Joleen Creates

 Somehow, I convinced myself that I couldn't be creative and business savvy. I would constantly seek out people who I thought were better and smarter than me to help me on my creative journey. Of course, this led to many problems for me because I put myself at a disadvantage. The need for validation and direction from others made it difficult for me to grow.  Real human connections were hard to maintain because I felt like we were all trying to gain something from each other. And we were trying to sell each other something. I signed up for small business classes and even enrolled in an academy because I thought it would lead to financial success. My jewelry business didn't produce a sustainable income and my day job barely covered my monthly expenses. Yet, I sacrificed my money to 'invest in myself and business.' That experience really opened my eyes to just how vulnerable I was to fall for anything. Also, it made me realize that people will always reveal who they are a

It’s a cloudy Saturday afternoon and I am sitting in Blue Bottle Coffee writing this blog post. Honestly, this has always been a weird dream of mine. The writer’s aesthetic of writing their next masterpiece while sipping an endless brew of lukewarm coffee always intrigued me. And now, I am here in a coffee shop having that same experience minus the masterpiece. Wow. Life is truly a series of unexpected events.  My “Happy Hits” playlist is bumping the latest music in Pop. I purchased my coffee ticket, which is a caffé latte, to sit for an hour or two while I let all the thoughts flow out of my mind and onto this page. I choose a window seat of course, so I can have the right amount of distraction. Every so often, I’ll pick my head up to see who’s walking by.  This guy just rode by on his red and gold bike, with a speaker strapped to the front. I wonder what he is listening to. He is also wearing shorts that show off his crew-cut superman socks.  I like to watch the barista make coffee.

A small amount of creativity can go a long way. I'm not sure what it was but I started getting antsy and distracted as I was working from home. So, I worked in the office today and you know what? Man, I checked so many items off my to do list! It felt great.  As I reflect on the effect the change of space had on me, it reminded me of a conversation I had earlier in the week. A friend shared that there is a theory or concept of having a third space. A space to work, a space for leisure or being at home, and a space for creativity. In the remote, hybrid world we are currently. in, it’s hard to separate home and work.  I’ve tried a number of things such as having a desk primary for work that I put away on the weekend. And, I am grateful that I have the option to work or not work at home. But there are days when I absolutely can’t focus in one setting and need to switch.  There are times when I had to do the opposite. When I couldn’t focus at work and went home and was able to work at