What have you packed?
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Greetings!
 When I taught high school, Jim Hall was one of the most gifted teachers I've ever known. My friend challenged and nudged and encouraged and questioned his art students and in the process those teens created art in every medium to rival that of professional artists.
One year Jim set his advanced placement seniors a formidable task. Each student had to create a box, six inches high, six inches wide, six inches deep. They were flummoxed to be assigned such a trivial project. The grumbling was intense. Jim was implacable. There was nothing to do but make those 6-in. by 6-in. by 6-in. boxes.
Frustration turned to invention, imaginations got sparked and in the process, inspiration took root and flourished. Boxes filled the art room. Flights of fancy boxes, intricate boxes, complicated and sophisticated boxes, sleek and modern boxes, ethereal and primitive boxes. Boxes created from clay, wood, cloth, paper, stone, plaster, metal, found objects. Every box was exactly the same in dimension. Not one box was like any other. In the end, it was one of the students' all time favorite projects.
Seven months ago, I launched Your Next Quest Chronicles featuring women making changes, one story at a time. If you've been reading the Chronicles for a while, you know that I ask the same questions every month - my version of the six-inch box. What's exciting for me is that every Quest Maker takes me on a different journey! As I reread the interviews this past week, I was particularly drawn to the question, "What's the one essential quality you'd tell women to pack for their journeys?" Seven different women. Seven different perspectives.
For Hilary Cooper-Kenny, it's courage to let change evolve at its own rate. For Harriet Carroll, it's essential to spend time with people who understand the path you're passionate about, who believe it's the right path for you, who offer "is there anything I can do to move you along on your path?" Judith Shangold's bag would be packed with flexibility and a willingness to go with the flow. For Janet Riben, it's curiosity and opening up our minds and hearts so we can experience vast new worlds we never dreamed existed. Margaret Winter would have us pack faith in ourselves and in the dreams that we have. To Louise Grasmere, it's the realization that one little tiny step at a time you can achieve what you want. It won't happen overnight but your dream will happen. And as you will read in this month's interview, you'll discover that Jan Whitted wouldn't have us leave home without confidence in our own vision.
I've packed my sense of humor and resiliency - so that no matter what happens along the way, I will bounce back. What have you packed?
PS. I loved last month's peony photos so much that I plan to include a picture of flowers every month. I asked this month's Quest Maker to choose a favorite blossom. Jan chose the wild orchid.
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Interview with Quest Maker Jan Whitted
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When did you decide to embark on your quest?
It was about 17 years ago, when I was in my mid-forties. I had been working as a technology manager for 10 years. My job involved a lot of problem solving and I enjoyed that. By then I had finished a whole lot of challenges and I felt I'd reached a limit where it didn't seem there would be a challenge any more.
I am a creative thinker and I was working for a very conservative organization. I began to chafe at that and to imagine what a creative environment would feel like for me. That's when the idea for ARTBEAT was formed -- a place where you could try out new things before committing to them. I had always worked full time, and I was a mom, and like many moms I didn't have a lot of time. What if you could have a creative experience in an hour without having to invest in a lot of materials?
That idea became so strong that it took hold of me. I developed a business plan for it. I stayed in that job for another four years because having the idea wasn't enough. I was thinking about being in an entire new industry and a really different type of business and figuring out how that would fit. During that time I researched the industry to the point to where I felt ready to launch.
How did your quest unfold?
It took me a good three years after opening to feel I had really implemented what I wanted to. I had a lot of really nitty gritty day-to-day things to learn because I was new to this. I had to figure out how to make it work and work out all the kinks. Then after awhile, my son began to get involved in the business with me, which gave me the one thing I had been missing -- someone to bounce ideas off. We work really well together in the business; however, it became really clear it had to get bigger. We weren't sure how because we can't expand in our first location.
First we launched our online store. From the moment we opened, people were asking if ARTBEAT could be a franchise; they wanted us open one in their community because it was something very special. A core part of ARTBEAT's nature is that it belongs inside of a community, as opposed to in a mall. We began to think of growing. If we were going to have a location in another community, we asked ourselves what kind.
We had some criteria: it could not be within 30 miles of Arlington because so many of our customers drive here from a distance. It needed to be far enough away so it wouldn't draw customers away from the first store and it had be close enough for Andrai to travel to and from where he lived. We looked at the communities near where he lived and Franklin stood out. It met all the demographics. Better yet, it had an organization devoted to revitalizing the downtown, exactly in alignment with our core vision and we decided it was the place to be. We opened that location two years ago.
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April Journal Sparker
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With its questions and exercises, a Journal Sparker can be a spark for reflection or action that can help you take the next step on your journey to where you want to be.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Goethe
In this month's Journal Sparker you'll find some suggestions for exploring what is the "music in you" waiting to be expressed. We've also created a cover sheet if you would like to begin a binder for your Journal Sparkers. |
| Do you know a Quest Maker, a woman who has realized her dream?
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Do you know a woman in her 40s or beyond who declared "now it's my
time," and realized her dream, just like Louise Grasmere has done? Perhaps she's a friend, a family member, an
acquaintance. Perhaps it's you! If she or you would like to considered for an upcoming Quest Maker column in the Chronicles, please send me an email with a brief description and the best way to reach her.
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| Need an idea spark to ignite your own quest?
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Have you decided that now it's your time to claim your own realm and undertake your own voyage of discovery? Except you're not exactly sure how (or even where) to start?You may need an Idea Sparker to help you figure it out. That's where I can help. Learn more about me at www.yournextquest.com.Take the next step with a free 15-minute consultation with me. We'll talk about where you are now and where you want to be and how I can help you get there.
Learn more about how I can help you at www.yournextquest.com. Start your journey now by contacting me at info@yournextquest.com or by calling me at 781.583.7185.Together, we can start you on the journey to where you want to be!
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