As I re-watched all my favorite Jane Austen movies this summer and started reading Mansfield Park, I started to see things I've learned from Jane about the entrepreneurial life. She was really an amazing creative.
I've pulled some favorite lessons from Jane; please jump in and add your own insights you've gleaned from her life.
Every person we admire today started out like we did- with hope, a handful of ideas, and a whole lot of hustle to move from idea to completed projects. Here's some things I discovered and just had to share with you 
Enjoy!
- Embrace waiting as part of the normal growth cycle of life: in love, writing and entrepreneurship.
In today's society, there seems to be the pervasive idea that to wait for anything is wrong. It's frequent frustrated when the outcomes we want in our lives don't happen when we want them too.
Waiting and longing are not only a normal part of the experience, they can produce good growth. Waiting is not passive, it's very active and produces growth in us and in our situations.
In Sense and Sensibility, the eldest sister Eleanor has to wait for Edward for a long time to propose and marry her. A. Long. Time.
That guy was really not very fast or assertive when it came to confronting his strong tempered mother and sister and breaking off an engagement (where neither of them loved one another any longer).
In the meantime, Eleanor found a place to live for herself, her mum, and sisters away from the toxic Fanny and her family. Eleanor made friends with the neighbors and established a routine for the home. She didn't give in to self pity or depression although she deeply felt the sadness of what she thought was a permanent loss.
And what about the mode of communication in that era? It was all hand written letters. No texts. No faxing. No email. No phone calls. But that lack of instant communication didn't lessen Eleanor and Edward's feelings for one another; instead it seemed to fan the flames.
A lot of life is waiting for things to come together. It's been an important lesson for me to learn that there is much to do while waiting for things to happen. I used to get very frustrated when circumstances didn't end up how I wanted them when wanted them.
I'm learning to wait for things to happen that are outside of my control while I work on things I can control.
- Jane Austen talents and early life were regarded as "ordinary," yet she continues to influence women and the world despite the ordinary circumstance.
This may be the most surprising aspect of Ms. Austen. She grew up in a lower middle class family. She fought with her mom about getting married.
She didn't have an extensive amount of school. She didn't have any special skills or attributes that made her stand out from her peers.
She didn't get special marks in school.
No one asked her to write articles for the paper.
In the case Jane Austen, one of the most widely read and known women writers of all time in the Western world was ordinary, how did she sell so many books that have stood the test of time?
It could be an entire blog post to cover this, but I venture it is because of what she did, not who she was.
In documents about her life, we are told that she did continue to write and read her stories to her family and friends. Practice. Practice. Practice.
- We've all made some past regrettable blunders but that doesn't have to stop our future from being spectacular.
In Persuasion, the main character regrets following her aunts advice and rejecting the marriage proposal of a young man she loves because he didn't have the standing and fortunate her family thought appropriate. Years later, still a "spinster," she lives out the regrets. But the fun of the story is the redemption that comes despite her age, her place in life, her lack of fashion and beauty, and her spinster status.
It's never too late to start again.
- Love covers personality quirks and faults.
What woman doesn't recall Mr. Darcy's indignation of Elizabeth Bennet's family: he finds fault in the silliness of her younger sisters, the
In the end Darcy loves Elizabeth because of who she is, not because of who she is connected to by blood.
- Less than ideal family situations.
Just like her characters, Ms. Austen doesn't avoid the difficult family situations every single one of us is.
We can't let our family situations- whether good or bad determine our future. Our tomorrow starts with the choices I make today- in life, love, and entrepreneurship.
- Happy endings are a matter of perspective.
In Jane's books, her characters- the good and virtuous ones- find true love and joy. There is a happily ever after moment. The not-so-nice characters, well...these ones get their 'come uppance' as the characters mother would say.
In life, Jane did not get her happily ever after love story. However, Jane reflects an attitude of living above and beyond personal circumstances. She didn't let external circumstances stop her from enjoying life and making the most of it.
- Inner battles must be confronted: in our personal and artpreneurial endeavors.
Jane Austen brings to the story line the inner battles of her characters. In Sense and Sensibility Marianne is impulsive and wears her heart on her sleeve while quieter Eleanor keeps the things of heart to herself and has a hard time expressing her affections and desires.
Both characters have their weaknesses.
Likewise, we'll have to confront the part of ourselves holding us back from taking the "next step" of our own bath.
Indecisive people must make a decisions.
Creatives who have lots of ideas must buckle down and focus on a few things to get anything done.
Some of us need to speak up for ourselves.
Others need to learn how to shine the spotlight on others.
We all have aspects of our personality that need tempering in order to move forward. This isn't focusing on weaknesses. This is doing the hard things our natural temperaments shy away from in order to move forward and progress.
- Don't make long term decisions based on short term situations.
In Mansfield Park, Fanny chooses to reject Edmund's advances and proposal for marriage, even though it was a quick fix to take care of her socially and financially. Nearly everyone shuns Fanny while her aunt and uncle threaten to cut her off from their financial support.
However, Fanny had a gut feeling about Edmund; there was something telling her he was not being honest with her. She had to undergo quite a bit of harsh treatment and misunderstanding from her family and friends but she chose to endure the discomfort and take the blame for events out of her control rather than give up what she believed in.
In the end she was proven right, but it doesn't disregard the difficulties she endured in the meantime.
Don't make short term decisions you don't feel good about for the sake of getting somewhere farther and faster.
This also brings us to the next point:
- Listen to your gut and do what you are good at.
This takes practice and trial and error and it doesn't always make sense.
I'm all for advice and receiving wisdom from "a multitude of counselors," but in the end you and I make our decisions and live with them. And there are some situations when we need to do something, our inside gut or spirit is gently prodding us into the direction, but we can't explain the logic behind it.
Sometimes we can't rationalize why our gut is telling us something just like Fanny who declined Edmund's proposal. She really did like him but there was a nagging something that was whispering to her not to marry him. She couldn't explain it but she had to follow it.
In the end she was very happy she did so.
- Complexity is interesting.
It can be confusing to follow the story line of Mansfield Park or Northanger Abby but it makes for an interesting story line.
Yes, life is complex. It makes things interesting. Life is messy. That makes things interesting too.
- Appearances can be deceiving.
Think Willoughby in Sense & Sensibility; he looked good, he sounded good, he was the passionate and deeply feeling man Marianne wanted, but his outward charisma fell through when his inner motivations- the singular desire for wealth and social status- trumped the desire to marry someone he truly loved.
Only time and uncomfortable circumstances revealed this.
I find huge parallels in my life as a creative.
I've got lots of ideas but many don't stick. I recently thought of creating an art subscription box with a project-of-the-month theme UNTIL I did some research and discovered several products already on the market (and several going under!) Suddenly my bright idea didn't seem so bright after all.
So it goes with ideas and relationships. The ideas that blossom with effort and work, the friendships which develop with multiple conversations and time- these are worth their weight in gold.
The best relationships are those who can withstand the storms of life and don't fly away at the sign of rainclouds.
Beware of what glitters- it isn't always gold.
- There will always be people who are obsessed with fashion, high culture, and how people perceive them, but these are often the most boring and pretentious people. Don't bother to attempt to win them over.
Jane Austen hits the theme of prestige and social status with every book she writes. It was a huge issue in her day and it's a big deal in our day too.
I have no desire to compete with the latest fashion or try to appear cool to certain groups of people.
There are people like you; it might take you awhile to find them, but don't give up! Life is a precious gift; don't spend time spending money and time trying to impress people you really don't care about (and, news flash- don't care about you).
I recently read a biography of someone who has "made it" in the fashion industry. Well, what they had to do to impress the "beautiful people" was exhausting just to read about! I'm glad he made it, but I also felt sorry for him and the toll it took on him, his family, and relationships.
- People who are nasty to their core are best left alone.
Haters are going to hate. Bitter people spew bitterness. (Think Fanny in Sense and Sensibility and Bingley's sister in Pride and Prejudice). Why bother fighting them? Let them be.
- It is always a worthy pursuit to wait for someone to "ardently love you."
Back to the waiting game again, but it bears repeating. Love grew between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.
Neither of them forced things to move quicker; instead their relationships was full of bumps, frustrations, and incremental growth.
The same goes with us. Working out our work until it's ready to share with the world is full of frustrations, bumps, and even irritants.
Just lake Elizabeth Bennet would not marry except for love, we shouldn't take on lesser "suitors" because they seem like they are the immediate answer to today's problem.
Stay the course. Wait for love.
- It is a worthy pursuit to grow "more ardently in love" with another.
By the time of you've finished reading A writing friend and I were laughing about how long it is taking to bring our novels to completion. I've been working on Melody for more than 3 years. Three years. If you told me that it would take me this long to come to a place of having a book halfway decent, I might never have started.
But I've grown as a writer and a story builder so much over the last few years. Each re-write gets better and it's building the foundation for a strong series.
And I've grown more in love with fiction writing, with the writing friends I'm blessed to know, and with helping others in their writing and publishing journey.
- Friends are the sweet spot of life.
Jane Austen had a deep friendship with her sister and one of her brothers. I was unaware of the depth of this friendship until I watched the movie Becoming Jane and saw the tender way her brother and sister in law cared for her and lived life with her until her life's end.
It only takes one or two people knowing you well and sharing your life in sweet friendship that can make a difference.
In our quest to grow our creativity and publish and develop products and lines, let's not neglect the act of building friends.
Friends make the journey so much specialer. (is "specialer" a word?) Besides my intimate friends, I've also developed friends with my fellow journey-ers in the mastermind groups I've written about before. These are special relationships because, while you may be going in different directions, you share common goals and values and a desire to see each other succeed.
- Sometimes those who love us and have the very best intentions for us, but they neither understand us or give us solid advice. Love them anyways.
Jane Austen wrote about the challenges of her own relationships in many of her characters lives. The theme of women getting married to establish their financial future was a hotspot in Jane's own life and in the life of many of her characters (Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park).
Our families sometimes don't understand our desire to branch out in our creativity. I love what my Grandma A says, "Love people for who they are and forgive them for who they cannot be."
Don't become angry when/if family doesn't understand or support you in the way you want on your journey as an artists. Family relationships are complicated at best and exhausting at worst.
- 18. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes and have major character flaws. Despite this, believe the best in others and pursue love and a meaningful life. It's not too late to change or to start.
It's never too late to admit when we were wrong. It's not too late to love. Mercy triumphs. So does true love.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley.
Jane Austen.
It's never too early to start or too late to start.
We've never made so many mistakes that there is no hope- for our creative endeavors and our relationships.
- We all live with longing.
This is one of the mysteries of human nature Jane Austen covers in each book. Without directly talking about longing, she weaves the longing of the heart and the struggles longing causes in the characters and story line.
No matter what our circumstances- married or single, rich or poor,
How do we navigate the heart? In a world of "get it done now" and results and outcomes and bottom lines, do we squash the longings of our heart until we don't feel or hear them anymore.
No. No. No.
Disconnecting from the heart and feelings is not good. It is a complicated thing to navigate life with unresolved, unanswered longings yet it is common to every man, woman and child.
Creatives have the distinct and special ability to speak to the heart and the mind and pour a comforting balm and ease the discomfort of yet-to-be met longing.
We have the incredible opportunity to help someone to move through their longing to a place of hope and a solution.
How many times has a piece of music, a story, a brilliant photograph or a watercolor painting touched our hearts and souls in a way nothing else can?
I can think of several artists and authors who have ministered to me in my longing, who have pointed me down a path when I desperately needed direction and who have comforted my aching heart with words, pictures, and sounds that were as a healing medication to an injury.
Most will never know how they've helped me.
Many may never know how you helped, encouraged, guided and motivated them with your words and brush strokes and photography and teaching.
Jane Austen didn't know the length and depth of how she would touch the longings of so many women. But how thankful we are for the wonderful stories and memorable characters she created.
May it be the same of us. May we ease the longings of others as we attend to our own souls and art.
Create on.
The post What Can Jane Austen Teach Us About Being an Entrpreneur? appeared first on Launch Your Creative Life.
