You're doing it wrong

June was pretty much the craziest month we've had in a long time. I opened up my 2nd Etsy shop in May and got a few orders here and there, but probably the first week in June is when it all of a sudden took off (for a new etsy shop, anyways). It's been crazy to say the least. I'm learning something new every day.

When I very first started, I posted a cute little bear cut out on my Instagram. It was blue and had some quote like "I love you beary much". Something like that. I had seen several of these kinds of bear signs on Pinterest, Instagram, and other sites and I wanted to see if I could make my own. I did, and it turned out even better than what I had seen in internet land. So I posted it up to my new business Instagram and got a lot of love! And I also got a lot of hate. One lady bravely commented below my picture telling me how unoriginal I am. She told me I had stolen the idea and how pathetic it was. This was truly heartbreaking for me. I never meant to "copy" anything. There were a million different cut out bears out there but this lady accused me of stealing hers.

I thought about it and got so angry. I thought, "she has no right to tell me anything like that! There are a million other cut out bears exactly like what I had made." AND THEN I thought, "well why the heck would I want to create what everyone else is creating anyways?" So yeah, I took the bear down. Not because she accused me of stealing HER idea, but because the idea is everywhere! and why would I want to brand myself with what everyone else is doing?

Do you watch Casey Neistat on YouTube? If you don't you should. 

So anyways, I'm learning. And I'm working hard at this whole "be original" thing. (and BTW it's harder than you think). I'm not there yet but it will come with time and a lot of work. And while we're at it, let's throw in another Neistat quote. "The most dangerous thing you can do in your career, the most dangerous thing you can do in life is play it safe."