Sometimes things happen at just the right time.
When the amazing Lael Couper Jepson of SheChanges asked me to speak at her SheSpeaks: Rebel Yell event in May, it was just the right time.
I got the chance to tell the story of how Carnival Ninjas went from idea to reality to retired to reawakened. And it was an amazing experience.
Stay tuned and I will post the transcript of the talk later on.
Thanks for watching.
xoxo
I experienced a sad thing in my own private Carnival Ninja kingdom today. My washing machine apparently mini flooded at some point.
Not to worry, my art portfolio mopped it up.
Yes my art portfolio. The place where I stored every two dimensional piece of art work I’ve created and kept since high school. That art portfolio.
There were tears. There was decidedly un-family friendly language. The dog hid.
There was an untouched pocket of pieces that seemed to contain a piece from all the different stages of my life. So there was that.
And one of my most meaningful pieces escaped with a little water damage on the edges that didn’t impact the piece at all. So there was that.
I also rediscovered an unfinished project and finished it up. Fish mobile for the win!
From another angle:
I’ve decided the flood was a lesson in letting go. And getting going, even when you don’t feel like it.
I’m going to let you in on a secret. Somedays being a Carnival Ninja is hard.
Like the days I don’t want to get out of bed. Or the days where I spill coffee all over myself. Or the days I forget my lunch. Or the days I just feel plain ole uninspired.
Like today when ALL of those things happened.
Being a badass purveyor of art and love is tough on those days.
All of that stuff left me feeling stuck stuck stuck. And then I told myself:
Because it is. A terrible, horrible, nasty, no good trap.
And even worse? It’s an EXCUSE.
And I am strongly opposed to excuses. Excuses just stand in the way of unleashing my unbridled awesome on the world. And that’s the complete opposite of what I’m about.
So I told myself, “Don’t get stuck. Take a walk, doodle it out, make someone smile. Take a deep breath and find five amazing things that are where you are. It’s not hard, they are all around you.
And more than that, they are inside of you.”
When I took my own good advice, I found I wasn’t so stuck anymore. Which meant a happier me. Which meant more Carnival Ninjary.
And that’s really what it’s all about.
Carnival Ninjas 