Setbacks Are Part Of Success
I have some really exciting news:
I wrote a children’s book!
Even more exciting:
It’s already illustrated - by the incredible Louie Chin - and in 3 weeks I am launching a Kickstarter campaign to help me self-publish and share it with the world!
The book is called Arya & Everyone Else’s Feelings and I am ridiculously proud of it. Click here to learn more and get on the VIP List so you can be first in line to preorder your copy!
Bringing this book into being has been a slow and steady process spanning over 4 years!
There have been many setbacks, but I kept finding the next step and taking it - again and again and again.
At times that next step felt arduous and as if it would never fall into place.
For instance, my search for an illustrator took over a year and a half! Twice in that time I thought I had found the best person only for it to not work out. But each time, I took a deep breath, thought about what best next step might help me find my match, and kept going. Sure enough, in January 2022 I realized I hadn’t reached out to a friend of mine who worked as an art director, designer and illustrator. I knew his style wasn’t what I was looking for, but thought maybe he might know other illustrators - and he introduced me to Louie Chin!
Even though it took 20 months and multiple setbacks to find Louie, the journey was exactly what I - and the project - needed to succeed.
Each setback helped me become even more clear about what I wanted. Knowing what didn’t work helped me know what did! By the time Louie arrived on the scene, I knew working with him was a clear and resounding YES.
I also took the setbacks as an opportunity to focus on what I could control: I prepared very detailed illustrator notes so that when I did find an illustrator, the work would be easy to bring into fruition. I found photos to show what I had in mind for each character and wrote about what it felt like to be in their presence. Louie was very impressed!
In other words, there was magic amidst the setbacks. I became more prepared to do the work with an illustrator and I met so many amazing humans who I’m happy to be connected to and may employ for other future projects!
The same type of setback magic happened when attempting to record my Kickstarter pitch video.
We had to postpone the video shoot at least 5 times! That means scheduling it and rescheduling it again and again over a period of 3 months! My husband was going to direct it, but our household kept getting sick and unexpected work and life events continually popped up out of nowhere. The first few times we had to reschedule I was very relaxed, but by the 4th and 5th times, I became anxious - was this ever going to happen??
And yet, I also knew that just as with my journey for finding an illustrator, the setbacks were working in my favor.
Over the 3 months, I again focused on what I could control both in ensuring the recording of the video was successful and in preparation for the Kickstarter to launch.
My Kickstarter pitch script improved and my marketing plan became more clear! It also became clear that doing it within our household was just a bit too much. So I reached out to our friend, Christiana Lopez - an amazing director and comedy writer - and asked for help! (Asking for help is the best.) I also booked a babysitter so Ballard could still do work while I was filming. I was even ready to reach out to friends if the sitter couldn’t come because mama was ready to make this step happen!
I also needed to do one more thing: Reframe my mindset.
We had delayed the shoot so often that I was terrified something else would come up, so in addition to getting backups to my backups as far as help with my daughter, I also reminded my mind and heart that everything was working in my favor. I started to actively and preemptively thank the Angels for helping everything fall into place and as it did, celebrate every little yes as the miracle it was. Christiana’s schedule worked with mine: MIRACLE. The sitter was available and healthy: MIRACLE. Ballard could work from home in case something came up (and something did come up!): MIRACLE. And of course, we did the thing: MIR-A-CLE. Thank you, Angels. Thank you, Village!
Some loving reminders from my experience:
Remember that setbacks are part of success.
Keep going, focusing on what you can control.
Ask for all the help you need - and more.
Thank the Angels for everything falling into place.
Celebrate every little step for the miracle that it is.
While yes, sometimes giving up on projects is the most loving outcome, please know that if you are in the middle of bringing a project to life, setbacks are a natural - and often needed - part of success!
What are you creating? Have there been setbacks? What could your next step be to turn those setbacks into success? Let me know in the comments.
-Kelsey
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