Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Just long enough to snap a picture...

Do you believe that each of us has God-given talents?  Do you know what your talents are?  Is it possible that you might have a few hidden talents? 

How often do you push yourself to try new things? Insecurity and fear of failure can keep you from exploring new activities, but God has a plan for each of us.  He has placed desire and interest in each of us, but those desires and interests are not identical.  I love to sing and I don't mind singing in front of large groups, but I have friends who have no desire to sing loud enough for those beside them to hear.  I have no desire to paint pictures, but others dream about enrolling in painting classes.

Seven years ago, my friend Maria tried to get me to do something I didn't want to do.  A year later, she tried again and I politely turned her down, just as I had done the previous year.  When she approached me five years ago with the same idea, I decided to give it a try.  Not that I wanted to, I just thought if I tried and showed her it wouldn't work, she'd quit asking me. 

Maria wanted me to sew religious costumes for children.  I was already selling costumes (princesses, knights, glamour girl, pioneer, aviators, pirates, etc.) on the internet through my website and on Ebay.  

Maria wanted me to make Catholic saint costumes for children to wear while celebrating All Saint's Day.  I'd never heard of anyone dressing up as a saint for a party, but then again, I'm not Catholic.  Maria insisted moms all across the United States would love to be able to buy these costumes so they didn't have to make them.  I really doubted Maria's optimistic view of the sales territory, but I love my dear friend, so I kept my opinions about sales potential to myself. 

My argument for the last three years had been that I wasn't Catholic and therefore, knowing nothing about saints, I was not the person for the job.  And I discovered I would have to design my own patterns as you cannot go the pattern catalogs and find a Mother Teresa costume or a Pope costume.  I had never made my own pattern - this was going to be even harder than I first thought!!!

My grandmother used to make her own patterns.  I'd seen her take a piece of newspaper, lay it against my body and then draw out the pattern pieces.  I didn't understand how she did it and I never imagined I would try the same thing.  No one ever encouraged me to sew with out a purchased pattern or to sew without following the directions exactly.  Little did I know...

Kayleigh and Allyson with a groomsman

I had had one prior experience that had really challenged me - the girls were to be flower girls in a former student's wedding, and the bride wanted their dresses to be similar to hers.  I searched and searched for a pattern to no avail.  Finally, I selected three patterns and mixed and matched design elements.  I don't know that I've ever been so stressed, but the dresses turned out beautifully.  Creating my own patterns based on pictures of saints was another story - there would be more stress - a lot more stress before I was done.

Maria agreed to help me out by suggesting saints and then locating pictures for me to study.  She also had a friend who agreed to review the costumes on her website - as soon as I could submit samples...

I was able to submit three garments by the middle of October - two weeks prior to All Saints Day.  Maria's friend blogged about my costumes the day she received them.  Within an hour and a half, I had my first order!  I had no inventory and I did not advertise, but because of her review, I sold 16 saint costumes.  Pretty impressive, I thought.

I added five more costumes for the next year and we sold 80-85!  Far more than I had expected.  No one I talked to had heard of celebrating All Saints Day, and like me, they didn't see the potential for much growth beyond what I was doing.  However, the next year I added more costumes and sold close to 300 and at that point I decided I'd better be taking this a little more seriously!  In spite of the economy, I sold over 500 in 2009 and another 500 in 2010!!!

St. Nicholas

We now have over 60 costumes available on the website and another 25 to add for 2011.  I've sold costumes to customers in France, Australia, England, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Cuba, Canada and Mexico!  There may be others, but these came to mind without research.  Who'd have thought it possible?  Certainly not me!  Maria saw the need and the potential and she had faith in my ability to create and market the costumes.  I didn't.  I doubted her and drug my feet far too long.  From my perspective it was an idea that was doomed to fail. 

If you'd like to take a look: http://www.ourcoatsofmanycolors.com

Have you ever stopped to consider that you may not be living up to your God-given potential because of your perspective?  God set a plan in motion and when confronted with opportunity for growth we can't look beyond what our eyes can see or beyond what our minds think they know.  God sees details that aren't visible to us.  He has equipped us for great and mighty works, but we have to step out in faith.