What are you waiting for?

"I believe that we all need a magic toyshop to show us the way. Whatever the way is... I cannot escape the lure of the pen and paints, for others it’s the love of writing, entrepreneurship, photography, film making, ... The list must be endless – because it is not my list. It is yours.”

I promised the story of the magic toyshop. Well, here it is.

It is not the bedtime story told to me by my dad each night to foster my imagination. But it is the one that tells of how my life evolved because of this story and how, I believe, other people’s lives could also evolve if they knew it.?

A central theme in the story was the fierce belief by a young boy that there was a magic toyshop opening in town that night at midnight. His belief was so strong and his enthusiasm so infectious, that he persuaded his dad to wake him up at 11pm and take him to the toyshop to watch the midnight opening. What happened next will not be surprising. After a brief delay, caused by a church clock being slightly fast, the toyshop came alive, as did the toys in it, and the little boy played with the toys all night long.?

This storyline is not unique amongst storytellers and fables over the years. But there is far more to this story than meets the eye. And that’s because the real moral and unlikely hero of the story is what we see from the dad.??

By taking his son to the opening of a supposed magic toy shop, we see that this man is not withered by life.??He still sees life through the eyes of his child, knowing that this experience could change his life.?

Not going to a shop at midnight is an obvious response by any ‘sensible’ parent.??Yet this parent looked further into his son’s life than the few hours’ sleep he would miss. He prophesied that his son would benefit far more than he would lose from the experience.??If nothing more, they would share a moment together that they could laugh about for years to come.??And if his son was right, then they would both experience something spectacular that would change their life and vision of what life could be, forever.?

This is me with my dad. The dad in the story could be substituted for our parent, friend, partner, therapist, coach, colleague, or anyone who comes into our life for however long. It is the person who, for a moment, truly understands us, sees us, and helps us to realise that our vision is just that, a vision, and not a pipe dream.

I have had many such people who came into my life to help me to dance with my own teddy bear in my magic toyshop. One that stands out for me was a friend at work. I had just been offered a huge job, working internationally, and living in Chicago. It was a dream opportunity for me.??Or so I thought!

But when sharing this news with this person, they said (something along the lines of):

“but this isn’t what you really want is it?”

It wasn’t. What I wanted was to leave and try something different. To wait outside my own magic toyshop and watch to see what fell off the shelf. And thanks to this person reminding me of this, that’s what I ended up doing. I went to Australia, studied art, and built a new business, working for myself, creatively.?

This conversation and the events that ensued are constantly on my mind when putting my efforts into any new venture. Is that what I really want???

It’s why instead of focusing on the heady world of financial crime and fintech – both easily in my reach – I have focused on drawing, painting, writing and what I have come to call the Power of the Doodle.??

I believe that we all need a magic toyshop to show us the way. Whatever the way is. For me I cannot escape the lure of the pen and paints, for others it’s the love of writing, entrepreneurship, photography, film making, music making, speaking, acting, building things, DJing (shout out to my brother), singing, conducting, dancing, choreographing, teaching, marketing or even analysing (shout out to my partner, Sarah). The list must be endless – because it is not my list. It is yours.?

The Power of the Doodle is about using your innate talents to create something wonderful from nothing more than your head and your heart.

This does not mean that you need to end a career and hop on a plane to a different country to study art, like I did. It does not even mean that you need to change your career. But it may mean that you end up going in directions that you never expected because you took the chance to wait outside that metaphorical toyshop.?

If you really thought about it, perhaps you can remember that person or people in your life who helped you to focus on your talents and not your expectations of yourself or anyone else’s.?

And if you can’t, maybe you will take these words as your inspiration to open your own magic toyshop.

Yes, I’m talking to you! As a great friend spiritedly told me recently:

“What are you waiting for?”

And as for the image at the top of the page.

I wanted to wait to publish my new website and make it perfect before I published this article. Then I took my own advice and stopped waiting for perfection. The website is still a work in progress, as I have so much content that I am still curating it.

I would love to share with you the work that I will be publishing on this new site. It is full of multi-media, art and a completely unique approach to producing work and helping others to do the same. I could ask you to sign up to receive an E-book or free give away. But, instead, I will leave it as it is. Just know that ‘It’s coming soon’ and will be filled with my own magic toyshop.

Nicole Rose

Creator of the @Power of the Doodle, Artist, Lawyer, Compliance course creator and mum

ps - if you like what you read/see and want to have a virtual coffee zoom chat feel free to book in?here.