A couple of weeks ago I was getting my regular dose of inspiration from The Circle (try to catch it whenever I can as I love, love, love the way this show blends savvy women, friendship, laughs and intelligent conversation), and I saw this interview with Kristina Karlsson, creator and owner of the Kikki K stationary empire.
She talked about her experience of getting clear on what she wanted in life, discovering her passion and building a business around it, and 'keeping the faith' throughout all the challenges of realising her dream – it was like she was in my head!
Big changes often start with vague dissatisfaction
This isn't where I imagined I would be in my life.
I want something more, I just don't know what it is.
Kristina said, “Before I started the business I was whinging and complaining a lot to my partner, saying, 'what am I going to do with my life?'…”
We can tie ourselves in knots running this question over and over in our minds, and be tempted to try anything and everything 'new' to escape that frustration.
That's why I think it's so important, before you change what you are doing or jump into anything new, to take the time to get really clear on what's important to you.
The birth of the 3AM book
When Kristina was struggling with all her ideas around what she wanted to do with her life (in the middle of the night of course!), her savvy Paul turned on the light, took out a pen and paper, and encouraged her to write down what was important to her.
“So on my 3AM list I wrote that I wanted to drive to work being very excited, wanted a business on my own, wanted have a connection to my home country of Sweden and I wanted to make $500 a week.”
Like Kristina, when I was wondering what I wanted to do with my life, when Living Savvy was still a seed of an idea, I asked myself what was important to me…
- To exercise in the sunshine (not in the dark).
- To use my background and qualifications in a different way than was expected.
- To have flexibility & autonomy in my lifestyle choices.
- To make money (I did not put a dollar figure on this).
- To have a go at doing something different.
Of course, taking the next steps to create the life I wanted meant overcoming self-doubt and working through all the challenges of launching a big project, but being clear on what I wanted was a great start.
What's on your 3AM list?
If like Kristina you find yourself in a place where you are whinging and complaining and wondering. 'what am I going to do with my life?', reach for your version of the 3AM book.
At the top of the page write, 'What is important to me?'
Let the answers flow and then, if you have more than five, go back and prioritise. The secret is to keep the list simple so you can hold your dreams in mind.
You may be surprised to find, as with Kristina and I did, that your really important needs are quite simple, and that you can start taking steps towards your dream today.
Related posts:
I'm a complete stationery-phile — and I can never, never walk past a kikki.k store.
I love what Kristina says about making sure you build a business on your true passion. I've met a lot of entrepreneurial women who were driven to create something because it's what they really wanted to see in the world.
And that passion not only gives them the energy to persevere through difficult times, it also guides everything they do because in a way they are their own best customer — they're creating something they would love for women like them.