I'm Not Taking My Own Advice

I admit it. I am not good about taking my own advice. As the owner of a PR business for creative types and "kitchen table entrepreneurs", I extol the virtues of social media with my clients. From blogging and Facebook to LinkedIn and Internet radio, there are unlimited channels in which to unleash your passion.

But, you have to use them. Duh. If you have a blog, you have to update it. Not once every six months. Not when you feel like it, but often. Granted, you have to have something of value to say. No one wants to read nonsensical jibberish anymore than they want to listen to it, but the way to build a community of followers is to create and deliver high value content on a regular, consistent basis.

And, this is where I stopped taking my own advice.

In the past month, I have had two craft shows to get ready for, which always seems to result in many late nights despite my best efforts to be organized. My husband and I also finalized the adoption of our adorable little foster child, Justice, on National Adoption Day.

Two days later, we had a huge celebration at our house. Now, I have two more craft shows to get ready for, plus Christmas. My house still isn't decorated, I don't know what I'm serving for Christmas Eve dinner, and I haven't started my shopping yet. And, I haven't blogged in three weeks.

What puts me to shame, though, are all the amazing (and I do mean amazing) blogs of creative entrepreneurs who are moms to many more kids than me, who already have their decorations up, whose kids and homes look like pages out of a magazine, and who post a new craft project everyday and write about it. Check out Jellybean Junkyard, Little Pumpkin Grace, Today's Creative Blog and you'll see what I mean.

So, in the spirit of authenticity, I'm going to start taking my own advice. I'm not going for perfect and I'm not trying to be Supermom. I'm just striving to be consistent. And, that's something I think we can all be better at.

To Infinity and Beyond...

I consider myself pretty crafty. I watch HGTV and do the occasional craft show. So, when my four year old announced that he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween, I thought, No problem, I'll make it. I refused to fork over $40 for a costume he would wear once.

I have to admit I'm pretty proud of the results. And, when he said I was "the best Buzz Lightyear making Mommy ever," that made it all worth it.

It also made me think about the importance of having a vision and believing in it, no matter how impossible it may seem.

At CGI Communications, the internet video company where I do PR, we ran a contest called "My School's Cool"  for all the students in our County's school districts. The students each submitted an essay (written or video) that answered the question "My school's cool because"...

Each entry was different, yet captured the essence of what each student's school means to them

The winner will receive a 60 second video produced by our company along with an avatar for the school's website. The student will be able to write the script, star in the avatar, and shadow our production team during the entire process. It's an educational experience outside of the classroom that's invaluable for the student.

But, it was invaluable for me, too, because it reminded me that creativity knows no boundaries, and we have to unleash it to appreciate its true power.

To infinity and beyond!