“Uh-oh! I didn’t think of that!”

The Practical Dreamer's Handbook: Finding the Time, Money, & Energy to Live the Life You Want to Live

I liked this excerpt from pg. 107:

…I know how unpleasant it is to know what you want to do but not know how to do it.

I’ve been in that place again and again in my life whenever I’ve wanted to step out of what’s already been done and create something original, be it a work of art or a life that works for me. Recently, for example, I decided to create a line of greeting cards. Having done virtually no previous art projects since sixth grade when art disappeared from the public school curriculum, I thought my card creations would simply spring forth from my inspiration. I had great ideas, glorious ideas, for my cards. If only you could see them as they existed in my head! But I had no idea how little paper and scissors and glue know about what I have in mind. Or how stubborn and uncooperative they and all manner of matter can be.

When I sat down to execute my creative ideas, I was shocked at the quandaries I faced. To name just a few: Where do you find gold pinecones? How do you attach them to a card? Why does the glue stick everywhere except where you want it to? How do you keep it from showing through as streaks underneath the foil? Why does the glitter insist on falling off and why did I think that a pinecone of any size would fit inside an envelope? . . . and on and on and on. “Uh-oh! I didn’t think of that!” became my mantra.

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