The power of the pivot
Salty Cliffs 24”x36” oil on stretched canvas, April 2024. See size and purchase options here.
Salty Cliffs, completed!
My latest painting, Salty Cliffs, was quite the challenge, and I’m glad it is done and I love how it came out. I’m always amazed when I’m painting how something can be a struggle (those limestone cliffs were HARD) and I have to pivot—step away from the canvas. Take time to let it ferment. Come back and try a different approach or technique—a bigger brush. Different colors. More or less detail. Layer after layer. Constantly pivoting to get it to where I’m happy with it.
And now I’m being presented with a new opportunity to pivot on top of the painting pivot—to include my other passion which is helping startups and solo professionals evolve their businesses. (Spoiler alert: yes, I am now incorporating that passion which is thrilling!)
There was no doubt that was the one thing I missed most about my late 2022 pivot to resting Better3’s stable of offerings to take a full time job and launch the updated Better3, which is focused on beautiful paintings to inspire creative flow, abundance and success.
But guess who for? Ironically, the emerging startup and work-from-home professional.
Opportunities for a pivot
I had a powerful conversation with my BFF today and we talked about facing opportunities to pivot (for both of us) and how it can be quite scary. What often triggers an opportunity to pivot is a condition—a plateau if you will—where you reach a level of boredom, dissatisfaction or frustration that communicates you need a change.
But it has to reach a crescendo. There are usually two outcomes: you choose to pivot or the universe chooses for you.
In the fall of 2022 I had reached a level in my business where I hungered for change. It felt scary, but also exciting. The desire for something different grew stronger the more I entertained the idea of doing something new—something more creative and more me. It became obvious: it was time to take my painting to the next level—as an online business where I sold my work and offered commissions. I’m still figuring that out, but what I realized about two months ago was that there was still something missing from that formula.
It was the things that I loved doing in and through Better3 since 2006. Coaching and encouraging people. Teaching. Sharing my experience and knowledge to help people launch their own business and live their dream of self-employment and all the freedom that comes with it. There had to be a way I could revitalize that passion along with my passion for painting.
And I found it: my new Passion Course.
What I’m living and working through right now is the basis for my emerging Passion Course. You will hear more about it from me over the coming weeks and months, but here’s a taste from the first modules so you can identify an opportunity to pivot in your life:
Pivot opportunity or not?
The next time (or reflect on a present or past time) you feel frustrated, bored or unchallenged with your current work; how you’re expressing your passion and talents. Whether that’s working in a corporation or you’re in a small business or your own business, it doesn’t matter. The key is testing your level of joy you’re drawing from your life and how you do your thing in the world.
Consider these two probing questions:
What’s the emotion? Distinguish if it is truly an opportunity to pivot or if it’s simply an unresolved issue or challenge you’re facing that’s situational and could be corrected. For example, let’s say you have a new boss and they don’t know you well and you’re not feeling appreciated or acknowledged. Even though bad bosses are the number one reason people leave their jobs, that doesn’t mean you can’t mitigate the situation and do something about it. By identifying how you feel, such as ignored, unappreciated, taken for granted—those are all emotions that could be addressed with open communication, showing up differently, shifting your mindset and embracing the changes around you. However, if you have been bored and unchallenged at this job, aren’t giving it your all anymore, and becoming quite cynical about it and the company, the new boss and how you feel treated may be presenting you (and the universe presenting you) an opportunity to pivot. It could be securing another role in the same company, leaving the company for another, or starting your own business. By isolating what emotions are showing up and then connecting them with possible solutions/actions you could take, you’ll be able to more clearly tell if it’s time to move on or to buck up and improve the conditions of the situation as best you can.
What are your fears? Next, you’ll want to go down the rabbit hole of “what ifs” to identify any related fears that you have or would have if you chose a pivot. Fearful thoughts such as, “What if I can’t find another job I like? What if I quit and then it takes me two years to get a new business profitable?” The “what ifs” exercise will help you connect with deep-seated beliefs (that are likely baseless) and fears you have about change. Having these fears is NORMAL. It’s baked into who we are as human beings. The best way to quell those fears and see how baseless they really are is to pull that thread. Explore what could happen if those fearful thoughts materialized. More than likely you’ll realize that you would be fine, you’d figure it out, and you’d be better for the change. The best part about this exercise or any exercise where you neutralize fear-based beliefs is that you take control and are in power of your choices.
After you work through those two exercises, you’ll have a much better gasp of whether or not you are being presented with an opportunity to pivot or not.
The one caveat I want to share is that pivots don’t have to be huge changes. Some of the most healthy pivots are small ones that help you live a healthier, freer, more creative life. They don’t always have to be a major change that involves risk, impacts your income or lifestyle in a huge way. Subtle pivots are very powerful as well and likely have happened all through your life, you just never labeled them as pivots. In hindsight, they may have been moments you labeled as growth, learning or personal development.
A good book can present an opportunity to make a small pivot. A moving film. An interaction with a stranger. A random experience at the grocery store. A loss. A minor injury. You never know. Life is full of opportunities to pivot. Take them and live a fuller life experiencing more ways to exercise where your passions and talent intersect.
So how was this exercise for you? What did you discover? Let me know! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
