<p>Starting over at the mid point of my life, having had some great adventures and having worked for some great companies I realized...I didn't fit in to the "normal" world. I never really had.</p> <p>When I was younger and in school, I didn't learn the same way the other kids did. I just didn't get it, any of it. The only thing that kept me in school (other than my parents) was they let me sing. In order to do so I had to keep my grades up. Great! To sing I would do anything.</p> <p>In leaving junior high I entered a high school that would not allow me to sing. Not for the freshman year. I did not understand this, it made no sense. They did not want me, or any other freshman, to sing, take art, or be in drama. Suddenly I was completely lost.</p> <p>On entering collage I went into music. I began losing my voice for days and weeks at a time. I realized that this was not to be my destiny. My next love was art. I listened to my parents and always had a fall a back job, just in case.</p> <p>Now I know what you are thinking, and yes, this is what happened. My fall back job started to become my life, and as I said at the beginning of the article I worked for some great companies. Now in mid life I have been laid off from a job I was hoping to retire from. No more falling back.</p> <p>It is amazing what knowledge one can amass in 25 years of working. I have been a teacher, a retail store manager, a business partner, a project manager, a failed entrepreneur, a graphic designer, an illustrator and a waitress. Think about this for a minute. I know a whole lot about a whole lot.</p> <p>Throughout my life I have continued to learn, grow and discover. I taught myself how to use a computer and how to integrate this into my artwork. I have created a signature style. I worked for the computer company teaching others what I had learned. Imagine that.</p> <p>Now, with this lay off it is time start a new adventure. Why not make it my own as an Artist.</p> <p>To do what it is we do, we look to the past, we study the now, we predict the future, and we express it all in what we do as artists, singers, or actors.</p> <p>This ability however is in us all. The scientist who discovers a new way to do an experiment, a lawyer that suddenly realizes they are setting a precedent, a teacher who has a breakthrough with a special child who doesn't learn the same way the other kids do. These are all forms of creativity.</p> <p>So what I know for sure is this. We, as entrepreneurs, have the drive and the ability to grow something from nothing, learn from our pasts, and learn from others how to grow our own futures.</p> <p>I was recently asked what Top Ten Tips from my experiences would I pass on to others and here they are:</p> <p>1) Everyone has the capacity to be creative. Don't self edit.</p> <p>2) Creativity is a state of mind.</p> <p>3) When an idea is there but just out of reach, Take a Nap!</p> <p>4) Laugh often. (Especially at yourself).</p> <p>5) Learn always. Never stop. It is the fountain of youth.</p> <p>6) Love what you do.</p> <p>7) Share what you love with others. It is contagious.</p> <p>8) Forgive yourself. Mistakes are your greatest source for learning.</p> <p>9) Create something daily. (Wise words from a man who told me to draw everyday. He was later a judge in an art competition that I won a spot in)</p> <p>10) You have been given a gift, Use it.</p> 2009-07-03T00:23:10Z 2009-07-03T19:39:17Z -5.02194 506 5324 true 17 24951 these-things-i-know-for-sure-artists-are-unique-individuals--1 17 2009-07-03T12:37:46Z 2009-07-03T19:39:17Z

So what I know for sure is this. We, as entrepreneurs, have the drive and the ability to grow something from nothing, learn from our pasts, and learn from others how to grow our own futures.

1 2009-07-03T19:39:17Z