Post taken from The Coveted on it’s 6-month anniversary, 21Aug07…

Today, The Coveted has been in existence for six months. Six months ago, I was obsessed with blogs. I read them every day, mostly Style Bubble and Style Bytes, which at that point had already transformed my life. At that time I did not consider myself a knowledgeable person in regards to style and fashion much less an expert. And I certainly did not think I would be able to write a daily post.

After starting The Coveted, months had passed before people started leaving comments… I knew people were reading, but I didn’t know if people were reading because they liked it, or if they just liked to make fun of my daily outfits. It kept me focused on writing posts on topics that genuinely interested me and not what I thought people would enjoy reading. It was hard, but a blog (about user interface) called Creating Passionate Users, Kathy Serra wrote, How to be an Expert:

The only thing standing between you-as-amateur and you-as-expert is dedication prodigies? We could all be prodigies (or nearly so) if we just put in the time and focused. At least that’s what the brain guys are saying. Best of all–it’s almost never too late…

This post really had a profound impact on my life. If you click on the graph above she made an excellent illustration on what separates losers from experts, because nearly all of us suck at the beginning. Just like the first time I tried to balance on a Swiss Ball, I couldn’t even stay on it, I kept falling off, but after trying over and over, I was able to use it for all kinds of exercises. The same applies for bicycles, swimming, golf… and writing, dancing, art whatever. In fact, nearly all people I know who have succeeded in achieving their goals subscribe to the notion of doing what you love every day. Twyla Tharp, wrote a book The Creative Habit that eloquently illustrates this concept. That even Mozart practiced every day. That book by the way, is on my night stand.

Now I’m not an expert in fashion or style, that’s something that takes years of working and remaining teachable. But I do feel that I am on my way, and what I’ve learned over the past six months is by just putting my best foot forward, the world can open in ways I never knew possible.

Top image is one I tweaked… from Steven Miesel.