The Tribune

DESIGNER 101

By TERI MONIQUE

I was just reminiscing the other day on the exciting times I had as a child in high school. Okay maybe not in school but on weekends when I was let out to visit with my friends in a nearby city. We could not wait to wake up early to make our way over to a neighbour’s field to coax their horse over with an apple or a few lumps of sugar.

When we did, it was a free ride until the old farmer came running out to the field chasing us off his land. I often wondered why he didn’t complain to my friend’s mom as surely he would have known that she was the only red head in the village and I the only black child in the entire city.

Nonetheless it became our routine to mount his horse without a saddle or reigns and ride until we giggled ourselves silly. It was a cheap thrill for temporary pleasure that would get us nowhere.

I thought about how we as adults go after the same cheap thrills in life: we sneak around fattening someone else’s horse hoping that we could just get one sweet ride on their animal. It made me think. If we would spend time working on our own ventures then we would have all that we need to own the sweet ride ourselves. We could take the sugar and fatten our own skills and projects if we would just discipline ourselves to rise early, plan and work towards our goals.

People often say they want to someday create amazing purses like “so-and-so”. Well the simple answer is, to do what so-and-so did you have to have what they’ve got. They didn’t get there by buying the top of the line handbags and shoes to look like someone’s carbon copy. Rather, by investing their resources into improving their skills, purchasing the necessary materials and creating their own products, no matter how goofy they may have looked initially.

So-and-so worked smart. They did not just sit back and admire or wish and dream. What you did not see was the hours invested in quietly developing the skill after work when others were being amused. Or the time they spent crying because they exhausted their finances and their energy and the silly sewing machine would not work properly to meet their once in a lifetime opportunity.

As children, we were content to ride someone else’s horse; we did not understand the value of working towards having our own or being proud of fattening our stock. Today we can set aside that child-like mindset and move towards fulfilling our dreams.

So let me ask you this, which foreign business are you fattening when you could be nourishing your own? Do not you think it’s about time you climbed off the neighbour’s horse and began developing your own skills? Make the most of your time by registering for skill training in your area of interest and begin preparing for your success today.