There was a wonderful post by Keri Smith yesterday on her journal about being able to play for a living. Later, she added a comment that said she did not want to mislead anyone thinking that is how it has always been. For a long time she took jobs she hated and had to find the joy in them. It is so easy too look at other's lives and think how great they have it and wonder what the heck we are doing wrong. I do it all the time. Right now I am in a phase where I am really happy and content with everything I am doing. And part of that is that I am doing 85% of what I love, but part of it is attitude. I still have to take graphic design jobs - I am doing a magazine layout today and working onsite Thurs, Fri, and Monday. I used to get upset over this, thinking, "When can I stop this??" Now I am so grateful for it. I welcome it. Not because I love that type of work now, but because it is work and I am grateful for the abundance of it lately. I think back to my first full time contract job. I was in the car over 2 hours a day (Atlanta traffic), leaving my 15 month old and 3 year old at home for the frst time and check this- doing real estate ads 8 hours a day! Woohoo! Talk about creative fullfillment!! In the past I have put high school logos on plastic cups and pompoms, did production for phonebooks, made banner ads for the internet, and the list goes on. I never can say I ever hated these things, I have always tried to be very grateful for the work. I also have always left when I knew I was mentally done with it. I have been lucky to get other work when I have quit my jobs. But maybe it is not luck. Maybe it is expecting new work to be there. I heard someone say the other day that we do not get what we deserve. We get what we expect. And sadly so many of us are conditioned to expect the worst. Here is my secret: I expect the best for my career. I expect it to bring me things I never dreamed of before. I get so excited to be on this journey in life. I have no idea where it will lead me. Will I still be painting a year from now? Who knows, but I expect a wonderful ride of twists and turns and ups and downs that I am sure will help me continue to grow as an artist and a person. Expect amazing things for your life. Just be prepared when it begins to happen!