The Ashton Journal

Challenges will arise. Fears and doubts will creep in. Setbacks will happen. How will I deal with it all? This is why it is so important to view entrepreneurship as a journey and a mindset, not a destination. Setting continual goals, holding firm boundaries, and evaluating progress in meaningful ways will empower me to find growth despite rising adversary.   As I start my small crochet business- no one knows who I am. It will be hard to drive sales and build a customer network in a market that is already oversaturated on certain platforms. To over come this I plan to follow advice from David Carrington "Know who [you] are and what the brand is. And consistently execute the brand." This means putting a lot of research and work into the brand development of my company. My colors and logos need to be consistent and intentional. My purpose behind my crafted items needs to follow my brand pillars and align with my long term goals. This will require a lot of introspection and plann...

 Moving Forward with a Driving Passion - 7 important habits The 7 Habits of highly effective people includes: 1. Be Proactive 2. Begin with the end in mind 3. Put first things first 4. Think win/win - we don't need to win at the expense of others 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood 6. Synergize 7. Sharpen the saw The habit with most meaning and impact for me currently is habit 2, begin with the end in mind. This habit leaks into further habits and, in my mind, functions as a prerequisite habit. Beginning with the end in mind includes mindfulness, intentionality, and visualization of success. My readings within the book Mastery  also helped me better understand this habit- as it aligns very closely with Intentionality.  Intentionality is very similar to embracing the whimsy of manifesting balanced with the presence of mindfulness. It is all about beginning with the end in mind. Mastery describes a very powerful example of intentionality with a golf story of...

Boundaries in Entrepreneurial work Entrepreneurial life is not boundary-less. You can have a balance between work and home life, even if you work for yourself. Set guidelines and rules for work to prioritize family. This is where boundaries come in. You can deepen relationships with your family. Choose and set goals and boundaries from the get go and adjust them as needed. Balance is what leads to a successful and happy life. This concept is validating. You don't have to sacrifice everything to be a successful entrepreneur. It also makes me realize being time conscious and learning how to manage my time will be an invaluable skill to have. Who You are is Unchanging I can grow and change and, my core values are unchanging. My core values is what leads me to personal growth and change. However- who I am at my core will not change. Identify who you are and use it to reach your goals based on how you work as an individual. This is a guiding truth. It reinforces what we have learne...

That Crafty Goblin Update This week has some very impactful takeaways. I am learning a lot. Also - I took an entrepreneurial leap this week. I am officially the small business owner of That Crafty Goblin LLC. This is something I have been sitting on a prepping for about six months. My entrepreneurial studies so far have helped me shift my perspective and take the leap- even though I don't feel fully ready.  Discover your passions and choose a path Something this week laid out well was there is no one right or one best path. There are a series of paths that can all lead us to becoming who we want to be. I is okay to develop skills in many areas and find passion in several. This choice of which direction to go can be daunting, and it can also be exciting and fulfilling. I have lots of passions, the one I have been most focused on recently is crochet. As I have taken various business classes and begun market research, I decided - why not me? If others can follow their crochet passion ...

 My life is a culmination of the choices I make. Choice is huge in entrepreneurial work. Knowing how to make effective choices and take the right action steps can set you apart from others.  This week I had to unlearn the following: If I work the hardest, I will get ahead and find success. This by itself is not true. Knowing how to make effective choices and work efficiently is a more powerful tool to success than simply working hard. For example, I can sit and stab a bag of ice in my freezer with a fork for five minutes to get enough ice out for my drink. This takes hard work, and eventually gets the job done. I also might be pretty annoyed after or have a sore arm. The alternative to this high effort method is taking the bag of ice out of the freezer and hitting it on the counter top once or twice to loosen the ice. Not only is this method faster, it also uses less energy and breaks up the ice to be ready to use for the next several drinks! It is not all about working hard, ...