I heard a really great quote from Denzel Washington in a movie last week.  “progress not perfection”… I liked it because everything we do is constantly changing.  The first show I ever did was with my sister.  I made some jewelry and she made some t-shirts.  We set up a few tables, covered them with scraps of material from her sewing stache, and did our best to throw things around as imaginatively as possible.  Then we sat as still as statues as people walked by.  We didn’t say anything to anyone unless they engaged us first.  I avoided all eye contact and neither one of us offered a hello.  I don’t know why, but we didn’t have a landslide of sales that day.  We were quickly informed by a portly elderly man that we needed to “use what God gave us”.  He was our very own uninvited booth barnacle for the next hour or so.  It was pretty ironic to me that he made himself comfortable in my booth when I felt completely out of place.
People told me the day would come when it would be comfortable for me.  I would think to myself …not me.  I will never be okay talking to strangers.  Alas, they were right.  Although I don’t “shake my money maker” or “use what God gave me” to sell my jewelry, I don’t avoid eye contact and customary greetings.  I didn’t read a book or take a class to become more outgoing.  Experience is always going to be the best teacher, and thankfully I became less socially awkward as time went on.
I really do like to remember that show.  The booth looked like a garage sale, the people where strange, and we were  unprepared to handle the entire situation.   The progress that has been made on all fronts is satisfying.   So my first show taught me at least two things…progress not perfection, and you can’t always trust advice from old people.
Whatever your endeavors are for this new year….hang in there!
Still In Progress,
Tara Tipton
More.. https://elegantearthjewelry.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/uhhh-did-he-just-tell-me-to-shake-my-money-maker/

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