We are thrilled to be launching a refreshed version of our online floral class subscription in 2021! When we initially launched it, somewhat haphazardly, we loosely referred to it as anything from “virtual floral design education” to “weekly floristry classes online,” depending on our mood that day. Now that some time has passed and we have had an opportunity to further clarify our vision, by identifying our core motivations and intentions for providing an online educational resource, we have decided to rename (or name properly for the first time) our offering to Flowering Minds.

We wanted to give our subscribers, both current and future, a little more guidance on how to most effectively make use of this virtual floral education resource now that we’ve added extra features to the subscription in 2021.

To ensure you are keeping your mind activated and engaged, here are a few suggestions to help you maximize the returns on your investment in this online floral class subscription!

 TAKE THIS QUIZ TO FIND OUT WHERE TO START

We've designed a quiz to help you understand what you need to do right NOW to build your floral design career. Take the quiz here to get started! 

CHOOSE ONE DEDICATED DAY A WEEK

TIME. We all know just how quickly time can get away from us. One moment, we are celebrating another New Year’s Eve and before we know it we have arrived at the beginning of summer. It is so easy to get swept away with errands, children, car repairs, last minute meetings and more. Time seems as if it is a rigid, constant and linear construct, but the human brain experiences it as anything but that…our perception of time shifts, distorts, speeds up, slows down, expands, contracts, etc…it’s quite fascinating, truly. In acknowledgement of our dynamic relationship with time, we recommend that you regularly dedicate a specific day to watch each week’s newest video. Don’t just make a soft mental note to watch on Tuesday morning but, rather, a calendar alert on your smartphone calendar to watch precisely at 10am on Thursdays, or whatever works for you. A meaningful commitment to dedicate a regular slot of time for personal growth. Knowing that our newest videos are generally released between Friday & Sunday, it would make sense to set time aside on a day between Monday and Thursday where you know that every week without fail you have the opportunity to learn something new.

CHOOSE A DEDICATED TIME TO WATCH THE VIDEO

In the same way that an entire week can slip right by without notice, the same can occur with the hours in a day. Certain events in our lives are scheduled to occur at a precise time, often down to the minute. Clocking in at work, doctor’s appointments and wedding ceremonies. We tend to conform to these restrictions without putting up much of a fight. The floral design processes on wedding days generally adhere very tightly to a predetermined timeline and we always make it work without fail because of the importance of the event. We would argue that personal growth should be held in the same regard as we would view a wedding ceremony timeline or any other “important” time-specific event.

A common thread that has been observed in the daily routines of some of our society’s most prolific creatives is that of self-disciplined time management by way of reserving periods each day to focus solely on activities which directly promote growth in their chosen field of work. At that time every day, without fail, they are doing the work. It’s the 10,000 hour concept. Choose a time and make it work. No excuses. If your entire upcoming week just looks too impossibly busy already, just wake up earlier on one day. 5 am, 4 am, whatever it takes. It’ll be difficult when the alarm goes off that morning, but after you have put that time into yourself, you will not regret it. Stepping through obstacles and over hurdles tends to trigger positive-feedback loops in the human psyche. We are built to struggle and overcome and nothing feels more true to our nature than to overcome a challenge and bask in the resulting growth of character. This is what successful people do. Select a time and allot at least one hour to learn and reflect, regardless of how short the floral class video happens to be.

TAKE NOTES AND GENERATE QUESTIONS

It is quite easy to passively breeze through a video and feel as if the new knowledge you have encountered translates immediately into growth. When we are exposed to new or motivating ideas while watching a YouTube video or listening to a podcast, we often feel the buzz of potential. But that buzz of potential should not be misconstrued as effective and lasting personal growth. Exposure to knowledge is merely the first step towards personal growth. That new, yet latent, knowledge, must be applied, and applied often..time and time again…before that latent knowledge becomes experiential and becomes woven into the fabric of your work ethic and artistic vision. When we witness an expert demonstrate a process that they are highly skilled at (by way of their experiences applying knowledge…their 10,000 hours) we are often deceived by the perceived effortlessness of that expert’s actions into feeling that we, too, could quite easily achieve that which we have just witnessed.

Actively watch. When you watch a floral design video, actively study the nuances in the design. Identify repeatable principles or patterns that are at the foundation of any particularly desirable result and then consider how these principles could be adapted or applied in different design scenarios. You want to assemble a personalized tool kit for creating your own personalized designs. Find the tactics and strategies that speak to you and place them into your tool box for future use. Understand how to use each tool and, more importantly, when and why you would want to use that particular tool. With time and practice, you’ll learn to instinctually reach for the right tool at precisely the right moment in the design process. Search for the unanswered questions within the video, because there are always questions to be asked. This is what critical thinking entails. Anyone can ask obvious questions- critical thinkers present questions that an average person wouldn’t think of. Once these questions are asked, the average thinker sees the question as obvious, even though they didn’t come up with it.

UTILIZE THE PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP

Take your questions and notes to the group. Start a discussion and share the questions you came up with so we can explore that topic together. When you think critically, you will come up with new insights, questions and assumptions than others wouldn’t, based on your unique brain and experiences. Sharing your unique perspective and receiving feedback from others is how interesting and enlightening conversations are started. Community outreach is a true catalyst for personal growth.

PUT THE EDUCATION INTO TANGIBLE PRACTICE

As we mentioned above, there is a difference between latent knowledge and applied knowledge. Take the education you are absorbing and put it into practice shortly after watching the video. Many people will make plans to apply knowledge, feel charged and excited about making those plans, but then fail to make good on those plans. The actual work of the taking action doesn’t “feel” quite as good as the buzz of the planning stage. Nothing good comes easy. Practice delaying short-term gratification and play the long game. Short-term gratification is fleeting while the results of long-term, determined efforts are lasting and life-changing.

Educate yourself. Make plans and follow through with them. Act on what you learn.

This is how you achieve success.