Authenticity

I was directed to a TED talk called The Three A's of Awesome. The talk itself was a bit boring (no offence!) but I managed to get the gist of it and two things stuck out:

1)
One of the A's in the talk was Authenticity.
It's something I think is super important.
To always do what YOU want to do and are passionate about, regardless of what the 'norm' is or what is expected of you. And to accept what you do as a part of who you are.
I wrote a list a while ago of some things that I love that keep me inspired that I usually don't yell about in public, because perhaps, they're not so 'cool'. But I realised that these quirky things are what separates me from the rest, and if I am to make it at any rate, its these things I need to pursue and continue loving and enjoying.

- superheroes (esp Superman!)
- cartoon/children's movies
- royal/majestic/powerful/mythical animals - lions, eagles, unicorns, tigers, horses, deer, bears, aligators, wolves..
- dinosaurs!!!
- walking
- collecting objects from places I visit (random things, like a stone, or a bottle cap, or a stick or a shell, or a leaf)
- funny little made-up creatures
- ancient Rome and Egypt - the jewellery techniques made so many years ago, the ruins, the myths, the gods...
- boxes and containers
- dusk...that time of night where the horizon is a silhouette against a sky of brilliant colours
- the sky, especially clouds
- Florence Broadhurst and William Morris wall papers
- trees
- water (in a bath, in a pool, the ocean, a puddle, a drop of rain....especially being in or under it, that silence that happens when you put your ears under and you're floating and the water feels silky and cool)

the list goes on....and on....but some things you look at and say...who DOESN'T like that? I suppose, when you look at it, we're all a bit funny. Normal is boring!

Something i want to be really authentic about in my work is hand-crafting, and making interactive jewellery. Its what I really love doing, and I can tell that I love doing it because I lose track of time, and things happen so quickly!!! And I'll whistle while I'm working :)

2)
That only his mum read his blog to start off and it skyrocketed to being the best blog in the world and being turned into a book! Big things start off small!!!! Positive.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html