Jack of All Trades, Master of None.

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I have been called a jack (or jackie) of all trades frequently in my life, i have MANY hobbies, and skills, and interests. i feel like i could live a thousand lifetimes, each time focusing on just one of those skills and learning ALL i could about that one subject, then pass away happily and start over again. i stay awake at night just dreaming about ways to explore and learn more about any number of my skills, and even sometimes get the crazy idea that i should start another one.

i am not alone in this.

there are many of us "jack and jackie's" out there, but sadly, i don't see jack of all trades as a job profession title, (and if so... maybe that would be a "handyman", but a "handywoman"? haha!) i feel like in order to excel and make a profit in life you really do have to focus on one or two, and just keep a few others in your arsenal to use as stress relieving hobbies, or if your previous business endeavor fails.

currently i have a job as a part time hairstylist, and am a stay at home mom the rest of the time. i have been a stylist since 2009, and a mother since 2012. i LOVE doing those jobs, but... it's safe to say i'd rather start something new to fill the time i have left in my schedule, than take on more clients at the salon (or take on more babies. haha!) but, i would love to do something that is lucrative for my family. not necessarily because we need the added income, but because then i would feel more justified with spending my time doing that thing, whatever it ends up being.

This is what keeps me awake at night; i have dreams of owning my own store or brand, i have dreams of being involved with something bigger than myself, something that actually does good in the world, i have dreams of wanting to improve other's businesses, lives, self-esteems, homes, or just improving their fun!

i would say my skills include:
hairstylist, (and everything that goes along with that... colorist, barber/"cutter", braider/updo's, and extensions.)
makeup artist
artist with watercolor, lettering, calligraphy, and sometimes acrylics.
seamstress/re-fashioner/tailor
photographer/Photoshop editor
interior designer/DIY-er
blogging/networking/social media
making friends and making people laugh.

i have the uncanny ability to see the potential in anything. be that a home, a canvas, a hairstyle, a person, a yard of fabric, a wall, or even in myself. this is both a blessing and a curse as i obviously do not have the time to do it all.

some businesses/jobs I dream about doing someday have included:
-owning a photography studio space that people rent out for personal/professional shoots. this space i've always imagined would be white and clean inside but have an amazing colorful feature wall painted on the exterior of the building so that people can stand outside the building and take selfies to spread free advertising for the studio.
-starting a subscription box company for daily/weekly inspirational scripture study prompts. i feel like so many people are subscribing to these world-ly things, beauty, makeup, shoes, work-out gear, etc, but what about the spiritual side of things? getting a clearly detailed plan for your scripture study would be amazing for me personally, and i think it would help others too.
-a company that prints your 5 most popular instagram photos for the month and sends it to you so that you can have physical copies to replace in frames through out your home.
-making baby blankets. but, realistically the reason i wanted to do this was because i would love to design my own fabrics.
-handmade braided plastic binky clips. i just needed something easier to clean than the leather/fabric ones i was using. and figured others would too.
-my friend and I came up with the idea of starting a family friendly restaurant that was made up of small individual rooms so that families could hear each other, and babies could run wild within a single small space without worry of disturbing others.
-garrison and i have talked about owning our own apartment complex in Provo that had some cool unique twists that would take too long to explain on here. haha. (but one thing is we wanted to make it out of shipping containers.)
-flip houses with my husband for a living, or manage many rental properties.
-own and run a bed and breakfast.
-being a personal assistant to someone
-when i was younger i wanted to be a motivational speaker. but, i learned as i grew that very few people just become one of those, it more like happens to them due to their life experiences.
-selling my watercolor paintings/painting custom watercolors
-i've considered going back to school to get specialized as an estitician, or becoming a consultant for rodand and fields (the skincare line) because i love that whole side of the beauty industry as well.
-turning my blog and/or instagram into something profitable
-when the girls are older and in school i'd love to go back to college and get a degree in drafting to become an architect. i truly have a passion for home design and architecture.
-opening an etsy shop to include on a smaller scale 1 or all of the products i mentioned here.
-garrison and i even talked seriously for a few days about how to make a business out of restoring vintage camping trailers.
-if we ever moved outside of Utah, i'd love to own a salon instead of building my clientele from the ground up again.
-i once wanted to make modern looking graphic t-shirts to sell at souvenir shops around the world.
-we started looking into me being the designer/seamstress for a company my brother and husband wanted to start that would have made custom gun holsters. yes. i said gun holsters.

you guys, the list goes on, and on. it really does. and i'm positive i'm still missing something.

i honestly don't know what the point of this post is. i'm not trying to brag and tell the world how awesome i am, i'm not trying to prove that i should be doing something different with my life, i'm not trying to say how inventive i am. i guess this blog is -at it's core- is a journal for my girls to read when they grow up. i want them to have a peek into my brain at this age. i want them to believe that they truly can do ANYTHING that they put their mind to. and i guess that's the moral of this story. i have all of these ideas, and i haven't actually put "my mind to" any of them. i've dreampt of them, but un-realistically and without much or any action sometimes, and after the "dream" wears off, all that's left is a shell of what could have been.

That's what the point of this post is: for me to realize, that just like what i want my girls to know... I too can do ANYTHING i put my mind to. and now, all i have to do is hone in on the one idea that i can't stop thinking about, the one that keeps me up at night more than the others, and pursue it. pursue it like it's a cute boy in middle school. i was ruthless with those poor boys back then, and these ideas, just like those boys, will be sick of me before they know it!

you guys. i can do it.

i really can.

and dearest daughters, miss bay, little evers... if you're reading this. YOU CAN TOO.

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i just found this blog post that helps, if you feel like you're in the same boat as me, the girls at sewcrafty put this together as a way to help you narrow your field and not spread yourself too thin as a classic jack of all trades often does.