Setting an Intention

The Merits of Setting an Intention

“By setting our motivation strongly in the morning when our mind is fresh and clear, we are much more likely to remember it during the day and act with that intention.”

– Dalai Lama

Ahhh…the things we learn from experience

For this year’s First Chance Christmas Craft Show in Sidney, BC (Nov 9th & 10th), I set up my “Pink Gazelle Cards & Creations” display table on Friday night (with help from my tiny but mighty friend, Terri) instead of Saturday morning, before the show began. This turned out to be a brilliant move because it made Saturday less tiring and more enjoyable.

Another thing I did differently this past weekend was to set an intention on Saturday morning. I did this while I was relaxed and drinking my coffee by the fire. Truth be told, I hadn’t intended on setting an intention 🙂 but my yoga instructor’s voice popped into my head (he always suggests we set an intention at the beginning of class…mind you, he’s kinda hot so that might also be why he popped into my head). Anyway, I thought I’d give it a try for the craft show. And the one-word intention that bubbled to the surface was…

Connection. 

Okay, that’s kind of a lie. The first word that actually popped into my pea brain was SALES. As in…I wanna sell lots of stuff this weekend!

But then my higher self (or whatever you want to call that part of our psyche who cares about making the world a better place) gently reminded me that maybe, just maybe, what’s also important this weekend (based on past craft show experience) is to connect with people…by saying hello, asking them how they are doing, listening to their answer, and (if applicable) taking the time to explain what our products are, why they exist and who they are suitable for.

And if sales come from those connections, great. But I know from past experience it’s often the people who don’t buy a single item from me who are the ones that most need to make some sort of meaningful connection.

In other words, I released (sort of…I mean, I’m still an entrepreneur and sales are kinda necessary) the expectation of sales coming as the result of my primary intention of connecting with the people who stopped by my booth.

But by putting the intention of connecting first and sales second, this seemed to shift something because we ended up selling an awful lot more product than past shows.

I think another reason for this was an e-mail sent out by Jantina, the show organizer, to all vendors a few days before. She had written something to the effect of: “YOU are your best advertising for your table. A smile and saying hello can go a long way. And stay off your phone unless absolutely necessary.”

I took all three suggestions to heart (okay, my star sales gazelle Ella, 11, may have had to physically remove the phone from my hand once or twice) and what a difference. More meaningful connections happened, the days went by much faster and our sales more than doubled.

Here’s an example of a connection made…

To display our “A Wolf Called Nakoda” story (about the wolf John and I sponsored, who was shot the week before John died…it’s a fundraiser for the JPMF & Wolf Awareness), I used this beautiful photo of a wolf (I don’t have a photo of Nakoda):

I had forgotten that I’d bought this print from a vendor (a wildlife photographer) at the same craft show a few years ago. And low and behold, that wildlife photographer was at the show this past weekend and came over, introduced herself and told me the story of the wolf in the print (a sea wolf who lives on an island just off Oak Bay in Victoria, BC).

You can check out her stunning wildlife photographs on her Facebook page: Photos in Nature by Nancy

“A Wolf Called Nakoda” story sells for $9.95 ($2 to JPMF & $2 to Wolf Awareness) and can be ordered through our Etsy store. If you know a wolf-lover, this is a thoughtful gift. Yes, it’s a sad story…unfortunately that’s often what it takes for change to come about.

Saucy Mrs Claus Photo Shoot

Just to follow-up on something I mentioned in last week’s blog: the professional photographer, Roxanne Low, did in fact photograph me & my wares on Saturday morning. Those photos aren’t ready yet but I think it fair to warn you that the snaps of me in my Mrs Claus outfit are…well, let’s just say our photo shoot was an awfully fun way to start the day 🙂

“How you start your day is how you live your day. How you live your day is how you live your life.”

– Louise Hay

Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her weekly blog, please sign up here.