CEO and Founder of amyporterfield.com, the guru of online courses and the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast. I met Amy through Alicia and have now taken ALL of her online courses and have attended several of her incredible workshops. One of the cornerstones of my business today is online courses and I learned everything I know about them from Amy. She makes complex topics easy with step by step processes that delivery results. I’m a HUGE FAN and adore her and her entire team.
Bonnie Christine, internationally renowned Surface Pattern Designer, Entrepreneur and Online Educator. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to meet Bonnie in person for the first time this coming weekend. She organized a special retreat for students of her online surface pattern design IMMERSION course. Bonnie is one of the first teachers I discovered on Skillshare several years ago. I learned about surface pattern design from Bonnie and it’s now the foundation of my own business. Her generous nature, giving spirit and inner light inspire me every day to keep moving forward and to make my dreams come true.
Stu McLaren, CEO and Founder of TRIBE, the guru of online membership sites. I haven’t met Stu in person (yet) but feel like I know him through his courses and his incredibly approachable personality and the frequent online Q&As that he holds for his course community. He epitomizes the best type of leader who is focused entirely on his team and the success of his students. His energy, endless enthusiasm and positivity are infectious.
Who are you grateful for in our life? Take a few moments to acknowledge them for the support they have and/or continue to provide in your life. They’d love to hear from you!
Since this is also the last blog of the month, I’ve created some freebies centered around gratitude that you can download here. Print them out on card stock and give thanks to those who support you and always have your back.
It’s Never Too Late to Create
xo,
Anne
P.S. If you’d like to learn pattern design and create your first (or next) repeating pattern, check out my most popular class: From Sketch to Wrapping Paper. I can’t wait to see you in class!
MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation living in, and traveling to, beautiful environments in the United States and abroad.
