Artsy Ambition

39: The Comparison Trap: Why You're Always Looking at the Wrong Timeline

SUMMARY You're scrolling Instagram. Someone's shop is sold out. Their feed looks effortless. They have thousands of followers. And you think: I should be further along. What am I doing wrong? Here's the thing—you're comparing your chapter one to their chapter twenty. And that comparison isn't just unfair. It's holding you back. In this episode, Kathleen explores why comparison feels so inevitable (especially in the social media age), why it's almost always misleading, and how to start measuring your progress against the only timeline that actually matters: your own. You'll discover what you don't see in other people's highlight reels, why trying to skip steps backfires, and practical strategies for when the comparison wave hits. You'll hear about: 1. Why comparison is so hard to avoid 2. The timeline you don't see 3. What actually matters: your own progress, not someone else's chapter 4. The danger of trying to leapfrog steps 5. What to do when comparison hits with practical strategies 6. Redefining success on your terms, not what you see in someone's feed TAKEAWAY: YOU'RE NOT BEHIND. YOU'RE NOT FAILING. YOU'RE JUST ON A DIFFERENT TIMELINE. THE PERSON YOU'RE COMPARING YOURSELF TO WAS ONCE EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE NOW—UNCERTAIN, LEARNING, WONDERING IF THEY WERE GOOD ENOUGH. BUT YOU DON'T SEE THOSE YEARS. YOU SEE THEM AT CHAPTER TWENTY WHILE YOU'RE AT CHAPTER THREE. STOP COMPARING YOUR BEGINNING TO SOMEONE ELSE'S MIDDLE. MEASURE YOURSELF AGAINST YOUR OWN PAST. ARE YOU BETTER THAN YOU WERE SIX MONTHS AGO? THAT'S WHAT MATTERS. YOU'RE RUNNING YOUR OWN RACE. MORE FROM ARTSY LYONS 1. Start stitching with the Stitch Deck [https://artsylyons.shop/products/the-stitch-deck-embroidery-kit] 2. Free DIY name sweater video tutorial [https://claude.ai/diy-sweater-tutorial] 3. Free Canva templates to create DIY name designs [https://artsylyons.kit.com/canva] 4. Check out the shop: artsylyons.shop [https://artsylyons.shop/] 5. Follow me on Instagram: @artsylyons [https://www.instagram.com/artsylyons/] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! Your support helps us reach more mamas who need this community. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Artsy Ambition Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! See you next week!

38: Your First Sale: What It Teaches You That Nothing Else Can

SUMMARY The moment a stranger—someone who doesn't love you, doesn't owe you anything, has no reason to be kind—looks at what you made and decides it's worth their money? That moment changes everything. It's not just about the dollars. It's about legitimacy, possibility, and what you learn about yourself and your work that no book or podcast can teach you. In this episode, Kathleen walks through what actually happens before, during, and after your first sale—including the feeling no one warns you about (spoiler: it's not just excitement). Whether you've already had your first sale and want to revisit that moment, or you've been hovering over the publish button wondering if you're ready, this episode gives you the honest picture and the practical push. You'll hear about: 1. What happens right before the first sale 2. What your first sale actually teaches you 3. What comes after (the identity shift, and the honest reality beyond the excitement) 4. Practical steps to make your first sale more likely to happen 5. Why the only way to learn what a first sale teaches is to have one TAKEAWAY: YOUR FIRST SALE TEACHES YOU THINGS THAT NO AMOUNT OF READING, LISTENING, OR PREPARING EVER CAN. IT TEACHES YOU IN YOUR GUT, IN YOUR BODY, THROUGH DIRECT EXPERIENCE—THAT YOUR WORK HAS VALUE, THAT PRICING IS SURVIVABLE, THAT YOUR CREATIVE VOICE COMMUNICATES ACROSS THE GAP BETWEEN MAKER AND STRANGER. THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FIRST SALES AREN'T PEOPLE WHO FEEL NO FEAR. THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO LIST ANYWAY. IF YOU'VE BEEN HOVERING OVER THAT PUBLISH BUTTON, MAYBE TODAY IS THE DAY. MORE FROM ARTSY LYONS 1. Start stitching with the Stitch Deck [https://artsylyons.shop/products/the-stitch-deck-embroidery-kit] 2. Free DIY name sweater video tutorial [https://claude.ai/diy-sweater-tutorial] 3. Free Canva templates to create DIY name designs [https://artsylyons.kit.com/canva] 4. Check out the shop: artsylyons.shop [https://artsylyons.shop/] 5. Follow me on Instagram: @artsylyons [https://www.instagram.com/artsylyons/] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! Your support helps us reach more mamas who need this community. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Artsy Ambition Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! See you next week!

37: What If It Works? Letting Yourself Dream Again

SUMMARY When was the last time you let yourself fully imagine what you want, without immediately listing all the reasons it won't happen? Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped dreaming. We learned to protect ourselves from disappointment by expecting nothing. But what if we flipped the script? In this episode, Kathleen explores what happens when we let ourselves ask "what if it works?" instead of spending all our energy preparing for failure. You'll discover why we stop dreaming, what it costs us when we play it safe, and how to start letting hope back in—even when it feels scary. This is permission to want things, to dream again, to risk disappointment in pursuit of something meaningful. You'll hear about: 1. When and why we stop letting ourselves dream (protecting from disappointment) 2. The hidden cost of playing it safe (missed opportunities, cynicism, regret) 3. What if it works? (Imagining success instead of preparing for failure) 4. The practical side of dreaming (specific, grounded, actionable) 5. What if it doesn't work? (Addressing the fear honestly) 6. Permission to want things (you're allowed to dream big) 7. How to start dreaming again today (small steps, five minutes, one tiny action) TAKEAWAY: YOU DESERVE TO DREAM. WHEN WE STOP DREAMING, WE DON'T JUST PROTECT OURSELVES FROM DISAPPOINTMENT—WE CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM POSSIBILITY. THE PAIN OF TRYING AND IT NOT WORKING OUT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE PAIN OF NEVER TRYING AT ALL. START SMALL: WHAT IF THAT ONE THING YOU'RE QUIETLY HOPING FOR ACTUALLY WORKS? WRITE IT DOWN. IMAGINE THE FEELING. TAKE ONE TINY ACTION. LET YOURSELF HOPE AGAIN. BECAUSE SOMETIMES JUST IMAGINING WHAT SUCCESS COULD LOOK LIKE IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD MAKING IT REAL. MORE FROM ARTSY LYONS 1. Start stitching with the Stitch Deck [https://artsylyons.shop/products/the-stitch-deck-embroidery-kit] 2. Free DIY name sweater video tutorial [https://claude.ai/diy-sweater-tutorial] 3. Free Canva templates to create DIY name designs [https://artsylyons.kit.com/canva] 4. Check out the shop: artsylyons.shop [https://artsylyons.shop/] 5. Follow me on Instagram: @artsylyons [https://www.instagram.com/artsylyons/] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! Your support helps us reach more mamas who need this community. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Artsy Ambition Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! See you next week!

36: Side Hustle or Sanctuary: Should You Monetize Your Hobby?

36: SIDE HUSTLE OR SANCTUARY? SHOULD YOU MONETIZE YOUR HOBBY? SUMMARY "You should sell these!" "Have you thought about starting an Etsy shop?" "You're so talented—you could make money doing this!" Sound familiar? In our productivity-obsessed culture, there's constant pressure to monetize our hobbies. But should you? In this episode, Kathleen gets honest about what monetizing your creative hobby actually involves—not just the income potential, but what it costs. You'll discover the questions to ask yourself before you start selling, when monetizing makes sense (and when it doesn't), and how to protect the joy if you do turn your hobby into a side hustle. This is permission to keep your creativity sacred AND permission to build a business if that's what you want. You'll hear about: 1. The pressure to monetize everything (and why hobbies don't need to be profitable to be valuable) 2. What monetizing actually means (casual selling vs. building a real business) 3. The honest questions to ask yourself (why, what would you gain/lose, what's your capacity) 4. When monetizing makes sense (and when to keep it sacred) 5. The middle path (you don't have to be all-in or all-out) 6. How to protect the joy if you do monetize (boundaries, keeping some work private) 7. Kathleen's honest experience with building Artsy Lyons (what it gave and what it cost) TAKEAWAY: NOT EVERY HOBBY NEEDS TO BECOME A SIDE HUSTLE. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE GOOD AT SOMETHING AND NOT MONETIZE IT. BUT IF YOU WANT TO BUILD A BUSINESS FROM YOUR CREATIVITY, YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN—JUST GO IN WITH YOUR EYES OPEN. ASK YOURSELF: WHY DO I WANT THIS? WHAT AM I WILLING TO TRADE? CAN I PROTECT THE JOY EVEN WHEN THERE'S MONEY INVOLVED? THERE'S NO WRONG ANSWER, ONLY THE ANSWER THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU, RIGHT NOW. AND YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR MIND. MORE FROM ARTSY LYONS 1. Start stitching with the Stitch Deck [https://artsylyons.shop/products/the-stitch-deck-embroidery-kit] 2. Free DIY name sweater video tutorial [https://claude.ai/diy-sweater-tutorial] 3. Free Canva templates to create DIY name designs [https://artsylyons.kit.com/canva] 4. Check out the shop: artsylyons.shop [https://artsylyons.shop/] 5. Follow me on Instagram: @artsylyons [https://www.instagram.com/artsylyons/] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! Your support helps us reach more mamas who need this community. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Artsy Ambition Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! See you next week!

35: Creative Rhythms for Busy Seasons

SUMMARY You wake up already behind. The to-do list is longer than the hours in the day. You fall into bed exhausted and wake up to do it all again. And in the middle of all this chaos, there's this little voice saying, "I miss creating. I miss having something that's just mine." But when? How? In this episode, recorded from a hotel room during a work trip, Kathleen shares how to maintain your creative practice when life won't slow down. You'll discover why bringing your embroidery on the road keeps you connected, how to reimagine what creativity looks like in busy seasons, and why three stitches in a hotel room is exactly enough. This is permission to adapt your practice instead of abandoning it. You'll hear about: 1. What busy seasons actually feel like (and why you're not failing) 2. Why you need to let go of what worked before (your practice can look different now) 3. Creative rhythms for busy times (portable projects, micro-sessions, simple work) 4. What Kathleen's learning traveling for work with her embroidery project 5. What to protect and what to release in chaotic seasons 6. The unexpected gift of constraints (what busy seasons teach us) 7. How staying connected now makes returning easier later 8. Permission to do less, choose simple, and be imperfect TAKEAWAY: BUSY SEASONS DON'T LAST FOREVER, AND YOUR CREATIVE PRACTICE DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK THE SAME ALL THE TIME. THREE STITCHES A DAY KEEPS YOU CONNECTED. PORTABLE PROJECTS FIT IN THE MARGINS. SIMPLE, REPETITIVE WORK DOESN'T TAX YOUR TIRED BRAIN. YOU'RE NOT ABANDONING CREATIVITY BY ADAPTING IT—YOU'RE HONORING IT BY FINDING A WAY TO KEEP IT ALIVE EVEN WHEN LIFE IS CHAOS. RELEASE THE GUILT, LOWER THE EXPECTATIONS, AND TRUST THAT STAYING CONNECTED MATTERS MORE THAN BEING PRODUCTIVE. MORE FROM ARTSY LYONS 1. Start stitching with the Stitch Deck [https://artsylyons.shop/products/the-stitch-deck-embroidery-kit] 2. Free DIY name sweater video tutorial [https://claude.ai/diy-sweater-tutorial] 3. Free Canva templates to create DIY name designs [https://artsylyons.kit.com/canva] 4. Check out the shop: artsylyons.shop [https://artsylyons.shop/] 5. Follow me on Instagram: @artsylyons [https://www.instagram.com/artsylyons/] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! Your support helps us reach more mamas who need this community. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Artsy Ambition Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artsy-ambition/id1817971641]! See you next week!