She Didn’t Believe Me…
Or, how can you keep up in a changing world?
Times have changed so much that the world is not at all the same as the one you grew up in.
There are so many things that are different! We’ve seen more changes in our lifetimes than others have for hundreds of years. Some changes crept up on us with almost no warning, while others happened so suddenly as to appear overnight—no need to list them all here. You get the drift… you’ve watched it happen.
Except for a few brief periods, I have been an entrepreneur most of my life. That is not easy. It is sometimes a kind of freedom and other times a terror, wondering if your financial parachute will open before bills are due.
Because of my level of autonomy as a business owner, I had an uncanny overview of trends. I always kept my eyes and ears open for some new “Butterfly Effect” that could impact my world. As an entrepreneur, you are always looking for ways to reinvent yourself, to be even slightly ahead of what will happen next. If you don’t, you can be out of business before you know it.
I could and should write a memoir about all the changes I’ve been through from my school days and growing up in a family photography business to branching out on my own, starting a family, and such. That could be a very thick book.
But what prompted me to start down this road in writing you today are some changes that have happened to our world in just the last few months!
Thoughts On The Creator Economy
I’ve wanted to encourage newcomers to the Creator Economy that a meaningful place could be waiting for them in this field. So many are wondering what will become of their livelihoods.
A Definition of the Creator Economy.
People engaged in creative endeavors who earn their living through their personal brands and businesses. These comprise over fifty million independent content creators, curators, and community builders worldwide of all ages and walks of life. Artistic pursuits from writing, art, design, multi-media, social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, describe just a few of the growing possibilities. New technologies such as AI, software, and finance tools further careers helping creatives grow and monetize their work.
This reminded me of an experience when Social Media was brand new. I worked in sales for a widget company for two years because of an economic downturn. It was interesting. I was on the road every day making cold calls. The activity of Cold Calling was, at that time, fundamental to sales, and most people cringed and fell into a frigid sweat just at the thought of it. But I loved it.
This job allowed me to be part of a team rather than having the weight of everything fall on my shoulders. However, it was here I was introduced to employee bickering and complaining. As a business owner, this is not an option. Only finding a solution is acceptable. But this company’s “sales coordinator secretary for all of us” was always in a funk.
When I was in the office, the atmosphere was always bleak. In this particular widget factory, only the old ways were allowed. We, salespeople, could escape, but my friend could not. When the company floundered, she latched on to me for comfort in her misery. She had thought, and had been told, her job was for life. I tried to give her hope by saying that one of her most criticized activities, engaging with customers on Social Media, could be her future job.
This brings me to the title of this article.
My friend didn’t believe me,
saying,
“No one will pay for managing Social Media accounts!”
It is like Deja vu watching all the news about the latest AI Programs. They say our whole Creator Economy will be negatively impacted —from writing, art, illustration, and more. Even I’ve had several anxious moments while hearing of mass layoffs and too-big-to-fail banks going down.
However, people are ingenious. After all, who is training all those robots anyhoo?
So take heart; we will learn new ways to work and live. I have faith in our ability to adapt, morph, and learn. You watch what the youth are up to now!
Meanwhile, on a happier note, we’re all yearning for Spring.
While walking through a familiar path in the small woods near our home, I noticed some tiny green shoots peeking out of the ground.
It didn’t bother them that scattered brown leaves, twigs, and a few mounds of snow were still lying around them.
It didn’t bother them that they had gone into hibernation during the cold winter and had seemingly not done anything.
It only mattered that they were ready to push through it all and show themselves to the world again.
Spring is about looking forward to being something new.
Finding inspiration during a walk in nature is always invigorating. I saw the beginnings of buds on trees. I was delighted to see Pussy Willows showing their silvery selves once more. A couple of squirrels looked at me with a bit of a stare. I imagined they were chiding me about when my garden beds would be ready for them to dig in. Ha Ha.
This time of year, we can’t help but take stock of how many of our goals we’ve achieved through the winter.
Have we learned any new things? Have we achieved what we wanted to do before spring gets here? Before the summer sun draws us outside for more of each day? Looking back, although some things kept me from achieving as much as I would have liked, I have made progress.
Getting projects completed is not easy. There are always too many things that need attention. I’m sure you can relate. That’s what you get when you have an overactive imagination.
Making Progress.
Since many of the authors I enjoy reading on Substack talk about their progress, I realize this is a way they hold themselves accountable—no procrastination when you have announced your plans to the world.
This seems to help when you are a little sheepish about sharing so much of yourself, like me. Tell people you intend to do something and you’re duty-bound to do it.
So here goes I will tell you.
I have made progress on the illustrations for my upcoming children’s picture book, Abbey Finds Her Happy Place.
It is about a young girl living with her parents and little brother through the Pandemic. It speaks to the hardships many children, and their parents, faced during that time and the uncertainty many still feel. Yet, in every circumstance, we need to look for hope, and Abbey learns to do that and find her own peace through it all. Something she can use to feel better during any difficulty in the future. After all, life always has some new challenges to face.
Changes are challenges ready to be solved.
Struggles are not always harmful but can be viewed as opportunities when you work through them or find some new way to cope with difficulty.
Abbey’s challenges in the story have nothing to do with computers. But finding a way to keep going sometimes means exchanging one attitude for a better one.
Right now, my laptop’s lag time is just becoming too annoying. So I’m exchanging it for a new one, asap. So far, I have not found an AI that can do the illustrations for me that I have imagined in my head.
When facing changes, looking at nature can help give us courage. To a baby Robin pecking its way out of its shell, it is only moments before it is nestled underneath its mother’s feathers, and father Robin brings a dangling worm to be eaten.
We can appreciate new beginnings, for when we overcome, we grow.
The March Worm Moon
You’ve probably heard about the Worm Moon that happened on March 7. It is called the Worm Moon because of the warming ground temperatures that tell the earthworms it is time for them to get moving again. You may have also seen it. It glanced in my bedroom window at about ten pm that night with a silvery halo all around it.
I came to appreciate earthworms… while writing and illustrating my book Butterfly Baby meets Mr. and Mrs. Toad at Siler Forest Farm and its Companion Book for Teachers, Parents, and Students.
Did you know Worm Castings have a hormone that communicates with plants to say, time to grow? What a world of nature we live in! Whenever I wonder if I will finish the illustrations for this next book, I think of Butterfly Baby and remember how long it took me to illustrate. One day at a time, somehow, it gets done.
I have paused creating the illustrations for my book, Abbey Finds Her Happy Place, a few times. My imagination is so much more detailed than my hands seem to be able to draw and paint.
I have also hesitated,
Wondering.
This little girl’s experience…
Will it help anyone else?
Will I be too late with publishing?
Is this theme still relevant?
Or has everyone moved on?
Each time I stop working on it, something urges me. I even find myself learning from what Abbey finds out, trying to put it into practice in my own life.
I also wrote a new short story a couple of weeks ago called Suzie’s Meadow, or at least I thought it was a short story, but by the time I finished it, I could imagine it also as a stand-alone children’s book with illustrations. It is an inspirational story of a farm family’s meadow that was destroyed by fire. It is told from the perspective of a Black-eyed Susan, a heritage seed saved in a scrapbook. I learned that Black-eyed Susans are wildflowers known for being among the first to grow after a fire. Talk about a challenge!
Suzie’s Meadow is a Fable.
I have often wondered why all ages enjoy my children’s books. It must stem from when my mother read me Fables as a child. Unconsciously, I have been writing Fables! That is another thing I learned this winter when I did a deep dive into the characteristics of Genres.
I guess that is part of what winter introspection is for. We find time to learn more about ourselves and how we fit into a larger scheme of things.
The Creator Economy will grow in spite of everything! We are increasingly delving into finding ways to join this next period in our evolution. Times have certainly become more complex. Inflation, bank failures, technology advances, and AI. Unlike earthworms, our roles keep changing.
There is nothing we can do but learn, grow, and keep progressing.
Website Updates
Speaking of joining the Creator Economy as a content creator, I’ve written more articles on my websites and reviewed all my old posts to polish them up. On Astoria Magazine, where I had only promoted books and authors, I broadened the category to feature Creative People. That is because the people I want to write about come from all walks of being creative. We should all encourage young people to engage in the Creator Economy in some form, even if it is part-time. It could make a difference in their earning power later on.
But I don’t think we need to worry; by the time they grow up, there will be a whole store of new ideas and jobs. They will make them!
Gluten-Free, You Can Do It - This cookbook was in the making for over a decade. You may not need to eat gluten-free, but if you know someone who does, they will be forever grateful. I used to do taste tests, and the consensus was that my gluten-free bread was awesome. All my secrets are now in the book.
On my Gluten-Free Trina website, I have reorganized posts and created new photographs and recipes to share with people like myself who need to eat gluten-free. One of my go-to things to make this winter was a Beta-Carotene Ferment—a delicious and nutritious side to any meal. I hope to write that post soon as I focus on sharing delicious gluten-free meals everyone can enjoy.
I am going to need that faster computer!
As far as publishing books go, I’ve organized files and stories, putting them in a queue for me to illustrate, lay up, and get ready for publishing. Besides working on, Abbey Finds Her Happy Place and Suzie’s Meadow. I have a half-finished poetry book called, Winged Slippers and four more children’s stories to illustrate. Plus, I’ve written the beginnings of a novel.
They say, “Order is the first law of heaven,” so perhaps I will have things flowing to completion soon.
A dear aunt said this to me one day as a child. I was always asking questions and wondering about life and what to do. She said,
“Well, the big thing to remember is to just keep going. You will get there eventually.”
One thing I have been doing is reading other writers on Substack. I find the quality of writing here to be insightful, informative, and, oh, such whimsical reading at times. There are so many points of view on Substack to help us navigate the Creator Economy. I am glad to be in such good company.
It is like the best of being on your own, able to do whatever you desire, and yet having a team to encourage you.
Many thanks to all of you who subscribe to Musings. Hearing from you in return is such a treat. I am overwhelmed by your kind comments.
You may find the following Substack Editions by other writers and artists as inspiring and enjoyable as I did; why not have a look and see?
The New Fatherhood - The Secret of Here by Kevin Maquire.
Gentle Creative - What Does It Mean To Give Yourself by Cali Bird
La Briffe - Oh Tempura, Oh More, More, More by Ruth Reichl
Dinner A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach
The Flavor Files - How to Make Hot Cross Buns by Nik Sharma
I hope you have achieved your winter project goals.
Just as the tender greens of spring start showing up all around us,
may you find something new to marvel at…
Trina Astor-Stewart
Author & Illustrator
Blogs and Artful Moments
AstoriaMagazine.com
GlutenFreeTrina.com
TrinaAstorStewart.com