Have you ever said, “I’d sure love to do that, but I just don’t think I can?” Are there dreams you’ve had for years that you haven’t followed because it just didn’t seem practical? Have you let lack of experience be your excuse for not starting that business idea? Have you given up on a dream because it seemed too hard? You’re not alone!
If you think you can’t achieve your dreams, I want you to meet Isabella Rose Taylor. When she was 8 years old, Isabella attended a sewing camp and fell in love with fashion design. After the camp, she began making clothes that caught the attention of her friends and family, who asked her to make their clothes. A few months later, she had her clothes placed in a boutique shop. At age 13, she was the youngest designer ever to be in New York Fashion Week. By the age of fourteen, her clothes were on the rack at Nordstrom!
What’s the secret to her success when so many others have failed? There are four lessons I see that set her apart from the pack:
1. Find Your Passion
In an interview, Isabella shared how her passion for the creative process — whether painting, designing or creating clothes — is the catalyst for her work. It’s the reason why she does what she does. Like most entrepreneurs, Isabella was designing clothes and doing artistic activities long before anyone cared or paid for it. By practicing her passion, she became an expert at her craft, and others took notice.
What’s your passion? What would you do even if you weren’t paid? How can you make money doing that?
2. Push Through Adversity
Would you agree that a teenage girl trying to get her clothes into Nordstrom is a path fraught with adversity? Yet, Isabella accomplished her goals because she didn’t run from adversity, but instead tackled it head-on.
And not only is she running a budding fashion empire, but Isabella is also attending college, traveling frequently, and speaking at TED events. Suddenly it seems a bit silly to say you’re too busy to chase your dreams, right?
3. Find a Mentor
When it became apparent that Isabella could make a career with her passion and talents, she and her parents did something very wise—they found Isabella a mentor, industry veteran Liza Deyrmenjian.
Fast Company writes, “As an industry insider, Deyrmenjian coached Taylor on things like the fashion cycle, how retailers buy, how to sell wholesale, and how to leverage a trunk show. She helped Taylor release a collection twice a year for three years, slowly building her brand.”
4. Be Optimistic
It could be tempting to think that Isabella is an outlier with uncommon talent. But unless you think she’s some sort of prodigy, her mentor has some challenging words for you: “Talent-wise, Isabella wasn’t at all different from my other clients. Her age was actually an advantage; because she was young and wasn’t jaded and had no fear. Her vision was clear — and she’s an incredible designer.”
Often our fear of failure holds us back from chasing our dreams. We need to rediscover the optimism of our youth when anything was possible. And even when times get hard or we fail, we need to keep reaching into that well of optimism to move forward again.
Leveraging Passion and Knowledge for Profit
I understand that starting a business can be especially intimidating for women. One venture capitalist says that this is because women need to know 80% of what they need to do before starting a business while men only need to know 20%.
Whether the statistics are true or not, the point is valid: Women are generally less willing to take risks than men. But, as this venture capitalist mentions, the reality is that most women already know most of what they need to in order to start a business. Once they realize this, they have the confidence to take the leap.
Follow your Passions
We talked a moment ago about finding your passions, but once you find them you must take it a step further and actually follow them — that’s how you make money.
Final Words
Isabella’s final advice is worth remembering as you pursue your dreams:
“Honestly, it is never too early to sell — to sell your ideas, yourself, and your product. I think you must immerse yourself in the field you want to be in, take classes and then just start doing it. Just keep creating projects. You’ll never get there if you aren’t actually doing. The best way to do something hard is to just begin.”
Article Credit: https://www.richdad.com/achieve-your-dreams
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