In a few days, I’ll be leaving Austin, TX & my husband behind to embark on a little over two month journey to Lithuania, India & Sweden. Whether it’s half way across the globe or just a few states away these journeys have become mandatory to my survival both personally & professionally. They allow me to break out of the daily routine & experience life from a different perspective. For the entire journey I will live out of a carry-on bag with clothes for all climates & a Belkin Slim laptop backpack filled with technological gadgets. This aids in my minimalist mission to understand what I really need to get by on a day to day basis as well as, helps me to determine what it is that is important in life & key to being happy.
You may be thinking, so what does this have to do with being a designer? Well, it touches upon a key principle to becoming a great designer, namely breaking out of your comfort zone & trying something new. Good designers recycle other designer’s ideas & principles to make them their own whereas, great designers create ideas & principles that inspire others to follow in their footsteps. After all imitation is the highest form of flattery, is it not?
Creating an awesome design is much like packing for a two month journey in a carry-on bag. You have to be able to bust through all the fluff & distill the elements to their very essence while making sure all vital elements are covered. Less is more.
My intention for this journey is to be as present as possible, while documenting the experience through writing, drawing & photography. I want to be fully immersed in the different cultures and surroundings I find myself in & bring that back with me to share with the world. The goal in this being that I will come back with fresh eyes & ideas to be the best person & designer I can possibly be.
One wise person told me that,
“the key to making rapid advancement is to always stay one step outside of your comfort zone, then when you get comfortable there, take another step.”
So, I encourage everyone to throw caution to the wind & step outside of your comfort zone as a regular function. All the logistics of my trip are loosely arranged though I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to afford this journey & the bills back home, nor am I sure of my transportation or accommodation in said places or if I’ll be able to find a Nano Lithuanian Sim card for my iPhone 5 when I land in Vilnius, Lithuania & thus be able to contact the lovely people in Kaunas who will be picking me up from the train station. Nonetheless, depending upon the Universe is in & of itself a beautiful way to step outside of your micro-managing comfort zone & let the serendipity flow.
Elise,
Praying for your safe journey. Would love to be going with you. But I have a sick husband to care for. I hope you enjoy every mile & learn a lot to help you in your journey & your business when you get back home. I know your husband will miss you. Wishing you God’s protection,
Bernice
Thanks, hope your husband gets better soon.
Looking forward to seeing you in Mayapur. When will you be in Vrindavan? My son Rasacarya will be there videoing from the 3rd to the 13th. Oct. Possibly if those tiles match he could meet you. He’ll be videoing at the Sandi Pani Muni school.
If not making that connection I am here in Mayapur with a place for you to stay. Hope you are not too uncomfortable, nice blog. We’ve all heard the “step out” thing before but you made it personal, proud to know you!
I’ll be in Vrindavan & surrounding areas from Oct 14- Nov 20. I’m not sure if I will go to Mayapur or not yet. Will talk to Arina when I get to Lithuania to see what the opportunity there is for me to go there & if it makes sense economically & logistically.
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.