Holiday 2015 is officially over. It's back to the studio today to dive into work. As I sit at my desk beginning a fresh new year, I'm reflecting on how much has changed in the past 12 months.
Last year on the morning of New Year's Eve I went to the gym for my usual 9:45 class. The instructor asked what my New Years Resolution was. I said "to apply myself". She laughed and said "you have 4 kids, how much more can you apply yourself!" I saw that note on so many report cards when I was a kid. So obviously it was something I should be doing anyway. What the hell does "applying myself" even mean anyway? To me '"applying yourself" means that when I'm doing something I'm going to give it everything. One hundred percent. When I'm playing with my kids, that's what I'm going to be doing. I'm not going to be scrolling through my phone or planning what's for dinner. I'm just going to be playing with my kids. I didn't know how applying myself would impact my life, but I was going to give it a go.
I started to apply myself at everything. Out with friends, they had all of my attention. Whether I'm at the grocery store picking up produce or driving the car, I'm only focusing on that. The first thing that I learned is that applying yourself is counterintuitive. You're told to multitask your whole life!!! Doing one thing at a time is just not what women do. What I learned next was amazing. The more time I spent focusing on what I was doing, the more I decided HOW I wanted to spend my time. Don't waste any of it. I wanted to spend my time with great people, great food, great books and creating. I realized how much I missed interior design. On May 22nd June Eight Studio was born.
I know a lot about design, but what in the hell did I know about running a business?? Nothing. But I applied myself. I found a great community of people who were figuring out all of the same things. I tackled one task at a time. Every day I get to my office and create. Often in my pajamas! I'm so proud of the work that I'm doing and having a great time doing it. Success can only follow when you do what you're passionate about. Business started out slow, but momentum is building. I'm going to keep building this dream, one room at a time. June Eight Studio has lots of goals to crush in 2016.
Life isn't perfect and of course you're going to have to do stuff that you don't want to do. But if you can minimize that, do it. Spend your time with the people you love the most, people that inspire you and bring out your best. Do the things you love and and it will love you back. APPLY YOURSELF. Cheers to a fulfilling 2016.