3 Years Running

The month of February marks the 3rd anniversary of when The Poetry of Living first took flight! It’s been an amazing ride…being able to meet some very special people (local and not so local) in the process. When “POL” first launched, the intention was to create a well-rounded online magazine of sorts. There was a desire to focus on more than just one subject and try to expand beyond the norm of what is generally presented in cyber land. While our intention is still to follow that path, our growth continues and the focus may shift slightly as we evolve. Overall, we’re still a work-in-progress and are learning a great deal as we venture forward. Most of all, we love what we’ve learned along the way from the inspiring individuals we’ve interviewed who have allowed a peek into their lives — not to mention all the fabulous folks who have so kindly contributed to our site thru their own words and photos.

Here are some of the meaningful things we’ve learned along the way that we wanted to share…

Love What You Do. The people we’ve been most intrigued by seem to have one collective similarity with how they approach their art, home, business and life in general. Simply, they all have a genuine love and enthusiasm for what they do. It’s not a big secret to success, but sometimes can seem very elusive.

Success can take a minute but the harder you work, the more meaningful a payoff. While that payoff might not always be immediate, one continuous theme is the effort to create something you’ll be proud of in the end. Sometimes the sacrifice can be difficult but the end result is almost always worthwhile.

Sharing your enthusiasm of food / art /clothing / design will resonate so much more with others if you believe in it fully yourself. Let’s face it, it’s pretty hard to sell something that you aren’t really excited about and while not everything will be exactly what you want to wear, eat or display in your own home, having an idea of what others love and embracing it is just as important as the quality and care that goes into it.

Creating food or drinks that are simple and delicious doesn’t require a culinary degree. Sometimes the simplest things with the freshest ingredients are all you need to create something that people will enjoy. Don’t forget about the value of experimentation. Usually if you have a good palate you can often judge what will work and won’t work together.

An aesthetically beautiful house doesn’t necessarily make it a “home.” This has been one of our favorite aspects of The Poetry of Living; being allowed into a home and really gleaning a true understanding of who the people are that inhabit it. It’s amazing to see the touches people can add to create memories in their homes and that allow their personal styles to flourish. With so many eclectic personalities and styles in and around Los Angeles to choose from, this is definitely an area we hope to explore more fully in the future.

There is so much more we’ve learned along the way. It’s not always easy but believing in yourself is just as important as any of the lessons learned. Truth be told, I am still struggling with all of this but with each passing year, as our audience continues to grow, it feels like perhaps we’re doing something right.

THANK YOU to all our readers, followers, contributors and most importantly: all those who have sat down with us and explored what makes this city so vibrant and meaningful to them. We hope to share many more years of these unique insights!