Sew Passionate and Ambitious!
All week, while I worked, I have been thinking about what my next blog would be about. The word ambition was echoing over and over in my head. It was a strong calling that made me question why this word was creating such a strong feeling? What does it mean? Was it something personal or something I should share? What in the world does it have to do with quilting? As the week continued and I began to digest the meanings, I realized that it was something to share with the world, even though it was a very personal concept. You see, ambition does not only relate to quilting, but also to our everyday lives.
Anytime I began to process an idea or thought, I do a bit of research and I allow my computer (AKA my brain) to run in the background. This sometimes helps to organize the new information, emotions that may be tied to it, or ideas that may surround whatever I am trying to discover or learn. Ambition was turning into a larger concept than I originally believed. Therefore, I went to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website for the simplest definition:
Ambition-“a desire to achieve a particular end.”
This definition, in my opinion, implies two things. The first is that the end is important enough to you that you are willing to do the work or the tasks needed to get to that end. The second is that you have the confidence or belief within yourself that you are capable of achieving this end. Both of those things seem really positive, right? I believe so. However, why is it than some people use ambition in a negative way? For example, people may say, “You are being too ambitious about this” or “That just may be too ambitious for you to achieve.” First of all, I now understand that they are probably using the wrong word. There are better words suited for these types of sentences depending on the context of the situation. Using the second sentence as an example, let’s pretend a person had an ambition to become a very successful entrepreneur. However, they may have lacked education or money. It isn’t about this person having too much desire to achieve the success they so desired as an entrepreneur. That just sounds ridiculous. I already said, this word implies they believe in themselves to be capable and are willing to do the work. The desire, or ambition, is strong enough for that. Being too ambitious of a goal is truly not the right word. It doesn’t even make sense. I would believe that Steve Jobs probably heard this many times. But, if he allowed himself to believe what they were trying to say, his impact and success in the technological world or his entrepreneurship would not have happened. If Albert Einstein would have believed that he was being too ambitious, E=MC2 or the theory of relativity wouldn’t have come to be by him. More simply put, you cannot be too ambitious. You may need guidance, focus, discipline, support, education (formally or informally), practice, or allow yourself to take risks. But, too much ambition is a ridiculous statement.
Another reason that I believe people use ambition in a negative way, is merely because they are just negative people. I do not like to dwell on the negative and I feel that this particular topic could be for another blog. So, I will be brief and move on. Sometimes people are just negative in their actions and thoughts. Sometimes people have their own low self-esteem, lack self-confidence, lack ambition and don’t understand it, or feel threatened by you in some way. Some people have ambition and will do negative actions to achieve that desired end result for themselves. Some people are just plain mean. No matter the reason, they want to bring you down, whether consciously or subconsciously. You truly do not need these people in your life. Surround yourself with people that will bring you up, plain and simple.
When reading the definition of ambition, two other words come to mind: passion and dream. So, let’s do the same thing and break those words down in their simplest form. Again, I acquired these definitions from the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Passion- “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.”
Dream- “a strongly desired goal or purpose.”
Wow! I find those definitions very similar to ambition. Again, the computer had run in the background awhile to be able to understand them, find the differences, and figure out if or how they work together. This is where this blog gets tough to write. I hope I do justice with the explanations that I have worked out, and you can understand my thoughts.
Both of these definitions lack the words, “…achieve a particular end.” This may seem like a simple difference, and it is simple. This is not just a simple difference in the literal sense, but also in concept. You may dream to be a doctor, a nurse, a writer, President of the United States, an entrepreneur, a world renowned quilter, an educator, a famous actor, a difference maker. But, here it is….it is just a dream, a thought, or a strong desire, at this point. There is no action in this word. In order for that dream to come true, you must take action. Or better said, you need ambition. Without ambition, the dream will just stay a goal or purpose.
Remember that ambition is a desire to achieve a particular end. With passion, you may be doing something, but the end result is not the focus. For example, you may have a passion for singing. Your focus is not becoming the next superstar, but the ability to sing songs wherever to whomever. You just simply want to sing and maybe share your music with others. The by-product may find yourself making money at it or on the Top 40, but it is not your focused end result. You may have a passion for cooking. But it is the pure joy in cooking that guides you. The by-product may be that you find yourself writing recipes that go viral on the internet, where you get recognition and compensation. You can have passion without ambition (in simple terms) and you can have ambition without a passion for what you are doing.
However, can you have both passion and ambition? I believe so. This is one reason I have preached to my children to discover their passions, build dreams around the passion, and use ambition to make those dreams come true. We have all heard someone say, “If you work in something you are passionate about, it won’t feel like work.” Do not hate me here, but I don’t completely believe that. Within every career/hobby you may take, there will always be things you just do not like doing. For example, I truly despise the cutting part of the quilting process. There are always waves of good times and bad. But, I do believe that if you work within something you are passionate about, it keeps you wanting to go back to work every day and makes it easier to see the positive in things you are doing. Also, because you are wanting to be able to live on the income driven from your passion, this in turn can inspire your ambition to get that done.
Now allow me to bring this all together with quilting. A metric ton of quilters are extremely passionate about quilting. Yeah! And I am right there with y’all! But, let me take you back to the first quilt you ever made. Did you even know how to sew, or about a ¼” seam, or the different names of all the blocks and how to put them together? Or how to buy the right amount of fabric, and once you had that fabric, did you know how to cut it? If you are anything like me, and there a ton of you, the answer to all these questions was a BIG NO! Not a clue. Not one single clue about any of it. I just wanted to try it. But you know what? Each one of us had an ambition to learn to make at least one quilt, whatever it took. Through that initial ambition, we found a passion for quilting. It doesn’t matter what kind of quilter you are, whether you quilt for fun, for business, for a non-profit, for gifts for family members, for whatever…the idea that you have found a passion and simply have joy in doing it, that is AWESOME! And I thank you for giving the world a piece of joy and beauty. Sometimes, we even joke with each other when we see someone developing a passion for quilting. “We got another one! Another sister or brother to join the ranks within our passion for this art form. Yep, it is there inside them. Wait for it…wait for it…BAM! The passion and love has grabbed their heart!” And we embrace the new member with support and guidance coming from our hearts that is also entangled with passion. Well, most of us do, anyways.
Quilting is big business! A lot of money is spent within this industry. What comes with big business? People with an ambition to make a lot of money! That is true, no matter the industry. To be honest, there is not a single thing wrong with that idea…not one. You go with your bad self and get it done, if that is what you desire. Seriously! However, what is wrong is that some of these individuals will do negative actions to get where they want to go, to achieve that end result. They may come across with a perception that they are here to help others, and you may not ever know the truth in their minds/hearts until you have a personal experience from them that shows you differently. The ambition isn’t a negative thing, the actions they do to achieve that end result may be. It is sad, but true. I personally experienced a very negative action myself. Although the person may have thought they were doing something right, they were not. It was handled in a very destructive way-that was the tall tale. For a brief moment (about 2 weeks), I questioned myself, I questioned my passion and my business, my confidence was cracked, my ambitions sunk…my heart and my mind were hurt. It didn’t have to go this way. The person simply could of talked to me about their thoughts and/or concerns. We could have come to a rational agreement, and continued to move forward. I wasn’t even given the chance. It was as if I had some sort of communicable disease that could destroy everything they were working for. Not the case what-so-ever. In the end, I realized they didn’t have the power to hurt me, I allowed it. This was the silly girl in me, because I know myself and I do know better. Like I said earlier, we all need to surround ourselves with people that will lift us up, not bring us down. This ended up being a blessing for myself, my family, and my business. I learned a great deal out of this experience. I truly hope they continue to grow as a person, as a business, and within their spirituality. They are completely capable of making all their dreams come true! This may happen in everyday life to anyone…learn from it, pick yourself up, and keep moving forward. Let me say that again….keep moving forward! If this happens to you, remember you are worth so much more than that, and you too are completely capable of fantabulous things!
Lastly, I want to share, what I believe, is one of the best examples of having both passion and ambition in the quilting world. Although the person doesn’t have to be “famous” to qualify, this person is definitely a celebrity in the quilting world. One of my many favorites… Bonnie Hunter. I have to state that I do not truly know this person. I have met her one time in Hershey, PA, last year, at the Quilt Odyssey. It was a moment long enough to have her autograph one of her books, after her lecture/luncheon. Yes, although I tried not to, I probably came across as a total Fan Girl. I’m telling you this, because I want you to understand that this is my perception of her, and it important for me to explain that I really don’t KNOW her. But my perception is created from her actions. Let me explain. I was listening to an interview when she told the story of how her business came to light, she explained that originally she was putting out patterns (online) on how to use up scraps for quilts and such for her local guild. She had no idea that people all over the nation were able to see and access them, and she gained a bit of recognition from that. Again, a by-product, not a focus. The focus was to share patterns for free with her guild, plain and simple. In my mind, this means she has a passion. And what about the Mystery Quilt she does every year? Yes, in today’s market it is good to have free stuff, free shipping, free, free, free…it drives consumers. However, I do not believe that is what is driving Bonnie Hunter, in this situation. The Mystery Quilt comes out every year around the holidays, beginning with Black Friday and runs until the clues are finished. Then, they continue to be free for access until somewhere around February, I believe, when then you can purchase the pattern. This is a huge project! Not only does she share the pattern, but she gives educational steps on how to complete them. That is an awful lot of work for something free. When interviewers, that I have watched or read, have asked her why she does it, she told them that it is for those that may not have the friends or family keeping them busy and surrounding them for the holidays. She does realize that the rest of the quilting world gets to join in the fun, and I would imagine she hopes they do (she gets us all super excited about it), but it appears that her heart in the project is for those others that are not so fortunate during this time. When you see the work involved in this…you see passion! But, is she ambitious? Again, I do not know Bonnie Hunter personally. But, I imagine so…I cannot envision that she enjoys every aspect of having a business surrounded by quilting. I would believe she finds certain things frustrating, and I have seen a quote from her that she has to have deadlines…she says that deadlines are needed for the ideas to be accomplished or it is just a “wish.” Isn’t that part of the definition of ambition? She has to do all the work entailed to achieve the desired end. The stories for examples of her passion and ambition are endless…Therefore, my perception is she is one of the queens of balancing both passion and ambition, a beautiful person, and genius in this art form.
Not matter where you live inside the quilting world, I hope you realize that you are capable of wonderful and beautiful things! Whether you are a beginner learning the intricacies of quilting, the quilting family member that makes works of art to share with family, the quilter that wants to build their own non-profit organization, the quilter that wants to run their own business, the quilter that wants to make quilts to donate, or the quilter that wants to educate other quilters, I truly hope your passion surrounds you. Through this passion, I hope you find your dreams, and your ambition is inspired. Do not let anyone take away your dreams, your passions, or your ambition…EVER! Please, accept this challenge and continue to spread beauty and joy.
Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful! And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!
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