Someone was questioning the other day why I run an on-line antiques & vintage business even though I don’t particularly like sales or selling – and even though I already have a busy office management business.
And this Vonnegut quote may provide a large part of the answer.
I’m not art-talented. At all. I can’t sing (ask anyone), I can’t dance, I can’t draw, and I can’t write fiction. But I do get excited about the creations others have made – whether it’s an old wooden chair with the Green Man carved into its back, a colorful floor model figural lamp that might be considered tacky by today’s standards, a brass cobra paperweight, or a chunky, clunky necklace with beads of all shapes, sizes and materials.
My primary business is an essential piece of the helping professions… what I do makes it easier for mental health clinicians to attend to their critical work of supporting those who are hurting.
The paperwork I deal with can be mind-numbingly tedious, and at times I feel like I’m drowning in it all. But being surrounded by antiques and the occasional very odd item gives me great joy. (A 3 foot tall green plastic dog – I named her Lassie – went to a new home earlier this fall to my dismay, as I really got a kick out of her. And two cast iron door stops shaped like roosters I called Cock and Doodle sold recently.)
Go into the arts… At a minimum, maintain a shelf of interesting or fanciful items that make you smile, and that can start a discussion about the less mundane aspects of life.
I even have a real seahorse skeleton in my office. Now there’s a conversation piece!
Categories: Inspiration
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